Politics

CIA-Connected Terror Group Issues Threat Ahead Of Russian Olympic Games

by

– CIA-connected Terror Group Issues Threat Ahead of Russian Olympic Games (Infowars, Jan 20, 2014):

Group loyal to Shamil Basayev, a Chechen warlord trained by the CIA in Afghanistan

Vilayat Dagestan, a Salafist terror group loyal to Shamil Basayev, has taken credit for the Volgograd bombing in late December that claimed the lives of 34 people. A video posted on the group’s website shows two men, identified as the suicide bombers it says are responsible for the Russian attack, wearing explosive belts and posing with assault rifles.

The men warn terrorists will attack the Winter Olympics, scheduled to begin on February 6 in Sochi, a Russian resort city on the Black Sea.

“We have prepared a… present for you, for you (President Putin) and all those tourists who will come over,” the men say in a statement.

Read moreCIA-Connected Terror Group Issues Threat Ahead Of Russian Olympic Games

The $23 Trillion Credit Bubble In China Is Starting To Collapse – Global Financial Crisis Next?

by

– The $23 Trillion Credit Bubble In China Is Starting To Collapse – Global Financial Crisis Next? (Economic Collapse, Jan 20, 2014):

Did you know that financial institutions all over the world are warning that we could see a “mega default” on a very prominent high-yield investment product in China on January 31st?  We are being told that this could lead to a cascading collapse of the shadow banking system in China which could potentially result in “sky-high interest rates” and “a precipitous plunge in credit“.  In other words, it could be a “Lehman Brothers moment” for Asia.  And since the global financial system is more interconnected today than ever before, that would be very bad news for the United States as well.  Since Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, the level of private domestic credit in China has risen from $9 trillion to an astounding $23 trillion.  That is an increase of $14 trillion in just a little bit more than 5 years.  Much of that “hot money” has flowed into stocks, bonds and real estate in the United States.  So what do you think is going to happen when that bubble collapses?

Read moreThe $23 Trillion Credit Bubble In China Is Starting To Collapse – Global Financial Crisis Next?

Obama Regulations To Shut Down 40 Percent Of Nation’s Electricity

by

– Obama Regulations To Shut Down 40 Percent Of Nation’s Electricity (Wealthy Debates, Jan 20, 2014):

Obama administration regulations could force power plants that make 40 percent of the nation’s electricity to shut down.

At issue are EPA restrictions on emissions that would close hundreds of coal-burning power plants which represent around 40 percent of the nation’s electricity.

If that wasn’t bad enough, some observers think the regulations could double electricity rates for average households. The rates would increase because utilities would have to pass the cost onto ratepayers of replacing coal burning power plants or modernizing them to comply with the regulations.

Read moreObama Regulations To Shut Down 40 Percent Of Nation’s Electricity

U.S. Supreme Court To Decide If Warrant Needed To Search Cellphone

by

U.S. Constitution

Fourth Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

– Supreme Court To Decide If Warrant Needed To Search Cellphone (NPR, Jan 17, 2014):

The U.S. Supreme Court is delving into the technology-versus-privacy debate, agreeing to hear two cases that test whether police making an arrest may search cellphones without a warrant.

The court’s announcement Friday that it would take the cases came just hours after President Obama outlined his proposals to address government retention of citizen phone data as outlining reforms at the National Security Agency.

The court said it would hear arguments, likely in April, in two cases with conflicting decisions from the lower courts.

Read moreU.S. Supreme Court To Decide If Warrant Needed To Search Cellphone

Japanese Hunters Prepare To Kill Hundreds Of Dolphins At Taiji Cove, Government Defends ‘Lawful’ Slaughter

by

Flashback:

– The Cove – Oscar Award Winner (‘Best Documentary’)

Related info:

– Government Of India Grants Dolphins Personhood

Taiji-The-Cove-Dolphins
Hundreds of dolphins are killed in a remote Japanese bay during hunting season. The town argues it is an important tradition, but conservationists maintain the bloody practice is inhumane

– Taiji Cove dolphins: Japanese government defends ‘lawful’ slaughter as hunters prepare to kill 200 animals (Independent, Jan 20, 2014):

Japanese fisherman have begun the slaughter of hundreds of bottlenose dolphins this morning, campaigners said, amid an international outcry over the annual hunt.

