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Crude Loves Rocking Rail '' The Year of the Tank Car | RBN Energy Network
  Link to Article
  Thu, 07 Feb 2013 03:04
  The US energy midstream sector will remember 2012 as the ''Year of the Tank Car''. Venerable pipeline companies were reduced to investing in rail terminals. Although reluctant at first, coastal refiners embraced the margin boost that crude by rail provides them. Producers signed up to move landlocked crudes by rail to coastal destinations in search of higher prices. Petroleum shipments increased 46 percent from 370 M carloads in 2011 to 540 M carloads in 2012. Rail car manufacturers struggled to meet an order book of 40,000 rail cars and the backlog for new delivery is 18 months. Today we begin a crude by rail series.
  We discussed the crude by rail ''phenom'' all through last year as the development gathered steam. A lot of our analysis was centered on the region that saw most rail loading terminal development '' North Dakota (see From a Famine of Pipeline to a Feast of Rail and our earlier blog on rail shipments to the East Coast - Rail it on Over to Albany). By August of last year the Bakken rail terminals coming online had started to have an impact on crude pricing in the region as rail became the preferred form of transport out of the Bakken (see Railing Against the Pipelines). We delved into the tank car business and the railroads in the context of natural gas liquids (see A Tank Car Train for Hire). In December we looked at the crude by rail destination terminals owned by Plains and Nustar at St. James, LA (see Back to the Delta). In this series we will cover crude by rail ''soup to nuts'' including loading terminals, destination terminals and transport economics. In this introduction we review the expansion of crude by rail during 2012 and the market trends that lie behind the Year of the Tank Car.
  Source: Dakota Plains Website
  Crude Production Drives Rail
  In the year to November 2012 U.S. crude oil production increased by 0.9 MMb/d (Energy Information Administration data). The crude basins that experienced the greatest growth were the Bakken (200 Mb/d), Eagle Ford (300 Mb/d) and Permian (270 Mb/d). Canadian production also increased 250 Mb/d in 2012. The growth is US production is forecast to continue - by 2.5 MMb/d between 2012 and 2017. Pipeline infrastructure to deliver crude to market has not been built quickly enough to keep up with growing production. As a result existing pipelines to market are congested '' particularly in the Midwest at the Cushing, OK hub. That congestion has caused prices for inland crudes based on the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark at Cushing to fall vs coastal locations that pay higher international prices based on Brent North Sea crude. Although it is a more expensive transport solution than pipelines, the delays in pipeline construction and wide crude price differentials have made rail shipments economically viable.
  Railroads and Railcar Companies Benefit
  As a result crude by rail traffic went through the roof last year. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reports that more than 200M carloads of oil (roughly 350 Mb/d) were moved on U.S. Class I railroads in 2012. That's a 300 percent increase over 66M carloads last year (117 Mb/d). Another 100 Mb/d was moved by rail in Canada during 2012. The railroads are the obvious beneficiary of this increase in crude shipments but it should be remembered that petroleum represents only a tiny fraction of the total goods carried by rail '' just two percent of tonnage and three percent of revenue in 2011. Nevertheless the increase in crude has been welcome at a time when the railroad's staple commodity '' coal has been declining '' because of competition from natural gas for power generation. Coal shipments on major U.S. railroads fell nearly 11 percent in 2012 to 6.03 million carloads. A good deal of the new US domestic oil production results from the use of hydraulic fracturing techniques (see Tales of the Tight Sands Laterals). The railroads have also benefitted from increased movements of the sand and other materials required for ''fracking''.
  Burlington Northern (BNSF) has been the main beneficiary of the boom in rail traffic. It owns the majority of the tracks in North Dakota and Montana, at the heart of the Bakken. BNSF also own routes connecting south to major refining centers in Illinois and along the Gulf Coast. BNSF saw petroleum volume increase from just 3.5 Mb/d in 2008 to 240 Mb/d in 2012. BNSF is planning capital improvements to haul 40 percent more crude in 2013. The second largest carrier in the Bakken was Canadian Pacific (CP). That company moved less than 1.0 Mb/d in 2009 but increased shipments to over 100 Mb/d in 2012.
  Rail tank car manufacturers have also benefitted from the boom. Union Tank Car Co. is working at full capacity and American Railcar Industries Inc. has a backlog through 2014. Trinity Industries Inc. - the biggest railcar producer - began converting wind-tower factories last year to help meet demand for tank cars. In the first two weeks of January 2013 manufacturers received orders for more than 2,500 new tank cars and there is a backlog of 40,000 cars on order. If you buy a rail tank car today the wait for delivery is 18 months. Prices have shot up in the last two years in part because of new safety features required by regulations. The average new tank car purchase price increased from $74M in 2011 to $100M in 2012 and will increase to $133M in 2013. The shortage is exacerbated by manufacturers who keep many of the tank cars they produce to supply their own leasing businesses, where rates in some cases have more than quadrupled to $2,500 a month.
  The boom in traffic is set to continue. About 1 MMb/d of new rail-unloading capacity is being built or planned in the US during 2013. That is three times the current shipping level. The following trends are emerging:
  Unit Trains: Crude by rail logistics are embracing efficiencies to keep costs low. The unit train '' meaning 100 cars or more is more efficient but requires more extensive loading and unloading facilities that are now being built out.
  Single Line Hauls: Although railroads connect to most locations in the US, the journey times are impacted by the need to move cars onto a different carrier line and by congestion in the Midwest. For example it is more efficient to move crude from North Dakota to Albany New York by a single line haul on CP and then by tanker or barge down the Hudson River to the East Coast than to navigate multiple railroads across the Midwest to reach the East Coast by rail.
  Rail to Water: For refineries that have existing coastal or inland waterway access deliveries of crude by barge or tanker are often more convenient than by rail. Companies such as Marquis and Gateway operate rail unloading terminals along the Mississippi river (see A Good Year for the Barges Part II). These terminals offload crude from North Dakota or Canada onto barges for onward delivery to refineries in the Mississippi delta. Although some refineries on the East Coast are building rail unloading facilities there will still be advantages to waterborne deliveries particularly in the Gulf Coast region.
  Pipeline Companies Hit The Rails: Pipeline companies are getting in on the rail bonanza. Enbridge shipped 1.3 MMb/d of Canadian crude imports into the US in 2012. Most of that crude was shipped via the Enbridge Mainline '' the largest crude oil pipeline system in the world. During 2012 Enbridge also constructed a rail loading facility in North Dakota at Berthold to supplement their pipeline capacity in the region. In November 2012 Enbridge announced plans to invest in the Eddystone Rail Company that will develop a unit train unloading facility near Philadelphia that will deliver Bakken oil to East Coast refineries.
  Advantages of Bitumen By Rail: Canadian Bitumen shipments by rail are increasing to destinations on the East Coast and the Gulf Coast. These heavy crudes have to be mixed with 30 percent diluent in order to flow in pipelines. The pipelines out of Western Canada are so over subscribed that bitumen crudes are being discounted heavily in the Midwest. Rail transport offers two advantages. First the amount of diluent required to move bitumen crudes by rail is minimal or zero. Special heating equipment is used to heat the crude prior to unloading at the destination. That means more crude is shipped and the cost of diluent is saved. Second rail provides flexible destinations for shippers '' meaning that higher crude prices on the East Coast or the Gulf Coast can be realized.
  Rail '' the New Export Pipeline: Rail is now being seriously considered as an export option for Canadian crudes. The TransMountain and Northern Gateway pipeline projects to deliver Canadian crude to the West Coast for export that we discussed earlier this month (see West Coast Pipe Dreams) are threatened by environmental opposition. Rail routes already exist to move crude to the West Coast (albeit more expensively). Proposals exist to develop a terminal on the West Coast of Canada at Prince Rupert or to ship Canadian crude by rail to the US for export from a terminal in Washington or Oregon. These projects do not require any permits for the rail part of the journey but could face opposition to developing marine terminals.
  West Coast Growth: Crude oil movements by rail to the Western US are being advanced. Tesoro initiated rail movements from North Dakota to their Anacortes, WA refinery (40 Mb/d) in 2012. There are now several rail terminals being developed in the Northwest US to receive crude oil - including the recent acquisition of Cascade Kelly Holdings by Global Partners that includes waterborne facilities to move crude by barge or tanker to refineries on the West Coast. As we discussed recently in a blog about declining production of Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude that feeds many West Coast refineries (see After the Oil Rush) higher crude prices on the West coast make rail shipments from inland attractive.
  California is Complicated: Delivering crude by rail to the California refining market is complicated by stricter environmental regulations in the Golden State '' including the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, or LCFS, that requires California refineries to run crudes produced in environmentally friendly ways. Terminals are being developed however including a Plains/US Development Group facility at Bakersfield. Other proposals are on the table to ship crude by rail to California from West Texas and New Mexico.
  Safety Risks: One issue that has so far thankfully not received a great deal of attention is the safety risk of moving crude by rail. A recent Manhattan Institute report determined that rail accidents occur 34 times more frequently than pipeline ones for every ton of crude or other hazardous material shipped comparable distances. The AAR acknowledges the likelihood of a rail accident is double or triple the chance of a pipeline problem. A single incident could easily change the entire debate about rail versus pipeline safety.
  Summary
  The crude by rail express came from nowhere on the radar screen just a couple of years ago to become one of the biggest US energy developments of 2012. Many believed it was all a flash-in-the-pan that would evaporate once new pipelines were built to relieve inland crude congestion. However the signs are that continued increases in crude production will sustain significant crude by rail traffic in the coming years. The enormity of the changes in US crude oil delivery logistics means that nimble rail options '' often combined with waterborne movements '' have proven faster and more flexible than traditional pipeline development. In the rest of this series we will provide more detailed coverage of rail terminal developments and transport economics.
  Each business day RBN Energy releases the Daily Energy Post covering some aspect of energy market dynamics. Receive the morning RBN Energy email by signing up for theRBN Energy Network.
