September 30, 2013
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
If our recognitions were proceeding at a pace adequate for overcoming the vicious-cycling dynamics of the Venus Syndrome, the latest UN climate report would have been a combination of what the Arctic Methane Emergency Group (AMEG) and Geoengineering Watch are saying.
The piece directly below is a typical well-intentioned green/progressive response to the report. By continuing to focus centrally on the CO2 emergency instead of turning now to the methane mega-emergency caused mainly by CO2, the author diminishes our chances of responding to it quickly enough.
His final quote–“cities could do ten times more but they lack the money”–is intensely quaint since it doesn’t make much difference what cities do because they lack the focus necessary to spend money effectively.
Second below George Monbiot provides a somewhat more realistic version of what’s happening but he too quite quaintly believes we can avoid a climate breakdown if we merely “leave fossil fuels in the ground”. Those were the good old days. This is now.
Another poignant example of inadequate pace can be found in Nathan Currier’s splendid “Saving the Arctic Ice: Greenpeace, Greenwashing and Geoengineering (#1)” where he said flatly nearly a year ago that it’s no longer adequate merely to reduce emissions. Even though his piece occurred in the lamentable Huffington Post with its relatively high number of readers the entire climate-activist community all these months later still totally ignores this and continues quaintly to nibble at the periphery of the emergency rather than face it forthrightly.
Paradoxically, their nibblings are often quite gallant–as in the recent Greenpeace caper at a Russian Arctic oil platform and as in several of the various resistances to the KXL pipeline.
In fact, Nathan’s piece is such a good summary of contemporary eco-mind that I’ll paste it third below.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the road to Venus is paved with good intentions.
Yours for a glorious planet tapping the ether,
Keith Lampe, Ro-Non-So-Te, Ponderosa Pine
Volunteer
PS: For the past two or three days ending just a couple hours ago it was impossible to reach me with email at this account. So you may wish to resend anything still relevant.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/09/29-0
Published on Sunday, September 29, 2013 by Inter Press Service
Carbon Pollution Reshaping the Planet, Meta-Analysis Confirms
by Stephen Leahy
NANTES, France – Greenland will eventually truly become green as most of its massive ice sheet is destined to melt, the authoritative U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported Friday.
The IPCC’s new 36-page summary of the latest science includes a warning that there is a 20-percent chance the massive Greenland ice sheet will begin an irreversible meltdown with only 0.2 degrees C of additional warming. That amount of additional warming is now certain. However, it would take 1,000 years for all the ice to melt.
“The new report is yet another wake-up call saying we are in deep trouble and heading for dangerous levels of climate change,” said David Cadman, president of ICLEI , the only network of sustainable cities operating worldwide and involving 1,200 local governments.
“The IPCC will be attacked by fossil fuel interests and their supporters….They will try and scare the public that taking action puts jobs and the economy at risk,” Cadman told IPS. “That’s simply not true. It’s the opposite.”
Overwhelming evidence
The IPCC’s summary of its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) released in Stockholm clearly states that humans are warming the planet, confirming previous reports dating back to 1997. Since the 1950s, every decade following has been warmer than the previous one, it says.
“Temperatures between 1983 and 2012 are the warmest in the past 1,400 years [in the Northern Hemisphere],” said Thomas Stocker, co-chair of the IPCC Working Group I.
In response to media reports about a so-called “warming hiatus”, Stocker said the climate system is dynamic, with more heat likely going into oceans in recent years and slightly slowing the rate of surface temperature increases.
The science around climate change is well established. More than 100 years ago, researchers demonstrated that carbon dioxide (CO2) traps heat from the sun. Burning fossil fuels, deforestation and other human activities put additional CO2 into the atmosphere, where it remains essentially forever. That additional CO2 is trapping additional heat, as it acts like another layer of insulation.
More than 90 percent of this additional heat energy is being absorbed by the oceans, according to the AR5, officially known as the Summary for Policy Makers. This explains why temperatures at the surface are not higher than today’s global average increase of 0.8 C.
The summary highlights the fact that the decrease in Arctic sea ice over the last three decades is “unprecedented” in the last 1,450 years. This year’s summer sea ice melt was less than last year’s record, but it still was the sixth lowest ever measured. The report says the Arctic is on track to be ice-free in summer before 2050, much sooner than previous reports projected.
A cautious consensus
The AR5 is a five-year effort by hundreds of scientists from 39 countries to assess, evaluate and synthesise the findings of 9,200 peer-reviewed scientific studies published since the last review in 2007, called the AR4. The IPCC does not do any research itself and is run by 110 governments who spent the last four days approving the final wording of the summary.
“Every word in the 36-pages has been debated. Some paragraphs were discussed for over an hour,” Stocker said at a press conference in Stockholm. ”No other science report has ever undergone such critical scrutiny.”
The 2000-plus page full report of Working Group I on the physical science underlying climate change will be published Monday. That is the first of four IPCC reports to be released in the coming year.
The cautiously-worded Summary for Policy Makers details and confirms the observed impacts such as increased temperatures, precipitation changes, weather extremes and more. It also confirms these and other impacts will worsen as CO2 emissions increase. Current CO2 emissions levels are at the top of the worst-case scenario.
“Do not misunderstand the low end of the temperature and other ranges in the report,” said Michel Jarraud, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organisation.
“Those are only possible if we completely stop emitting CO2,” Jarraud said.
The AR5 summary says the Greenland ice sheet lost an average of 215 billion tonnes of ice a year between 2002 and 2011. More recent studies show the ice lost has increased substantially since that time.
According to AR5, there is a one in five chance the Greenland ice sheet will melt entirely if global temperatures climb from 0.8C to more than 1.0C as is now inevitable. One of the reasons is that temperatures in the Arctic are nearly three times higher than global average.
The 50-50 point for an unstoppable meltdown of Greenland leading to a seven-metre sea level rise is less than 4.0C.
Despite this, the AR5 says global sea level rise is not expected to be greater than one metre this century, higher than the 2007 estimate. Other scientists, including James Hansen, former head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, say the observed accelerated melting of the Arctic, Greenland, Antarctic and world’s glaciers is a sign that a multi-metre rise in sea levels is possible this century unless emissions decline.
“Climate denialists”
Even before the IPCC’s new report was made public, it was attacked and misrepresented by “climate change denialists” trying to paint its findings as radical or extreme, said Charles Greene, a professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell University in New York State.
Greene is referring to a well-documented propaganda effort by some in the fossil fuel industry as well as extremist right-wing organisations attempting to confuse the public about the reality and urgency of global warming.
“In fact, the IPCC has a long track record of underestimating impacts” of climate change, Green said.
While global action remains gridlocked, some cities are already cutting their carbon emissions. ICLEI’s members are committed to a 20-percent reduction by 2020 and 80-percent reductions by 2050.
Most national governments are failing to lead which clearly reveals the power and influence of the fossil fuel sector, Cadman says. “Cities could do 10 times more but they simply don’t have the money.”
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http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/29-6
Published on Sunday, September 29, 2013 by The Guardian
Climate Change? Try Catastrophic Climate Breakdown
Already, a thousand blogs and columns insist the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change‘s new report is a rabid concoction of scare stories whose purpose is to destroy the global economy. But it is, in reality, highly conservative.
Reaching agreement among hundreds of authors and reviewers ensures that only the statements which are hardest to dispute are allowed to pass. Even when the scientists have agreed, the report must be tempered in another forge, as politicians question anything they find disagreeable: the new report received 1,855 comments from 32 governments, and the arguments raged through the night before launch.
In other words, it’s perhaps the biggest and most rigorous process of peer review conducted in any scientific field, at any point in human history.
There are no radical departures in this report from the previous assessment, published in 2007; just more evidence demonstrating the extent of global temperature rises, the melting of ice sheets and sea ice, the retreat of the glaciers, the rising and acidification of the oceans and the changes in weather patterns. The message is familiar and shattering: “It’s as bad as we thought it was.”
What the report describes, in its dry, meticulous language, is the collapse of the benign climate in which humans evolved and have prospered, and the loss of the conditions upon which many other lifeforms depend. Climate change and global warming are inadequate terms for what it reveals. The story it tells is of climate breakdown.
This is a catastrophe we are capable of foreseeing but incapable of imagining. It’s a catastrophe we are singularly ill-equipped to prevent.
The IPCC’s reports attract denial in all its forms: from a quiet turning away – the response of most people – to shrill disavowal. Despite – or perhaps because of – their rigours, the IPCC’s reports attract a magnificent collection of conspiracy theories: the panel is trying to tax us back to the stone age or establish a Nazi/communist dictatorship in which we are herded into camps and forced to crochet our own bicycles. (And they call the scientists scaremongers …)
In the Mail, the Telegraph and the dusty basements of the internet, Friday’s report (or a draft leaked a few weeks ago) has been trawled for any uncertainties that could be used to discredit. The panel reports that on every continent except Antarctica, man-made warming is likely to have made a substantial contribution to the surface temperature. So those who feel threatened by the evidence ignore the other continents and concentrate on Antarctica, as proof that climate change caused by fossil fuels can’t be happening.
They make great play of the IPCC’s acknowledgement that there has been a “reduction in surface warming trend over the period 1998–2012”, but somehow ignore the fact that the past decade is still the warmest in the instrumental record.
They manage to overlook the panel’s conclusion that this slowing of the trend is likely to have been caused by volcanic eruptions, fluctuations in solar radiation and natural variability in the planetary cycle.
Were it not for man-made global warming, these factors could have made the world significantly cooler over this period. That there has been a slight increase in temperature shows the power of the human contribution.
