Politics

Putin Warns Against ‘Illegal’ Military Action In Syria, Bypassing U.N. Security Council (Video)

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YouTube Added: 04.09.2013

– Putin warns against ‘illegal’ military action in Syria, bypassing UNSC (RT, Sep 4, 2013):

Russia needs convincing proof, not rumors, from UN experts that chemical weapons were used in Syria, said the Russian president in an interview with First Channel and AP. It is up to the UN Security Council to decide on the next course of action, he said.

Speaking to journalists from Russia’s state Channel 1 television and Associated Press, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a number of decisive statements regarding the supposed use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict, which evoked a threat of a US-led strike on Syria.

“We believe that at the very least we should wait for the results of the UN inspection commission in Syria,” Putin said, adding that so far there is no information about what chemical agent exactly was used in the attack in Damascus’ suburbs and who did it.

“I’ve already said I find it absolutely ridiculous that [Syrian] government’s armed forces, which today are actually on an offense mission and in some regions have already encircled the so-called rebels and are finishing them off, that the Syrian army has used prohibited chemical weapons,” Putin said.

“They know all too well that this could become a cause for sanctions and even for a military operation against them. That’s stupid and illogical.”

“We proceed from the assumption that if anyone has information that chemical weapons were used by the Syrian regular army, then such proof must be presented to the UN Security Council and the UN inspectors,” Putin said, stressing that the proof must be “convincing” and not based on “rumors” or any sort of “eavesdropped intelligence data,” conversations etc.

“Even in the US there are experts who question the reliability of the facts presented by the administration. These experts do not exclude the possibility that the Syrian opposition has conducted a pre-planned provocation in order to give their sponsors a reason for military intervention,” he acknowledged.

Putin later leveled criticism at US Secretary of State John Kerry as he spoke to human rights activists on Wednesday, saying Kerry “lied” by claiming there was no Al-Qaeda militants fighting in Syria and that the military strike against President Assad will not boost the terrorist network’s presence in the region.

“They lie, plainly. I watched the Congressional debate. A congressman asked Mr. Kerry: “Is there any Al-Qaeda [in Syria]? There are reports they have been growing stronger.” He [Kerry] replied: “No. I say with all responsibility: there is no [Al-Qaeda] there,” Putin explained.

Read morePutin Warns Against ‘Illegal’ Military Action In Syria, Bypassing U.N. Security Council (Video)

Syria Strikes: Senate Committee Approves Resolution In Boost For Obama Regime

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– Syria strikes: Senate committee approves resolution in boost for Obama (Telegraph, Sep 4, 2013):

Senate foreign relations committee votes 10-7 in favour, paving way for full vote on Senate floor early next week

Barack Obama’s plan to launch punitive strikes against the regime of Bashar al-Assad received a boost on Wednesday when the Senate foreign relations committee voted in favour of military authorisation.

The influential committee voted by 10 votes to seven in favour of granting the formal military authorisation requested by Barack Obama, paving the way for a full vote on the floor of the Senate early next week in response to alleged chemical weapons use in Syria.

Read moreSyria Strikes: Senate Committee Approves Resolution In Boost For Obama Regime

U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Approves Plan To Strike Syria

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– Senate Foreign Relations Committee approves plan to strike Syria (RT, Sep 4, 2013):

The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted on Wednesday to approve President Barack Obama’s plan to strike Syria in retaliation for the reported use of chemical weapons by leader Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

A committee vote on Wednesday afternoon ended with the advancement of a bill compelling the US military responds to Assad’s regime, and will next go to the full Senate for debate.

The committee voted 10-to-7 in favor of using military force, with one lawmakers voting only “present.”

Should Congress move to approve the president’s request, the US could soon initiate a limited strike on Syria that is meant to reprimand Assad for his alleged use of chemical weapons on August 21 outside the city of Damascus. The Obama administration says more than 1,400 people, including hundreds of women and children, were killed in that assault.