  The song ''I Love Rock'n'Roll'' was made famous by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 1981
Iran's new Ghaher-313 jet figher -- a mock-up model?
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 23:20
  Posted: February 2, 2013| Author:iranmilitarynews|Filed under:Iran Air Force, Military Developments| Tags:Day Dawn Western Australia, Fighter aircraft, Ghaher-313, HESA Saeqeh, Iran, Iranian Revolution, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Press TV, Qaher-313|After weeks of building anticipation, Iran announced on Saturday that it had unveiled its new Ghaher-313 jet fighter.
  Iran presented the Ghaher-313 to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as part of the country's Ten-Day Dawn ceremonies celebrating the 1979 Revolution.
  However, it seems as if the plane is nothing more than a mock-up model of a design, judging from photos credited to Fars News.
  Among other things, the displayed plane appears to have no engine exhaust pipe, and its landing gears are missing electrical hydraulic wiring.
  Even if the fighter displayed is a mock-up, however '' which could be in order to avoid giving away precise details about the new design '' the fighter model displayed appeared to show a new ejection seat, which Iran earlier announced it was working on.
  Here are some of the images posted earlier that give the impression the Ghaher-313 displayed is merely a small mock-up:
  Press TV, aimed at a Western audience, emphasized that the new fighter was completely indigenous, a theme that Iran continues to stress when discussing its claims of military advances.
  Ahmadinejad also stated that the fighter jet had been completely designed and manufactured by Iranian experts.
  As with previous claims about Iran's earlier Saeqeh fighter, Press TV also claimed that the fighter is not based on the F-5 even though it appears similar, but that it is instead more like the F-18.
  Iran's Sepah News, the IRGC's public relations site, cited Ahmadinejad as saying that the Ghaher-313 was ''among the most advanced fighters in the world''.
  Ahmadinejad claimed to have spoken with the aircraft's pilot, whom he reported as saying that the fighter's flight performance is ''very satisfactory''.
  The Aviationist offers more details of the fighter's design.
  Mashregh News, close to Iran's security services, offers more images of the Ghaher-313:
US Breweries go to War against Fracking Industry.
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 23:09
  US brewers have now taken up their case against fracking, worried that any potential contamination of ground water supplies would ruin their business. The process of brewing beer requires clean water, with many breweries being built at the sites they are specifically for the mineral composition of the water.
  Simon Thorpe, the CEO of the Ommegang Brewery explained to NBC that ''it's all about the quality of the water. The technology surrounding fracking is still not fully developed. Accidents are happening. Places are getting polluted.'' His brewery was built in Cooperstown, NY, due to the ready access to fresh water, but ''if that water supply is threatened by pollution, it makes it very difficult for us to produce world-class beer here.''
  Related article: Why the World May Never Experience a Shale Boom
  Simon is worried as local landowners are trying to sell leases of their land to companies for the exploration and extraction of natural gas. Jennifer Huntington, a dairy farmer in the area assured that they are only offering such leases due to their confidence of the safe nature of fracking. ''We all love this area, none of us want to see it ruined,'' she said.
  Purification equipment at the Ommegang Brewery can filter sediment from the water, and alter the pH levels, but it cannot remove some of the chemicals that could potentially enter the water table via fracking, such as benzene, methane, and possibly diesel. If any such chemicals do enter the water supply then the brewery will have to import its water from elsewhere, or close the brewery completely.
  Brooklyn Brewery, also in the state of NY, is equally worried and asks for state authorities to protect their water supply.
  By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com
Dispended | Define Dispended at Dictionary.com
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 23:05
  'var prefix = '\n';window['spLabel'] = 'Ads';if(num==1){window['spLabel'] = 'Ad';}var suffix = '
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  ';s += prefix;var ads = window['google_ads'];var ajslAds=window['ajsl_ads'];var spnrAds=window['spnr_ads'];for(var i = 0; i = topHeavyCharCount){longDescriptionPresent = true;break;}}if(ajslAds){for(var i = 0; i 65 ? ads[i].visible_url.substring(0, 65) : ads[i].visible_url);if(false){fragment = fragment.replace(/\{ncbmwidth\}/,"width:px");fragment = fragment.replace(/\{ncbm1width\}/,"width:px");}ads[i].line1 = highlightQuery(ads[i].line1);var dbgInfo="";if(false){adt = 'afc';if(ads[i].adType != null && 'ta' == ads[i].adType){adt = 'ta';}dbgInfo="[id=" + ads[i].n +",type="+adt+"]";}fragment = fragment.replace(/\{title\}/, dbgInfo+ads[i].line1);ads[i].line2 = highlightQuery(ads[i].line2);ads[i].line3 = highlightQuery(ads[i].line3);if(longDescriptionPresent){fragment = fragment.replace(/class=\"slD\"/,"class=\"slDL\"");}fragment = fragment.replace(/\{abstract\}/, ads[i].line2 + " " + ads[i].line3);return fragment;}function render_inhouse_ad(top, ads, template,i,label) {if(!label){label= false;}var fragment = template;if(window['spShadedLabel'] && i==window['ad_config_top']+ads.length-1) {fragment = fragment.replace(/\{label\}/, spShadedLabel);} else if((window['spLabel'] && i==window['ad_config_top']+ads.length-1 ) || label){fragment = fragment.replace(/\{label\}/, spLabel);}else {fragment = fragment.replace(/\{label\}/,"");}for(var k=0;fragment.indexOf("{pickJavascript}")!= -1;k++){fragment = fragment.replace(/\{pickJavascript\}/,ads[i].pickJavascript);fragment = fragment.replace(/\(position\)/,"");fragment = fragment.replace(/\{counter\}/,"");fragment = fragment.replace(/\{io\}/, i);}fragment = fragment.replace(/\{en\}/g, ads[i].adType);fragment = fragment.replace('gg_', ads[i].adType+"_" + i);fragment = fragment.replace(/\{ec\}/g, ads.length);fragment = fragment.replace(/\{url\}/g, ads[i].url);fragment = fragment.replace(/\{visibleUrl\}/, ads[i].visible_url.length > 65 ? ads[i].visible_url.substring(0, 65) : ads[i].visible_url);if(false){fragment = fragment.replace(/\{ncbmwidth\}/,"width:px");fragment = fragment.replace(/\{ncbm1width\}/,"width:px");}ads[i].line1 = highlightQuery(ads[i].line1);var dbgInfo="";if(false){dbgInfo="[id=" + ads[i].n +",type="+ads[i].adType +"]";}fragment = fragment.replace(/\{title\}/, dbgInfo+ads[i].line1);ads[i].line2 = highlightQuery(ads[i].line2);ads[i].line3 = highlightQuery(ads[i].line3);if(longDescriptionPresent){fragment = fragment.replace(/class=\"slD\"/,"class=\"slDL\"");}fragment = fragment.replace(/\{abstract\}/, ads[i].line2 + " " + ads[i].line3);return fragment;}var ajslAds=new Array();var spnrAds=new Array();var repeatAds="true";function debug_info_update_render_ads(){if(document.getElementById('afc_ads_recieved')){var no_of_ads_debug_info = document.createTextNode(google_ads.length);document.getElementById('afc_ads_recieved').appendChild(no_of_ads_debug_info);}}function google_ad_request_done(google_ads) {debug_info_update_render_ads();window['google_ads'] = google_ads;inhouseAds = false;if(window['google_ads'].length ]+$/)){return true;}return false;}function isQueryinInput(firstindex, input_str, j){for(i=firstindex; i" + input_str.substring(first_pos,exactmatch) + "";input_str = input_str.substring(0,first_pos) + bold_str + input_str.substring(exactmatch);next_pos = input_str.toLowerCase().indexOf(word_arr[0],exactmatch+7);while(next_pos != -1) {return highlightCombinationWords(input_str,next_pos);}}return input_str;}function highlightSimpleWords(input_str,token, first_pos) {var end_pos = first_pos + token.length;if(!isAlpha(input_str.charAt(end_pos)) && !isAlpha(input_str.charAt(first_pos-1))){bold_str = "" + input_str.substring(first_pos,end_pos) + "";input_str = input_str.substring(0,first_pos) + bold_str + input_str.substring(end_pos);next_pos = input_str.toLowerCase().indexOf(token,end_pos+7);}else {next_pos = input_str.toLowerCase().indexOf(token,end_pos);}while(next_pos != -1) {return highlightSimpleWords(input_str,token,next_pos);}return input_str;}verb (used with object) Obsolete.to pay out; expend; spend.
  Origin: 1250''1300;Middle Englishdispenden Anglo-French, Old Frenchdespendre Latin dispendere to weigh out; see dispenseCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition2009 (C) William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 (C) HarperCollinsPublishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009Cite This Source00:10
  Dispendedis always a great word to know.
  So is quincunx. Does it mean:
PressTV - US assassination drone strike kills 29 in southern Somalia
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 21:51
  A US assassination drone strike has claimed the lives of at least 29 people in southern Somalia, Press TV reports.
  On Sunday, the unmanned aircraft targeted al-Shabab fighters near the Shalanbood region in Merka town.
  Earlier in the day, heavy clashes erupted between al-Shabab fighters and Somali government troops in the same region where at least 24 Somali troops were killed.
  The US military uses remote-controlled drones in Somalia for reconnaissance operations and targeted killings.
  Washington has been carrying out assassination attacks using the unmanned aircraft in other countries including Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, and Yemen.
  The United States claims the CIA-run strikes are aimed at militants. But witness reports and figures offered by local authorities indicate the attacks have led to massive civilian deaths.The UN has condemned the US assassination drone strikes, saying they pose a challenge to international law.
  The Western-backed transitional government in Mogadishu has been battling al-Shabab fighters for the past five years, and is propped up by a strong African Union force from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.
  Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia remains among the ones generating the highest number of refugees and internally-displaced persons in the world.
  AMF/MAM/JR
BOYCOTT: Gun Grabbing Celebrities!