But denial is only part of the problem. More significant is the behaviour of powerful people who claim to accept the evidence. This week the former Irish president Mary Robinson added her voice to a call that some of us have been making for years: the only effective means of preventing climate breakdown is to leave fossil fuels in the ground. Press any minister on this matter in private and, in one way or another, they will concede the point. Yet no government will act on it.
As if to mark the publication of the new report, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has now plastered a giant poster across its ground-floor windows: “UK oil and gas: Energising Britain. £13.5bn is being invested in recovering UK oil and gas this year, more than any other industrial sector.”
The message couldn’t have been clearer if it had said “up yours”. It is an example of the way in which all governments collaborate in the disaster they publicly bemoan. They sagely agree with the need to do something to avert the catastrophe the panel foresees, while promoting the industries that cause it.
It doesn’t matter how many windmills or solar panels or nuclear plants you build if you are not simultaneously retiring fossil fuel production. We need a global programme whose purpose is to leave most coal and oil and gas reserves in the ground, while developing new sources of power and reducing the amazing amount of energy we waste.
But, far from doing so, governments everywhere are still seeking to squeeze every drop out of their own reserves, while trying to secure access to other people’s. As more accessible reservoirs are emptied, energy companies exploit the remotest parts of the planet, bribing and bullying governments to allow them to break open unexploited places: from the deep ocean to the melting Arctic.
And the governments who let them do it weep sticky black tears over the state of the planet.
***
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-currier/arctic-climate-change_b_1911550.html
Saving the Arctic Ice: Greenpeace, Greenwashing and Geoengineering (#1)
Posted: 10/09/2012 10:01 pm
Nathan Currier
Climate Reality Project; Classical Composer
There was much media attention a couple of weeks ago when this year’s sea ice extent minimum broke all records: it was down almost 50 percent from the 1979-2000 average. Little attention, though, accompanied a possibly even more significant figure, released a few days ago: those who run the PIOMAS sea ice volume model at the Polar Research Center showed the 2012 sea ice volume minimum was down almost 50 percent not from decades ago — but from 2007! That’s right: the volume of arctic sea ice this September minimum was probably about half of what it was, just back in 2007. This figure should deeply trouble any reasonable human being, as it strongly suggests reaching an ice-free arctic sea ice minimum within half a decade, and, since there is little dispute that some summer sea ice will persist to the north and west of Greenland for much longer, the first “near-ice-free” point will likely arrive in just the next few years, as sea ice expert Peter Wadhams has pointed out, and the London-based policy group and think tank Ameg has maintained.
How should we respond? Greenpeace recently started a “Save the Arctic” campaign. That’s great — but you can only save the arctic by saving its ice. And, unfortunately, it is now clear that this can no longer be achieved through emissions reductions alone. It’s too late for that. Greenpeace held a meeting on the polar emergency in New York City, by chance on the same day the record extent minimum was called, and while on the surface it seemed pretty ordinary, it was at heart very odd. Nobody suggested any change of approach, any specific re-strategizing, to respond to the accelerating situation. The word emergency was a common currency passing all lips, but in fact it was unclear whether people were really speaking the same language, especially as concerns that most precious thing in emergencies — time. And there seemed to be no translator in the room, saying “this is the timescale of this, that’s the timescale of that.”
The meeting’s two scientists, Wieslaw Maslowski (on ice) and James Hansen (general climate), themselves focusing on somewhat different time scales, were followed by the ‘social/political’ panel discussing what we should do: the panel discussed green energy, solar power, how we shouldn’t move towards nuclear, that kind of stuff. But Jim Hansen had said in answer to a question (mine), “We are going to lose that sea ice,” and also said that to save it, “You could do some quick things.” As I’ll discuss in my next post, Hansen meant geoengineering. Greenpeace Director Kumi Naidoo later couldn’t even remember the word — geoengineering. But if he’s going to save the arctic, I’m afraid he’s going to need to know it.
A big issue in whether to consider something an important ‘threshold’ is its reversibility, and we will discuss the reversibility of this one further in the next episode. At the meeting, since Maslowski focused on sea ice modeling failures, and Hansen on the whole climate picture, many of the potential immediate physical impacts of allowing this coming ice loss remained poorly or not at all elaborated — although they are important for Greenpeace, and everyone else, to understand, I feel. Hansen showed a slide of three major tipping points which he said place us in a climate ’emergency,’ because one can lose control around tipping points. One was methane hydrate, for example. But what Hansen didn’t show were what I might dub the ‘minor tipping points,’ far more immediate changes stemming from this coming loss, which could make it hard to turn around, and could lead us straight to those more major ones Hansen fears, in a slippery slope.
Keep in mind that what we’re talking about here is losing almost as much summer ice cover in just the next few years as we have over the last few decades, and that these are all circularly interrelated reinforcing mechanisms. Sorry, if it seems a bit mind-numbing for some readers, but here’s my list:
1. Greatly increased arctic water vapor, increasing arctic warming (water vapor is a potent greenhouse gas) but also fundamentally altering arctic hydrology and hence weather patterns.
2. Immediately and fundamentally altered arctic atmospheric chemistry, causing increased arctic methane lifetime, among other basic changes.
3. Certain increase in acceleration of arctic warming, from increased solar energy entering the arctic ocean (this engenders 1.) and the release of latent heat into the atmosphere during autumn’s rapid re-freezing.
4. Consequent increased potential for large arctic storms like the Great Arctic Cyclone this summer.
5. Consequent increased deep convection events (mixing to bottom) of arctic ocean, particularly important over the shallow water of the shelves, where lower layers can now often be methane-saturated.
6. Consequently an increase of seabed methane emissions — including from seabed permafrost, shallow methane hydrate, and from thawing of either or both of these and increased gas migration pathways allowing free gas from underneath the hydrates to outgas.
(For full PowerPoint PDF, scroll down to Topic/Title Methane Release from Eastern Siberian Shelf.)
7. This increase in seabed permafrost thawing leads to a subsequent increased risk that a random seismic event could suddenly release large amounts of methane from the above combination of thawing sources, or from other thawed arctic carbon stores (see PowerPoint above).
8. Increased risk of general degradation of shallow methane hydrates leading to slope failure and consequent methane release.
9. Certain increase in chronic emissions of methane (and CO2) from thawing land permafrost, peat, etc. with the general added warming mentioned above.
10. The increased arctic methane lifetime (2.) is indistinguishable from an increase in its arctic abundance.
11. Increasing continued rate of ice (and snow) loss as the ice-free-period subsequently lengthens, from all the above, particularly significant as the insolation increases earlier in the season to around the solstice in June (discussion here, scroll down to An Ice-free Solstice).
And here are some immediate potential global impacts to chew on:
12. Recent research suggests that ice (and snow cover) loss is at least one causative factor in recent extreme weather — drought, flood, fires, etc. — and if so this could quickly be amplified.
13. Consequently, recent global impacts on food security could increase proportionally.
14. Economic losses from each of those (12., 13) would probably increase proportionally, and potentially could amplify into global economic recession or even depression.
15. If there’s large-scale (multi gigaton-scale) methane release soon, this would of course fundamentally alter the whole path of global warming (see my Twilight posts #1,#2), with vast consequences.
16. If the ice-free period expands significantly, altered arctic tropospheric oxidation could rapidly start to impact high latitude urban areas, making cities with large populations rapidly become more difficult to live in (good discussion here at GISS, where Hansen is himself director).
No one said a word at the Greenpeace meeting, seemingly dismissing it as a major threshold at all. No one ever said, “Let’s fight this.” But I am suggesting that you should see skull and crossbones hanging above this threshold crossing. Like playing around high voltage wires or train tracks, allowing this threshold to be crossed will add considerable risk. And I’m suggesting that it will be crossed in just the next few years, unless we do something about it.
As I’ll discuss next time, it might prove much harder to reverse than many assume within the climate world. Therefore, as Energy Secretary Steven Chu said about allowing an eventual runaway arctic permafrost carbon feedback, we must all say loudly now about this initial step onto that vast and treacherous slippery slope: “We cannot go there!” And if we don’t want to go there, there’s now no longer any question — geoengineering will have to be part of the remedy.
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https://dev.geoengineeringwatch.org/the-ipcc-finally-mentions-geoengineering/
September 28, 2013
The IPCC Finally Mentions Geoengineering
The Elephant In The Room Is Getting Ever Harder To Hide.
While the entire community of academia still pretends not to know about the ongoing reality of global geoengineering, the simple fact that they are now discussing geoengineering in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report indicates that the veil is beginning to lift.
The ongoing global geoengineering programs continue to completely disrupt the entire climate system while at the same time skewing all climate data and modeling. Jet stream manipulation via HAARP , atmospheric particulate spraying, artificially nucleated snow storms, all are “clouding” the true extent of damage to the planet as a whole. Though one expects the “scientific” community to turn two blind eyes to geoengineerings massive effect on the climate, (whether paid to do so or threatened) it is perplexing to see that much of the “anti-geoengineering” movement is doing the exact same thing. Many of the independent news sites and activists who openly acknowledge the reality of global geoengineering, then jump on the “global cooling” band wagon. They do this apparently without ever even considering that the entire climate picture and all climate data has been radically effected by the ongoing geoengineering programs. Beating the “global cooling” drum is exactly what the military industrial complex wants them to do. This gives the power structure exactly the ammunition they need to continue selling geoengineering to global governments and leaders. Even with the all out geoengineering assault on the planet, the climate is still warming rapidly. Any that do real research on this issue will find this is the only conclusion supported by solid data and records.https://dev.geoengineeringwatch.org/global-cooling-or-global-warming-which-is-it/ The short term cooling effects of geoengineering are at the cost of a far worse overall warming for the long run, not to mention the toxification of the entire planet in the process.
