Moscow - Russia's defense minister says the military will deploy two army brigades to help protect the nation's interests in the Arctic.
Anatoly Serdyukov says his ministry is working out specifics, such as troops numbers, weapons and bases, but a brigade includes a few thousand soldiers.
Serdyukov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying Friday the brigades could be based in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk or other areas.
Russia, the U.S., Canada, Denmark and Norway have been trying to assert jurisdiction over parts of the Arctic, believed to hold up to a quarter of the Earth's undiscovered oil and gas.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia "remains open for dialogue" with its polar neighbors, but will "strongly and persistently" defend its interests in the region.
Puppet Masters
Shayetet 13, the Israeli naval commando unit, contains an underwater sabotage division
Two boats among the fleet of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla have been sabotaged. Passengers scheduled to sail on the second boat, the Saoirse, which hails from Ireland, discovered that the propelled had been cut and "dangerously bent." "If this boat would've gone to sea, it's almost certain we would've lost lives, this boat would've sank," said Fintan Lane, an Irish coordinator of the flotilla.
While Israel has not taken credit for the sabotage, all signs point in its direction. The Israeli military boasts an elite underwater sabotage division, Yaltam, that operates out of Shayetet 13, the naval commando unit that raided the Mavi Marmara last year and killed 9 of its passengers. According to SpecWarNet, an online database of international special forces units, "For underwater sabotage missions, each [Shayetet 13] diver can carry a limpet mine to attach to the hull of enemy watercraft or docks."
This film contains a short summary of the publicly available - but still widely unnoticed - evidence for a supposed attempt to obstruct the air defense on September 11th, 2001.
Energy giant BP tried Wednesday to put a positive spin on a new report that highlights the devastating impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill using their official Twitter account.
"Annual #Beach Water Report released today includes info on improved conditions since #BP #oilspill," the company tweeted.
But the report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) said there had been more than 9,474 oil-related beach closings, advisories and notices in Gulf states since the spill and that the clean-up effort was still underway in Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi.
Activist Post Editor's Note: This is a must-see video to add to the catalog of abuse taking place by Israeli forces. As the video states, "Every friday there is a peaceful demonstration in Nabi Saleh. Last Friday, it was a colorful children's day with clowns, spidermans, kites and . .. . tear gas."
This issue has become so divisive that we can hear the comments already, but if people claim to be for human rights, then ALL abuse must be condemned. Who can defend tear-gassing children? Please distribute widely.
This issue has become so divisive that we can hear the comments already, but if people claim to be for human rights, then ALL abuse must be condemned. Who can defend tear-gassing children? Please distribute widely.
© Unknown
This is what unfolded in the 9/11 attacks that led us into the matrix of wars and conflicts, present (Afghanistan and Iraq), planned (Iran and Syria) and projected (Jordan and Egypt), that benefit Israel and no other country - although I concede that many private contractors and politicians are doing very well for themselves out of the death and misery of others.
I am also absolutely certain as a strategic analyst that 9/11 itself, from which all else flows, was a classic Mossad-orchestrated operation. But Mossad did not do it alone. They needed local help within America (and perhaps elsewhere) and they had it, principally from some alumni of PNAC (the misnamed Project for a New American Century) and their affiliates within and outside of the US Government (USG), who in the 9/11 attacks got the "catalytic event" they needed and craved to take the US to war on Israel's behalf, only eight months after coming into office.
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Julian Assange
Julian Assange
"Julian granted me a tiny peek behind the curtain where he has been living for this past year," says Clark. "Being a photographer has awarded me the luxury of meeting some interesting people over the years. I see myself as an observer who tries to remain neutral, so that I donʼt get in the way of a great portrait. But what I discovered was that Julian isn't the demon most people would want you to believe, and I found him to be very caring and kind to those around him. Protective, yes. But for someone in his position, I understand. People like their secrets, and they are not happy when you expose them."
Assange, who has been targeted by multiple governments for releasing large amounts of sensitive information via WikiLeaks, adamantly denies Swedish Judicial Authority claims that he committed sexual offenses in Sweden. Assange remains under house arrest at an undisclosed location in England, awaiting an extradition appeal hearing set for July 12-13, 2011 at the High Court in London.
It has been a while since we've seen or heard from Julian Assange. But WikiLeaks has just dropped a Vimeo video entitled "What Does it Cost to Change the World?" featuring none other than Assange himself in something of a MasterCard parody - take a look.
Okay, so it's still been a while since we've heard from Assange. The poster "WikiLeaks" writes about the video:
What do MasterCard, Visa, Bank of America, Paypal and Western Union all have in common? They help you pay for what you want? Well, yes... that is unless you want to help WikiLeaks make the world a better place. To see the shocking details, please go to wikileaks.org/?support.html.
Provocative, right? Though whatever your opinion about WikiLeaks and Assange, I would note that The Atlantic Wire provides the following info in terms of the various support that can be offered:
"potential donors should be aware that the WikiLeaks Legal Defense Fund does not directly support the activities of WikiLeaks. Instead it funds the legal defense of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, whose most pressing case is allegations of rape."
The UK's former secretary of defence, Lord Reid, has argued that the government must use a combination of education, partnerships with businesses and even recruiting former hackers to shore up the nation's online defences.
Reid was speaking at the launch of a report titled Cyber Doctrine - towards a coherent evolutionary framework for learning resilience in his new role at the Institute for Security and Resilience Studies at University College London.
Reid was speaking at the launch of a report titled Cyber Doctrine - towards a coherent evolutionary framework for learning resilience in his new role at the Institute for Security and Resilience Studies at University College London.
When games get (really) ugly
The family of a 15-year-old Xbox player was raided by heavily armed police after a disaffected online opponent made a hoax emergency call claiming there was a home invasion in progress.
According to news reports, SWAT, or special weapons and tactics, police entered the Naples, Florida, residence of Hunter Gelinas after receiving a false report that he had been stabbed and his family was being held captive. The reports blamed the stunt on a fellow Xbox user the youth had met online.
"They had a whole SWAT team at my door and I came out of my room and they've got their guns pointed at me," Gelinas told WINK TV news. Attempts by The Register to reach him weren't successful. An incident report from the Collier County Sheriff's Office confirmed the hoax emergency call and said it "came in through a hearing impaired relay."
The family of a 15-year-old Xbox player was raided by heavily armed police after a disaffected online opponent made a hoax emergency call claiming there was a home invasion in progress.
According to news reports, SWAT, or special weapons and tactics, police entered the Naples, Florida, residence of Hunter Gelinas after receiving a false report that he had been stabbed and his family was being held captive. The reports blamed the stunt on a fellow Xbox user the youth had met online.
"They had a whole SWAT team at my door and I came out of my room and they've got their guns pointed at me," Gelinas told WINK TV news. Attempts by The Register to reach him weren't successful. An incident report from the Collier County Sheriff's Office confirmed the hoax emergency call and said it "came in through a hearing impaired relay."
