Infinite

San Antonio Woman Fined $2000 For Feeding The Homeless

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cheever 1

– San Antonio Woman Fined $2000 For Feeding The Homeless (ZeroHedge, April 16, 2015):

Based on the newsflow in the last few weeks, Americans must increasingly consider themselves lucky just to avoid getting shot in the back or being run over by trigger-happy, heavily armed officers of the law. Unfortunately while we (hope we) mostly jest, the reality is that America has quietly turned into a heavily weaponized police state right under everyone’s noses. A police state in which one doesn’t have to be considered even a remote threat by the authorities to suffer. Consider the completely innocuous act of feeding the homeless, with a permit, which as San Antonio philanthropist Joan Cheever, founder of the nonprofit food truck, the Chow Train, discovered last week was enough to get her ticketed and fined $2000 for feeding the homeless.

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Greece May Pay Wages And Pensions In IOUs

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Varoufakis-Drachma

– Greece May Pay Wages And Pensions In IOUs (ZeroHedge, April 16, 2015):

Earlier today we said the following about the Greek government’s rapidly deteriorating cash situation:

So it’s either pay salaries and pensions or pay the IMF which is tragically ironic because Athens has already gone the route of plundering pensions to make payments to its creditors, the only difference is that now, instead of “borrowing” money from the public coffers and hoping to pay it back in the interim before anyone actually gets shorted, you’re talking about simply not paying people at all (or paying people with IOUs which would be the hilarious rough equivalent of conducting repos with individual citizens) which needless to say could turn into an untenable social and political issue virtually overnight, not to mention the fact that if the government defaults you would almost certainly see the imposition of capital controls in order to stem the inevitable deposit flight. Athens owes nearly €2 billion in public sector wages and pensions at the end of the month. 

Read moreGreece May Pay Wages And Pensions In IOUs

Conspiracy Theorists, Bloggers Compared To ISIS During Congressional Hearing

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– ‘Bloggers’ Compared to ISIS During Congressional Hearing (Prison Planet, April 16, 2015):

People who challenge establishment narratives online likened with terrorist organization

Bloggers, conspiracy theorists and people who challenge establishment narratives on the Internet were all likened to ISIS terrorists during a chilling Congressional hearing which took place yesterday.

The hearing, hosted by the House Foreign Relations Committee, was titled “Confronting Russia’s Weaponization of Information,” and accused Russian state broadcaster RT of weaponizing “conspiracy theories” to spread propaganda.

Read moreConspiracy Theorists, Bloggers Compared To ISIS During Congressional Hearing

Signs That The Elite Are Feverishly Preparing For Something BIG

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Riot police stand guard as demonstrators protest the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri

– Signs That The Elite Are Feverishly Preparing For Something BIG (End of the American Dream, April 15, 2015):

What in the world are the elite up to?  In recent days, we have learned that the New York Fed is moving a lot of operations to Chicago because of concerns about what a “natural disaster” could do, the federal government is buying 62 million rounds of ammunition commonly used in AR-15 semi-automatic rifles for “training” purposes, and NORAD is moving back into Cheyenne Mountain because it is “EMP-hardened”.  In addition, government authorities have scheduled a whole host of unusual “training exercises” all over the nation.  So are the elite doing all of this in order to prepare for something really BIG, or should we just chalk up all of this strange activity to rampant government paranoia?

First, let’s talk about what the New York Fed has been doing.  What kind of natural disaster would be bad enough to completely shut down the operations of the New York Federal Reserve Bank?  It would have to be something very unusual, and apparently the New York Fed is very concerned that such an event could happen.  According to Reuters, the New York Fed has been transferring personnel to Chicago and building up its satellite office there just in case a “natural disaster” makes it impossible for normal operations to continue in New York…

Read moreSigns That The Elite Are Feverishly Preparing For Something BIG

Mario Draghi, Collateral Scarcity, And Why The ECB Will Soon Buy Corporate Bonds

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draghi prayer

– Mario Draghi, Collateral Scarcity, And Why The ECB Will Soon Buy Corporate Bonds (ZeroHedge, April 16, 2015):

Mario Draghi, perhaps blinded by confetti, doesn’t see a scarcity of collateral while HSBC thinks that’s a bit “strange,” and Morgan Stanley doesn’t really see what the problem is even as their own analysis shows that it is now “impossible” for Germany to fully implement their portion of the program under the capital key. Meanwhile, FT thinks it’s possibly important that thanks to the absurd consequences of NIRP-dom, the ECB may soon take the plunge into euro corporate credit sending yields on corporate bonds negative.