Don’t help the geoengineers sell geoengineering. We must all base our opinions on research and solid data, not ideology.
Dane Wigington
geoengineeringwatch.org
Why has geoengineering been legitimised by the IPCC?
The GuardianThis morning’s publication of the IPCC’s summary for policymakers tells a familiar and gloomy story of the science of climate change. The big surprise is the decision to mention the controversial idea of geoengineering.
Today marked an important punctuation mark in the story of humanity’s attempts to get to grips with climate change as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its summary for policymakers (pdf here). Climate sceptic journalists and interest groups will be making the most of the tiniest surprises and variations in the climate scientists’ new representation of the state of their art. But the evidence is largely unsurprising. For all the talk of a “hiatus” in warming, the IPCC continues to fly its one major fact: more greenhouse gases means more warming.
The big surprise comes in the final paragraph, with a mention of geoengineering. In the scientific world, a final paragraph is often the place to put caveats and suggestions for further research. In the political world, a final paragraph is a coda, a big finish, the place for a triumphant, standing-ovation-inducing summary. The IPCC tries to straddle both worlds. The addition of the word “geoengineering” to the most important report on climate change for six years counts as a big surprise.
There are many reasons to be worried about geoengineering. The idea is old. Countless inventions have been proposed as a technological fix to climate change, but scientists have only recently taken it seriously. Their previous reticence was largely due to a concern that talking about easy solutions would wobble the consensus on the need for a cut in emissions that had been painstakingly built over decades. Geoengineering was taboo – too seductive, too dangerous and too uncertain. It is now moving towards the mainstream of climate science. As the number of geoengineering studies published shoots up, it is now acceptable to discuss it in polite scientific company.
There is an argument that the taboo has already been broken and that, like sex education, it therefore has to be discussed. Those of us interested in geoengineering were expecting it to appear in one or two of the main reports when they are published in the coming months. To bring it up front is to give it premature legitimacy.
The description of geoengineering provided in the summary document is suitably critical. The report points to troubles with both carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from the atmosphere and solar radiation management (SRM) – reflecting a bit of sunlight back into space. In the case of CDR, the sheer scale of the clean-up makes it grotesquely expensive and difficult, and SRM would likely have unintended, unpredictable and disastrous effects on regional weather, among many other troubles (see this pdf for more). But the paragraph still states that: “Modelling indicates that SRM methods, if realizable, have the potential to substantially offset a global temperature rise.” This science is still very young. Climate science historian James Fleming describes such studies as “geo-scientific speculation”. To include mention of geoengineering, and its supporting “evidence” in a statement of scientific consensus, no matter how layered with caveats, is extraordinary.
*
If I were one of the imagined policymakers reading this summary, sitting in a country whose politicians were unwilling to dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions (ie any country), I would have reached that paragraph and seen a chink of light just large enough to make me forget all the dark data about how screwed up the planet is. And that scares me.
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Fukushima Radiation: Japanese Babies with Congenital Physical Polydactyly Anomalies
Babies with polydactyly on waiting list for operation
Global Research, September 30, 2013
fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk
28 September 2013
http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/
(Source of article information)
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/jpnx05/e/392a90860209f6fbae9e2df0acfcf954
(Translation by Mia)
When a parent whose baby had been born with polydactyly contacted Fukushima Medical University to ask for an operation for their child, they were told that they were very busy operating on babies with the same condition and had more than a hundred on their waiting list.
They were also told they would have to wait another one or two years before the operation could be performed, as the bones in the fingers and hands need to be well developed.
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UNSC Resolution 2118 on Syria: In Response to False-Flag Chemical Weapons Attack. US-Backed Terrorists “Get Away with Mass Killing”
By Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich
Global Research, September 28, 2013
On September 27th, UNSC Resolution 2118 was unanimously adopted calling for the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons. All hailed the Resolution including the Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari. Without a doubt, and thanks to Russian diplomatic efforts and Bashar al-Assad’s readiness to cooperate, direct military action against Syria was suspended. Inarguably, when war is averted, there is cause for celebration. And yet, it seems we can’t see the forest for the tree.
There has been zero evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons on August 21s or at any other time. While the UN inspectors report did confirm the use of chemical weapons, it was outside its mandate to determine who carried out the heinous crime. Western experts were quick to point to the trajectory of the rockets as evidence of Assad’s involvement conveniently leaving unmentioned the important possibility of mobile launching by non-government forces.
While there is no evidence (or motive) pointing to the Assad government, there is little doubt among analysts that the rebels were responsible for the chemical attacks.
Colonel Wilkerson, a former high-ranking Bush era official has pointed to the possibility of a false flag operation by the Israelis. Analysts are not alone.
For well over a year prior to the August 21 incident, Iranian officials had warned Washington and voiced their concern that rebels had acquired chemical weapons. Turkey, Washington’s ally and culprit in the assault on Syria’s sovereignty, arrested rebels who possessed the nerve agent Sarin. Most importantly, the US military claimed that the rebels had chemical weapons. Russia claimed it had evidence that the rebels were responsible. So what happened?
UNSC Resolution 2118 sent a loud and clear message. Terrorist can get away with mass killing – even if they use chemical weapons. The provision to safeguard against future use of chemical weapons is not without its irony: “Underscores that no party in Syria should use, develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain, or transfer chemical weapons;”.
Given that that in face of solid indication to the contrary, the Assad government was held responsible for the chemical attacks which resulted in the passing of UNSC 2118 – exonerating the culprits. A new and dangerous precedent has been set amidst the sight of relief.
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The Snowden Affair: Denying President Morales’ Plane Fuel Seen As Attempted Assassination
By Asad Ismi
Global Research, September 29, 2013
On July 2, the United States put pressure on several European countries to prevent a plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales from landing to refuel at any of their airports. The excuse for this unprecedented denial of landing rights was the unfounded claim that Morales was hiding American whistleblower Edward Snowden on board his presidential jet. The plane was running dangerously low on fuel by the time it was eventually permitted to land at an airport in Vienna. There is reason to believe this was actually an attempt to kill Morales as well as Snowden.
Morales had been attending a conference on energy in Moscow, where Snowden had taken refuge to escape arrest by the U.S. government for exposing details of its secret surveillance of American citizens. Morales’ plane was scheduled to fly from Moscow to Lisbon in Portugal to refuel, but shortly after it took off from Moscow, Portugal suddenly revoked his landing permit without giving any reason. This prompted a planned change of route to refuel at Spain’s Canary Islands, but Spain also denied Morales’ plane landing rights as did France and Italy.
By this time, the Bolivian president’s jet was running dangerously low on fuel, imperiling his life and the flight crew’s. Finally the plane was allowed to land at Vienna, Austria. The president of Bolivia had survived what could justifiably be termed a combined U.S.-European assassination attempt.
It is hard to imagine a more deadly, hostile, and insulting treatment of a head of state which incredibly continued at the airport in Vienna, where Spain’s ambassador to Austria actually demanded to search President Morales’ plane. Morales of course refused to submit to such a humiliating breach of his diplomatic immunity.
José Manuel García-Margallo, Spain’s foreign minister, later admitted that the decision to hamper Morales’ journey home was based on “a tip” that Edward Snowden was on board. “They told us that the information was valid, that he was inside,” the minister explained. He did not divulge the source of this specious information, but no one doubts that it came from Washington.
After finally arriving back at La Paz, Morales lost no time putting the blame for his ordeal and narrow escape squarely on the United States. “It was an open provocation,” he said, “and not just to the president of a Latin American nation, but to the entire continent. They used the agent of North American imperialism to frighten us.”
Bolivian Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera described the intolerable mistreatment of Morales as “the most shameful page of the political history of some European countries, not only because they violated international agreements, but also because they violated their own dignity as countries. It was verified that the colonies today are not in America and Africa, but rather, sadly, in Europe.”
Many other Latin American governments condemned the endangerment of Morales’ life by the U.S. and European countries. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared that “The European people have seen the cowardice and the weakness of their governments, which now look like colonies of the U.S.” José Mujica, Uruguay’s president, made clear that “We are not colonies any more. We deserve respect, and when one of our governments is insulted, we feel the insult throughout Latin America.”
Trying to discourage countries from granting Snowden asylum in such an arrogant and ruthless manner, the U.S. ended up causing the opposite effect: Snowden has been offered asylum by Venezuela and Nicaragua, as well as Bolivia, and he has been allowed to stay in Russia for a full year.
The question remains whether the U.S. government’s real objective was not merely to harass and insult Morales, but actually to assassinate an outspoken political opponent of U.S. imperialism and a highly progressive leader of the Latin American Revolution. And, if the Obama administration really did believe that Snowden was on the same plane, causing it to crash would have had the added “bonus” of eliminating a whistleblower who had exposed Washington’s massive clandestine spying on millions of U.S. citizens.
The U.S., after all, had also tried to kill President Chavez of Venezuela, a close ally of Morales, as well as other progressive Latin American presidents. Since his election in 2005 and again in 2009, Morales has not only liberated Bolivia from prolonged U.S. domination, but actually expelled the U.S. Ambassador, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Agency for International Development — mainly for their involvement in attempts to overthrow him. He has nationalized Bolivia’s rich oil and gas sector and has drastically reduced the role of foreign corporations in the country, especially those based in the U.S.