Members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), which is monitoring the cull, said fisherman had begun killing the dolphins corralled into the Taiji cove earlier this week at 7.30am.

Read moreJapanese Hunters Prepare To Kill Hundreds Of Dolphins At Taiji Cove, Government Defends ‘Lawful’ Slaughter

Officials by West Coast Speak Out on Fukushima: Concerns about cancer, illness from contaminated food — ‘Low-level’ radiation being reported in fish — “We cannot sit by and watch and wait” — National gov’t appears to not be taking it seriously

by

– Officials by West Coast Speak Out on Fukushima: Concerns about cancer, illness from contaminated food — ‘Low-level’ radiation being reported in fish — “We cannot sit by and watch and wait” — National gov’t appears to not be taking it seriously (ENENews, Jan 20, 2014):

The Haida Nation’s 2013 House of Assembly, Dec. 2013: With ongoing and increased concerns about the aftermath of the 2011 nuclear disaster in Japan, and considering our reliance on seafood here on Haida Gwaii, the Council of the Haida Nation will look at ways to work with the provincial and federal governments to request that the Japanese government provide open and honest updates on the nuclear waste leaching into the Pacific Ocean.

Read moreOfficials by West Coast Speak Out on Fukushima: Concerns about cancer, illness from contaminated food — ‘Low-level’ radiation being reported in fish — “We cannot sit by and watch and wait” — National gov’t appears to not be taking it seriously

Martin Luther King’s ‘Letter From Birmingham Jail’: ‘Everything Adolf Hitler Did In Germany Was Legal’

by

Full letter below.

– Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Jan 20.2014):

Back in June 2013, I was suddenly inspired to read Martin Luther King Jr.’s thoughtful, powerful and provocative “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” It struck such a chord with me that I decided to write a post on it, in which I highlighted key excerpts.

Today, January 20th, is Martin Luther King Day for those of us in these United States. With the Republic at such a crossroads, one filled with peril, but also with tremendous opportunity; it would serve us all well to heed the words this great man wrote so many years ago, during another troubled and dynamic time in our history. As such, I am reposting my piece from last summer below.

Martin Luther King: “Everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was Legal”

Posted on 

Even if you have read Martin Luther King’s celebrated “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I insist you read it again. For those that have never read it, the inspired prose may very well change your life.  The letter’s message is eternal and extraordinarily relevant in the current global struggle of the 99.9% against the criminality, corruption and oppression of a very small, but very powerful 0.01%.  One of the key tactics this tiny minority uses is to claim that their immoral deeds are “legal.”  He spends much of his time in the letter outlining the distinction between “just laws” and an “unjust laws,” and one of the key points he makes that we should all keep close to our hearts and minds in these trying times is:

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers.

I also think it’s important to recognize that many of his contemporaries referred to his tactics as “extremist,” very similar to how the term “terrorist” is used currently to demonize public dissent in America.  Below are some of the excepts I found most powerful:

Read moreMartin Luther King’s ‘Letter From Birmingham Jail’: ‘Everything Adolf Hitler Did In Germany Was Legal’

NOT The Onion: Obama Wins German Transparency Award

by

– Obama wins German transparency award (The Daily Caller, Jan 17, 2014):

A German marketing consultant has awarded President Obama a “transparency award,” highlighting Obama’s role in the NSA affair.

The award is apparently not a joke.

