Friday, February 8, 2013

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."


"It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts ... For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it." Patrick Henry 1736-1799 American attorney, orator, revolutionary.

"The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything. Except what is worth knowing. Journalism, conscious of this, and having tradesman-like habits, supplies their demands." Oscar Wilde 1854-1900 Irish novelist, playwright, poet, short story writer

"The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out...without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable." H.L. Mencken 1880-1956 American journalist, satarist, social critic

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." Bertrand Russel 1872-1970 British philosopher, historian

"The human mind was not designed by evolutionary forces for finding truth. It was designed for finding advantage" Albert Szent-Györgyi














Published on Feb 8, 2013
Important Video: http://youtu.be/_yy3YJBOw_o

Ship Trail Pollution: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD...
Japan Quake Record: http://phys.org/news/2013-02-illumina...
Solar Wind Charge Exchange: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology...
Mysterious Gel/Animal Deaths: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/envi...
Nemo: http://www.weather.com/video/weekend-...
Tsunami Damage: http://www.weather.com/news/australia...  



How to Tell if John Brennan Is Lying


A message to VFP members from Medea Benjamin:
John Brennan's confirmation hearing to become head of the CIA will take place on Thursday, February 7. There is suddenly a flurry of attention around a white paper that lays out the administration's legal justification for killing Americans with drones overseas, and some of the Senators are vowing to ask Brennan "tough questions."
Give your Senators some ideas and ask them to oppose Brennan's confirmation.
Whether or not your Senators are on the Intelligence Committee, they can publicly raise concerns with Brennan. I have a few suggestions, and you can add more of your own.
Just click here to make sure your Senators can't claim they didn't know what needed to be asked.
Please forward this message widely to like-minded friends.
-- Medea Benjamin for Veterans For Peace
Background:
Medea Benjamin: 10 Questions to Ask John Brennan
David Swanson: Justice Department Leaks Memo "Legalizing" Killing Americans
  1. You have claimed that due to the precision of drone strikes, there have been only a handful of civilian casualties. How many civilians deaths have you recorded, and in what countries? What proportion of total casualties do those figures represent? How do you regard the sources such as the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that estimates drone casualties in Pakistan alone range from 2,629-3,461,with as many as 891 reported to be civilians and 176 reported to be children?  Have you reviewed the photographic evidence of death and injury presented by residents of the drone strike areas? If so, what is your response?
     
  2. According to a report in the New York Times, Washington counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants, unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent. Please tell us if this is indeed true, and if so, elaborate on the legal precedent for this categorization. In areas where the US is using drones, fighters do not wear uniforms and regularly intermingle with civilians. How does the CIA distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate targets?
     
  3. In a June 2011 report to Congress, the Obama administration explained that drone attacks did not require congressional approval under the War Powers Resolution because drone attacks did not involve "sustained fighting," "active exchanges of fire," an involvement of US casualties, or a "serious threat" of such casualties. Is it your understanding that the initiation of lethal force overseas does not require congressional approval?
     
  4. If the legal basis for the use of lethal drones is the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), can this authorization be extended to any country through Presidential authority? Are there any geographic limitations on the use of drone strikes? Does the intelligence community have the authority to carry out lethal drone strikes inside the United States? How do you respond to the charge that the US thinks it can send drones anywhere it wants and kill anyone it wants, all on the basis of secret information?
     
  5. Assassination targets are selected using a “disposition matrix.”  Please identify the criteria by which a person’s name is entered into the matrix. News reports have mentioned that teenagers have been included in this list. Is there an age criteria?
     
  6. In Pakistan and perhaps elsewhere, the CIA has been authorized to conduct “signature strikes,” killing people on the basis of suspicious activity. What are the criteria for authorizing a signature strike? Do you think the CIA should continue to have the right to conduct such strikes? Do you think the CIA should be involved in drone strikes at all, or should this program be turned over the military? If you think the CIA should return to its original focus on intelligence gathering, why hasn’t this happened? As Director of the CIA, will you discontinue the CIA’s use of lethal drones?
     
  7. Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, which the US has implicitly invoked to justify strikes, requires that “measures taken by Members in the exercise of [their] right to self-defense . . . be immediately reported to the Security Council.” Please elaborate on why the United States uses Article 51 to justify drone strikes but ignores the clause demanding transparency.
     