Read moreU.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Approves Plan To Strike Syria

U.S. Army Veteran Emily Yates Attacked & Illegally Arrested By Police During Syria Protest (Video)

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The Arrest Below is Illegal (confirmed) and the Police are Criminals



– Veteran Attacked By Police During Syria Protest (Veterans Today, Sep 2, 2013):

The video below, when described as “police state behavior” meets that criteria.  If any readers have the names and home addresses of any of the police involved, please put them in the comment section.

We believe these officers and their families need to be under public scrutiny for participation in criminal activities and living off the earnings of criminal enterprises.

Where was the NRA?

Where was the Tea Party?

Where was the American Legion?

John McCain Caught Playing Poker On His iPhone During Syria Senate Hearing – His Incredible Tweets On Libya And Syria From 2009 And 2011

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Flashback:

– McCain Issues Top Ten Funniest Ways to Kill Iranians

Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran

Update:

– Incredible Tweets from John McCain on Libya and Syria from 2009 and 2011 (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Sep 4, 2013):

Earlier today I called John McCain a weapon of mass destruction on Twitter. Little did I know that just moments later he would be caught playing a game of poker on his iPhone during the Senate’s hearing on launching missiles at Syria.

Nevertheless, none of this should surprise us, as John McCain has shown signs of severe dementia for quite some time now. Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane and examine some of his tweets from years past.

First from 2009:

Now let’s fast forward to 2011:

 

Quite interesting that he made that comment two years before the chemical attack that we supposedly must respond to militarily.

Now finally, here is the man in 2013, during the Senate hearing on the starting of World War III.

*Photo above from the Washington Post.

Somebody please tell me why this man has a say in anything we do as a nation.

In Liberty,
Mike

AIPAC Comes Out For Strike On Syria – And Mentions Iran More Often Than Syria

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– AIPAC comes out for strike on Syria– and mentions Iran more often than Syria (Mondoweiss, Sep 3, 2013):

As NJ Senator Robert Menendez said at the Kerry hearing today in the Senate, Syria is about Iran. And it is for AIPAC too. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee broke its silence today, urging a vote for the Syrian strike.

AIPAC was lying low. That was what everyone said. So: Who called AIPAC? And: why does Obama need AIPAC? Could it be because AIPAC can get 70 Senators’ signatures on a napkin in 24 hours?

Read moreAIPAC Comes Out For Strike On Syria – And Mentions Iran More Often Than Syria

New York Times Scraps AIPAC From Syria Story (Politico)

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– N.Y. Times scraps AIPAC from Syria story (Politico, Sep 3, 2013):

A reference to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC was mysteriously cut from a New York Times article published online Monday and in print Tuesday. The first version, published online Monday, quotes an anonymous administration official calling AIPAC the “800-pound gorilla in the room.” The original article, which is still available on The Boston Globe’s site, had two paragraphs worth of quotes from officials about the powerful lobbying group’s position in the Syria debate:

Administration officials said the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee was already at work pressing for military action against the government of Assad, fearing that if Syria escapes American retribution for its use of chemical weapons, Iran might be emboldened in the future to attack Israel. In the House, the majority leader, Eric Cantor of Virginia, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, has long worked to challenge Democrats’ traditional base among Jews.

One administration official, who, like others, declined to be identified discussing White House strategy, called AIPAC “the 800-pound gorilla in the room,” and said its allies in Congress had to be saying, “If the White House is not capable of enforcing this red line” against the catastrophic use of chemical weapons, “we’re in trouble.”

The newer version makes no reference to AIPAC and does not include an editor’s note explaining any change, other than a typical note at the end of the story noting that a version of the article appeared in the Tuesday print edition of the Times.

But journalists and media critics took note of the change. Around 5:00 a.m. Tuesday, Bloomberg View columnist Jeffrey Goldberg tweeted, “Unless, I’m mistaken, all references to AIPAC cut from this story.”

Goldberg told POLITICO the missing AIPAC piece is “strange” and suggested that someone from AIPAC or the White House complained.