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Hillary Clinton Is Grooming Former Goldman Banker Gary Gensler To Become America’s Next Treasury Secretary

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Brilliant!!!

What could possibly go wrong?

In summary:

– George Carlin: The American Dream (Video)

gary-gensler

– Hillary Clinton Is Grooming A Former Goldman Banker To Become America’s Next Treasury Secretary (ZeroHedge, April 17, 2015):

For years on end, many wondered how it is possible that Gary Gensler allowed Wall Street firms to manipulate, rig, and otherwise abuse the US commodity market which he, as head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2009 until 2014, was supposed to regulate.

Some, such as this website, suggested that what Gensler was doing was simply protecting his former colleagues from civil or criminal investigation and prosecution. After all Gensler is far better known for not only having worked at Goldman Sachs for 18 years most recently as co-head of finance, prior to joining the CFTC, but for becoming the youngest ever Goldman partner, at the tender age of 30.

Certainly, being the wealthiest member of the original Obama administration did not hurt: in 2009 the Wasingtonian reported his net assets as being between $15,533,000 and $61,745,000. We take the higher number. To be sure, he had been paid well at Goldman and now had a duty to his former employer: to keep Goldman (or any other Wall Street bank) off the hook of any regulatory investigation.

Read moreHillary Clinton Is Grooming Former Goldman Banker Gary Gensler To Become America’s Next Treasury Secretary

No Matter Who Wins the White House, the New Boss Will Be the Same as the Old Boss

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– No Matter Who Wins the White House, the New Boss Will Be the Same as the Old Boss (Rutherford Institute, April 16, 2015):

“What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It’s not good at much else.”—Author Tom Clancy

The American people remain eager to be persuaded that a new president in the White House can solve the problems that plague us. Yet no matter who wins this next presidential election, you can rest assured that the new boss will be the same as the old boss, and we – the permanent underclass in America – will continue to be forced to march in lockstep with the police state in all matters, public and private.

Indeed, as I point out in my new book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, it really doesn’t matter what you call them – the 1%, the elite, the controllers, the masterminds, the shadow government, the police state, the surveillance state, the military industrial complex – so long as you understand that no matter which party occupies the White House in 2017, the unelected bureaucracy that actually calls the shots will continue to do so.

Read moreNo Matter Who Wins the White House, the New Boss Will Be the Same as the Old Boss

Dutch Central Banker Fired For Being A ‘Nazi Cross-Dressing, Nymphomaniac, Dominatrix’ Prostitute

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Flashback:

– Insider Exposed NEW WORLD ORDER Plans In 1969 (MP3 & Transcipt)

“Pornography, violence and obscenity on TV and in movies will be increased. People will be desensitized to violence and porn and made to feel life is short, precarious and brutish.”
– Dr Richard Day

– Dutch Central Banker Fired For Being A “Nazi Cross-Dressing, Nymphomaniac, Dominatrix” Prostitute (ZeroHedge, April 16, 2015):

They say don’t let money printing get to your head, but for one now former central banker it is far too late.

The identity of the former employee of the Dutch Central Bank in question is unknown, what is known is that the money authority of the Netherlands has fired a 46-year-old female employee who for 6 of her 8 years with the central bank made money on the side as a “dominatrix prostitute who described herself as a high-class nymphomaniac and earned €10,000 a week dressing up as a Nazi and whipping men.”

conchita

While her real name remains unknown (although having worked previously for both ABN-AMRO and ING Bank it is only a matter of time before her ex-colleagues identify her) her “professional name” is public: Conchita van der Waal, as is her motto: “the kinkier the better”. Her role at the Dutch Central Bank is also unknown but according to the Irish Times she had a “supervisory” role.

Read moreDutch Central Banker Fired For Being A ‘Nazi Cross-Dressing, Nymphomaniac, Dominatrix’ Prostitute

Spot The Common Theme: Prostitution Scandals, Kickbacks And Money Laundering

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If you said these are all things that current or former IMF heads are or have been accused of, you are 100% correct.

IMF

– Spot The Common Theme: Prostitution Scandals, Kickbacks And Money Laundering (ZeroHedge, April 16, 2015):

First it was DSK with his ‘frequent’ sex-parties, rape charges, and pimpin’ hookers.

Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) – who denies charges of pimping – has told a court in northern France that prosecutors had greatly exaggerated the frequency of his “licentious evenings.” In fact, as The BBC reports, DSK explained (with a straight face) that he took part in only a few rare sex parties – “only 12 parties the last 3 years.”

As he took the stand on Tuesday, Mr Strauss-Kahn said: “I committed no crime, no offence.”

“The prosecution gives the impression of unbridled activity,” he told the court. But, he added: “There were only 12 parties in total – that is four per year over three years.”