  8. The majority of prisoners incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay were found to be innocent and were released. These individuals landed in Guantanamo as victims of mistaken identity or as a result of bounties for their capture. How likely is it that the intelligence that gets a person killed by a drone strike may be as faulty as that which put innocent individuals in Guantanamo?
     
  9. You have stated that there is little evidence drone strikes are causing widespread anti-American sentiment or recruits for extremist groups.  Do you stand by this statement now, as we have seen an expansion of Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, possibly triple the number that existed when the drone strikes began?  Do you have concerns about the “blowback” caused by what General McChrystal has called a “visceral hatred” of U.S. drones?
     
  10. If a civilian is harmed by a drone strike in Afghanistan, the family is entitled to compensation from US authorities. But this is not the case in other countries where the US government is using lethal drones. Why is this the case? Do you think the US government should help people who are innocent victims of our drone strikes and if so, why haven’t you put a program in place to do this?


Jeremy Scahill: Assassinations of U.S. Citizens Largely Ignored at Brennan CIA Hearing





CODEPINK Repeatedly Disrupts Brennan Hearing Calling Out Names Of Civilians Killed in Drone Strikes



"He Was The Agency": Ex-CIA Analyst Questions Brennan Claim He Couldn't Stop Waterboarding, Torture




Published on Feb 8, 2013
Is 'death by drone' justifiable? Or even effective? Is Washington's use of drones legal under international -- and now also national - law? What of the issue of blowback -- is this being taken seriously? And in sending out drones, what other message is the US sending out to the world? CrossTalking with David Swanson and Noel Sharkey.

Follow Peter Lavelle on Twitter http://twitter.com/PLCROSSTALK

Watch all CrossTalk shows here:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=... (Sep 2009 - Feb 2011)
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=... (Mar 2011 - Jul 2012)
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=... (Jul 2012 - current)


Published on Feb 8, 2013
Abby Martin talks to one of the plaintiffs spearheading the lawsuit, Tangerine Bolen, about how the suit came to be, and why the corporate media has not picked up the story. Abby also talks to former whistleblower, Jesselyn Radack, about the extent and reach of the NDAA as it applies to journalists, activists and whistleblowers.  



Published on Feb 8, 2013
RT talks to John Kiriakou - former CIA official who blew the whistle on the agency's torture practices. After 9/11 John Kiriakou served as chief of counter-terrorist operations in Pakistan. And now, years later, John Kiriakou is heading to prison. He was just sentenced to two and a half years in jail.  









Jadaliyya!

drone

Obama's Drone Leaks: New Imminence, Old Tactics

Noura Erakat

The Senate Armed Services Committee did not mention drones a single time during Senator Chuck Hagel's confirmation hearings last week. That oversight, however, says a lot more about the politics surrounding the hearings than it does about the enduring salience of drone technology to U.S

"Arguably, the revolutionary aspirations of the people of the Arab world not only depend on the bravery of the Arab people but also on the ability of people in the West to resist neoliberal deepening in their own countries."


More at The Real News




FINALLY: A TV ad that tells it like it is: EXXON HATES YOUR CHILDREN. Go to http://ExxonHatesYourChildren.com if you want to see it on national television! (And go straight to http://bit.ly/XuuWsK to donate.)


OH YES, BP, SHELL, MOBLE ALSO, BASF, DOW.........LILLY, KBR, THE FRENCH AND THE DEAD, ALL OF US dislike gready bankers!! the kabul of  self-intoxicating megalo-ego sociopathic fucktards.