“The U.S. action against Morales can certainly be considered an attempt to assassinate him,” Bolivian-Canadian activist Juan Valencia told me in Toronto. “The U.S. acted purposely against Morales because of his anti-imperialist stance. Washington was telling Bolivia that it will not tolerate those who challenge a world order in which the U.S. decides what other countries will do.”
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Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government
30 Sep 2013 http://www.legitgov.org/ All links are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news
U.S. was warned about Kenya mall attack 29 Sep 2013 U.S. intelligence received reports of a serious threat in Kenya before last week’s terrorist attack at a Nairobi mall that left 62 dead and more than 150 injured, NBC News reported. Officials said that NSA reviewed intelligence of a “credible” threat. [Right, the US either *let it happen* — or *made it happen* — to ‘justify’ illegal NSA spying and drone strikes in Africa to steal the oil.]
Kenyan Attack: Security Bosses to Be Quizzed 30 Sep 2013 Kenyan intelligence officials are to be questioned by the country’s MPs today about whether or not they had advance warning of the deadly Westgate shopping mall attack. Kenyans have become increasingly frustrated over the government’s unwillingness to share information about the attack. Almost no details have been released about what happened after the first hours of the siege. Interior minister Joseph Ole Lenku has declined to give any information about the suspected attackers, saying “we do not discuss intelligence matters in public”.
Westgate false flag unravels at breakneck speed: Kenyan authorities had been warned about threat to buildings ‘day before attacks’ –Intelligence agents were in Westgate a few hours before crowded shopping centre was struck by heavily armed terrorists 28 Sep 2013 Kenyan authorities had intelligence pointing to an attack in Nairobi a day before the Westgate mall attack. According to counter-terrorism documents, the government and military were warned that al-Shabaab was planning an attack on the capital where it would storm a building and hold hostages. There are also reports that Kenyan intelligence agents were at Westgate a few hours before the crowded shopping centre was struck by heavily armed terrorists last Saturday, in a four-day siege that left at least 67 people dead. “We cannot say that this attack comes as a surprise,” said Farah Maalim, former deputy speaker of the Kenyan National Assembly.
American security team inside Kenya massacre mall – rescued lawyer —Was an American security team inside Kenya massacre mall? Harvard graduate claims she was rescued by ‘Americans’ after she saw man sat next to her shot dead 25 Sep 2013 An American woman who was trapped inside the Nairobi mall as terrorists ran amok claims she was eventually rescued by an ‘American security team’. That is according to Bendita Malakia, the Harvard-trained lawyer who was caught up in the siege and hid along with 15 others in a store inside the mall for five hours before the armed men arrived to lead them to safety. While there has been no official confirmation of any direct American involvement in the stand-off between the heavily-armed militants from the Somalia-based al Shabaab and Kenyan Defence Forces, the statement from World Bank employee, Malakia, seems to suggest there was. As the attack carried on to its final conclusion, British MI6 agents were also reported to be providing assistance to their ‘Kenyan counterparts.’ However, it is not known who the ‘American security team’ who came to Malakia’s rescue were working for or what capacity they were operating under.
U.S. concern grows about al Qaeda ties to Kenya mall attack 26 Sep 2013 The Islamist militant attack on a Kenyan shopping mall increasingly appears to have been carried out by a dominant faction of al Shabaab, which has ideological and personal ties to al Qaeda [al-CIAduh], U.S. officials said on Thursday. Based on initial reporting from the scene, which is still preliminary and uncertain, U.S. officials believe al Shabaab likely spent a great deal of time planning and staging the siege in Nairobi that killed at least 72 people.
Reporters to reveal ‘US assassination program’ 29 Sep 2013 Two American journalists are working together to expose the role of the US National Security Agency in what they described as a “US assassination program.” Contributor to The Nation magazine Jeremy Scahill and Rio-based journalist Glenn Greenwald are working on the project. “The connections between war and surveillance are clear. I don’t want to give too much away but Glenn and I are working on a project right now that has at its center how the National Security Agency plays a significant, central role in the US assassination program,” Scahill said on Saturday.
FBI has been using drones since 2006, watchdog agency says 26 Sep 2013 Operating with almost no public notice, the FBI has spent more than $3 million to operate a fleet of small drone aircraft in domestic investigations, according to a report released Thursday by a federal watchdog agency. The unmanned surveillance planes have helped FBI agents storm barricaded buildings, track criminal suspects and examine crime scenes since 2006, longer than previously known, according to the 35-page inspector general’s audit of drones used by the Justice Department.
Bin Laden raid ‘one big lie’ – Seymour Hersh –Seymour Hersh on Obama, NSA and the ‘pathetic’ American media 27 Sep 2013 Don’t even get journalist Seymour Hersh started on the New York Times which, he says, spends “so much more time carrying water for Obama than I ever thought they would” – or the death of Osama bin Laden. “Nothing’s been done about that story, it’s one big lie, not one word of it is true,” he says of the dramatic US Navy Seals raid in 2011. Hersh is writing a book about national security and has devoted a chapter to the bin Laden killing. He says a recent report put out by an “independent” Pakistani commission about life in the Abbottabad compound in which Bin Laden was holed up would not stand up to scrutiny.
Note from Navy Yard shooter says he was driven to kill, FBI says 25 Sep 2013 The Washington Navy Yard shooter believed he was being targeted by an “ultra low frequency attack” and left a note saying that this was “what I’ve been subject to for the last 3 months, and to be perfectly honest that is what has driven me to this,” the FBI revealedWednesday. Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old computer technician for a private Navy contractor, killed 12 people and wounded four others in the Sept. 16 rampage as he fired a sawed-off Remington 870 Express shotgun, into which he had etched several statements, including “End to the torment!”
UK seeks full cyber warfare capability, experts 29 Sep 2013 Britain will recruit hundreds of computer experts to defend its vital networks against cyber attacks and launch high-tech assaults of its own, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said on Sunday. Addressing the annual conference of his ruling Conservative party, Hammond said Britain was spending increasing amounts of its defence budget, the fourth largest in the world, on cyber intelligence and surveillance. Hammond told the conference the government would recruit hundreds of experts in the coming months from a variety of backgrounds, including civilian computer experts, to join what he called a new Joint Cyber Reserve.
Senators Push to Preserve N.S.A. Phone Surveillance 27 Sep 2013 The Senate Intelligence Committee appears to be moving toward swift passage of a bill that would “change but preserve” the once-secret National Security Agency program that is keeping logs of every American’s phone calls, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who leads the panel, said Thursday. Ms. Feinstein, speaking at a rare public hearing of the committee, said she and the top Republican on the panel, Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, are drafting a bill that would be marked up as early as next week. After the existence of the program became public by leaks from the former N.S.A. contractor Edward J. Snowden, critics called for it to be dismantled.
N.S.A. Gathers Data on Social Connections of U.S. Citizens 29 Sep 2013 Since 2010, the National Security Agency has been exploiting its huge collections of data to create sophisticated graphs of some Americans’ social connections that can identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information, according to newly disclosed documents and interviews with officials. The spy agency began allowing the analysis of phone call and e-mail logs in November 2010 to examine Americans’ networks of associations for foreign intelligence purposes after N.S.A. officials lifted restrictions on the practice, according to documents provided by Edward J. Snowden, the former N.S.A. contractor.
NSA employees used phone tapping tools to spy on their girlfriends and ‘cheating’ husbands –12 employees admitted to participating in ‘Loveint’, the official name for Love Intelligence’. 27 Sep 2013 The NSA has revealed that there were at least a dozen employees who used the agency’s spying capabilities to secretly eavesdrop on their romantic partners. The specific cases of employees listening in to their lovers’ phone calls come as the investigation into widespread wiretapping and email surveillance by the National Security Agency is examined following the release of classified documents by Edward Snowden. The names of the federal employees who allegedly ordered these wire taps have not been revealed and six cases have been brought to the Justice Department for evaluation but it seems that none have resulted in criminal prosecution.
NSA: Some used spying power to snoop on lovers 27 Sep 2013 The National Security Agency’s internal watchdog detailed a dozen instances in the past decade in which its employees intentionally misused the agency’s surveillance power, in some cases to snoop on their love interests. A letter from the NSA’s inspector general responding to a request by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, lists the dozen incidents where the NSA’s foreign intelligence collection systems were abused. The letter also says there are two additional incidents now under investigation and another allegation pending that may require an investigation.
Google Must Face Most Claims in Gmail Wiretap Lawsuit 26 Sep 2013 Google Inc. must face most claims in a lawsuit alleging it illegally reads and mines the content of private messages sent through its Gmail e-mail service in violation of federal wiretap laws. U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose, California, today granted Google’s request to throw out state claims, while allowing the plaintiffs to refile. She refused to dismiss federal claims, rejecting the company’s argument that the plaintiffs agreed to let Google intercept and read their e-mails by accepting its service terms and privacy policies. [Hahaha! So glad NSAssociate Google is finally facing a lawsuit!]
No. 2 U.S. nuclear commander suspended 28 Sep 2013 The No. 2 officer at the military command in charge of all U.S. nuclear war-fighting forces has been suspended and is under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigation Command for issues related to gambling, officials said Saturday. The highly unusual action against a high-ranking officer at U.S. Strategic Command was made more than three weeks ago, but not publicly announced. Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, who heads Strategic Command, suspended the deputy commander, Navy Vice Adm. Tim Giardina, from his duties on Sept. 3, according to the command’s top spokeswoman, Navy Capt. Pamela Kunze.