  Link to Article
  Source: Uploads by ARSONomics
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 21:19
Wichitan's dune buggy dream tees off | Wichita Eagle
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 20:31
  As the guy on the old "A-Team" TV series used to say, "I love it when a plan comes together."
  That was how Jon Leonard got into the dune buggy golf cart business. "My wife wanted a golf cart to drive grandkids around in. I always wanted a Meyers Manx. I'm a car guy and this was a chance for me to have a dune buggy," Leonard said.
  So the self-employed Wichita-based aircraft engineer took a full-sized generic dune buggy body, chopped and sectioned it to get the proportions just right to fit a standard E-Z-Go golf cart, and the prototype Dune Buggy Golf Cart was born. That was about a year ago.
  Leonard had Scott Fields of Geuda Springs use the original body to create a mold and began creating other versions of the little dune buggy, complete with Cragar mag wheels and custom touches like a folding soft top, a tilt steering wheel and in-dash stereo. Fields built the bodies and did the paint work, along with the upholstery.
  The downsized dune buggies can be built on either an electric or gas-powered golf cart chassis.
  Bruce Meyers, the creator of the original Meyers Manx, even signed the dash of one of the buggies at a trade show after seeing it, Leonard said.
  Word got out that Leonard was building golf carts that replicated the look of the dune buggy that started a craze back in the 1960s and Leonard recently crated up and shipped the first six production Dune Buggy Golf Carts to a customer in Saudi Arabia.
  "I'm satisfied having just produced these," Leonard said. But he's willing to see where this particular plan takes him. To learn more about this local entrepreneur's efforts, go to DuneBuggyGolfCarts.com.
  'Š
  ' Don't forget, the Sunflower Swap Meet continues at the Kansas Coliseum Pavilions Saturday; hope to see you there.
Tunisia protests after government critic shot dead
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:30
  Tunisia protests after government critic shot deadTop News
  Tunisia protests after government critic shot dead
  Wed, Feb 06 13:28 PM EST
  By Tarek Amara
  TUNIS (Reuters) - A fierce critic of the Tunisian government's dealings with radical Islamists was shot dead on Wednesday, sending protesters onto the streets two years after their Jasmine Revolution sparked revolt across the Arab world.
  The headquarters of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, which rules in a fractious coalition with secularists, was set ablaze after Chokri Belaid, an outspoken, secular leader, was gunned down outside his home in the capital.
  His party and others in the opposition parties said they would quit the assembly that is writing a new constitution and called a general strike for Thursday when Belaid will be buried.
  Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, who said the identity of the attacker was not known, condemned his killing as a political assassination and a strike against the "Arab Spring" revolution. Ennahda denied any involvement.
  As Belaid's body was taken by ambulance through Tunis from the hospital where he died, police fired teargas towards about 20,000 protesters at the Interior Ministry chanting for the fall of the government.
  "This is a black day in the history of modern Tunisia ... Today we say to the Islamists, 'get out' ... enough is enough," said Souad, a 40-year-old teacher outside the ministry.
  "Tunisia will sink in the blood if you stay in power."
  Despite calls for calm from the president, who is not an Islamist, thousands also demonstrated in cities including Mahdia, Sousse, Monastir and Sidi Bouzid, the cradle of the revolution, where police fired teargas and warning shots at protesters who set cars and a police station on fire.
  While Belaid's nine-party Popular Front bloc has only three seats in the constituent assembly, the opposition jointly agreed to pull its 90 or so members out of the body, which is acting as parliament and writing the new post-revolution charter. Ennahda and its fellow ruling parties have some 120 seats.
  The small North African state was the first Arab country to oust its leader and hold free elections as uprisings spread around the region in 2011, leading to the ousting of the rulers of Egypt, Yemen and Libya and to the civil war in Syria.
  But as in Egypt, many who campaigned for freedom from repression under autocratic rulers and better prospects for their future now feel their revolutions have been hijacked by Islamists they accuse of clamping down on personal liberties, with no sign of new jobs or improvements in infrastructure.
  Tunisia's new constitution will pave the way for new elections but will inevitably be a source of friction between secularists and Islamists, just as it was in Egypt, where the president adopted sweeping powers to force it through.
  The ruling parties have agreed to hold the vote in June, but that date still needs approval by the assembly.
  HARDSHIP
  Since the uprising, the government has faced a string of protests over economic hardship and Tunisia's future path, with many complaining hardline Salafists were taking over the revolution in the former French colony once dominated by a secular elite under the autocratic rule of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
  Last year, Salafist groups prevented several concerts and plays from taking place in Tunisian cities, saying they violated Islamic principles. That worries the secular-minded among the 11 million Tunisians, who fear freedom of expression is in danger.
  Salafists also ransacked the U.S. embassy in Tunis in September, during international protests over an Internet video mocking Islam.
  The embassy issued a statement on Wednesday condemning Belaid's killing: "There is no justification for this heinous and cowardly act," it said. "Political violence has no place in the democratic transition in Tunisia."
  The United States urged the Tunisian government to bring his killers to book.
  Declining trade with the crisis-hit euro zone has left Tunisians struggling to achieve the better living standards many had hoped for following Ben Ali's departure. Any further signs of unrest could scare off tourists vital to an industry only just recovering from the revolution.
  "More than 4,000 are protesting now, burning tires and throwing stones at the police," Mehdi Horchani, a Sidi Bouzid resident, told Reuters. "There is great anger."
  Jobless graduate Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in December 2010 in the city, 300 km (180 miles) southwest of Tunis, after police confiscated his unlicensed fruit cart, triggering the "Jasmine Revolution" that forced Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia less than a month later, on January 14, 2011.
  President Moncef Marzouki, who last month warned the tension between secularists and Islamists might lead to "civil war", canceled a visit to Egypt scheduled for Thursday and cut short a trip to France, where he addressed the European Parliament.
  "There are political forces inside Tunisia that don't want this transition to succeed," Marzouki told journalists in Strasbourg.
  "When one has a revolution, the counter revolution immediately sets in because those who lose power - it's not only Ben Ali and his family - are the hundreds of thousands of people with many interests who see themselves threatened by this revolution," he added.
  Belaid, who died in hospital, said earlier this week that dozens of people close to the government had attacked a Popular Front group meeting in Kef, northern Tunisia, on Sunday.
  A lawyer and human rights activist, the 48-year-old had been a constant critic of the government, accusing it of being a puppet of the rulers in the small but wealthy Gulf state of Qatar, which Tunisia denies.
  "Chokri Belaid was killed today by four bullets to the head and chest," Ziad Lakhader, a Popular Front leader, told Reuters.
  The Interior Ministry said he had been gunned down by a man who fled on a motorcycle with an accomplice.
  DENIES INVOLVEMENT
  Prime Minister Jebali, a member of Ennahda, said the killers wanted to "silence his voice".
  "The murder of Belaid is a political assassination and the assassination of the Tunisian revolution," he said.
  Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi denied any involvement by his party in the killing. "Is it possible that the ruling party could carry out this assassination when it would disrupt investment and tourism?" Ghannouchi told Reuters.
  He blamed those seeking to derail Tunisia's democratic transition: "Tunisia today is in the biggest political stalemate since the revolution. We should be quiet and not fall into a spiral of violence. We need unity more than ever," he said.
  He accused secular opponents of stirring up sentiment against his party following Belaid's death. "The result is burning and attacking the headquarters of our party in many areas," he said.
  Witnesses said crowds had also attacked Ennahda offices in Sousse, Monastir, Mahdia and Sfax.
  French President Francois Hollande said he was concerned by the rise of violence in Paris's former dominion, where the government says al Qaeda-linked militants linked to those in neighboring countries have been accumulating weapons with the aim of creating an Islamic state.
  "This murder deprives Tunisia of one of its most courageous and free voices," Hollande's office said in a statement.
  Riccardo Fabiani, Eurasia analyst on Tunisia, described it as a "major failure for Tunisian politics".
  "The question is now what is Ennahda going to do and what are its allies going to do?" he said. "They could be forced to withdraw from the government which would lead to a major crisis in the transition."
  Marzouki warned last month that the conflict between Islamists and secularists could lead to civil war and called for a national dialogue that included all political groupings.
  Ennahda won 42 percent of seats in a parliamentary election in 2011 and formed a government in coalition with two secular parties, the Congress for the Republic, to which President Marzouki belongs, and Ettakatol.
  Marzouki's party threatened on Sunday to withdraw from the government unless it dropped two Islamist ministers.
  (Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Writing by Alison Williams; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)
  Tunisia protests after government critic shot deadTop News
  Tunisia protests after government critic shot dead
  Wed, Feb 06 13:28 PM EST
  By Tarek Amara
  TUNIS (Reuters) - A fierce critic of the Tunisian government's dealings with radical Islamists was shot dead on Wednesday, sending protesters onto the streets two years after their Jasmine Revolution sparked revolt across the Arab world.
  The headquarters of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, which rules in a fractious coalition with secularists, was set ablaze after Chokri Belaid, an outspoken, secular leader, was gunned down outside his home in the capital.
  His party and others in the opposition parties said they would quit the assembly that is writing a new constitution and called a general strike for Thursday when Belaid will be buried.
  Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, who said the identity of the attacker was not known, condemned his killing as a political assassination and a strike against the "Arab Spring" revolution. Ennahda denied any involvement.
  As Belaid's body was taken by ambulance through Tunis from the hospital where he died, police fired teargas towards about 20,000 protesters at the Interior Ministry chanting for the fall of the government.
  "This is a black day in the history of modern Tunisia ... Today we say to the Islamists, 'get out' ... enough is enough," said Souad, a 40-year-old teacher outside the ministry.
  "Tunisia will sink in the blood if you stay in power."
  Despite calls for calm from the president, who is not an Islamist, thousands also demonstrated in cities including Mahdia, Sousse, Monastir and Sidi Bouzid, the cradle of the revolution, where police fired teargas and warning shots at protesters who set cars and a police station on fire.