Read moreNew York Times Scraps AIPAC From Syria Story (Politico)

Obama And Israel (And AIPAC), Together At Last (Bloomberg)

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– Obama and Israel (and AIPAC), Together at Last (Bloomberg, Sep. 3, 2013):

From the Department of Supreme Ironies: President Barack Obama, who seeks to punish an Arab state for violating international norms on the use of weapons of mass destruction, is relying on the hawkish Republican senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, along with AIPAC, the main pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington, to get his message across to Congress.

I have to assume that George W. Bush is laughing today.

Read moreObama And Israel (And AIPAC), Together At Last (Bloomberg)

U.S. Diabolical Design For Syria (Veterans Today)

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– US Diabolical Design For Syria (Veterans Today, Sep 3, 2013):

Politically entrenched in a self-made predicament, US President Barack Obama is going through tough times these days regarding Syria.

Those whom he thought would unconditionally support him in launching an invasion of Syria and ridding the West of Bashar al-Assad and installing a West-friendly puppet in the country have turned their backs on him. The President has now no choice but to wait for the formal report the UN would release on Monday to expose the real culprit behind the use of chemical weapons in Syria which reportedly killed 1500 people, among them, women and children.

Read moreU.S. Diabolical Design For Syria (Veterans Today)

In War, Truth Is The First Casualty – “We Didn’t Know They Were Chemical Weapons”

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– “We Didn’t Know They Were Chemical Weapons” (Veterans Today, Sep 3, 2013):

In War, Truth is the First Casualty

By Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall

Everyone, even Obama, knows Assad would have to be psychotic to launch a chemicals weapons attack with UN inspectors only miles a way.

The whole world knows the CIA has been training rebel fighters (it’s not a secret when you read it in the Wall Street Journal) and coordinating arms shipments from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The whole world knows that Obama’s claim about Assad deliberately gassing innocent civilians is just a pretext. This time they know the President is following a decade-old Pentagon strategy to bring the Middle East and North Africa under US military control.

The countries General Wesley Clark identified back in 2007 were Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran. The British parliament knows all this, which is why they voted not to participate in illegal military aggression against Syria.

Read moreIn War, Truth Is The First Casualty – “We Didn’t Know They Were Chemical Weapons”

‘The Greatest Threat Humanity Has Ever Faced’: Fukushima Reactor No. 4 SFP ‘An Immediate Problem’ – Building Is Sinking, Over 30 Inches In Places

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From the article:

The leakage of water from these cores is bad enough but the most dangerous thing is the cooling pool of unit 4. Now it is terribly dangerous because the entire hot core of reactor 4 had been removed and put in this cooling pool shortly before the tsunami. So, there was a hot core in this cooling pool the entire superstructure building was blown off in a hydrogen explosion.

The entire area is weakened and there is a great risk of an aftershock. Now this pool contains something on the order of 400.000 kg of hot plutonium. So, the thing that people should be aware of is that TEPCO is going to begin attempting to remove these rods from this pool to some other type of storage. This has never been done with plutonium rods that have been out of a core for such a short period of time.

There is a great danger of a thermonuclear reaction if these rods become exposed to the air and the cooling pool itself is just barely containing the temperature levels of the core as it is.

…

The media coverage of the situation has been almost non-existent. The public must become engaged and the governments must become engaged because this is a global threat. They say that one microgram of plutonium could theoretically kill a person.

There are billion micrograms in a kilogram and there are 400.000 hot kilograms in this pool. So, if these rods combust, if the set of rods begins a thermonuclear reaction, it will vaporize the water in the pool and the entire pool can become an uncontrolled nuclear reaction open to the air. These particles will be spread through the northern hemisphere.

This is perhaps the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. And I think you would acknowledge there has been far too little attention given to this at this point and the measures that the Japanese government is discussing at this point are not sufficient, I believe. Other governments must become engaged in this.

– Professor: Fukushima Unit No. 4 “an immediate problem” — Building is sinking, over 30 inches in places (ENENews, Sep 3, 2013):

Title: Japanese government turns on TEPCO after latest Fukushima failures
Source: ABC Radio Australia
Date: September 3, 2013

At 1:30 in

Sen Lam, ABC Radio Australia: Professor Tanter, it’s been over two years since the disaster, and of course the situation as we’ve just found out is far from stable. In layman terms, what do you think is the biggest technical challenge facing the ruined nuclear plant to make it safe again?