Sven Lilienström, a self-described guerrilla marketer in Kaarst, a town outside Düsseldorf in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, announced Tuesday that he “would like to present Obama with the massive, almost 6-kg gold trophy in February 2014 in Washington.” At the current gold price, the award would have a melt value of $241,921.50.

“The Transparency Award for Exceptional Merits for President Obama is no satire,” Lilienström told The Daily Caller in an email. “The initiative Seniorensiegel Deutschland is fully independent. We pursue no political objectives. The Transparent Company seal is new, so President Obama is the first person who receives the ‘Transparency Award for Exceptional Merits.’ We would like to inform you before the presentation.”

Read moreNOT The Onion: Obama Wins German Transparency Award

WAR CRIMES – ‘Highway Of Death’

by

In recent news:

– Marine Corps Investigates Photos From Iraq Showing Troops Burning Bodies (CNN, Jan 16, 2014)

Ramsey Clark served as U.S. Attorney General in the administration of Lyndon Johnson. He is the convener of the Commission of Inquiry and a human rights lawyer of world-wide respect. This report was given in New York, May 11, 1991.

War Crimes-torched

– WAR CRIMES – A Report on United States War Crimes Against Iraq to the Commission of Inquiry for the International War Crimes Tribunal:

by Ramsey Clark and Others

Incinerated body of an Iraqi soldier on the “Highway of Death,” a name the press has given to the road from Mutlaa, Kuwait, to Basra, Iraq. U.S. planes immobilized the convoy by disabling vehicles at its front and rear, then bombing and straffing the resulting traffic jam for hours. More than 2,000 vehicles and tens of thousands of charred and dismembered bodies littered the sixty miles of highway. The clear rapid incineration of the human being [pictured above] suggests the use of napalm, phosphorus, or other incindiary bombs. These are anti-personnel weapons outlawed under the 1977 Geneva Protocols. This massive attack occurred after Saddam Hussein announced a complete troop withdrawl from Kuwait in compliance with UN Resolution 660. Such a massacre of withdrawing Iraqi soldiers violates the Geneva Convention of 1949, common article 3, which outlaws the killing of soldiers who “are out of combat.” There are, in addition, strong indications that many of those killed were Palestinian and Kuwaiti civilians trying to escape the impending seige of Kuwait City and the return of Kuwaiti armed forces. No attempt was made by U.S. military command to distinguish between military personnel and civilians on the “highway of death.” The whole intent of international law with regard to war is to prevent just this sort of indescriminate and excessive use of force.

“It has never happened in history that a nation that has won a war has been held accountable for atrocities committed in preparing for and waging that war. We intend to make this one different. What took place was the use of technological material to destroy a defenseless country. From 125,000 to 300,000 people were killed… We recognize our role in history is to bring the transgressors to justice.”Ramsey Clark

Preface

Read moreWAR CRIMES – ‘Highway Of Death’

Michelle Obama Accused Of Spending $10 Million Of Taxpayers’ Money On Her Vacations

by

Flashback.

– Expensive massages, top shelf vodka and five-star hotels: First Lady accused of spending $10m in public money on her vacations (Daily Mail):

The Obamas’ summer break on Martha’s Vineyard has already been branded a PR disaster after the couple arrived four hours apart on separate government jets.

But according to new reports, this is the least of their extravagances.

White House sources today claimed that the First Lady has spent $10million of U.S. taxpayers’ money on vacations alone in the past year.

Branding her ‘disgusting’ and ‘a vacation junkie’, they say the 47-year-old mother-of-two has been indulging in five-star hotels, where she splashes out on expensive massages and alcohol.

Computer Security Expert Claims He Hacked ObamaCare Website In 4 Minutes (Video)

by

– Computer Security Expert Claims he Hacked the ObamaCare Website in 4 Minutes (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Jan 20, 2014):

The hits just keep on coming for ObamaCare. It was less than two weeks ago that I highlighted the potential premium rate death spiral that ObamaCare faces due to the fact that only old and sick people are signing up for the program. Now it seems there are further security related concerns plaguing the site, as cyber-security expert David Kennedy recently claimed that “gaining access to 70,000 personal records of Obamacare enrollees via HealthCare.gov took about 4 minutes.”