  While Belaid's nine-party Popular Front bloc has only three seats in the constituent assembly, the opposition jointly agreed to pull its 90 or so members out of the body, which is acting as parliament and writing the new post-revolution charter. Ennahda and its fellow ruling parties have some 120 seats.
  The small North African state was the first Arab country to oust its leader and hold free elections as uprisings spread around the region in 2011, leading to the ousting of the rulers of Egypt, Yemen and Libya and to the civil war in Syria.
  But as in Egypt, many who campaigned for freedom from repression under autocratic rulers and better prospects for their future now feel their revolutions have been hijacked by Islamists they accuse of clamping down on personal liberties, with no sign of new jobs or improvements in infrastructure.
  Tunisia's new constitution will pave the way for new elections but will inevitably be a source of friction between secularists and Islamists, just as it was in Egypt, where the president adopted sweeping powers to force it through.
  The ruling parties have agreed to hold the vote in June, but that date still needs approval by the assembly.
  HARDSHIP
  Since the uprising, the government has faced a string of protests over economic hardship and Tunisia's future path, with many complaining hardline Salafists were taking over the revolution in the former French colony once dominated by a secular elite under the autocratic rule of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
  Last year, Salafist groups prevented several concerts and plays from taking place in Tunisian cities, saying they violated Islamic principles. That worries the secular-minded among the 11 million Tunisians, who fear freedom of expression is in danger.
  Salafists also ransacked the U.S. embassy in Tunis in September, during international protests over an Internet video mocking Islam.
  The embassy issued a statement on Wednesday condemning Belaid's killing: "There is no justification for this heinous and cowardly act," it said. "Political violence has no place in the democratic transition in Tunisia."
  The United States urged the Tunisian government to bring his killers to book.
  Declining trade with the crisis-hit euro zone has left Tunisians struggling to achieve the better living standards many had hoped for following Ben Ali's departure. Any further signs of unrest could scare off tourists vital to an industry only just recovering from the revolution.
  "More than 4,000 are protesting now, burning tires and throwing stones at the police," Mehdi Horchani, a Sidi Bouzid resident, told Reuters. "There is great anger."
  Jobless graduate Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in December 2010 in the city, 300 km (180 miles) southwest of Tunis, after police confiscated his unlicensed fruit cart, triggering the "Jasmine Revolution" that forced Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia less than a month later, on January 14, 2011.
  President Moncef Marzouki, who last month warned the tension between secularists and Islamists might lead to "civil war", canceled a visit to Egypt scheduled for Thursday and cut short a trip to France, where he addressed the European Parliament.
  "There are political forces inside Tunisia that don't want this transition to succeed," Marzouki told journalists in Strasbourg.
  "When one has a revolution, the counter revolution immediately sets in because those who lose power - it's not only Ben Ali and his family - are the hundreds of thousands of people with many interests who see themselves threatened by this revolution," he added.
  Belaid, who died in hospital, said earlier this week that dozens of people close to the government had attacked a Popular Front group meeting in Kef, northern Tunisia, on Sunday.
  A lawyer and human rights activist, the 48-year-old had been a constant critic of the government, accusing it of being a puppet of the rulers in the small but wealthy Gulf state of Qatar, which Tunisia denies.
  "Chokri Belaid was killed today by four bullets to the head and chest," Ziad Lakhader, a Popular Front leader, told Reuters.
  The Interior Ministry said he had been gunned down by a man who fled on a motorcycle with an accomplice.
  DENIES INVOLVEMENT
  Prime Minister Jebali, a member of Ennahda, said the killers wanted to "silence his voice".
  "The murder of Belaid is a political assassination and the assassination of the Tunisian revolution," he said.
  Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi denied any involvement by his party in the killing. "Is it possible that the ruling party could carry out this assassination when it would disrupt investment and tourism?" Ghannouchi told Reuters.
  He blamed those seeking to derail Tunisia's democratic transition: "Tunisia today is in the biggest political stalemate since the revolution. We should be quiet and not fall into a spiral of violence. We need unity more than ever," he said.
  He accused secular opponents of stirring up sentiment against his party following Belaid's death. "The result is burning and attacking the headquarters of our party in many areas," he said.
  Witnesses said crowds had also attacked Ennahda offices in Sousse, Monastir, Mahdia and Sfax.
  French President Francois Hollande said he was concerned by the rise of violence in Paris's former dominion, where the government says al Qaeda-linked militants linked to those in neighboring countries have been accumulating weapons with the aim of creating an Islamic state.
  "This murder deprives Tunisia of one of its most courageous and free voices," Hollande's office said in a statement.
  Riccardo Fabiani, Eurasia analyst on Tunisia, described it as a "major failure for Tunisian politics".
  "The question is now what is Ennahda going to do and what are its allies going to do?" he said. "They could be forced to withdraw from the government which would lead to a major crisis in the transition."
  Marzouki warned last month that the conflict between Islamists and secularists could lead to civil war and called for a national dialogue that included all political groupings.
  Ennahda won 42 percent of seats in a parliamentary election in 2011 and formed a government in coalition with two secular parties, the Congress for the Republic, to which President Marzouki belongs, and Ettakatol.
  Marzouki's party threatened on Sunday to withdraw from the government unless it dropped two Islamist ministers.
  (Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Writing by Alison Williams; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)
Next Big Future: Cable companies make 97% margin on internet services and have no incentive to offer gigabit internet
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:32
  The cable distribution giants like Time Warner Cable and Comcast are already making a 97 percent margin on their ''almost comically profitable'' Internet services, according to Craig Moffet, an analyst at the Wall Street firm Bernstein Research. As Levin points out, ''If you are making that kind of margin, it's hard to improve it.'' And most Americans have no choice but to deal with their local cable company.UPDATE - Nextbigfuture has coverage of where the current US gigabit internet deployments are being made and the companies and organizations behind them.
  Google fiber is mostly deploying in February and April of this year in Kansas. There are some areas that already have installation in progress.
  Confirmation of Lazy Money Grubbing Evil
  While Verizon operates the fiber network serving the largest number of home subscribers in the nation, the company is backing off from installing additional U.S. fiber connectivity. The company's fiber service, called FiOS, offers basic service starting at 15 megabits per second (which can be upgraded in some areas to as much as 300 megabits per second).
  Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said in a conference call last fall that there are no plans to expand FiOS beyond those areas. ''At this point we have to capitalize on what we have invested,'' he said. The basic goal is to sign up more people in the existing service areas, which adds the most revenue without increasing capital costs.
  The other cable and telecom companies are focused on capitalizing on existing cable infrastructure, not emulating Google Fiber by building out fiber connections to homes and businesses. In Kansas City, Time Warner Cable in late January (likely in response to Google Fiber's presence) boosted speeds and lowered prices, offering download speeds of 100 megabits per second for $75 a month. For $199 users can get cable bundled with TV and phone service, with two DVR.
  Google Fiber, Gig.U and some City Gigabit Efforts
  During an earnings call earlier this month, Google CFO Patrick Pichette said the company plans to finish building out the whole city, on both the Kansas and Missouri sides of the state line, and added that the effort ''is not a hobby: we really think that we should be making good business with this opportunity, and we are going to continue to look at the possibility of expanding.''
  Universities supporting the Gig.U initiative want to make sure they stay attractive to students and researchers who might want to access data and computing resources, and competitive with other institutions around the world that have such speeds. Their efforts include a deal with a private company, Gigabit Squared, to deliver one-gigabit service in Seattle and Chicago in collaboration with local governments and universities. A similar effort is taking shape among several universities and communities in North Carolina.
  A final kind of special case is cities that are taking matters into their own hands. One example is Chattanooga, Tennessee. There, the local power utility in 2010 managed to score $111 million in federal stimulus money to speed up the build-out of a one-gigabit network for a smart electric grid (see ''City with Superfast Internet Invites Innovators to Play''). It is now offering one-gigabit Internet access, albeit for about $300 a month, depending what TV service you get with it.
  Nextbigfuture covered the google fiber rollout status in fall of 2012.
  Other Screwed Up Problems
  Even if costs (interest rates for competitors) and legal barriers are lowered, fiber economics won't work for private companies everywhere'--not even for Google. After all, as Levin points out, 80 percent of the cost of running fiber is in the labor, not the fiber and equipment, and not all houses are as closely spaced as the tidy bungalows on Francis Street, where the Carpenters live. ''There are a lot of cities where the math wouldn't work'--areas not densely built enough or where construction costs are too high. In California, the environmental permitting provisions make it cost-prohibitive,'' Levin added.
  Nextbigfuture covered the problems faced by the internet provider startup Sonic.net in California in 2012.
  Sonic.net is already building out gigagit fiber in Sebastopol, California.
  When it comes to building out infrastructure, from broadband to roads, someone, be it environmentalists or neighbors leery of the project's components, are bound to raise a fuss. When it comes to better broadband, the cabinets holding the electronics raise the ire of residents who would rather not have refrigerator-sized boxes on their lawns. For example, residents of San Francisco have banded together to sue to stop AT&T's planned U-verse deployment, which requires more than 700 cabinets to hold the electronics gear be placed around the city.
  Jasper says because Sonic.net is deploying fiber to the home, he will use fewer cabinets (he estimates 188) but he's still worried that San Franciscans will step up to hold up or halt his permits. ATT originally had received its permits, but those permits were halted by the court while this suit goes forward.
  Jasper is worried that the suit could take another three to six months, and will hold up his deployment, but he's hoping that fewer cabinets and a willingness to share Sonic.net's infrastructure with other providers might make city residents view his cabinets with a bit more favor.
  The Press Democrat had an update on Sonic.net from May 2012.FCC talks about Helping but Still Incompetent and Weak
  The FCC says it wants to help. Last month, at a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski called for broadband providers and state and city officials to build out at least one ''gigabit community'' in all 50 states by 2015. And the FCC plans to hold workshops in which broadband providers and state and municipal leaders can find and remove barriers, lower costs, and boost incentives for getting it done. Requests to the FCC for interviews went unanswered last week.