Then came Christine Lagarde’s corruption and kickbacks scandal.

In 2008, Lagarde decided to allow an arbitration to end a dispute between Bernard Tapie, a businessman and supporter of then President Nicolas Sarkozy, and former state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais. Lagarde, who was put under investigation for “negligence” by the Cour de Justice de la Republique, denied any wrongdoing, saying it was the best option for the state.

Read moreSpot The Common Theme: Prostitution Scandals, Kickbacks And Money Laundering

DEA Agents Caught Having Drug Cartel Funded Prostitute Sex Parties Received Slap on the Wrist; None Fired

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DEA-Drug-Cartel-Prostitute-Sex-Parties

– DEA Agents Caught Having Drug Cartel Funded Prostitute Sex Parties Received Slap on the Wrist; None Fired (Liberty Blitzkrieg, April 15, 2015):

An internal Drug Enforcement Administration report showed the agency gave its agents a mere slap on the wrist for purchasing the services of Colombian prostitutes, sometimes with taxpayer money and sometimes as they let local police watch their weapons and personal property.

A summary of the internal report shows the DEA doled out punishments to 10 of its agents, which ranged from a letter of caution to a two-week suspension. None of the agents who participated in the parties was fired.

In one instance, money to pay prostitutes at a farewell party for a high-ranking DEA official was included in an “operational budget” that used government funds for the party, the report said.

Lawmakers expressed concern during the hearing that some of the government-funded sex soirees may have included teenagers.

– From the Washington Times article: No DEA Agents Fired for Colombia Prostitute Parties, Internal Report Reveals

Last month, I highlighted the “truth is stranger than fiction” story about how Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents were caught having sex parties with prostitutes hired by drug cartels. I ended that post with:

Read moreDEA Agents Caught Having Drug Cartel Funded Prostitute Sex Parties Received Slap on the Wrist; None Fired

Meanwhile, In Greece — Live Feed

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– Meanwhile, In Greece — Live Feed (ZeroHedge, April 16, 2015):

The honeymoon is officially over in Greece for the Syriza socialist saviors who, after a series of dramatic pledges to free Greeks from the bonds of austerity have been forced to abandon the very promises which got them elected as the “institutions” (no one is allowed to speak of the “troika” any longer) have refused to budge on demands that Athens institute serious fiscal reforms.

Now, with time running dangerously short, and with looming payments to the IMF and to public sector employees and pensioners, the people are growing restless.

Read moreMeanwhile, In Greece — Live Feed

Putin Live: Talks US, Nukes, Ukraine, Iran, Hitler, And Cloning In Town Hall Meeting — Full Video

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PutinMontage_0

– Putin Live: Talks US, Nukes, Ukraine, Iran, Hitler, And Cloning In Town Hall Meeting — Full VIdeo (ZeroHedge, April 16, 2015):

Russian President Vladimir Putin — who TIME readers recently voted as the most influential person in the world — held his annual call-in/ town hall-style Q&A on Thursday, and as one might imagine, there were some memorable moments. Previous sessions included the following classic clips (via RT):

Putin on whether Alaska is “ice crimea” (play on “ice cream”): “What would you need Alaska for? It’s cold there, let’s not get overenthusiastic about it.”

Putin on when he would be willing to retire: “You won’t live to see it.”

Putin on John McCain’s suggestion that the Russian President will go the way of Muammar Gaddafi: “McCain sat in a pit in Vietnam for several years, anyone would go nuts after that.”

Read morePutin Live: Talks US, Nukes, Ukraine, Iran, Hitler, And Cloning In Town Hall Meeting — Full Video

Ben Bernanke To Join World’s Most Levered Hedge Fund: HFT Powerhouse Citadel

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– Ben Bernanke To Join World’s Most Levered Hedge Fund: HFT Powerhouse Citadel (ZeroHedge, April 16, 2015):

Several years ago, Zero Hedge first, and to our knowledge only, reported that when it comes to unofficially executing trades in the equity market the NY Fed – through a slightly more than arms-length arrangement – does so using Chicago HFT powerhouse Citadel. In other words, while Citadel was instrumental in preserving the smooth, diagonal ramp in stocks since 2009 and igniting upward momentum just as everyone else stared to sell when the Markets Group of the NY Fed called, it was also paid handsomely: after all, nobody checks the Fed’s broker commission statement. In fact according to some, indirect Fed compensation to what is the world’s most leveraged hedge fund has been in the billions over the past decade.

Well, now it’s payback time, and as the NYT reported overnight, the Brookings Institution’s favorite blogger, former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, has joined none other than Citadel as an advisor.