U.S. Goading Japan into Confrontation with China
Will Japan Take the Bait?
By John V. Walsh
China has no record of expansionism overseas even going back to 1400 when it was the world's premier naval power but never conquered or established colonies or took slaves.
Ayatollah Khamenei Rejects Talks With US Under Pressure
By Press TV
Ayatollah Khamenei also noted that during the past four years, nothing has been seen from the United States but continuation of conspiracies, abetting seditionists and supporting the terrorists which assassinated Iranian nation's scientists.
Washington Speaks With Forked Tongue to Iran
By Finian Cunningham
Only days after American Vice President Joe Biden made a very public and tantalizing offer of bilateral talks between the US and Iran, there then follows another round of punitive trade sanctions imposed by Washington on Iran's vital oil industry.
Targeting the Iranian Threat to "Stability"
Israel Enters Syria
By Ben Schreiner
The dream of forging a new Middle East through the destruction of Syria has come to be championed by the U.S. neo-con crowd.
Israeli Myths & Propaganda
Video
Israeli Professor Ilan Pappe reveals the truth about the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
WANTED - A Psychiatric Diagnosis of Nazi Holocaust Denial
By Alan Hart
I stand by my view that holocaust denial (and most aspects of holocaust revisionism) is evil on a par with the commissioning of the slaughter and the slaughtering itself.
Arab Leaders: Waiting To Count The Dead Bodies
By Mahboob A. Khawaja
What have the contemporary Arab leaders done for the interests of the Arab masses and Muslim Ummah?
HRW: Hundreds of Afghan Children Killed in US Attacks
By Human Rights Watch
The committee said it was "alarmed" at reports of the deaths of hundreds of children from US attacks and air strikes in Afghanistan since the committee last reviewed US practices in 2008.
American exceptionalism
Poll : It's Illegal to Target Americans: Ok To Kill Foreigners
By FDU MindPoll
By a two-to-one margin (48%-24%) of American voters say they think it is illegal for the U.S. government to kill its own citizens. By a wide six-to-one margin (75%-13%) voters approve of the U.S. military using drones to carry out attacks abroad "on people and targets deemed a threat to the U.S.other.
Tribalism And Agreed-Upon Lies
By John Scales Avery
It seems to be a part of human nature to behave with great kindness towards members of our own group. By contrast we often exhibit terrible aggression towards other groups that are perceived to be competing with or threatening our own.
Extrajudicial Killing: Official US Policy
By Stephen Lendman
"The parallels to the Bush administration torture memos are chilling. Those were unchecked legal justifications drawn up to justify torture; these are unchecked justifications drawn up to justify extrajudicial killing."
American Foreign Policy
Have Our War Lovers Learned Anything?
By William Blum
When it comes to following international law, is the United States like a failed state? The Somalia of international law?
It Has Happened Here
The police state is real
By Paul Craig Roberts
Ironic, isn't it, that the president of the United States now murders his political opponents just as Saddam Hussein murdered his. How long before critics move from the no-fly list to the extermination list?
Who's going to step up?
President Obama Must be Impeached
By Dave Lindorff
Terrorism is not the threat. Passivity in the face of encroaching tyranny is.
US Media Yet Again Conceals Newsworthy Government Secrets
By Glenn Greenwald
yet again, the US media has been caught working together to conceal obviously newsworthy government secrets.
Lost In Translation
North Korea Video Shows US City Under Attack
Video
Some in the media have presented the video as North Korea perhaps hoping to attack the United States in the future. However, closer inspection of the portions translated, combined with the overall video emphasizing North Korea's high tech future, do not seem to indicate a North Korean invasion.
Has Scotland Yard name become toxic?
By Yvonne Ridley
Not a week goes by when someone further tarnishes the image of the world famous Scotland Yard through greed, corruption, lies and sleaze.
"You Don't Want To Hear The Truth!"
Native American Confronts Protesters on Illegal Immigration
Video
A Native American man, staged his own protest when he came across a rally against illegal immigration in Tucson, Arizona. "You're all f*cking illegal. You're all illegal," "We didn't invite none of you here.