  To help keep labor costs as low as possible, Google secured guarantees from the Kansas City government that it would get rapid responses on mundane but important matters like city inspections, access to rights-of-way, and even free rein to run fiber in sewers. Kansas City says it will provide the same breaks to other companies willing to provide similar service. Google also adopted a novel preregistration scheme, which had it start stringing fiber in a given neighborhood only after a certain percentage of residents'--5 to 25 percent'--committed to the service.
  SOURCE - Technology Review, Sonic.net, Google Fiber, Gigaom, ArsTechnica, Wall Street Journal, Press Democrat
  If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon. Thanks
DutchNews.nl - Turkish paper claims Dutch link to American embassy attack
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:58
  Turkish paper claims Dutch link to American embassy attackWednesday 06 February 2013
  The suicide attack which killed a security guard outside the American embassy in Ankara last Friday was ordered by Turkish left-wing extremists in the Netherlands, Dutch media quote Turkish paper Bugun as saying.
  The paper bases its claims on a Turkish intelligence report and says the Dutch intelligence service was told about the presence of extreme left-wing Turks in the Netherlands.
  The attack was later claimed by an extreme left-wing group DHKP/C, or Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front. The group opposes Turkish membership of Nato and wants the withdrawal of Dutch Patriot missile systems which are currently stationed in Turkey.
  According to Bugun, the group's leader, Mussa Assaoglu, is currently in the Netherlands. The group's former leader, Dursun Karatas, also lived in the Netherlands until he died of cancer in 2008. Several dozen sympathisers are still thought to live in the Netherlands, website nu.nl said.
  On Monday, two members of the group told the NRC the attack in Ankara was 'justified'.
  (C) DutchNews.nl
White House silent over CIA drone reports as pressure builds on Brennan | World news | guardian.co.uk
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:56
  The pressure on John Brennan, Barack Obama's nominee for CIA director and the architect of the White House strategy on drones, intensified on Wednesday amid revelations of a secret CIA drone base in Saudi Arabia and anger in Congress at the administration's refusal to reveal the legal basis for killing US citizens.
  The Obama administration and Saudi Arabia were silent over reports on Wednesday that the CIA is secretly using an air base in Saudi Arabia to conduct its controversial drone assassination campaign in neighbouring Yemen. The reports revealed that the drones that killed the US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and his son in September 2011, and Said al-Shehri, a senior al-Qaida commander who died from his injuries last month, were launched from the unnamed base.
  The revelation is an embarrassment to the White House, which pressured the Washington Post and some other news organisations to suppress the information for 12 months on national security grounds. The timing is also unfortunate for Obama because the killings of Awlaki and his son have contributed to demands in Congress for greater transparency by the White House over the legal basis for drone attacks on US citizens.
  Senators who are expected to quiz Brennan at his confirmation hearing on Thursday about the drones policy are pressing the White House to release the detailed legal opinion justifying the targeting of Americans, as well as the broader policy that permits Obama and some other officials to sign off on a "kill list" of named targets.
  On Tuesday, NBC made public an administration document dating from 2011 justifying the killing of US citizens who hold senior positions in al-Qaida and who pose an "imminent threat of violent attack" against America. But some members of Congress said the document left many questions unanswered, and are requesting to see a more detailed 50-page memorandum from the White House Office of Legal Counsel.
  "The committee continues to seek the actual legal opinions by the Department of Justice that provide details not outlined in this particular white paper," said Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee.
  Eleven Senators have written to the White House hinting at a prolonged fight over the appointment of Brennan, pictured, if the administration does not co-operate with its request.
  "The executive branch's co-operation on this matter will help avoid an unnecessary confrontation that could affect the Senate's consideration of nominees for national security positions," the letter said.
  Some Senators have also raised questions about civilian casualties and whether the drone attacks are a recruiting tool for the US's enemies.
  The confirmation hearing is also expected to throw some light on the future use of drones, which Obama has rapidly expanded in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia. Brennan had helped forge the policy from his White House basement office, and persuaded the president of its value.
  Senators are likely to want to know where Brennan will take the strategy as head of the CIA, which carries out drone attacks in parallel with the US military. The CIA's use of drones has come under challenge as a breach of international law because the agency is not a recognised military force.
  The revelation of the CIA drone base in Saudi Arabia was seized on by Iran, where state media highlighted the story. It is also likely to be grasped as an opportunity by jihadi groups. Saudi Arabia has previously publicly denied co-operating with the US to target al-Qaida in Yemen.
  Evidence of Saudi involvement risks complicating its relationship with the Yemeni government in Sana'a, and with tribal leaders who control large parts of Yemen where al-Qaida operates.
  The drone issue is sensitive in Saudi Arabia because of the unpopularity of US military bases, which were thought to have been largely removed after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
  Saudi Arabia is home to the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and the continued presence of US troops after the 1991 Gulf war was one of the stated motivations behind al-Qaida's 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Khobar Towers bombing five years earlier.
  The date of the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania was eight years to the day after US troops were first sent to Saudi Arabia.
  Osama bin Laden interpreted the prophet Muhammad as banning the "permanent presence of infidels in Arabia".
  The last significant US military presence was at the Prince Sultan airbase in Khobar in the eastern province. The forces there were relocated to Qatar in September 2003 after 13 years, and at the height of the Iraq war it housed 10,000 US troops and 200 planes. It was supplanted as the Middle East's main American military air operations centre by Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
  Still, the revelation is unlikely to have a significant impact inside the kingdom. Saudi Arabia has no independent media or expectations of government transparency, but there is no sympathy for the jihadis of al-Qaida targeted in Yemen. Saudi Arabia conducted its own successful campaign against al-Qaida, in effect destroying it by 2004. Its remnants moved to Yemen and formed al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap), perhaps the most active of the group's regional "franchises".
  Aqap has tried repeatedly to hit Saudi targets. In 2009, Mohammed Bin Nayef, the deputy interior minister and anti-terrorist chief, had an extraordinarily lucky escape when an al-Qaida suicide bomber from Yemen blew himself up in the minister's palace but left his target only lightly injured. Eight men accused of plotting attacks in Riyadh were arrested last September. Six of them were Yemenis.
  "These planes are unmanned and unmarked, so there will not be the same impact as when American planes were flying from the Prince Sultan base," Mustafa Alani of the Gulf Research Centre in Dubai told the Guardian. "No one will say that the Americans are occupying the country.
  "I don't think people care about this any more. Generally it is accepted in the region that the planes operated by the Americans are not doing a bad job in taking out al-Qaida leaders. There is no sympathy with al-Qaida, except a very small minority. Even in Yemen '' apart from the collateral damage where civilians lose their lives'' there is no objection to this type of operation.
  "It has been rumoured for years that drones were taking off from the Arabian peninsula, so this is not shocking news except for the Iranians and jihadis. Otherwise it is not going register in public opinion."
  US government requests to American media to refrain from disclosing the location of the CIA base were made, in part, because it could potentially damage counter-terrorism collaboration with Saudi Arabia.
  Shehri, the deputy leader of Aqap, died last month of injuries sustained during a US drone strike in 2012.
Neurologist discovers 'dark patch' inside brains of killers and rapists | Mail Online
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:36
  Scans reveal a patch at the front of the brain can be seen in people with records for criminal violenceGerman scientist who made the discovery classifies evil in three groupsBy Allan Hall In Berlin
  PUBLISHED: 10:32 EST, 5 February 2013 | UPDATED: 18:29 EST, 5 February 2013
  A German neurologist claims to have found the area of the brain where evil lurks in killers, rapists and robbers.
  Bremen scientist Dr Gerhard Roth says the 'evil patch' lies in the brain's central lobe and shows up as a dark mass on X-rays.
  He discovered it when investigating violent convicted offenders over the years for German government studies.
  Dr Gerhard Roth demonstrates where the 'evil patch' can be identified in the brains of those inclined to violence
  Scans studied by Dr Roth indicate that the patch he says is associated with wicked behaviour is found at the front of the brain
  'We showed these people short films and measured their brain waves,' he said.
  'Whenever there were brutal and squalid scenes the subjects showed no emotions. In the areas of the brain where we create compassion and sorrow, nothing happened.'
  The dark mass at the front of the brain, he says, appears in all scans of people with records for criminal violence.
  He says his researches have led him to believe that some criminals have a 'genetic predisposition' to violence.
  He added: 'When you look at the brain scans of hardened criminals, there are almost always severe shortcomings in the lower forehead part of the brain.
  'There are cases where someone becomes criminal as a result of a tumour or an injury in that area, and after an operation to remove the tumour, that person was completely normal again.
  Dictators: Josef Stalin (left) and Adolf Hitler (right) belong to Dr Roth's third group - pure psychopaths
  'Or there are physiological deficits, because certain substances such as serotonin in the forebrain are not working effectively.
  'But this is definitely the region of the brain where evil is formed and where it lurks.
  'Of course it is not automatic. The brain can compensate somewhat for violent tendencies and it is unclear how that works.
  WHAT IS A PSYCHOPATH?Psychpathy is a personality disorder that has been variously characterised by shallow emotions (including reduced fear, a lack of empathy, and stress tolerance), coldheartedness, egocentricity, superficial charm, manipulativeness, irresponsibility, impulsivity, criminality, antisocial behavior, a lack of remorse, and a parasitic lifestyle.
  Terrorists are sometimes called psychopaths, and comparisons can be drawn with traits such as antisocial violence, a selfish worldview that precludes welfare for others, lack of remorse or guilt, and blaming external events.
  While no psychiatric or psychological organisation has sanctioned a diagnosis of 'psychopathy' itself, assessments of psychopathy are widely used in criminal justice settings in some nations and may have important consequences for individuals.
  'But when I will look at young people, and I see there are developmental disorders in the lower forehead brain, I can say that there is a felon in the making with 66 per cent probability.
  'It is easy to spot this anti-social behaviour from very early on.'