It’s actually hard to be this incompetent if you tried.

More from the Washington Times:

Read moreComputer Security Expert Claims He Hacked ObamaCare Website In 4 Minutes (Video)

Absolute Proof That EU’s Barroso Is A Liar

by

– The Chart That Shows Why EU’s Barroso Is A Liar (ZeroHedge, Jan 19, 2014):

Despite record levels of unemployment across Europe (most specifically among the youth), record high (and surging) levels of loan delinquencies, and collapsing credit creation, the leaders of the EU continue to peddle their own brand of dis-information and willful blindness. While UKIP’s Nigel Farage tongue-lashings are normally enough, EU’s Barroso this morning unleashed the following:

  • *EU’S BARROSO SAYS ECONOMIC GROWTH ‘SLOWLY RETURNING’
  • *EU’S BARROSO SAYS EU AT TURNING POINT IN CRISIS

However, as the following chart of earnings estimated for European firms shows, there is absolutely none, zero, nada sign on a ‘turning point’ and, as we have noted previously, unless the EUR weakens significantly, Europe will rapidly dip back into re-re-recession once again.

Read moreAbsolute Proof That EU’s Barroso Is A Liar

Protest Over Police Acquittal In Homeless Beating Case Turns Violent

by

– Protest over police acquittal in homeless beating case turns violent (Al Jazeera, Jan 19, 2014):

A protest over the acquittal of two former California police officers in the beating death of a homeless man turned violent Saturday, with 13 arrests and the assault of a TV camerawoman, police said.

The protest against Monday’s acquittal of two former Fullerton officers in the 2011 death of Kelly Thomas drew about 200 people, police Sgt. Jeff Stuart said.

He said most of the protesters were peaceful, but some took over intersections, blocked streets and vandalized business.

Read moreProtest Over Police Acquittal In Homeless Beating Case Turns Violent

Governor Chris Christie Appointee: Give Me Immunity, I Have ‘Story To Tell’

by

Former Port Authority executive David Wildstein takes the oath before an Assembly panel
Former Port Authority executive David Wildstein takes the oath before an Assembly panel. (Photo: NorthJersey.com/TYSON TRISH/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)David Wildstein, the Port Authority official appointed by New

– Christie Appointee: Give Me Immunity, I Have “Story to Tell” (Common Dreams, Jan 19, 2014):

Man at center for bridge scandal says “he’ll talk” if prosecution taken off the table

Jersey Gov. Chris Chistie and a man at the heart of the bridge lane closure scandal that has garnered national media attention, says that he “has a story to tell” if authorities are willing to give him immunity against prosecution.

As twenty subpoenas went out to high-level Christie staff members and others on Friday, Wildstein’s lawyer has said his client is willing to reveal more details regarding his role and what he knows about why Christie’s deputy chief of staff at the time, Bridget Kelly, wrote an email to him saying “Time for some traffic problems in Ft. Lee” just weeks before a series of unusual lane closures shut down the town’s access to the George Washington Bridge into New York.

As the North Jersey Record reports:

Read moreGovernor Chris Christie Appointee: Give Me Immunity, I Have ‘Story To Tell’

Obama Speech On NSA Spying: “A Nothing Burger Served Hot And With A Sympathetic Smile”

by

Obama-Master
Artwork by Anthony Freda

– Obama Speech On NSA Spying: “A Nothing Burger Served Hot And With A Sympathetic Smile” (ZeroHedge, Jan 17, 2014):

President Obama did exactly what the American people predicted: made a pretty speech, but failed to rein in NSA spying.