At least 40 killed, dozens wounded in Iraq funeral bombing 29 Sep 2013 At least 40 people were killed at a Shiite funeral in a southern Iraqi town on Sunday after a suicide bomber blast brought down the ceiling of a mosque. Dozens more were wounded in that incident and in other attacks in Iraq amid the unceasing violence. Around 50 people survived the funeral blast in Mussayab, 60km (40 miles) south of the capital Baghdad, with various injuries, Reuters reported. However, local police said more bodies remain trapped beneath the rubble in the bombed-out mosque.
Rouhani, Obama hold telephone conversation 27 Sep 2013 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his American counterpart, Barack Obama, have held a telephone conversation as the Iranian president was wrapping up his visit to New York for the 68th annual session of the UN General Assembly. Rouhani received the call from Obama on Fridayas he was in a car heading to the John F. Kennedy International Airport to fly back to Tehran, IRNA reported. The two heads of state stressed Tehran and Washington’s political will to swiftly resolve the West’s dispute over Iran’s nuclear energy program, and exchanged viewpoints on various topics, including cooperation on different regional issues.
Syria chemical weapons: UN adopts binding resolution 28 Sep 2013 The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a binding resolution on ridding Syria of chemical weapons. At a session in New York, the 15-member body backed the draft document agreed earlier by Russia and the US. The deal breaks a two-and-a-half year deadlock in the UN over Syria, where fighting between government forces and [US-backed] ‘rebels’ rages on. The vote came after the international chemical watchdog agreed on a plan to destroy Syria’s stockpile by mid-2014. [What about Israel’s chemical weapons?]
Greece’s Golden Dawn leader Nikolaos Mihaloliakos held 28 Sep 2013 Greek police have arrested the leader of the far-right Golden Dawn party, Nikolaos Mihaloliakos, on charges of forming a criminal organisation. Four more Golden Dawn MPs, a leader in an Athens suburb and nine other party members have also been arrested. The arrests come amid anger over the murder on 18 September of anti-racist musician, Pavlos Fyssas.
Radioactive water seeping from Fukushima No.1 tank 30 Sep 2013 Tokyo Electric Power Co. has confirmed that radioactive water is seeping through a joint of one of the tanks that store low-level radioactive water at its Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant. The tank is located near the No. 6 reactor at the stricken plant, TEPCO said late Saturdaynight. Workers of another firm detected the seeping water at about 10:45 p.m. while patrolling the tank area, the company said.
Plastic pad clogs Fukushima radiation cleaning system 29 Sep 2013 A piece of plastic padding which clogged up a drain is thought to have caused the breakdown of a decontamination system at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the operator said Sunday. The Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), designed to remove radioactive material from contaminated water, is expected to play a crucial role in treating huge amounts of toxic water accumulating at the plant. But it was halted due to a defect only hours after starting operations. Workers found that a plastic pad, which fixed a ladder in the system, had worked loose and got stuck in a drain, probably causing the defect, said operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Bad weather damages silt fence, built to contain radiation, at Fukushima No. 1 plant –It is thought that large amounts of radioactive materials have already drifted into Pacific 26 Sep 2013 Bad weather has damaged a silt fence erected to contain radioactive material escaping from the crippled reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday, raising fears that more tainted water might flow into the Pacific Ocean. The breach was found at 10:40 a.m. Thursday near intact reactors 5 and 6, which take in core-cooling seawater that is later pumped back into the ocean. …The fence is also designed to block radioactive material coming from damaged units 1, 2, 3 and 4, where another silt fence is set up.
BP returns to court over Deepwater Horizon spill as £11bn in fines loom 29 Sep 2013 BP’s lawyers will fight attempts to fine the oil giant up to $18bn (£11.1bn) over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, when a new trial opens in New Orleans on Monday. The latest legal battle revolves around the company’s efforts to cap its runaway well, and the amount of oil that entered the Gulf of Mexico during the 87-day spill. BP is also fighting a second battle to limit payouts to thousands of individuals and businesses in the Gulf who lost livelihoods because of the spill.
Scientists 95 percent sure humans to blame for global warming 28 Sep 2013 Scientists are more certain than they have ever been that humans are causing global warming, according to the most comprehensive report ever conducted into climate change, which predicts “with 95% certainty” that people’s greenhouse gas emissions are heating the world. This is the main finding of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change‘s (IPCC) fifth assessment report – AR5 – which was published in Stockholm yesterday. The degree of certainty leaves little doubt that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are responsible for climate change and compares to a finding of 90% certainty in the previous – fourth – assessment six years ago. This, in turn, was a significant increase on the 66% certainty reached in 2001’s third assessment and just over 50% in 1995.
Global warming likely to breach 2C threshold, climate scientists conclude 26 Sep 2013 Global warming is likely to surpass the previously recognised danger threshold of a 2C average increase in temperature, according to the world-leading climate scientists meeting in Sweden this week. On the eve of the 2013 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the scientists involved are understood to have reached agreement in principle on key topics as the week of negotiations draws to a close. By 2100, the average projection for how much warming will occur is expected to be slightly above the 2C threshold, considered to be the temperature above which it is considered that climate change will damage the global environment.
The Fast-Approaching ‘Point of No Return’ for Climate Change 27 Sep 2013 For the first time, the world’s top climate change scientists have endorsed an upper limit on greenhouse gas emissions, establishing a target level for curbing emissions that if not achieved could lead to irreversible and potentially catastrophic climatic changes. In areport released today by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN’s climate panel, scientists also said that the target is likely to be exceeded in a matter of decades unless steps are taken soon to reduce emissions. To contain these changes will require “substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions,” the scientists said.
Russian court remands last of Greenpeace Arctic oil protesters 29 Sep 2013 A Russian court has ordered eight remaining Greenpeace activists be held in custody for two months over a protest against Arctic offshore drilling, the environment advocacy group said on Sunday, dashing any hope some might be released quickly. Authorities detained all 30 members of the pressure group who were aboard icebreaker the Arctic Sunrise when they broke up attempts to scale state-run Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya offshore oil platform on September 18. Of those, 22 people, including a freelance photographer and crew members had already been remanded until November 24 while officials investigate charges of piracy which Greenpeace denies.
Investigation finds 30-minute radio blackout preceded deaths of 19 Arizona firefighters 28 Sep 2013 A three-month investigation into the June deaths of 19 Arizona firefighters found that the men ceased radio communication for a half hour before they were killed in a wildfire blaze, but did not assign fault. Some family members say that reluctance could put other lives in danger. The 120-page report released Saturday found that proper procedure was followed in the worst firefighting tragedy since Sept. 11, 2001.
John Culberson’s Reaction to House CR Plan: ‘Like 9/11, Let’s Roll!’ 28 Sep 2013 Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) invoked an eyebrow-raising comparison on Saturday in support for House Republicans’ latest plan to avert a government shutdown. The House announced its latest effort to fund the government through Dec. 15, which would include a one-year delay of Obamacare, along with a full repeal of the health care law’s tax on medical devices. Culberson informed the press of his closed-door meeting reaction to the news. “The whole room [shouted] ‘Let’s vote!’ And I said, you know like 9/11, ‘Let’s roll!'” Culberson said.
Shutdown odds spike as GOP unveils new funding bill 28 Sep 2013 The odds of a government shutdown spiked on Saturday after the House GOP said it would again vote to force concessions on “Obamacare” as a condition of funding government. House Republicans doubled down on their strategy of seeking to undo Obamacare as part of the battle over funding the government past Monday, scheduling a vote on a stopgap measure that would delay the health care law for a year.
U.S. Republicans reject Senate bid to avoid government shutdown 28 Sep 2013 The U.S. government edged closer to a shutdown Saturday as Republicans in the House of Representatives promised to reject an emergency spending bill approved by the Senate and push instead for a one year delay of President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law. In the latest round of high-stakes brinkmanship between Democrats and Republicans, Republican leaders said after a closed-door meeting that the House would vote on Saturday afternoon on their latest plan to scuttle the healthcare law, known as “Obamacare.” Democrats in the Senate have already defeated one House proposal to derail Obamacare and have vowed to do so again.
Chris Matthews slams Scott Perry’s ‘cheap shot’ 27 Sep 2013 An interview between MSNBC’s Chris Matthews and Republican Rep. Scott Perry over the government funding showdown got heated, with Matthews closing the interview after accusing Perry of taking a “cheap shot” and saying he’s “in bed” with the oil industry. “The Republican Party is a train right now off its rails,” Matthews said to introduce the segment on his show “Hardball” on Thursday night, before asking Perry (R-Pa.) to name another time that Congress has “held up the government” to kill an enacted law. At the end of the interview, Matthews and Perry turned to another possible Republican demand in the government funding debate, approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Matthews said a paper with which Perry was involved looked like it was “written by the oil industry,” and he questioned why a Pennsylvania congressman was so interested in Gulf oil. “I’m surprised you read any of it, first of all,” Perry said.
Justice Department to sue North Carolina, alleging voting rights discrimination 29 Sep 2013 The Justice Department will sue the state of North Carolina for alleged racial discrimination over tough new voting rules, the latest effort by the Obama administration to fight back against a Supreme Court decision that struck down the most powerful part of the landmark Voting Rights Act and freed southern states from strict federal oversight of their elections. North Carolina has a new law scaling back the period for early voting and imposing stringent voter identification requirements. It is among at least five Southern states adopting stricter voter ID and other election laws.
Fla. teen arrested for trying to help struggling Goodwill shoppers 27 Sep 2013 A Florida teen is facing a felony conviction because he tried to help some struggling families at the Goodwill where he worked. Andrew Anderson, 19, was heartbroken by some of the people who came in to the store “wearing all of the clothes they had,” so he would give the neediest shoppers discounts of up to 50 percent on the necessities they bought. But when store officials learned what Anderson was doing, their small hearts didn’t exactly grow three sizes: They fired him and reported him to sheriff’s deputies, who arrested him for grand theft. [Boycott Badwill.]