Richard Tanter, expert on nuclear power issues and professor of international relations at the University of Melbourne: Well, the first one, and the most immediate one, is the news that the Reactor Unit 4, the one which has a very large amount of stored fuel in its fuel storage pool, that is sinking. According to former prime Minister Kan Naoto, that has sunk some 31 inches in places and it’s not uneven. This is really not surprising given what’s happened in terms of pumping of water, the aftermath of the earthquake and the tsunami, the continuing infusions of water into the groundwater area. This is an immediate problem, and if it is not resolved there is an extraordinary possibility we really could be back at March 2011 again because of the possibility of a fission accident in that spent fuel pond in Unit No. 4.

Full broadcast here

– Fukushima radioactive leak is ‘the greatest threat humanity ever faced’ – expert (Voice of Russia, Sep 2, 2013):

Japan’s nuclear regulator has raised safety concerns about the hastily built storage tanks at Fukushima’s NPP after seeing signs of more radiation-contaminated water leaks. David Webb, Chief Executive Officer of Origin Investments AB, talked to the Voice of Russia about his opinion on the latest measures that are being taken to prevent further leaks and about the effectiveness of international help.

Russia Sends Spy Ship To Syria Coast

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– Russia sends spy ship to Syria coast: report (AFP, Sep 2, 2013):

Russia has sent a reconnaissance vessel from its Black Sea fleet to the coast off Syria, a report said Monday, as Moscow anxiously watches Western plans for military action against the Damascus regime, a report said Monday.

The SSV-201 intelligence ship Priazovye on Sunday evening started its voyage from its home port of Sevastopol in Ukraine “to the appointed region of military service in the eastern Mediterranean,” a military source told the Interfax news agency.

Read moreRussia Sends Spy Ship To Syria Coast

CIA-Armed And Trained Syrian Rebels ‘On Way To Battlefield’

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– CIA-Armed And Trained Syrian Rebels “On Way To Battlefield” (ZeroHedge, Sep 3, 2013):

It seems that the reason why Obama has been such a staunch supporter of a Syrian campaign without a land component, is because US-armed and trained Qatari mercenaries, also known elsewhere in the media as “rebels”, are about to take to the battlefield (ignoring for a moment prior reports that American, Israeli and other troops have already long operated on Syrian territory). The Telegraph reports that “the first cell of Syrian rebels trained and armed by the CIA is making its way to the battlefield, President Barack Obama has reportedly told senators. During a meeting at the White House, the president assured Senator John McCain that after months of delay the US was meeting its commitment to back moderate elements of the opposition. Mr Obama said that a 50-man cell, believed to have been trained by US special forces in Jordan.”

Read moreCIA-Armed And Trained Syrian Rebels ‘On Way To Battlefield’

Russia Sends Two Marine-Carrying Ships To The Mediterranean

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– Russia Sends Two Marine-Carrying Ships To The Mediterranean (ZeroHedge, Sep 3, 2013): 

If the direct result of today’s surprising and unannounced Israeli missile test was to provoke a response by Russia, the Allies have succeeded. ITAR TASS reports that Russia’s Black and Baltic Sea Fleets’ Ropucha-class landing ships Novocherkassk (150 marines on board) and Minsk (225 marines) have sailed off for the Mediterranean Sea. What was not reported is that the destination of the two marine carrying ships is the sensitive area around Syria already staked out by the US navy. It is implied.

