House Republican Fears False Flag Operation in Persian Gulf
January 14th, 2007Ron Paul stood on the floor of the House of Representatives and, in an open session, on the record, said, “A contrived Gulf of Tonkin-type incident may well occur to gain popular support for an attack on Iran.”
This is incredible, even by my standards. I watched this clip a few times, and I still don’t believe it.
That’s the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives! Where’s the media coverage of this? * sigh *
Via: AlterNet:
Bush To 60 Minutes: ‘No Matter What Congress Wants’ Surge Is On
January 14th, 2007It’s not what the Democrats say, it’s what the Democrats do. Their purpose is to serve this regime, and squeal a bit, in fake protest, to maintain the appearance of opposition. They’re filthy, enemy collaborators, Bush knows that they’re with him and this is all just a bunch of absurd theater ahead of the surge to oblivion.
Just wait for the next false flag op. You’ll see the Dems harping at Bush for not expanding the War on Terror fast enough!
Via: Raw Story:
In an interview set to air on this Sunday’s 60 Minutes, President George W. Bush vows to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq “no matter what” the Democratic-controlled Congress tries to do.
“Do you believe as Commander in Chief you have the authority to put the troops in there no matter what the Congress wants to do,” 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley asks Bush in the short clip uploaded to the CBS News web site Friday night.
“I think I’ve got, in this situation, I do, yeah,” Bush said.
“Now I fully understand they will,” Bush continued, “they could try to stop me from doing it, but, uh, I’ve made my decision and we’re going forward.”
Pentagon Official Advocates Placing Gitmo Lawers on Blacklist
January 14th, 2007Charles Stimson also said that lawyers who do pro bono work, on behalf of America’s victims, are, “Receiving monies from who knows where,” obviously trying to imply that “the terrorists” are funding civil liberties advocates.
Interestingly, there was no mention of the unknown number of people being tortured in the unknown number of CIA rendering facilities around the world. Maybe that was scheduled for a follow-up interview?
Via: CNN:
The Pentagon on Saturday disavowed a senior official’s remarks suggesting companies boycott law firms that represent detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Charles “Cully” Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, said in a radio interview last week that companies might want to consider taking their business to firms that do not represent suspected terrorists.
Stimson’s remarks were viewed by legal experts and advocacy groups as an attempt to intimidate law firms that provide legal help to all people, even unpopular defendants.
A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Brian Maka, said Stimson was not speaking for the Bush administration.
…
Stimson on Thursday told Federal News Radio, a local commercial station that covers the government, that he found it “shocking” that lawyers at many of the nation’s top law firms represent detainees.
Stimson listed the names of more than a dozen major firms he suggested should be boycotted.
“And I think, quite honestly, when corporate CEOs see that those firms are representing the very terrorists who hit their bottom line back in 2001, those CEOs are going to make those law firms choose between representing terrorists or representing reputable firms,” Stimson said.
Asked who might be paying the law firms to represent Guantanamo detainees, Stimson hinted at wrongdoing.
“It’s not clear, is it? Some will maintain that they’re doing it out of the goodness of their heart — that they’re doing it pro bono, and I suspect they are,” he said. “Others are receiving monies from who knows where and I’d be curious to have them explain that.”
Stimson also described Guantanamo as “certainly, probably the most transparent and open location in the world” because of visits from more than 2,000 journalists since it opened five years ago. However, journalists are not allowed to talk to detainees on those visits, their photos are censored and their access to the base has at times been shut off entirely.
He discounted international outrage over the detention center as “small little protests around the world” that were “drummed up by Amnesty International” and inflated in importance by liberal news media outlets.
Military and CIA Expand Surveillance of Americans
January 13th, 2007Is Counterintelligence Field Activity (cifa.mil) tasked with maintaining the master shit list? Compartmentalization, and hiding the budget for the activity, would probably be easier for the military than it would be for any of the civilian agencies.
Interestingly, cifa.mil is one of the few military domains that hasn’t blocked access to Cryptogon. NSA, NGA, DARPA and the White House Military Office still check in on occasion. But Cryptogon is off limits for the average enlisted person… Hmm, I wonder why… * sigh *
Via: New York Times:
The Pentagon has been using a little-known power to obtain banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage inside the United States, part of an aggressive expansion by the military into domestic intelligence gathering.
The C.I.A. has also been issuing what are known as national security letters to gain access to financial records from American companies, though it has done so only rarely, intelligence officials say.
Banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions receiving the letters usually have turned over documents voluntarily, allowing investigators to examine the financial assets and transactions of American military personnel and civilians, officials say.
The F.B.I., the lead agency on domestic counterterrorism and espionage, has issued thousands of national security letters since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, provoking criticism and court challenges from civil liberties advocates who see them as unjustified intrusions into Americans’ private lives.
But it was not previously known, even to some senior counterterrorism officials, that the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency have been using their own “noncompulsory†versions of the letters.
…
In the next year, they plan to incorporate the records into a database at the Counterintelligence Field Activity office at the Pentagon to track possible threats against the military, Pentagon officials said. Like others interviewed, they would speak only on the condition of anonymity.