Polite kitten gives up its seat for older cat –Cute kitten respects older cat 29 Sep 2013 A thoughtful kitten decides to get up and allow an older cat to lay down. That kiss at the end topped it off. (Video)
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http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
Seymour Hersh on Death of Osama Bin Laden:
‘It’s One Big Lie, Not One Word of it is True’
By Lisa O’Carroll
“The Obama administration lies systematically, he claims, yet none of the leviathans of American media, the TV networks or big print titles, challenge him. Continue
President al-Assad interview with TeleSUR TV
Video and Transcript
US Policy Has Been Based on Lies Since the Beginning. Continue
The Rogue Empire
Chemical Weapons, Syria and American Exceptionalism
By Elizabeth O’Shea
The truth is hard to deny: one of the greatest menaces in the world today remains the US Government. Continue
The Empire President:
Jeremy Scahill on Obama’s “Neo Con” Doctrine of Military Force in U.N. Speech
Video
“[Obama] basically came out and said the U.S. is an imperialist nation and we’re going to do whatever we need to do to conquer areas [and] take resources from people around the world,” says independent journalist Jeremy Scahill.Continue
End This Occupation!:
Mahmoud Abbas Speech to the UN
Video and Transcript
Our people want to have freedom, God’s gift to humanity, and to enjoy the grace of living an ordinary life. Continue
History Behind the Kenyan Mall Massacre
The Blowback that Created al-Shabaab
By Graeme Anfinson
The Ethiopian invasion is essentially what created al-Shabaab. It was, and is, the perfect recruiting tool. Continue
Threat Inflation 6.0:
Does al-Shabab Really Threaten the U.S.?
By Stephen M. Walt
When was the last time something bad happened somewhere and the U.S. government didn’t see it as a threat?Continue
Sen. Ron Wyden: NSA ‘Repeatedly Deceived the American People’
By Glenn Greenwald
There are two members of that Committee who actually do take seriously its oversight mandate: Democrats Ron Wyden and Mark Udall. Continue
Cutting the Cord: Brazil’s Bold Plan to Combat the NSA
By Amar Toor
President Dilma Rousseff wants to route internet traffic away from the US, but experts say it will do little to deter American espionage. Continue
Recovery Hype:
American Capitalism’s Weapon of Mass Distraction
By Richard Wolff
Hyping a recovery helps politicians to boost their popularity (or at least, slow its decline). It also serves to give masses of people with growing economic difficulties the impression that “other people” are experiencing a recovery. So they blame themselves (their age, skill set, education and so on) for missing out. Continue
American Workers: Hanging on by the Skin of Their Teeth
By Mike Whitney
Why is everyone so miserable? Are things really that bad or have we turned into a nation of crybabies? Continue
Why Are Americans Renouncing Their Citizenship?
By Tom Geoghegan
A new law called the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) will, from 1 July next year, require all financial institutions around the world to report directly to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) all the assets and incomes of any US citizens with $50,000 (£31,000) on their books. Continue
Obama and Rouhani Speak by Phone
By BBC and Agencies
US President Barack Obama said Friday he had spoken to Iranian President Hassan Rohani in a telephone call. It is the first time US and Iranian leaders have spoken directly since 1979. Continue
Brian Williams’ Iran Propaganda
By Glenn Greenwald
The NBC star tells his viewers that Iranian leaders are ‘suddenly claiming they don’t want nuclear weapons’, even though they’ve been saying it for years. Continue
The Israeli Lobby Sets Out To Defeat Obama on Iran
By MJ Rosenberg
The Netanyahu government and its lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), are both determined to end the process and have the ability to do it. Continue
Israel Starts Campaign to Boost U.S. Military Aid
By UPI
Israel’s military chiefs are pushing for a bump in the $3.1 billion a year the Jewish state receives in U.S. military aid even though the 10-year agreement doesn’t expire until 2017 and America is struggling with domestic economic issues. Continue
By Paul Balles
How could an American honestly criticize Israeli settlements? Continue
No Time for Jubilation
Washington Will Only Continue Its Crimes
By William C. Lewis
Slaughtering civilians is a rapacious and depraved tool of the U.S. war mongers and their imperial war machine.Continue
N.S.A. Gathers Data on Social Connections of U.S. Citizens
By JAMES RISEN and LAURA POITRAS
NSA Uses Facebook And GPS Data To Identify Suspects In Networks Of Americans. Continue
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September 29, 2013
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September 27, 2013
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Oxford Professors: Robots And Computers Could Take Half Our Jobs Within The Next 20 Years
Michael Snyder
Activist Post
What are human workers going to do when super-intelligent robots and computers are better than us at doingeverything? That is one of the questions that a new studyby Dr. Carl Frey and Dr. Michael Osborne of Oxford University sought to address, and what they concluded was that 47 percent of all U.S. jobs could be automated within the next 20 years. Considering the fact that the percentage of the U.S. population that is employed is already far lower than it was a decade ago, it is frightening to think that tens of millions more jobs could disappear due to technological advances over the next couple of decades.
I have written extensively about how we are already losing millions of jobs to super cheap labor on the other side of the globe. What are middle class families going to do as technology also takes away huge numbers of our jobs at an ever increasing pace? We live during a period of history when knowledge is increasing an an exponential rate. In the past, when human workers were displaced by technology it also created new kinds of jobs that the world had never seen before. But what happens when the day arrives when computers and robots can do almost everything more cheaply and more efficiently than humans can?
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http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/09/29
Published on Sunday, September 29, 2013 by Common Dreams
Dream Team: Scahill, Greenwald Investigating NSA Role
in US ‘Assassination Program’
‘The connections between war and surveillance are clear.’
– Jon Queally, staff writer
Though they refused to offer many details on the project, journalists Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald on Saturday night announced that they are now working together on joint investigation on how the U.S. National Security Agency has been involved in the wider overseas “assassination program” run by the Obama administration.
As the Associated Press reports from Rio de Janeiro—where Greenwald and Scahill attended the South American premiere of Dirty Wars, a documentary film based on Scahill’s book of the same name—the U.S. journalists “known for their investigations of the United States’ government” have now “teamed up to report” on how the vast surveillance network of the NSA operates in conjunction with clandestine operations run by the U.S. military or CIA.
“The connections between war and surveillance are clear. I don’t want to give too much away but Glenn and I are working on a project right now that has at its center how the National Security Agency plays a significant, central role in the U.S. assassination program,” said Scahill, according to AP, while speaking at a roundtable discussion at the Rio Film Festival.
“There are so many stories that are yet to be published that we hope will produce ‘actionable intelligence,’ or information that ordinary citizens across the world can use to try to fight for change, to try to confront those in power,” Scahill added.
Greenwald, who has been entrusted with a trove of top-secret NSA documents by whistleblower Edward Snowden and reported extensively on their contents, has previously indicated that there is much more to come from the information contained in the files.
Scahill, well-known as an investigative journalist on U.S. foreign policy and the author of two best-selling books focused on the government’s so-called “global war on terror,” has reported extensively on the U.S. drone wars in Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and elsewhere and also focused on the work of the secretive Joint Special Operations Command (or JSOC) the military force at the heart of the many controversial programs in recent years.
Following Scahill and Greenwald on Twitter:
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http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/28-4
Published on Saturday, September 28, 2013 by Common Dreams
Witnesses to a Massacre: The Truth Behind Our Incarceration
by Tarek Loubani and John Greyson
The following statement is the first direct communication to the outside world from Canadians John Greyson and Tarek Loubani who have been locked up in Cairo’s notorious Tora Prison since August 16. They have been held for almost 45 days and are in their second week of a hunger strike.
The men have not been charged and their imprisonment has sparked international outcry, with 140,000 people signing a petition calling for their release, including some of the most well known names in the film industry and in academia. Amnesty International has also launched a campaign (Details here– pdf).
Greyson is a professor at the Department of Film at York University and a world renowned, award-winning film-maker. Tarek Loubani is an emergency room medical doctor and an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Western University (London, Ontario). Tarek leads a joint effort between Western University and the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza that trains Palestinian emergency physicians.
On August 16th, the two were on route to Gaza, where Tarek was to continue his collaboration and John was making preparations for a documentary film. The border was closed so they were forced to stay in Cairo at a very dangerous time.
Statement from John Greyson and Tarek Loubani:
We are on the 12th day of our hunger strike at Tora, Cairo’s main prison, located on the banks of the Nile. We’ve been held here since August 16 in ridiculous conditions: no phone calls, little to no exercise, sharing a 3m x 10m cell with 36 other political prisoners, sleeping like sardines on concrete with the cockroaches; sharing a single tap of earthy Nile water.
We never planned to stay in Egypt longer than overnight. We arrived in Cairo on the 15th with transit visas and all the necessary paperwork to proceed to our destination: Gaza. Tarek volunteers at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, and brings people with him each time. John intended to shoot a short film about Tarek’s work.
Because of the coup, the official Rafah border was opening and closing randomly, and we were stuck in Cairo for the day. We were carrying portable camera gear (one light, one microphone, John’s HD Canon, two Go-Pros) and gear for the hospital (routers for a much-needed wifi network and two disassembled toy-sized helicopters for testing the transportation of medical samples).