Read moreRussia Sends Two Marine-Carrying Ships To The Mediterranean

Former UK Ambassador Craig Murray: The Troodos Conundrum – John Kerry’s Mossad Fabricated ‘Evidence’ Is The Shabbiest Of Tricks

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And here’s a reminder on how humane our government really is:

Flashback (MUST-READ!):

– Former UK ambassador Craig Murray: CIA sent people to Uzbekistan for extreme torture, to be ‘raped with broken bottles,’ ‘boiled alive’ and ‘having their children tortured in front of them’ (The Raw Story)

– The Troodos Conundrum (Craig Murray, Aug 31, 2013):

The GCHQ listening post on Mount Troodos in Cyprus is arguably the most valued asset which the UK contributes to UK/US intelligence cooperation.  The communications intercept agencies, GCHQ in the UK and NSA in the US, share all their intelligence reports (as do the CIA and MI6).  Troodos is valued enormously by the NSA.  It monitors all radio, satellite and microwave traffic across the Middle East, ranging from Egypt and Eastern Libya right through to the Caucasus.  Even almost all landline telephone communication in this region is routed through microwave links at some stage, picked up on Troodos.Troodos is highly effective – the jewel in the crown of British intelligence.  Its capacity and efficiency, as well as its reach, is staggering.  The US do not have their own comparable facility for the Middle East.  I should state that I have actually been inside all of this facility and been fully briefed on its operations and capabilities, while I was head of the FCO Cyprus Section in the early 1990s.  This is fact, not speculation.

It is therefore very strange, to say the least, that John Kerry claims to have access to communications intercepts of Syrian military and officials organising chemical weapons attacks, which intercepts were not available to the British Joint Intelligence Committee.

Read moreFormer UK Ambassador Craig Murray: The Troodos Conundrum – John Kerry’s Mossad Fabricated ‘Evidence’ Is The Shabbiest Of Tricks

Reddit Moderator Pushed For RT Ban ‘Simply Because It’s Kremlin’

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Screenshot from Reddit.com

– Reddit moderator pushed for RT ban ‘simply because it’s Kremlin’ (RT, Sep 1, 2013):

The reason RT.com was banned on Reddit’s /r/news section may not be spam or vote manipulation, as was stated officially, but “simply because it’s Kremlin.” This was revealed by a user from his discussion with one of the subreddit’s moderators.

RT.com was banned from /r/news this Thursday on accusations of “spam and vote manipulation”, with no evidence of the violations being presented by the moderators, who said that this information was only for “internal” use.

The move caused uproar among the reddit users as the drama was then taken to another subforum, /r/worldnews, where several things were eventually revealed.

Read moreReddit Moderator Pushed For RT Ban ‘Simply Because It’s Kremlin’

US-Brazil Tensions Rise After New Snowden NSA Spy Report

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– US-Brazil tensions rise after new NSA spy report (AP, Sep 2, 2013):

RIO DE JANEIRO  — The Brazilian government condemned a U.S. spy program that reportedly targeted the nation’s leader, labeled it an “unacceptable invasion” of sovereignty and called Monday for international regulations to protect citizens and governments alike from cyber espionage.

In a sign that fallout over the spy program is spreading, the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported that President Dilma Rousseff is considering canceling her October trip to the U.S., where she has been scheduled to be honored with a state dinner. Folha cited unidentified Rousseff aides. The president’s office declined to comment.

The Foreign Ministry called in U.S. Ambassador Thomas Shannon and told him Brazil expects the White House to provide a prompt written explanation over the espionage allegations.

Read moreUS-Brazil Tensions Rise After New Snowden NSA Spy Report

USS Nimitz Aircraft Carrier Group Rerouted To Help U.S. Strike On Syria, If Needed

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Guided Missile Destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) sails alongside the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (AFP Photo / US NAVY / Andrea Decanini)

– USS Nimitz aircraft carrier group rerouted to help US strike on Syria, if needed – report (RT, Updated Sep 3, 2013):

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz along with four destroyers and a cruiser have been ordered to move west in the Arabian Sea toward the Red Sea, so that it can help support a US strike on Syria if requested, a US official told Reuters.

“It’s about leveraging the assets to have them in place should the capabilities of the carrier strike group and the presence be needed,” the official told Reuters, adding that it was not clear when the ships would enter the Red Sea.

According to a US defense official, the USS Nimitz entered the Red Sea around 6 am EDT. The strike group has not received any orders to move into the Mediterranean, the official said.