How Spicy Foods Can Kill Cancers
January 13th, 2007Via: BBC:
Scientists have discovered the key to the ability of spicy foods to kill cancer cells.
They found capsaicin, an ingredient of jalapeno peppers, triggers cancer cell death by attacking mitochondria – the cells’ energy-generating boiler rooms.
Related: Don’t Forget the Garlic and Onions
Doomsday Clock to Move Closer to Nuclear Armageddon
January 13th, 2007You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. Or, maybe you do…
Via: Yahoo/AFP:
The world is inching closer to nuclear Armageddon, a group of prominent scientists and security experts said.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has kept a Doomsday clock since 1947 as a reminder of the dangers of nuclear proliferation.
The clock will be moved forward Wednesday at simultaneous events in Washington and London whose speakers will include physicist Stephen Hawking, the Chicago-based periodical said in a statement.
The Bulletin warned that the world had entered a “Second Nuclear Age marked by grave threats.”
It cited the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea; escalating terrorism; unsecured nuclear materials in Russia and elsewhere, the continuing “launch-ready” status of 2,000 of the 25,000 nuclear weapons held by the United States and Russia, and “new pressure from climate change for expanded civilian nuclear power that could increase proliferation risks.”
Squadron of 24 F-16 Fighters Lands at U.S. Base in Incirlik
January 13th, 2007I’m sure you can do the math on this one by now.
Via: Hurriyet:
A certain silence which had reigned over the US Incirlik Air Force base in the Turkish city of Adana for the past 3 years came to a close today.
After an absence of 3 years, a squadron of 24 US F-16 fighter jets landed at Incirlik yesterday, reinforced also by an early warning system AWACS airplane, as well as tanker airplanes meant for mid-air fuel replenishing. The F-16s which landed at Incirlik yesterday began flight training runs in Adana this morning, although authorities did not comment on whether the jets will be staying at Adana for a long duration or only temporarily.
iPhone as Infrastructure Bomb?
January 12th, 2007Steve Jobs dropped a serious clanger in a recent interview. The iPhone is locked down because, “Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up.”
iPhone as infrastructure bomb? HAHAHA
Luckily, it’s a simple matter to step outside the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field: First, Cingular’s West Coast network would face a much greater threat from a few determined people who knew what they were doing with shovels and axes.
Second, Cingular definitely doesn’t want wise guys and girls running voice over IP applications when WiFi networks are available. If you’re flapping your gums over a VoIP link during peak hours, you’re not using up your anytime, Rollover minutes. Cingular wouldn’t like that. Cingular REALLY wouldn’t like that. All those people, just piling up their Rollover minutes as they chew the fat over some free VoIP thing… Saving those minutes for when no WiFi link was available… Oh no, no, no.
Anyone want to guess how long it will take the gear heads to root that thing, have it Whistling Dixie over VoIP, and flipping Steve Jobs and Cingular the bird? Of course, they could just use Cisco’s iPhone (Cisco actually owns—or doesn’t own—the iPhone trademark and is suing Apple) for their VoIP antics, but that wouldn’t piss Steve off enough.
Via: MSNBC:
“You don’t want your phone to be an open platform,†meaning that anyone can write applications for it and potentially gum up the provider’s network, says Jobs. “You need it to work when you need it to work. Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up.â€
More: Slashdot
Blast Rips Through U.S. Embassy Compound in Athens
January 12th, 2007Via: Reuters Canada:
ATHENS (Reuters) – An explosion ripped through the U.S. embassy compound in central Athens on Friday, a police source said.
It was not clear what caused the blast and there was no immediate word on whether there were any casualties.
Police cordoned off all roads around the embassy.
Police officials at the scene said that whatever caused the explosion damaged the official embassy sign outside the mission, but there was little other indication of the extent of damage inside.
U.S. Troops Stage Second Secret Raid at Iraq Airport
January 12th, 2007And nearly wind up in a gunbattle with allied Kurdish peshmerga troops?!
Via: ABC News:
In the first raid, the U.S. troops stormed a building that houses the Iranian liaison office in the northern city of Irbil at 3 a.m. local time, where they detained at least five Iranians and also confiscated computers and documents.
A nearby resident told the Associated Press that the troops used stun bombs in the raid and had helicopters flying overhead as they went through the two-story yellow house.
In the second raid, staged later in the day, U.S. troops attempted to abduct more people from inside the perimeter of Irbil airport, but were surrounded by Kurdish peshmerga troops.
“This group has come from nowhere,” Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told ABC News. “They were unwilling to reveal their identity and entered the airport, which is a very sensitive area, and there was a response by the local forces.”
Both sides were heavily armed, and shooting very nearly broke out. “There weren’t any casualties, but it was a split second really for a disaster to happen. This has created a great deal of anxiety,” said Zebari.
‘Delicate Situation’
It is unclear where the U.S. troops came from — even local U.S. officials contacted by the Kurdish authorities had no knowledge of the armed men.
The American military later issued a statement saying it had detained six people in a raid in Irbil, but did not specify their nationality or give any other information about the raids.
The raids came within hours of President Bush’s speech about future U.S. policy in Iraq, which included a pledge to “interrupt the flow of support from Iran” for anti-U.S. forces in Iraq.