Hard News  
   
4 Afghan police killed in bomb attack:
Remote-controlled bomb hits vehicle in Balkh province, killing district police chief and three bodyguards
Half of all Afghans paid bribes to public officials in 2012: UN report:
The report by the UN office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Afghanistan's anti-corruption unit says that while there has been "some tangible progress", the total cost of corruption increased to US$3.9 billion (S$4.8 billioon) in 2012 - 40 per cent up on 2009.
US kills three people in Pakistan:
Three people were killed when a US drone fired missiles at a suspected compound in Ghulam Khan Tehsil of North Waziristan Agency on Wednesday, according to witnesses.
Syria Government retakes town as Damascus clashes rage:
After a 16-day onslaught, troops retook Karnaz on the strategic Damascus-Aleppo highway, said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Rebel "fighters withdrew from Karnaz, which they seized in December last year, after heavy fighting and regular forces regained control," he told AFP.
Syria govt reaches out to rebels:
The embattled Syrian government has assigned at least two senior officials to reach out to the political opposition inside and outside Syria, in the latest efforts to start a national reconciliation dialogue proposed by President Bashar al-Assad, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told reporters on Wednesday.
Ahmadinejad urges negotiations, elections in Syria;
The two sides should "sit at the negotiations table to find a solution to the crisis, through mutual understanding," Ahmadinejad, who is on a visit to Egypt, said in the interview broadcast late Wednesday.
Arab League Backs Syrian Opposition's Call for Dialogue:
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi on Tuesday backed a call by the leader of Syria's main opposition group for talks with the Damascus regime aimed at ending nearly 23 months of bloodshed in the country, AFP reported.
Syria opposition demands all women prisoners freed by Sunday:
Syrian opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib said the Syrian government had until Sunday to release all women detainees, otherwise he would regard his offer for dialogue as rejected by President Bashar al-Assad, BBC Arabic said.
Panetta, Dempsey support arming Syria rebels -
Video -
Panetta, Dempsey: Obama Rejected Plan for US to Arm Syrian Rebels:
Pentagon leaders told Congress on Thursday that they had supported a recommendation to arm Syrian rebels promoted by the State Department and CIA but which President Barack Obama ultimately decided against.
Iran president tells US to correct its attitude:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country cannot hold meaningful talks with the U.S. on Tehran's disputed nuclear program if Washington is threatening his country.
Turkey's Halkbank to continue existing Iran transactions- min:
Turkish state-owned Halkbank will continue its existing transactions with Iran but some other banks have pulled back in response to pressure from the United States, Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said on Thursday.
Iran broadcasts footage 'extracted from CIA spy drone':
Tehran claims to reverse-engineer RQ-170 Sentinel, adding Iran is producing 'more than 20 types of drones' and intends to export.
Hamas and Fatah in unity talks, says Khaled Meshaal:
Mr Meshaal also said preparations were being made for presidential and parliamentary elections.
Landmine kills 4 civilians in Mali:
The deadly blast took place on Thursday between the central town of Douentza and the northern city of Gao, some 320 kilometers east-southeast of Timbuktu.
Tunisian govt shake-up: A move away from hardline Islamist rule?:
To quell public fury at the murder of an opposition figure, the Tunisian government has promised elections. Amid claims the ruling Islamist-led Ennahda party was behind the killing, Tunisia's PM pledged a move towards a more secular system.
ICC orders Libya to hand over ex-spy chief:
Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have ordered Libyan authorities to immediately to hand over Abdullah al-Senussi, deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's former intelligence chief.
Haiti urged to pursue Jean-Claude Duvalier rights trial:
International human rights groups have urged the Haitian authorities not to drop a rights case against former ruler Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.
Colombia's FARC guerrillas propose drug legalization in peace talks with government;
Colombia's main rebel army called on the government Wednesday to legalize the cultivation of marijuana, poppy and coca leaf, as well as the personal consumption of drugs derived from those plants.
Venezuela donates free heating oil to 100,000 needy US households; -
For the eighth straight year, Venezuela's state oil company is donating free heating oil to hundreds of thousands of needy Americans.
ECB Agrees to Ease Terms for Ireland:
The European Central Bank Thursday agreed to ease the terms under which the Irish government repays €31 billion ($41.92 billion) of debts. Charles Forelle joins Markets Hub
US silences national witness who debunked official 9/11 report:
"Actually, there was an initial explosion in the basement seconds before the plane hit. I spoke about it - they didn't want me to talk about it," said William Rodriguez, a janitor working for 20 years in the North Tower of the World Trade Center buildings.
Brennan pressed on drones at confirmation hearing for CIA post;
"It's the idea of giving any president unfettered power to kill an American without checks and balances that's so troubling," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said. "Every American has the right to know when their government believes it's allowed to kill them."
U.S. drone use could set dangerous example for rogue powers:Op-Ed:
"I sincerely doubt most members of the U.S. government would be happy with China or Russia or North Korea using drones and lethal force the way the U.S. government is doing, which is outside the bounds of international law," said Johnson.
Democratic Senator Calls For Greater Declassification Of Drone Program:
More needs to be done to ensure that Americans are aware of the justification used by the administration to target those they deem combatants, Wyden told the panel interviewing him on MSNBC's Morning Joe.
Michael Moore asks citizens to stand up to Obama's 'dangerous' erosion of civil liberties:
"We have to work and speak out against the Obama administration and everything they are doing to destroy civil liberties."
Silent Circle, The New Encryption App That Is Terrifying The Government:
The idea is to "democratize encryption" by making it available to the non-tech-savvy with the push of a button. Will this be used for good or evil? Slate's Ryan Gallagher explains:





Published on Feb 4, 2013
In his 2012 State of the Union address, President Obama pledged that he would initiate a task force that would lead broad investigations into the financial crisis, and the widespread financial fraud that led to it. One year later: nothing. It's time to ask what happened: bit.ly/telluswhathappened



Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)