CNN correctly notes:

Read moreObama Speech On NSA Spying: “A Nothing Burger Served Hot And With A Sympathetic Smile”

How Erik Prince, Founder Of Blackwater, Will Help China Subjugate Africa

by

– How Erik Prince, Founder Of Blackwater, Will Help China Subjugate Africa (ZeroHedge, Jan 18, 2014):

As we previously explained numerous times (here originally and here most recently) Africa is a crucial region in the world…

As Western economies start to regress in earnest following decades of failed and destructive monetary inflation and debt accumulation, as we warned previously, yield-starved investors are allocating real capital to the one industrially untapped continent in the world: Africa. However, we’re not seeing industry moving to Africa to set up shop. Rather, politically-directed capital flowing into the African resources sector is fueling and financing the strongest consumer boom in the world. It’s a vendor financing model for Asia, and it portends a major boom and bust cycle for the African continental economy.

And as the fight begins to accelerate, as Mike Krieger notes, nations will increase their efforts…

Africa-1

 – How Erik Prince, Founder Of Blackwater, Will Help China Subjugate Africa (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Jan 15, 2014):

China’s ongoing colonization of Africa represents yet another sad development in the continent’s tragic history. I briefly highlighted this topic once before in December 2012, via a “Guest Post” I suggest reading titled: Africa in the Crosshairs.

Unfortunately, Erik Prince of Blackwater infamy is now coming to town, which can only mean more pain, suffering and servitude for Africa.

From the South China Morning Post:

Read moreHow Erik Prince, Founder Of Blackwater, Will Help China Subjugate Africa

Hillary Clinton Pushed For US ‘Green Light’ For Israeli Attack On Iran

by

– Hillary Clinton pushed for US ‘green light’ for Israeli attack on Iran (PressTV, Jan 17, 2014):

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pushed for Washington’s “green light” for a unilateral Israeli strike against Iran, according to a report.

She raised the possibility during a White House meeting in 2010 when the US was concerned that Israel might attack Iran’s nuclear energy program, two former officials revealed to the Time magazine.

Read moreHillary Clinton Pushed For US ‘Green Light’ For Israeli Attack On Iran

Vladimir Putin: Gay People At Winter Olympics Must ‘Leave Children Alone’

by

– Vladimir Putin: gay people at Winter Olympics must ‘leave children alone’ (Guardian, Jan 17, 2014):

Russian president vows no discrimination but says gay people must observe law banning ‘homosexual propaganda’

Vladimir Putin has said that gay people will be not be subjected to harassment at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, as long as they stay away from children.

Putin is currently in Sochi reviewing preparations for the Games, which begin in three weeks. During a meeting with some of the thousands of volunteers who will work during the Olympics, he was asked why their uniforms were rainbow coloured, given the recent Kremlin anti-gay initiatives.

“We do not have a ban on non-traditional sexual relationships,” said Putin in comments reported by Russian agencies. “We have a ban on the propaganda of homosexuality and paedophilia. I want to underline this. Propaganda among children. These are absolutely different things – a ban on something or a ban on the propaganda of that thing.”

Putin also added that Russia was more liberal than some other countries, claiming that in certain US states homosexuality was still punishable by law.

Read moreVladimir Putin: Gay People At Winter Olympics Must ‘Leave Children Alone’

Who Read 1,582-Page $1.1T Spending Bill? Congressman: ‘Nobody Did’

by

– Who Read 1,582-Page $1.1T Spending Bill? Congressman: ‘Nobody Did’ (CNS News, Jan 16, 2014):

When asked whether he read the 1,528-page,  $1.1 trillion government spending bill before he voted for it yesterday, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) said, “Nobody did!”

On Capitol Hill on Thursday, CNSNews.com asked Blumenauer: “The omnibus bill yesterday, it was 1,582 pages, did you have a chance to read all the pages before voting on it?”

Blumenauer laughed and said: “Nobody did!”

“Nobody did?” said the CNSNews.com reporter.

“Nope,” said Blumenauer.

