Why People Believe Americans Are Stupid
January 14th, 2007If you thought Idiocracy was just a bit of satire, brace for impact:
British Intelligence Had 7/7 Ringleader Under Surveillance Since 2003
January 14th, 2007Via: Guardian/Observer:
The 7 July bombers who killed 52 people in terrorist attacks in London in 2005 were once described by Britain’s security service as ‘clean skins’.
The vivid phrase implied that a gang of homegrown terrorists had come from nowhere, without an intelligence trail. But Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, the director-general of MI5, is bracing herself for embarrassing revelations on the full extent of what the British intelligence community knew about the bombers, and in particular the ringleader of the attacks, Mohammad Sidique Khan. The disclosures will add to pressure for a full public inquiry.
…
MI5 now admit that far from being a ‘clean skin’, Khan had been on their radar screen since 2003. And The Observer can now reveal that more than a year before he detonated his Tube bomb, Khan had been listed as a ‘desirable suspect’ by MI5, along with fellow bomber Shehzad Tanweer.
U.S. Strikes on “Al-Qa’ida Chiefs” Kill at Least 70 Nomads
January 14th, 2007Mission accomplished! Again.
Via: Independent:
The herdsmen had gathered with their animals around large fires at night to ward off mosquitoes. But lit up by the flames, they became latest victims of America’s war on terror.
It was their tragedy to be misidentified in a secret operation by special forces attempting to kill three top al-Qa’ida leaders in south-ern Somalia.
Oxfam yesterday confirmed at least 70 nomads in the Afmadow district near the border with Kenya had been killed. The nomads were bombed at night and during the day while searching for water sources. Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Kenya has acknowledged that the onslaught on Islamist fighters failed to kill any of the three prime targets wanted for their alleged role in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
The wanted men are Fazul Abdullah Moham-med, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan and Abu Taha al-Sudani, who were all supposedly sheltered by the Union of Islamic Courts during its short reign in Mogadishu.
The operation, which opened a new front in Washington’s anti-terror campaign, seems to have backfired spectacularly in the five days since it was launched. In addition to the scores of Somali civilians killed, the simmering civil war in the failed state has been rekindled.
Steorn: Wide Distribution of Technology Immediately After Validation
January 14th, 2007I still don’t understand why they just didn’t release the thing into the wild… The alt energy community would have validated the technology, or not, in days, rather than months.
If this is a joke, we’re all still waiting for the punchline.
Via: Steorn:
Steorn, the Irish technology development company, has today announced that its free energy technology will be made widely available to the development community immediately after the independent scientific validation process that is currently underway.
Under the terms of a modified general purpose licence and for a nominal fee, Steorn’s intellectual property will be made available concurrently to all interested parties, from individual enthusiasts to larger research organisations. Steorn is taking this bold move to accelerate the deployment and acceptance of its technology for both humanitarian and commercial products.
Research Credit: PES Network
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.”