The Nimitz carrier group was supporting the US war in Afghanistan and was due to return to its home port in Everett, Washington, after being released from duty by the USS Harry S. Truman strike group.

Read moreUSS Nimitz Aircraft Carrier Group Rerouted To Help U.S. Strike On Syria, If Needed

U.N. Report: China Urban Migrants’ Cost Seen At Least $6.8 TRILLION

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– China Urban Migrants’ Cost Seen at Least $6.8 Trillion: Economy (Bloomberg,Aug 28, 2013):

China must spend at least 41.6 trillion yuan ($6.8 trillion) over two decades to integrate rural workers living in cities and towns so the country realizes benefits of urbanization, a United Nations report said.

Spending may exceed 75 trillion yuan in a scenario with a higher rate of investment to improve living conditions and housing quality, according to the report released yesterday in Beijing. The study’s baseline assumptions are for the urban population to rise to 976 million in 2030 from 666 million in 2010 and integrate about 210 million migrant workers.

Read moreU.N. Report: China Urban Migrants’ Cost Seen At Least $6.8 TRILLION

Russia Warns Citizens Against Visiting Countries That Extradite To The U.S.

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– Russia warns citizens against visiting countries that extradite to the US (RT, Sep 2, 2013):

With Russian citizens being arrested abroad and being subsequently extradited to the United States become more frequent, the Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a warning advising travelers to carefully choose their destinations.

“The incidents in which Russian citizens are detained in various countries of the world upon request of US law enforcers who seek to extradite and prosecute them in the United States has increased. The last such cases were the arrests of Dmitry Ustinov in Lithuania, Dmitry Belorossov in Spain Maksim Chukhrayev in Costa Rica and Aleksander Panin in the Dominican Republic,” reads the press statement on the Foreign Ministry’s web-site.

Read moreRussia Warns Citizens Against Visiting Countries That Extradite To The U.S.

Japan Government To Spend Almost $500 MILLION In Attempt To Contain Fukushima Leaks

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H/t reader M.G.:

“Guess what? TEPCO going to spend half a billion to clean up the water. Doesn’t say how, if it has been done before, or anything like that……they want the Olympics.
Unbelievable that none of the executives of TEPCO have faced any charges for this world disaster……..”

Related info:

– TEPCO Admits Deliberately Using Radiation Detectors That Give Deceptively Low Readings; Radiation Leaks Far Worse Than Reported

– Silent Death, The Horror Scenario That Now Awaits The Entire Planet

– Fukushima: Radiation Levels Skyrocket, Up Nearly 2,000% – NHK: Quadrillions Of Becquerels Already Released

– Simulation By German Marine Research Institute: ENTIRE Pacific Waters To Be Radioactive In Just 6 Years

– Fukushima: Multiple Leaks, Radiation Soars To 1.8 SIEVERTS PER HOUR, Totally Out Of Control

– Japan earmarks £300m+ for Fukushima cleanup (Guardian, Sep 3, 2013):

Tokyo unveils measures to decontaminate toxic water at nuclear power plant as Tepco struggles to prevent leaks into Pacific

Japan’s government is to spend almost $500m (£320m) in an attempt to contain leaks and decontaminate highly toxic water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The measures, announced on Tuesday, come as the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), struggles to prevent leaks into the Pacific Ocean and to find a way to contain and treat the huge volume of water that has accumulated at the site since it was hit by a tsunami in March 2011.

The decision is widely seen as a safety appeal just days before the International Olympic Committee chooses between Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid on which city will host the 2020 Olympics.

Read moreJapan Government To Spend Almost $500 MILLION In Attempt To Contain Fukushima Leaks

US Drug Agency Partners With AT&T For Access To ‘Vast Database’ Of Call Records

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H/t reader M.G.:

“On another topic….NSA information available to DEA. Many DEA officers are criminals working for the DEA to turn their friends in. In return, they walk free, and continue their lives of crime. Nothing can be done to stop them.
The DEA has some of the worst criminals in the nation, now they have access to NSA spying records. Can you imagine the blackmail schemes and extortion that can come out of that information?
Check it out. From the UK Guardian (of course), nothing this truthful will be found on US news sites, except your’s and one or two others who are brave enough to stick with the truth…………maybe Democracynow.org, or Mother Jones.”