Read moreWho Read 1,582-Page $1.1T Spending Bill? Congressman: ‘Nobody Did’

Marine Corps Investigates Photos From Iraq Showing Troops Burning Bodies

by

– Marines investigate photos from Iraq that reportedly show troops burning bodies (CNN, Jan 16, 2014):

The Marine Corps is working to determine the authenticity of photos published by TMZ.com that purport to show Marines burning the bodies of what appear to be Iraqi insurgents.

The celebrity and gossip website said it has 41 photographs believed shot in Falluja in 2004. It published eight on Wednesday, saying the rest of the images were too graphic.

“The actions depicted in these photos are not what we expect from our service members, nor do they represent the honorable and professional service of the more than 2.5 million Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan,” the Defense Department said.

Read moreMarine Corps Investigates Photos From Iraq Showing Troops Burning Bodies

Glenn Greenwald: Obama’s NSA ‘Reforms’ Are Little More Than A PR Attempt To Mollify The Public

by

– Obama’s NSA ‘reforms’ are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public (Guardian, Jan 17, 2014):

Obama is draping the banner of change over the NSA status quo. Bulk surveillance that caused such outrage will remain in place

In response to political scandal and public outrage, official Washington repeatedly uses the same well-worn tactic. It is the one that has been hauled out over decades in response to many of America’s most significant political scandals. Predictably, it is the same one that shaped President Obama’s much-heralded Friday speech to announce his proposals for “reforming” the National Security Agency in the wake of seven months of intense worldwide controversy.

The crux of this tactic is that US political leaders pretend to validate and even channel public anger by acknowledging that there are “serious questions that have been raised”. They vow changes to fix the system and ensure these problems never happen again. And they then set out, with their actions, to do exactly the opposite: to make the system prettier and more politically palatable with empty, cosmetic “reforms” so as to placate public anger while leaving the system fundamentally unchanged, even more immune than before to serious challenge.

Read moreGlenn Greenwald: Obama’s NSA ‘Reforms’ Are Little More Than A PR Attempt To Mollify The Public

Mexican Vigilantes Battle Drug Cartel For Control Of A City, Disarm Police (Must-See Photos)

by

– Insane Photos Show Mexican Vigilantes Battling A Drug Cartel For Control Of A City (Business Insider, Jan 11, 2014):

Mexico has long suffered blistering violence and crime at the hands of its homegrown drug cartels.

Though the Mexican government has waged war on the cartels, the effort has struggled to go anywhere. More than 90,000 people have died in the ongoing conflict.

Fed up with a corrupt police force that is often in bed with the cartels and a military that has to this point been ineffective, some Mexicans have taken it upon themselves to fight the cartels and protect their families — with an incredible conflict happening this week in the city of Paracuaro.

Below are some pictures from what’s happening south of the border:

Over the last year, vigilante groups, known as fuerzas autodefensas have sprung up all over Mexico, particularly in the southwestern state of Michoacan, an area plagued by the Knights Templar cartel.

…

Mexican Vigilantes Battling A Drug Cartel For Control Of A City
On Monday, hundreds of vigilantes stormed Paracuaro, Michoacan, where the Knights Templar had set up their headquarters, in order to seize the town back from the cartel. Below is the entrance, where vigilantes erected a checkpoint.
…

Hitler’s Economics & Why You Should Know A Thing Or Two About Them

by

“Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power.”
– Benito Mussolini

American-Fascism

– Hitler’s Economics & Why You Should Know A Thing Or Two About Them (Mises Economics Blog, Jan 16, 2014):

Hjalmar Schacht was Hitler’s economic guy. According to Wikipedia, Schacht: ”became a supporter of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, and served in Hitler’s government as President of the Reichsbank and Minister of Economics. As such, Schacht played a key role in implementing the policies attributed to Hitler.”

Now, we all know what happened to Hitler. But what about Schacht?

Read moreHitler’s Economics & Why You Should Know A Thing Or Two About Them