Read moreBen Bernanke To Join World’s Most Levered Hedge Fund: HFT Powerhouse Citadel

Barter Agreement Between Russia And Iran Sidesteps Sanctions

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Putin chess

– Barter Agreement Between Russia and Iran Sidesteps Sanctions (Russia Insider, April 16, 2015):

Although Russia claims the agreement on a barter system with Iran was designed in order not to run afoul of the sanctions, the deal still could add further strain in its relations with its fellow P5+1 negotiator

This article originally appeared at Oil Price

An oil-for-goods barter system between Iran and Russia is well under way and is not affected by the sanctions imposed on some trade with Iran because of its nuclear program, according to Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov.

So far, the system, designed to last five years, is operating on a “very significant scale,” Ryabkov told legislators on April 13 in Moscow. “In exchange for Iranian crude oil supplies, we are delivering certain products,” he said. “This is not banned or limited under the current sanctions regime.”

Read moreBarter Agreement Between Russia And Iran Sidesteps Sanctions

Russia S-300 Missile Sale Worries Those Who Aren’t Ruling Out Bombing Iran

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu netanyahu-speaks-at-un-about-iranian-bomb

– Russia Anti-Air Missile Sale Worries Those Who Aren’t Ruling out Bombing Iran — Russian Lawmaker (Russia Insider, April 15, 2015):

Unless you plan to bomb Iran Russia’s sale of S-300 missiles shouldn’t worry you

MOSCOW, April 14 (TASS) – The chairman of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee, Konstantin Kosachev, believes that the worst worries over the supplies of Russian air defense systems S-300 are felt by those who do not rule out the possibility of bombing raids against that country.

“It looks like the supplies of Russian air defense systems S-300 to Iran trouble mostly those who do not rule out their own bombing raids against that country,” Kosachev told the media, adding that it remained to be seen which side (Iran or its opponents) “pose the worst threat to peace.”

Read moreRussia S-300 Missile Sale Worries Those Who Aren’t Ruling Out Bombing Iran

India Scraps Major Arms Purchase With France, Inks Major Deal With Russia

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Sukhoi

– India Scraps Major Arms Purchase with France, Inks Major Deal with Russia (Russia Insider, April 15, 2015):

India’s Congress Party has canceled most of its order of 126 French Rafales and opted for a large order of Russian Sukhois

This article originally appeared at Daily of the Breton State. It was translated by Tom Winter at Fort Russ

India has essentially annulled it gigantic arms contract with France for the purchase and combined construction of 126 Rafale fighter planes; the Indian Prime Minister agreed to buy only

36 of them during his visit to Paris last week, a responsible government source stated. Instead, India will buy 127 fifth generation Russian fighter jets.

Read moreIndia Scraps Major Arms Purchase With France, Inks Major Deal With Russia

In Last 9 Months Russia Repaid $100 BILLION Of Debt

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– In Last 9 Months Russia Repaid $100 Bn of Debt (Russia Insider, April 15, 2015):

Painful in the short term, but not exactly weakening Russian economy in terms of debt to GDP

This article originally appeared at True Economics

With Q1 out of the way, Russia passed a significant milestone in terms of 2015 external debt redemptions.

In total USD36.647 billion of external debt matured in Q1 2015, the highest peak for the period of Q1 2015 – Q3 2016. Even controlling for inter-company loans and equity positions, the figure was around USD24 billion for Q1 2015, again, the highest for the entire 2015 and the first three quarters of 2016.

Here is the breakdown of maturing external debts:

Russia-debt

All in, over the last 3 quarters alone, Russia has managed to repay and roll over USD156.23 billion worth of external debt, with net repayment estimated at around USD96.5 billion.

Read moreIn Last 9 Months Russia Repaid $100 BILLION Of Debt

Citadel Head Bond Trader (And TBAC Member) “Leaves” After Losing $1 Billion

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– Citadel Head Bond Trader (And TBAC Member) “Leaves” After Losing $1 Billion (ZeroHedge, April 16, 2015):

It is almost too coincidental to be a coincidence: on the day Ben Bernanke, who until a year ago was the biggest fixed income portfolio manager in the world courtesy of the Fed’s $4.5 trillion in assets, joins Citadel as an advisor, the massively levered “market-neutral” hedge fund which as we showed earlier has $176 billion in regulatory assets, “loses” its global head of fixed income, senior managing director Derek Kaufman. Well not exactly loses. The reason for his “voluntary” departure: according to Bloomberg Kaufman is leaving Citadel not because he is about to be replaced by the former Fed chairman but because last year he lost $1 billion “in a variety of trades.”