  Dr Roth said no two criminals are alike. He divides them into three groups for the purposes of his hunt for evil.
  The first he classifies as 'psychologically healthy,' people who grow up in an environment where it is 'OK to beat, steal and murder'.
  The second type is the mentally disturbed criminal who looks at his world as threatening.
  'A wrong look, one false move, he can explode and become a killer,' he said.
  The third group are pure psycopaths, a group in which tyrants such as Hitler and Stalin belong.
  He said not all monsters are born and that many are made worse by their environments on their roads to evil.
  He added: 'Experts detect a mental decline in some people that begins in the kindergarten. It is the task of society to offer widespread support to the children and their parents before they become criminals.'
  Dr Roth is one of Germany's best-known brain specialists and has was at the forefront of calling for sentencing reforms a few years ago.
The Washington Post, New York Times and a Bunch of Other News Organizations Helped Keep a CIA Drone Base Secret
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:36
  We would all like to know as much as we can about the Obama Administration's top-secret program of assassinating U.S. citizens with drones, so we can figure out how best not to get assassinated. But don't look to the pages of U.S. newspapers like the Washington Post, which cooperated with the Administration to cover-up the location of a key drone base.
  In advance of CIA chief nominee John Brennan's big Senate confirmation hearing tomorrow, the New York Times reported today the existence of a CIA drone base in Saudi Arabia, from which was launched the drone strike that killed American radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and his 16-year-old son in 2011. This prompted the Washington Post to follow up with its own story, which revealed the paper has been co-operating with "several news organizations" and the Obama Administration to keep the base secret for over year:
  The Washington Post had refrained from disclosing the location at the request of the administration, which cited concern that exposing the facility would undermine operations against an al-Qaeda affiliate regarded as the network's most potent threat to the United States, as well as potentially damage counterterrorism collaboration with Saudi Arabia.
  The Post learned Tuesday night that another news organization was planning to reveal the location of the base, effectively ending an informal arrangement among several news organizations that had been aware of the location for more than a year.
  So the dearth of information about the U.S.'s scariest policy has been in part perpetrated by the Post and these other organization. The concern about undermining the hunt for terrorists might be legitimate, if the Obama Administration hadn't determined that even officially acknowledging the extrajudicial drone assassinations of U.S. citizens would "undermine" it. Bottom line: If you have any information about the drone program, it's best to give it to Gawker.
  Update: The New York Timesalso withheld the location of the base for "many months," according to a blog post by the Times' Public Editor.
  [Image via AP]
MI5 to install 'black box' spy devices to monitor UK internet traffic | Mail Online
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:34
  MPs' report outlines spooks' take on the draft Communications Data BillIt shows they are keen to implement nationwide surveillance regimeThey want ISPs to install 'black boxes' that can inspect all internet trafficSpies claim they are only interested in 'communications data'Campaigners warn it will give spies unprecedented surveillance powersBy Damien Gayle
  PUBLISHED: 08:06 EST, 6 February 2013 | UPDATED: 13:53 EST, 6 February 2013
  Listening in: UK spy agencies want to install 'black box' surveillance devices to monitor citizens' use of online services. Picture posed by model
  UK spy agencies want to install 'black box' surveillance devices across the country's communications networks to monitor internet use, it emerged today.
  A report by an influential committee of MPs tells how spooks are keen to implement a nationwide surveillance regime aimed at logging nearly everything Britons do and say online.
  The spy network will rely on a technology known as Deep Packet Inspection to log data from communications ranging from online services like Facebook and Twitter, Skype calls with family members and visits to pornographic websites.
  But civil liberties and privacy campaigners have reacted with outrage, saying that the technology will give the government a greater surveillance capability than has ever been seen.
  The report by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, published on Tuesday, gives UK intelligence agencies' perspective on the government's draft Communications Data Bill, which is intended to update surveillance powers.
  The government argues that swift access to communications data is critical to the fight against terrorism and other high-level crime, but it has been delayed after the Liberal Democrats dropped support for the bill.
  MI5 chief Jonathan Evans told the committee: 'Access to communications data of one sort or another is very important indeed. It's part of the backbone of the way in which we would approach investigations.
  'I think I would be accurate in saying there are no significant investigations that we undertake across the service that don't use communications data because of its ability to tell you the who and the when and the where of your target's activities.'
  The Bill has encountered stiff opposition, but authorities have been at pains to stress that they're not seeking unfettered access to the content of emails or recordings of phone calls.
  Instead, they claim, what they are after is what many have described as 'outside of the envelope' information: Who sends a message, where and how it is sent, and who receives it.
  For example, while the email addresses of senders and recipients would be available to agencies, they would still need to obtain a court order for access to the contents of the emails.
  A similar situation would apply in the case of mobile phone calls, with the callers' identities and locations available to agencies, along with the time of the call and its duration, but agents restricted from listening without authorisation from the courts.
  The Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) on the west of Cheltenham: Spooks say swift access to communications data is critical to the fight against terrorism and other high-level crimes
  Critics have said that in effect there is no way to reliably separate such communications data from the content of messages and calls, and that giving easy access to the former would also open the way to access of the latter.
  Campaigners also challenged the government over how it could criticise totalitarian regimes overseas which may be using similar systems to crack down on dissent.
  Spymaster: MI5 Director General Jonathan Evans said access to communications data is 'very important indeed' to UK security
  Emma Carr, deputy director of privacy and civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: 'Using highly intrusive technology to monitor how people use the internet is not something that a civil society should be using on every citizen.
  'The danger is that the whole communication, including content, is inspected and potentially stored, intruding on people's privacy in a dangerous and unprecedented way.
  'This sends a highly dangerous signal to regimes around the world who are looking for justification to use similar equipment on their populations.
  'The fact that at no point does the Government need court approval, either to install, use or look at data gathered is a major concern and if it is to be used as a last resort should only be done so on the highest judicial authority.'
  Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, which campaigns for freedom online, said the real threat was posed by the addition of what the report calls the 'filter' to the surveillance system.
  He explained that this would work as a kind of search engine for everyone's private data, linking it together from the various online and telecoms accounts people use to communicate.
  'The really worrying part of this is the "filter" the government wants to build,' he told MailOnline.
  'This would put data from your mobile phone, email, web history and phones together, so the police can tell who your friends are, what your opinions are, where you've been and with who.
  'It could make instant surveillance of everything you do possible at the click of a button.'
  A key challenge for the government has been extracting that information from overseas service providers - companies based in Silicon Valley or elsewhere that might not feel obliged to comply with a British spy agency's request.
  FOIL THE LISTENERS: HOW TO ENCRYPT YOUR COMMUNICATIONSWhile the government has insisted that it will not invade the privacy of citizens' communications without a court order, there are fears that installing deep packet inspection across the UK will nevertheless give them the capability.
  Luckily, there is a range of software for both computers and mobile devices, much of it free, that can encrypt communications to keep it secure.
  1) iSafeguard Freeware 6.2: This program will secure emails and files using strong encryption and syncs with most popular email clients.
  2) HushMail: This web-based email service uses a Java applet to encode emails with 1024bit public key encryption.
  3) GnuPG: This Linux-only application is an open-source replacement for PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). PGP was one of the first military-grade encryption products available to the general public.
  It was in those cases, the committee's report said, that the surveillance devices would come in handy.
  'It is important for the agencies that there is some means of accessing communications data from uncooperative overseas communications service providers,' the report said.
  The report said the probes would work using 'deep packet inspection,' so-called because it allows those intercepting packets of data to comb through their content.
  The services that might be targeted by the probes weren't identified, although Facebook, Twitter, Hotmail, and Google Chat are all popular in Britain and were among the services named elsewhere in the report.
  Britain's surveillance plans remain in draft form, and the report carried several critiques of the government's proposals.
  But in general it rejected opponents' claims that the surveillance regime was unworkable or oppressive, warning that the pace of technological change would soon 'have a serious impact on the intelligence and security agencies' unless the new surveillance powers were introduced.
  The report also appeared to reject suggestions that encryption might allow those trying to maintain the privacy of their communications to baffle government monitoring.
  'We have heard that the government has (redacted) options in dealing with the challenge encryption poses,' the report said.
  The next two paragraphs were completely blanked out.
  Mr Killock of the Open Rights Group said it was unlikely that the government had the capability to crack advanced digital encryption.
Assemblymembers Ting and Gomez Introduce Gun Liability Insurance Bill - Assemblymember Phil Ting Representing the 19th California Assembly District
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:26
  DetailsCreated on Tuesday, February 05, 2013Second measure will provide tax credit for guns turned in to buyback programs
  Sacramento, CA '' Assemblymember Philip Y. Ting (D '' San Francisco) and Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez (D '' Los Angeles) introduced legislation, AB 231,* today that will require gun owners to purchase liability insurance to cover the cost of damage that may be caused by the weapon.
  ''The government requires insurance as a condition of operating a car '' at the very least we should impose a similar requirement for owning a firearm,'' Ting said. ''The cost to society of destruction by guns is currently being born collectively by all of us, and not by those who, either through carelessness or malice, cause the destruction. It is time to change that equation so that those who cause the harm pay the costs.''
  ''Our goal is to make sure that those who own guns do so in the most responsible way possible. A liability insurance requirement will incentivize gun owners to take safety precautions '' such as using a trigger lock, keeping their guns locked when not in use, and participating in a training course '' in order to get a more affordable insurance policy,'' Gomez said.
  A second measure authored by Ting, AB 232, was introduced today to provide a state income tax credit to persons who turn in a firearm to a local gun buyback program, pegged to the value of the weapon, up to a $1,000 cap.
  ''Gun buyback programs are an effective way to reduce the number of guns in circulation, and lower the risk of intentional or accidental damage by these weapons. We need to step up the financial incentives for voluntary buyback programs that have been successful so far, but will be even more effective if we provide the right incentives to motivate people to participate,'' Ting said.