Because of the protests in Ramses Square and around the country on the 16th, our car couldn’t proceed to Gaza. We decided to check out the Square, five blocks from our hotel, carrying our passports and John’s HD camera. The protest was just starting – peaceful chanting, the faint odour of tear gas, a helicopter lazily circling overhead – when suddenly calls of “doctor”. A young man carried by others from God-knows-where, bleeding from a bullet wound. Tarek snapped into doctor mode…and started to work doing emergency response, trying to save lives, while John did video documentation, shooting a record of the carnage that was unfolding. The wounded and dying never stopped coming. Between us, we saw over fifty Egyptians die: students, workers, professionals, professors, all shapes, all ages, unarmed. We later learned the body count for the day was 102.
We left in the evening when it was safe, trying to get back to our hotel on the Nile. We stopped for ice cream. We couldn’t find a way through the police cordon though, and finally asked for help at a check point.
The arrest stories of our Egyptian cellmates are remarkably similar to ours: Egyptians who were picked up on dark streets after the protest, by thugs or cops, blocks or miles from the police station that is the alleged site of our alleged crimes.
That’s when we were: arrested, searched, caged, questioned, interrogated, videotaped with a ‘Syrian terrorist’, slapped, beaten, ridiculed, hot-boxed, refused phone calls, stripped, shaved bald, accused of being foreign mercenaries. Was it our Canadian passports, or the footage of Tarek performing CPR, or our ice cream wrappers that set them off? They screamed ‘Canadian’ as they kicked and hit us. John had a precisely etched bootprint bruise on his back for a week.
We were two of 602 arrested that night, all 602 potentially facing the same grab-bag of ludicrous charges: arson, conspiracy, terrorism, possession of weapons, firearms, explosives, attacking a police station. The arrest stories of our Egyptian cellmates are remarkably similar to ours: Egyptians who were picked up on dark streets after the protest, by thugs or cops, blocks or miles from the police station that is the alleged site of our alleged crimes.
We’ve been here in Tora prison for six weeks, and are now in a new cell (3.5m x 5.5m) that we share with ‘only’ six others. We’re still sleeping on concrete with the cockroaches, and still share a single tap of Nile water, but now we get (almost) daily exercise and showers. Still no phone calls. The prosecutor won’t say if there’s some outstanding issue that’s holding things up. The routers, the film equipment, or the footage of Tarek treating bullet wounds through that long bloody afternoon? Indeed, we would welcome our day in a real court with the real evidence, because then this footage would provide us with our alibi and serve as a witness to the massacre.
We deserve due process, not cockroaches on concrete. We demand to be released.
Peace,
John & Tarek
———————————————————————————————
Quantitative Easing Announcement Triggers Buying Frenzy: Bernanke’s Head Fake Sends Stocks Soaring
By Mike Whitney
Global Research, September 29, 2013
informationclearinghouse.info
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke shocked the world on September 18 when he announced there would be no change in the Fed’s $85 billion-per-month asset purchase program dubbed QE. The announcement sparked a buying frenzy on Wall Street where all three major indices shot to record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) climbed 146 points to 15,676 while the S & P 500 logged another 38 points to 1,725 on the day. Bonds and gold also rallied big on the news with the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury dipping sharply to 2.69 percent (from 2.85 percent the day before) while gold rose more than 4.1 percent to $1,364. The US dollar was hammered savagely on the news, dropping to a seven-month low against a basket of major currencies. According to Reuters, the buck “saw its biggest one-day slide in more than two months” and “has fallen to levels not seen since well before Fed Chief Ben Bernanke first floated the idea of reducing the stimulus in May.”
Bernanke attempted to justify his reversal (some are calling it a “head fake”) on continuing weakness in the economy, particularly high unemployment and tightening in the financial markets. He also implied he was worried about the possibility of a government shutdown and the impact that would have on the anemic recovery.
While Bernanke presented a rational defense for his pet program, he was not convincing. The truth is, the Princeton professor is out on a limb and doesn’t know how to get down. That’s why he didn’t trim his bond buying by even a measly $5 billion per month, because he’s afraid the announcement would trigger a selloff that would unravel his $2.8 trillion reflation effort. So he decided to stand pat and do nothing.
But standing pat is not a long-term option, eventually the Fed will have to end the program and wind down its balance sheet. Investors know this, which is why Thursday’s giddiness quickly morphed into somber reflection and head scratching on Friday. Everyone wants to know “what’s next”, especially since QE’s impact is diminishing, financial markets are getting frothy, and improvements in the economy are marginal at best. Can the Fed really inflate its balance sheet by another 1 or $2 trillion hoping that the economy picks up in the meantime, or will Bernanke simply call it quits and let the chips fall where they may? Who really knows? This is the problem with unconventional policies; it’s impossible to predict the downside risks because they’re, well, unconventional, and haven’t been thoroughly tested before.
In the case of QE, we can see now that Bernanke forged ahead without developing a coherent exit strategy. That’s a big no-no; you never want to paint yourself into a corner especially when trillions of dollars and the stability of the financial system are at stake. But that’s where Bernanke finds himself today four years after embarking on a policy path that has boosted corporate profits to all-time highs, widened income inequality to levels not seen since the Gilded Age, and pushed Dow Jones Industrial Average up by 146% since its March 2009 low.
And that’s what made QE such an irresistible policy, because the upside rewards were so great. QE created a vehicle for transferring incalculable wealth to the investor class while concealing its real purpose behind public relations blather about lowering unemployment and strengthening the recovery.
As we have pointed out before in this column, QE has no effect on unemployment. The swapping of Treasuries for bank reserves does not create a transmission mechanism for increasing demand that leads to additional hiring. As Lee Adler of the Wall Street Examiner says:
“Job growth has not accelerated as a response to the flood of money printing…The growth rates were actually stronger before the Fed started pumping money into the economy in November when it settled its first MBS purchases in QE3…Money printing works to inflate asset prices, but it does nothing to stimulate job growth…
House prices and stock prices have inflated, thanks to too many dollars chasing too few assets. But job growth has been slow–steady, but slow, growing at slightly above the rate of population growth…..” (“Here’s How BLS Data Proves QE Has Had Zero Effect As Jobs Growth Plods Along”, Wall Street Examiner)
QE does not lower long-term interest rates either, in fact, long-term rates have edged higher during QE1, QE2 and now QE3. (Presently, rates are a full percentage point above what they were when the program was first announced on 13 September 2012) Similarly, rates should fall again when Bernanke finally settles on an exit strategy and stock holders pile back into Treasuries acknowledging the feeble state of the economy. Long-term yields will fall because the demand for funds remains weak. When the demand for money is weak, the price of money decreases which means that rates fall. It’s another sign that we are in a Depression. Now check this out from Reuters:
“Since the bottom of the recession just over four years ago, commercial bank loans and leases have grown 4.0 percent, one of the weakest post-recession recoveries in terms of borrowing since the 1960s, according to Paul Kasriel, the former chief economist of Northern Trust Company. For comparison, over the same period after the July 1990-March 1991 recession, loans and leases grew over four times faster…..” (“Time to taper? Not if you look at bank loans”, Reuters)
Once again, credit expansion is weak, because the economy is still on the ropes.
Consumers and households aren’t borrowing because they are still deleveraging from the big bust of ’08 that wiped out their home equity and a good part of their retirement savings. They’re not borrowing because their wages have stagnated and their income is falling. Also, they’re not borrowing because they’ve lost confidence in the institutions which they used to think were governed by regulations and the rule of law. They know now that that’s not how things work, so they have become more cautious in their spending.
QE doesn’t even increase inflation which is why the Fed is still unable to hit its target rate of 2 percent. The fact that inflation has stayed so low (The Consumer Price Index was up just 0.1% in August) while stock prices have more than doubled at the same time, proves that Bernanke’s nearly $3 trillion in liquidity has not “trickled down” to the real economy at all. The injections have merely boosted profits on inflated asset prices for financial parasites and speculators.
Even hedge fund managers like Duquesne Capital’s Stanley Druckenmiller are now willing to admit that QE is a farce. Here’s what Druckenmiller said in an interview with CNBC following Bernanke’s announcement on Wednesday:
“This is fantastic for every rich person. This is the biggest redistribution of wealth from the middle class and the poor to the rich ever.”
Indeed, while the dwindling middle class faces deeper budget cuts and tattered safety net programs, the rich have never had it so good. And much of the credit goes to Ben Bernanke and his bond buying program, QE.
As economist Anthony Randazzo of the Reason Foundation wrote last year QE “is fundamentally a regressive redistribution program that has been boosting wealth for those already engaged in the financial sector or those who already own homes, but passing little along to the rest of the economy. It is a primary driver of income inequality.” (“Druckenmiller: Fed robbing poor to pay rich”, CNBC)
====================================================================================
From: “Brasscheck TV” <news@brasschecktv.com>
Date: September 27, 2013 6:06:43 PM GMT-05:00
Subject: Another African travelogue: Destination Morocco
France has the Bordeaux region.
Morocco has the Rif Mountains… and they’re not growing grapes.
A massive – and peaceful – agricultural enterprise the European Union is spending billions to wipe out.
(Fast forward to 14:00 when the real action starts.)
Video: http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/24645.html
– Brasscheck
====================================================================================
http://ricefarmer.blogspot.com/
News Links, September 28-30, 2013
## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards ##
Bubblecovery: Why Our Economic Recovery Is Actually An Illusion (Forbes!)
I don’t want to say “I told you so,” but… I told you so! Readers who’ve been with me for a while will recall that I’ve said we have only bubbles now, not any real recovery. — RF
Blackstone: We’re in an ‘epic credit bubble’
China to allow banks to sell $49 billion of asset-backed securities: sources
Russia minister expects a sputtering economy
Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Saturday economic growth has been flat and there are “no visible signs of change for the better.”
