Archive for the 'Covert Operations' Category
Obama Administration’s Backdoor Wiretap Bills
April 11th, 2012Via: Antifascist Calling: Under the guise of “cybersecurity,” the new all-purpose bogeyman to increase the secret state’s already-formidable reach, the Obama administration and their congressional allies are crafting legislation that will open new backdoors for even more intrusive government surveillance: portals into our lives that will never be shut.
“Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout Sentenced to 25 Years; Trial Ignored His Ties to U.S., Dick Cheney
April 7th, 2012Via: Democracy Now: Notorious arms smuggler Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,” has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiracy to commit terrorism. Our guest, former United Nations arms trafficking investigator Kathi Lynn Austin, says the case allowed American companies to avoid exposure of their collusion with with the U.S. government […]
Shady Companies With Ties to Israel Wiretap the U.S. for the NSA
April 4th, 2012Via: Wired: In addition to constructing the Stellar Wind center, and then running the operation, secretive contractors with questionable histories and little oversight were also used to do the actual bugging of the entire U.S. telecommunications network. According to a former Verizon employee briefed on the program, Verint, owned by Comverse Technology, taps the communication […]
Colombia: 8 Former Israeli Military Men Arrested on Suspicion of Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering and Exploitation of Minors
April 2nd, 2012Via: Ynet News: Eight Israelis were arrested in Colombia on suspicion of drug trafficking, money laundering and exploitation of minors, the country’s chief prosecutor told local media outlets on Tuesday. The suspects, who were described in the reports as “former military men,” reside in the city of Taganga. According to one of the reports, they […]
Drug Lords Targeted by Fast and Furious Were FBI Informants
March 29th, 2012Via: Los Angeles Times: When the ATF made alleged gun trafficker Manuel Fabian Celis-Acosta its primary target in the ill-fated Fast and Furious investigation, it hoped he would lead the agency to two associates who were Mexican drug cartel members. The ATF even questioned and released him knowing that he was wanted by the Drug […]
FBI Memo: Agents Can ‘Bend or Suspend the Law’
March 29th, 2012Via: Wired: The FBI once taught its agents that they can “bend or suspend the law” as they wiretap suspects. But the bureau says it didn’t really mean it, and has now removed the document from its counterterrorism training curriculum, calling it an “imprecise” instruction. Which is a good thing, national security attorneys say, because […]
Open Thread: JetBlue Incident
March 29th, 2012I know a couple of pilots and, initially, this didn’t surprise me too much. If I was making bum change to sit in an aluminum death capsule all day and/or night, while having to be away from my family most of the time, I might lose my shit too. But… This gets more interesting with […]
The Death of Neil Heywood in China
March 28th, 2012Via: Telegraph: Immaculately dressed, often in cream linen, Neil Heywood was the epitomy of a British gentleman abroad, but his death in a hotel room in China has left those who knew him asking what secrets he may have taken to his grave. The 41-year-old Old Harrovian was a vastly experienced China hand, who advised […]
Call to Examine MI5 Link to Murder of Nuclear Activist
March 20th, 2012Via: Guardian: One of Britain’s leading human rights lawyers has demanded a fresh police inquiry to establish what the British intelligence services knew about the murder of a prominent anti-nuclear campaigner. Michael Mansfield QC said new evidence meant that an independent police force should be appointed to examine enduring concerns and inconsistencies relating to the […]
Latest Attack in France Kills 4 Outside Jewish School
March 19th, 2012[???] Via: ABC: A motorcycle gunman opened fire Monday in front of a Jewish school in the French city of Toulouse, killing a rabbi, his two young sons and a schoolgirl, the prosecutor’s office said. It was the third deadly motorcycle shooting in the same area in recent days. French prosecutors were studying possible terrorist […]