Related info:

– The Hemisphere Project (f/k/a Hudson Hawk): The Latest Spy Scandal Involving 4 Billion Recorded Phone Calls Per Day:

As the NYT reports, every call that crosses through an AT&T switch, not just calls made by AT&T customers which means virtually every US phone call, is recorded in a formerly top secret AT&T database that has existed since 1987 and whose “scale and longevity of data storage appears to be unmatched by other government programs, including the N.S.A.’s gathering of phone call logs under the Patriot Act.”

It is a database which adds 4 billion call records every single day and which unlike the N.S.A.’s also includes information on the location of callers.

In other words, before the NSA was recording every phone call, that task was being handled by another entity: AT&T. The cover back then, just like the Patriot Act is the cover for the continuation of the NSA’s espionage operation against America’s own people, so Hemisphere was in collaboration with counternarcotics agents and federal and local drug officials. And of course, just like with the NSA and its utmost secrecy, there is no way to monitor and observe what if any checks on the violation of privacy rights exists.


AT&T database includes every phone call which passes through the carrier’s infrastructure – not just those made by company’s own customers. Photograph: AFP

– US drug agency partners with AT&T for access to ‘vast database’ of call records (Guardian, Sep 2, 2013):

Hemisphere project, revealed by NYT, has AT&T employees sit alongside drug units to aid access to data in exchange for payment

US law enforcement officers working on anti-drugs operations have had access to a vast database of call records dating back to 1987, supplied by the phone company AT&T, the New York Times has revealed.

The project, known as Hemisphere, gives federal and local officers working on drug cases access to a database of phone metadata populated by more than four billion new call records each day.

Read moreUS Drug Agency Partners With AT&T For Access To ‘Vast Database’ Of Call Records

U.S. Wants Extended Access To Military Bases & Increased Military Presence In The Philippines

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– Hagel urges Philippines for extended access to military base (PressTV, Aug 31, 2013):

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Friday asked the Philippines for more access to the country’s military bases for another twenty years as the two sides discuss a wider American military footprint in Asia.

The request for increased military presence is part of President Barack Obama‘s strategic “pivot” to Asia, a policy that calls for a stronger US military alliances and more troop presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Read moreU.S. Wants Extended Access To Military Bases & Increased Military Presence In The Philippines

Syrian Electronic Army Hacks ‘Marines.com’; Calls Them ‘Brothers’ In Arms And Obama A ‘Traitor’

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– Syrian Electronic Army Hacks “Marines.com”; Calls Them “Brothers” In Arms (ZeroHedge, Sep 2, 2013):

Following President Obama’s decision to pass the blame buck to Congress (and its oh-so-great track record of making decisions), the Syrian Electronic Army has struck again. This time right at the heart of the matter – defacing the “Marines.com” website. As The Independent reports, the US Marines received a message calling for support from their “brothers, the Syrian army soldiers” – in the form of a web attack changing the homepage of the official Marines recruitment site to a page entitled ““Hacked by SEA.” The message also stated, “Obama is a traitor who wants to put your lives in danger to rescue al-Qaida insurgents,” which seems to fit with many of their perspectives as we have noted previously.

Full text and screenshot below…

Full text:

“This is a message written by your brothers in the Syrian Army, who have been fighting al-Qaida for the last 3 years. We understand your patriotism and love for your country so please understand our love for ours. Obama is a traitor who wants to put your lives in danger to rescue al- Qaida insurgents.

Marines, please take a look at what your comrades think about Obama’s alliance with al-Qaida against Syria. Your officer in charge probably has no qualms about sending you to die against soldiers just like you, fighting a vile common enemy. The Syrian army should be your ally not your enemy.

Read moreSyrian Electronic Army Hacks ‘Marines.com’; Calls Them ‘Brothers’ In Arms And Obama A ‘Traitor’