German engineering company Siemens to cut as many as 15,000 jobs worldwide
Brazil’s railroad plan has yet to leave the station
Italy in crisis as Letta struggles to secure budget
Berlusconi ministers resign; Italy gov’t in crisis
Canada’s soaring real estate market: Feel good now, pay later
Surge In Shipping Rates Temporary – Growth Hopes Dashed (Again)
Italian GDP Slumps Fastest Since 1861’s Unification
How Marc Faber Prepares For “When The Sh*t Hits The Fan”
World’s biggest ship too big for its own good?
New taxes meant to alleviate Puerto Rico economic crisis hits lower, middle class
If Republicans Want To Shut Down Washington, They’ll Have To Ask China’s Permission First
Although China, Japan, and other major creditor nations have no dog in the Obamacare fight, they have a strong interest in preserving America’s basic financial, economic, and social stability. From their point of view, the Tea Party contingent is not following the script and a corrective may prove necessary.
Default or not, Asia a hostage to U.S. debt
## Airline Death Spiral ##
More than half of pilots fall asleep on the job
Dreamliner Again Tests the Patience of Norwegian Airline
Boeing 787 Dreamliner woes continue as Polish airline flight diverted due to faulty antenna
Two thirds of Asian flights to/from Sydney have not grown since 2008 (part 3)
## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Israel starts campaign to boost U.S. military aid
With Israel’s 10-year military assistance agreement with the United States due to expire in 2017, the Jewish state’s military chiefs are pushing for annual U.S. aid to be increased beyond the current $3.1 billion, even though America’s struggling with an economic crisis.
Saudi Arabia “Outraged” At Obama’s Peace Overtures With Syria, Iran
The Return of Insider Attacks in Afghanistan
Greek police arrest leader of far-right Golden Dawn party
Water Wars: Egyptians Condemn Ethiopia’s Nile Dam Project
Russia keeps up Greenpeace crackdown
Hurled shoes and eggs greet Iran’s returning president
Unlike history-ignorant Americans, many Iranians remember their treatment at the hands of the US. — RF
Chemical weapons watchdog to begin Syria inspections next week
Kenya says ‘at war’ with al Shabaab, faces security questions
Turkey goes for Chinese take-away defense
On September 26, 2013, Turkey made the rather eyebrow-raising decision to put its long range missile defense eggs in a Chinese basket, announcing it had awarded a US$3 billion contract to the People’s Republic of China for its truck-mounted “shoot and scoot” FD-2000 system.
AP interview: Iraq says West should take Iran’s shift to improve relations seriously
Iran’s secret trade links to bypass sanctions
Articles like this just amaze me. Any country will try to bypass sanctions. And yet there are no sanctions against Pakistan, India, or Israel, all of which have the dubious distinction of being grouped with North Korea as non-NPT nuclear powers.
Japan Coast Guard vessels and equipment in high demand in S.E. Asia, Africa
Vietnam, locked like Japan in a territorial row with China, is showing keen interest in acquiring new patrol boats modeled after Japan Coast Guard cutters to safeguard its fishing grounds and the fishermen who operate in those waters.
Twin bombs kill 33 in Pakistan city of Peshawar
## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Violent clashes as squatters are evicted in Argentina
South African platinum miner Amplats hit by strike
More than 3,000 protesters on Khartoum streets demand Bashir quit
Sudan stands firm on fuel rise despite deadly riots
Egypt sees fresh anti-coup alliance protests
Tokyo rally protests moves to restart Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactors
## Energy/resources ##
Dead Bodies for Renewable Energy?
The myth of US energy independence in the global world of oil
Libya oil crisis imperils badly needed investment in energy
On This Day In History, Oil Prices Have Never Been Higher
North Dakota Oil Output May Double by Mid-2017-State Official
Costly winter predicted for those who heat with oil, power (Canada)
The Myths Of Falling Solar Costs
China bans solar panel factories; global solar industry rejoices
Iran: Rapprochement Crucial To Avoiding Peak Oil And Global Crisis This Decade
A bit long but well worth the time. The author sensibly cautions against the unfounded expectations for fracking and “peak demand,” and makes a case that Iran’s oil is needed to keep markets well-supplied. Judging by the recent US response to the overtures of the new Iranian administration, the Americans also think so, and are pushing aside Israeli protestations in search of a deal. I said from the start that the world needs Iran’s oil, which is obvious from the numerous sanction waivers granted by the US government. The Americans, whose economy is being brutally clubbed to death by high oil prices, want the sanctions to end just as badly as the Iranians do. — RF
Oman looks beyond Iran sanctions for gas lifeline
Nigeria signs $1.3 billion power plant deal with China
Geology beats technology: Shell shuts down oil shale pilot project
The belief that technology can always overcome natural limits just took a big hit this week when Royal Dutch Shell PLC decided to shut down its pilot oil shale project in western Colorado after 31 years of experimentation.
## Got food? ##
Brits are cooking smaller portions to cope with soaring food bills
Students Win Seed Money To Make Flour From Insects
## Lifestyle Solutions ##
Mobile phones destroying people’s private lives
They have been marketed as a way to make us all more “connected”, but a new academic study shows that mobile phones could be destroying people’s private lives and even affecting their ability to think.
## Environment/health ##
True Extent of Flood Damage to Colorado’s Oil Industry Becomes Clearer
What is krokodil? The flesh-rotting drug comes to the U.S.
## Intelligence/propaganda/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Official sidesteps questions on NSA and cellphones
NSA Chief: ‘Yes’ – Our Desire Is To Collect All US Communications
NSA Collecting Private Data to Socially-Profile Americans
Dianne Feinstein Accidentally Confirms That NSA Tapped The Internet Backbone
NSA’s Spying On Metadata Violates Our Freedom of Association
Analysts skeptical of Iran president’s charm offensive
I include this as an example of propaganda. “Charm offensive” is a propaganda term used to disparage and belittle an overture by a party deemed hostile or not amenable to US control. Similarly, in the article you’ll see the term “regime” used for “government,” suggesting that it is illegitimate, evil, shady, underhanded, and untrustworthy. A “regime” is typically any government which the US would like to see toppled and replaced with a pro-US ruler. You will never see a usage like “the regime in Tel Aviv,” for example. And recall that in the case of Iran, the ultimate objective has been to bring that country back under US control. That’s what the sanctions are all about. — RF
Journalist Seymour Hersh on Obama, NSA and the ‘Pathetic’ American Media
Don’t even get him started on the New York Times which, he says, spends “so much more time carrying water for Obama than I ever thought they would” – or the death of Osama bin Laden. “Nothing’s been done about that story, it’s one big lie, not one word of it is true,” he says of the dramatic US Navy Seals raid in 2011.
And there you have it. Hersh is saying exactly what I’ve been saying all along: The OBL assassination narrative (including the conflicting versions told by Navy Seals who supposedly participated in this adventure) is a giant crock of baloney. If you believe this story, I have some ocean-front lots in Nebraska to sell you. — RF
US officials say Iran hacked Navy computers
Google Says TGIF To Problem-Plagued Week
The FBI Has Been Using Drones Domestically Since 2006
## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
The road to hell (on Brazil’s infrastructure)
## Japan ##
Japan Pummeled By Soaring Food And Energy Prices, Plunging Wages And Ongoing Core Deflation
Economy may take blows from imminent price hikes, higher taxes
Tokyo Electric: will add $10 bln for Fukushima cleanup to turnaround plan
Rubber mat in tank may have shut down ALPS
The shutdown of the ALPS water treatment system at the Fukushima No. 1 plant may have been caused by a rubber mat left in its water tank, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday.
Tokyo Electric says ‘difficult’ to post profit this year
TEPCO head expects return to the black through cost cutting
Investors Of Japan’s Most Hated Corporation, TEPCO, To Be Bailed Out Forever
Despite Fukushima Crisis, TEPCO Moves to Re-Start World’s Largest Nuclear Plant
Power-saving targets likely to be dropped this winter
Let’s hope households and businesses stick to their current power-saving regimen. — RF
Sales tax hike masks bigger problem of welfare spending
JR Shikoku failed to repair 50 railway bridges found defective three years ago
Still more of Japan’s railway infrastructure is found to be in a state of disrepair. — RF
## China ##
China’s Local Government Financing Vehicles (LGFV): 7 Things You Should Know About China’s Local Debt Bomb
Shanghai free trade zone launched in major economic pilot scheme
The Renminbi: Soon to Be a Reserve Currency? (PDF)
Have-Nots squeezed and stacked in Hong Kong
## UK ##
Bodies ‘buried in car parks due to graves shortage’
Consumer: Families in hot water over heating bills
According to research, 3.2 million UK households are facing fuel poverty this year. Around a quarter of families are simply leaving the heating off and living in unacceptably cold conditions because they simply can’t afford to pay the bills.
FBI uses drones since 2006, watchdog says
New York Opera set to enter bankruptcy within a week
Why are Americans giving up their citizenship?
Is The U.S. Collecting Cell Phone Location Data?
Food Stamp Growth 75X Greater than Job Creation
Middletown USA Loses Industrial Jobs And, Perhaps, Its Iconic Basketball Gym
The Economy Is Slipping Into Darkness – No Chance Of Taper This Year – Buy Mining Stocks
Lawmakers push Postal Service restructuring amid losses, soaring debt
Inside Luxury Tiny Homes: Millennials, Retirees Bucking Mortgages and McMansions
Nearly two mass shootings per month since 2009, study finds
U.S. to allocate $45M for more armed cops in schools
J.P. Morgan May Have To Pay Record Ransom To Buy Off The Feds
For US automakers, Detroit is now a place for charity, not chassis
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