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Russia Is Modernizing Its Fleet Of MiG-31 Interceptor Jets

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MiG-31
MiG-31 is the fastest fighter jet in active service

– Russia Is Modernizing Its Fleet of MiG-31 Interceptor Jets (Russia Insider, April 15, 2015):

The first batch of 24 modernized MiG-31 BM fighter jets enters service

This article originally appeared at Defence Talk

The first 24 modernized MiG-31BM fighter jets have been delivered to the Russian Armed Forces. Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said more than ten aircraft will be delivered to troops ever year.

“After completing the modernization of the MiG-31, we expect that military forces will have more than 130 updated, outstanding aircraft with key technical parameters available for use,” said Yuri Borisov. According to him, about 12-13 aircraft undergo modernization per year.

Read moreRussia Is Modernizing Its Fleet Of MiG-31 Interceptor Jets

Josephine Witt: Why I Ambushed ECB Chief Mario Draghi

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The moment I jumped on the table and showered Draghi with confetti.

– Josephine Witt: Why I ambushed ECB chief Mario Draghi (International Business Times, April 16, 2015):

You may well have seen the coverage of my intervention in the ECB press conference yesterday, during which I jumped on the table and showered Mario Draghi with confetti. Many people have contacted me on social media since then, asking me why I did it, how I got into the ECB’s inner sanctum so easily, and what stunts I plan in future.

Here, I’ll attempt to answer those questions as comprehensively as I can.

First, the inspiration. Four weeks ago I saw the anti-ECB protest by Blockupy in Frankfurt, my home city. The demonstration was greeted with a massive, draconian police response in the form of tear gas, water cannons and riot shields.

I was shocked. I thought: “the ECB doesn’t have any political mandate, it’s never been elected. Why are the police defending them with such brutal force?” I wanted to to try and take the criticism against the ECB’s policies to the very heart of the organisation, inside their buildings.

Read moreJosephine Witt: Why I Ambushed ECB Chief Mario Draghi

Russia Ready To Sue Ukraine Over $3 Billion Debt

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– Russia Ready to Sue Ukraine Over $3 Billion Debt (Russia Insider, April 15, 2015):

In late 2013, Russia bought $3 billion worth of Ukraine’s non-tradable Eurobonds with a coupon of 5 percent and maturity in December 2015. Russia has notified Ukraine that it expects it to honor its obligations

MOSCOW, April 15 (RAPSI) – Russia will turn to courts should Ukraine fail to repay its $3 billion debt on time, RIA Novosti reported, citing Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.

Read moreRussia Ready To Sue Ukraine Over $3 Billion Debt

Bellingcat’s BUK Caught On Video With The Ukrainian Army

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BUK 312
BUK 312

– Bellingcat’s BUK Caught on Video with the Ukrainian Army (Russia Insider, April 15, 2015):

We are waiting for Eliot Higgins, Aric Toler and the rest of the Bellingcat crew to explain this one…

This article originally appeared at Separatists Referendum

British Mi5 social media misinformation site Bellingcat has stated that a BUK number 312 was the BUK missile vehicle that shot down Malaysian Airlines flight MH-17. They have presented still images to attempt to prove their case. There are rumors that the still images they presented are being used by the Dutch Safety Board as evidence in the investigation into the downing of MH-17, however, the very same number BUK 312 was recorded on video in July 2014 in the war zone right before MH-17 was shot down. The US government and media have also used these still images to place blame upon Russia.

Read moreBellingcat’s BUK Caught On Video With The Ukrainian Army

Yemen: Another Failed U.S. Military Intervention

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The Week In Mideast Photos

– Yemen: Another Failed U.S. Military Intervention (Huffington Post, Aprl 13, 2015):

In addition to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, yet another U.S. military intervention is in shambles: the U.S. drone war against al Qaeda’s most potent regional affiliate — al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Heretofore, despite the rise of the perhaps even more brutal Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), mainly a threat to the Middle East region, the U.S. government has continued to regard AQAP in Yemen as the most severe terrorist threat to the United States. Although the group hasn’t been very active recently, it was involved in the Paris attacks a while back and in foiled bomb plots against U.S.-bound aircraft, including the underwear bombing, even further back.

After the 9/11 attacks, George W. Bush expanded his “War on Terror” from the Afghanistan/Pakistan region and started attacking Islamist militants in Yemen from the air. In 2006, AQAP was born after 23 militants escaped from prison in Yemen. Journalists, both locally in Yemen and from the West, have documented that the U.S. drone war under Bush and now Obama has actually increased the numbers of AQAP fighters.

Read moreYemen: Another Failed U.S. Military Intervention