  Quick facts about gun-related destruction:
  According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the mean medical cost per gun injury was approximately $17,000 in 1994; roughly $1.1 billion was paid by Unites States taxpayers.From 2005 '' 2010, nearly 3,800 people in the US died from unintentional shootings. Eight percent of such deaths resulted from shots fired by children under the age of six.Most unintentional firearm deaths among children occur in or around the home; 50% at the home of the victim and 40% at the home of a friend or relative.The US General Accounting Office estimates that 31% of unintentional deaths caused by firearms could be prevented by the addition of a child-proof safety lock and loading indicator.More than one-half of firearm owners keep their firearms loaded and ready for use some of the time.Approximately 3.3 million children in the US live in households with firearms that are, at times, kept loaded and unlocked.For every time a household gun was used for self-defense, there were four unintentional shootings. Overall, guns kept in the home were 22 times more likely to be used in unintentional shootings, murder or assault, and suicide attempts than in an act of self-defense.*As proposed to be amended
  Contact: Colleen Beamish (Ting), 916.319.2019John Scribner (Gomez), 916.319.2051
Calif. Law Would Force Gun Owners to Buy Insurance | NBC 7 San Diego
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:25
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  Democratic lawmakers proposed legislation Tuesday that would require California gun owners to buy liability insurance to cover damages or injuries caused by their weapons. Similar bills have been introduced in other states after the Newtown, Conn., school massacre. They include Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York.
  "I was moved, like many others, being the father of two young children, by the Sandy Hook incident and looking for constructive ways to manage gun violence here in California as well as the rest of the country,'' said Assemblyman Philip Ting of San Francisco, who introduced AB231 along with Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles. "There's basically a cost that is born by the taxpayers when accidents occur. ... I don't think that taxpayers should be footing those bills.'' Ting equated the idea to requiring vehicle owners to buy auto insurance. Gomez said it would encourage gun owners to take firearms safety classes and keep their guns locked up to get lower insurance rates.
  No state has enacted the requirement despite repeated previous attempts, said Jon Griffin, a policy analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures. Bills have been offered unsuccessfully in Massachusetts and New York since at least 2003, when the conference began keeping track, he said. Similar bills were proposed in Illinois in 2009 and in Pennsylvania last year. Lawmakers are introducing the bills this year in even more states after the recent shootings. Some proposals would require buyers to show proof of insurance before they could purchase a weapon. The proposal in California would apply to anyone owning a weapon, Ting said, though the bill's details are still being worked out. Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, said most gun owners already act responsibly and can be sued for damages if they don't. He said the proposal is part of an ongoing attempt to "price gun owners out of existence,'' particularly the law-abiding poor who live in crime-ridden areas and need protection the most. Criminals would ignore the law, he said. Moreover, he questioned whether it is constitutional to require someone to buy insurance to exercise a constitutional right. "If they don't address it in committee, I'll guarantee they'll have to address it in court,'' Paredes said. Ting said he and Gomez plan to work with gun owners and opponents to craft a constitutional bill. It will not require insurance companies to offer gun insurance, but will encourage them to enter the market. He noted that the National Rifle Association itself already offers its members the chance to buy liability insurance, despite its opposition to requiring gun owners to buy such policies. Ting also introduced AB232, which would give a state income-tax credit of up to $1,000 to anyone who turns in a firearm to a local gun buyback program. The amount of the credit would be determined based on the value of the weapon.
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Congress Considers Putting Limits on Drone Strikes
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  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:27
  WASHINGTON -- Uncomfortable with the Obama administration's use of deadly drones, a growing number in Congress is looking to limit America's authority to kill suspected terrorists, even U.S. citizens. The Democratic-led outcry was emboldened by the revelation in a newly surfaced Justice Department memo that shows drones can strike against a wider range of threats, with less evidence, than previously believed.
  The drone program, which has been used from Pakistan across the Middle East and into North Africa to find and kill an unknown number of suspected terrorists, is expected to be a top topic of debate when the Senate Intelligence Committee grills John Brennan, the White House's pick for CIA chief, at a hearing Thursday.
  The White House on Tuesday defended its lethal drone program by citing the very laws that some in Congress once believed were appropriate in the years immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks but now think may be too broad.
  "It has to be in the agenda of this Congress to reconsider the scope of action of drones and use of deadly force by the United States around the world because the original authorization of use of force, I think, is being strained to its limits," Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said in a recent interview.
  Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, said Tuesday that "it deserves a serious look at how we make the decisions in government to take out, kill, eliminate, whatever word you want to use, not just American citizens but other citizens as well."
  Hoyer added: "We ought to carefully review our policies as a country."
  The Senate Foreign Relations Committee likely will hold hearings on U.S. drone policy, an aide said Tuesday, and Chairman Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and the panel's top Republican, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, both have quietly expressed concerns about the deadly operations. And earlier this week, a group of 11 Democratic and Republican senators urged President Barack Obama to release a classified Justice Department legal opinion justifying when U.S. counterterror missions, including drone strikes, can be used to kill American citizens abroad.
  Without those documents, it's impossible for Congress and the public to decide "whether this authority has been properly defined, and whether the president's power to deliberately kill Americans is subject to appropriate limitations and safeguards," the senators wrote.
  It was a repeated request after receiving last June an unclassified Justice Department memo, which fell short of giving the senators all the information they requested.
  First detailed publicly by NBC News late Monday, the memo for the first time outlines the Obama administration's decision to kill al-Qaida terror suspects without any evidence that specific and imminent plots are being planned against the United States.
  "The threat posed by al-Qaida and its associated forces demands a broader concept of imminence in judging when a person continually planning terror attacks presents an imminent threat," concluded the document.
  The memo was immediately decried by civil liberties groups as "flawed" and "profoundly disturbing" - especially in light of 2011 U.S. drone strikes in Yemen that killed three American citizens: Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old-son and Samir Khan. Al-Awlaki was linked to the planning and execution of several attacks targeting U.S. and Western interests, including the attempt to down a Detroit-bound airliner in 2009 and the plot to bomb cargo planes in 2010. His son was killed in a separate strike on a suspected al-Qaida den. Khan was an al-Qaida propagandist.
  White House spokesman Jay Carney, echoing comments Brennan made in a speech last April, called the strikes legal, ethical and wise and said they are covered by a law that Congress approved allowing the use of military force against al-Qaida.
  "And certainly, under that authority, the president acts in the United States' interest to protect the United States and its citizens from al-Qaida," Carney said Tuesday.
  "It is a matter of fact that Congress authorized the use of military force against al-Qaida," Carney said. "It is a matter of fact that al-Qaida is in a state of war against us and that senior leaders, operational leaders of al-Qaida are continually plotting to attack the United States, plotting to kill American citizens as they did most horrifically on September 11th of 2001."
  Three days after 9/11, Congress approved a law authorizing the military to use "all necessary and appropriate force" against al-Qaida and other groups believed to be helping or harboring the global terror network, including the use of drone strikes. In the decade since the attacks, U.S. intelligence officials say, al-Qaida has splintered into a number of affiliates and allied sympathizers. That means the current laws could allow military force against thousands of extremists across the Mideast and North Africa who have limited or no ability to strike the United States.
  Currently, both the CIA and the U.S. military are authorized to remotely pilot unmanned, missile-carrying drones against terror suspects. It's unknown exactly how many strikes have been carried out, but experts say that drone attacks in Pakistan are conducted by the CIA, while those in Yemen and Somalia, for example, are by military forces.
  The drones have strained diplomacy between the U.S. and the nations where the strikes are carried out, as civilians have been killed alongside the targeted terrorists, even though most nations have given Washington at least tacit agreement to carry out the attacks.
  A Middle Eastern diplomat said that in Yemen, for example, an uptick of U.S. drone strikes last month have killed dozens of people and upset the local public, leading some leaders in Sanaa to reconsider how often they should be used. The diplomat spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to avoid political retribution from the Obama administration.
  The Pentagon is also considering basing surveillance drones in Niger to monitor on burgeoning extremist violence in North Africa, but it's not clear if they will be armed. Scaling back the use of drones also would hamper war plans in Afghanistan after combat troops are scheduled to withdraw in 2014. Drones represent a major thrust of the post-troops campaign to help the limited number of special forces units that remain there keep the Taliban from regrouping.
  Brennan, who currently serves as the White House counterterrorism czar, has signaled he is prepared to turn the CIA from carrying out lethal drone strikes and hand over those missions to the U.S. military. Sen. Ron Wyden, a senior Democratic member of the Senate Intelligence panel, declared himself unsatisfied Tuesday with the Justice memo and said he will press Brennan at the confirmation hearing about the administration's current policy.
  The drone debate puts Obama -- himself a former civil rights lawyer -- in the awkward position of carrying out lethal attacks in secret and bucking his political allies in the Democratic Party. Democratic lawmakers were incensed by the refusal of the Republican administration of President George W. Bush to hand over classified Justice Department opinions justifying the use of waterboarding, the harsh interrogation tactic that critics call a form of torture. Obama repudiated those methods -- and released those opinions -- when he took office in 2009. The use of drones proved to have no political cost to Obama in his re-election campaign.
  House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., defended the use of deadly drones, calling it "a lawful act of national self-defense."
  "When an individual has joined al-Qaida -- the organization responsible for the murder of thousands of Americans -- and actively plots future attacks against U.S. citizens, soldiers, and interests around the world, the U.S. government has both the authority and the obligation to defend the country against that threat," Rogers said in a statement.
  But Rep. Keith Ellison, said the new Justice memo could spur lawmakers into taking a fresh look at deadly drones, and what he called an outdated policy guiding them.
  "We are sort of running on the steam that we acquired right after our country was attacked in the most horrific act of terror in U.S. history," said Ellison, D-Minn. "We have learned much since 9/11, and now it's time to take a more sober look at where we should be with use of force."
  (C) Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Colorado Dems Want Gunmakers Liable in Attacks
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  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:30
  DENVER -- Surrounded by the survivors and the families of victims from three of the most horrific mass murders in U.S. history, Democrats on Tuesday unveiled their blue print for comprehensive gun-control legislation.
  In addition to often talked about measures such as universal background checks for all gun purchases and limiting high-capacity magazines to 10 rounds of ammunition, a new bill was promised -- one that would make gun owners, sellers and manufacturers strictly liable for the death and destruction caused by military style assault rifles.
  Senate President John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, said his bill would ensure that in the future the manufacturers and sellers of assault weapons such as those used in Aurora and Sandy Hook will be held responsible for the events in civil court.
  That liability will result in industry changes on how the weapons are manufactured and sold, he said.
  "There's enough profit here that they can figure out how to get this accomplished," said Morse, former Fountain chief of police. "The classic case, if you will, of strict liability is transporting dynamite. You are strictly liable -- if something goes wrong it's up to you. Does that mean we don't transport dynamite? No, we've found ways to make sure nothing ever goes wrong."
  Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, called Morse's proposal the most egregious of the extreme gun control policies presented Tuesday.
  He likened it to holding a brewery, the distributor and the convenience store responsible for a drunken driving crash.
  "There are real consequences to passing bills like these," Brophy said.
  Morse said he is a week away from filing the actual language of his bill.
  Other bills are closer to being ready.
  Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, said she will introduce a bill that would limit high-capacity magazines to 10 rounds of ammunition -- a move that she said would save lives when attacks occur.
  "High capacity magazines are designed for one thing, to kill large numbers of people as quickly as possible," Fields said. "They are weapons of war."
  Brophy countered that limiting the magazines would do nothing to prevent their use, pointing out they are sold as standard issue with assault weapons and are prevalent on the streets.
  And if they ban them, Brophy said, criminals will only make their own.
  "Barring this is only going to keep law abiding citizens from having them, it wouldn't keep them out of the hands of criminals," he said.
  Soldiers are given 30-bullet magazines, Fields said, while James Holmes used a 100-round magazine -- that reportedly jammed -- when he killed 12 people in an Aurora movie theater last summer.
  Among those killed in the theater shooting was Jessica Watt's cousin Jonathan Blunk, a Navy veteran and father of two.
  Watts, 28, detailed how gun violence has impacted her life, starting with her husband attending Columbine High School when the 1999 massacre occurred.
  She said he wasn't hurt physically but they have dealt with the emotional scars of that event.
  Then in 2006, a girl she babysat for, Emily Keyes, was killed in a hostage situation at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey.
  House Speaker Mark Ferrandino called Watts' story "a sad commentary on the pervasiveness of gun violence in America."
  Ferrandino said Democrats also will seek a mandatory background check for all gun sales including those that occur between private parties.
  He said lawmakers also are drafting legislation to address mental health needs in Colorado, including funding for state programs and other needs.
  --
  Proposed Gun Laws
  These eight laws were proposed Tuesday by Democrats in the House and Senate but have not been filed as legislation.
  ** Assault Weapons Liability -- would make manufacturers, sellers, owners or possessors of military assault firearms, strictly liable for any death or injury resulting from the weapon.
  ** Universal Background Checks -- would require background checks for all gun buyers, including those who purchase from individual sellers, and would enhance mental health sharing data between state and federal agencies.
  ** High-Capacity Magazine Ban -- A ban on the sale or ownership of any ammunition feeding devices capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
  ** Mental Health Support -- would direct mental health professionals to notify the Colorado Bureau of Investigation of individuals who are a danger to themselves or others so they could be put in a database and rendered unable to purchase a firearm.
  ** Domestic Violence Prohibition -- would prohibit individuals convicted of domestic violence or currently under a protective order from possessing firearms.
  ** In-Person Training -- Prohibits training online for concealed carry permits.
  ** Background Check Fee -- establishes a $10 fee for anyone undergoing a background check from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to obtain a firearm.
  ** Campus Safety -- prohibits concealed carry on college campuses in Colorado.
  (C) Copyright 2013 The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Federal Register | Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application; GE Healthcare
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  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:35
  Pursuant to Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations 1301.34 (a), this is notice that on July 28, 2011, GE Healthcare, 3350 North Ridge Avenue, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004-1412, made application by renewal to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for registration as an importer of Cocaine (9041), a basic class of controlled substance listed in schedule II.
  The company plans to import small quantities of ioflupane, in the form of three separate analogues of Cocaine, to validate production and quality control systems, for a reference standard, and for producing material for a future investigational new drug (IND) submission.
  Any bulk manufacturer who is presently, or is applying to be, registered with DEA to manufacture such basic class of controlled substance listed in schedule I or II, which fall under the authority of section 1002(a)(2)(B) of the Act 21 U.S.C. 952 (a)(2)(B) may, in the circumstances set forth in 21 U.S.C. 958(i), file comments or objections to the issuance of the proposed registration and may, at the same time, file a written request for a hearing on such application pursuant to 21 CFR 1301.43, and in such form as prescribed by 21 CFR 1316.47.
  Any such written comments or objections should be addressed, in quintuplicate, to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of Diversion Control, Federal Register Representative (ODL), 8701 Morrissette Drive, Springfield, Virginia 22152; and must be filed no later than March 8, 2013.
  This procedure is to be conducted simultaneously with, and independent of, the procedures described in 21 CFR 1301.34(b), (c), (d), (e), and (f). As noted in a previous notice published in the Federal Register on September 23, 1975, 40 FR 43745-46, all applicants for registration to import a basic class of any controlled substance in schedule I or II are, and will continue to be, required to demonstrate to the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration, that the requirements for such registration pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 958(a); 21 U.S.C. 823(a); and 21 CFR 1301.34(b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) are satisfied.
  Dated: January 31, 2013.
  Joseph T. Rannazzisi,
  Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration.
  [FR Doc. 2013-02682 Filed 2-5-13; 8:45 am]
  BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:33
  The Authorization for Use of Military Force[1] is a joint resolution passed by the United States Congress on September 14, 2001, authorizing the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the attacks on September 11, 2001. The authorization granted the President the authority to use all "necessary and appropriate force" against those whom he determined "planned, authorized, committed or aided" the September 11th attacks, or who harbored said persons or groups. The AUMF was signed by President George W. Bush on September 18, 2001.
  [edit]Text of the AUMF[edit]PreambleJoint Resolution
  To authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the recent attacks launched against the United States.
  Whereas, on September 11, 2001, acts of treacherous violence were committed against the United States and its citizens; andWhereas, such acts render it both necessary and appropriate that the United States exercise its rights to self-defense and to protect United States citizens both at home and abroad; andWhereas, in light of the threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by these grave acts of violence; andWhereas, such acts continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States; andWhereas, the President has authority under the Constitution to take action to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States: Now, therefore, be itResolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,[edit]Section 1 - Short TitleThis joint resolution may be cited as the 'Authorization for Use of Military Force'.
  [edit]Section 2 - Authorization For Use of United States Armed Forces(a) IN GENERAL- That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.
  (b) War Powers Resolution Requirements-
  (1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION- Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution, the Congress declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution.(2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS- Nothing in this resolution supersedes any requirement of the War Powers Resolution.Speaker of the House of Representatives.
  Vice President of the United States and
  President of the Senate.
  [edit]Congressional votes[edit]House of RepresentativesOn September 14, 2001 bill House Joint Resolution 64 passed in the House. The totals in the House of Representatives were: 420 Ayes, 1 Nay and 10 Not Voting. The Nay was Barbara Lee, D-CA. [2] Lee is notable as the only member of either house of Congress to vote against this bill.[3]
  [edit]SenateOn September 14, 2001 Senate Joint Resolution 23 passed in the Senate by roll call vote. The totals in the Senate were: 98 Ayes, 0 Nays, 2 Present/Not Voting (Senators Larry Craig - R and Jesse Helms - R).
  [edit]Citations in Law[edit]See also[edit]References[edit]External links
BBC News - CIA operating drone base in Saudi Arabia, US media reveal
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:24
  6 February 2013Last updated at08:17 ETThe US Central Intelligence Agency has been operating a secret airbase for unmanned drones in Saudi Arabia for the past two years.
  The facility was established to hunt for members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is based in Yemen.
  A drone flown from there was used in September 2011 to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born cleric who was alleged to be AQAP's external operations chief.
  US media have known of its existence since then, but have not reported it.
  Senior government officials had said they were concerned that disclosure would undermine operations against AQAP, as well as potentially damage counter-terrorism collaboration with Saudi Arabia.
  The US military pulled out virtually all of its troops from Saudi Arabia in 2003, having stationed between 5,000 and 10,000 troops in the Gulf kingdom after the 1991 Gulf war. Only personnel from the United States Military Training Mission (USMTM) officially remain.
  'High-value targets'The location of the secret drone base was not revealed in the US reports.
  Continue reading the main storyThe revelation that US drone strikes against militants in Yemen have been launched from a secret base inside Saudi Arabia will be an embarrassment for the government in Riyadh.
  King Abdullah has embarked upon a gradual process of reform in the face of a conservative religious elite who strongly object to the presence of foreign non-Muslim troops in the country.
  Saudi Arabia is home to Islam's two holiest sites and the deployment of US forces there in the 1990s was seen as an historic betrayal. The campaign for their withdrawal became a rallying cry for al-Qaeda and its late Saudi-born leader, Osama bin Laden.
  However, construction was ordered after a December 2009 cruise missile strike in Yemen, according to the New York Times.
  It was the first strike ordered by the Obama administration, and ended in disaster, with dozens of civilians, including women and children, killed.
  US officials told the newspaper that the first time the CIA used the secret facility was to kill Awlaki.
  Since then, the CIA has been "given the mission of hunting and killing 'high-value targets' in Yemen" - the leaders of AQAP who government lawyers had determined posed a direct threat to the US - the officials added.
  Three other Americans, including Awlaki's 16-year-old son, have also been killed in US strikes in Yemen, which can reportedly be carried out without the permission of the country's government.
  Kristian Coates-Ulrichsen, an expert on Gulf politics at the London School of Economics, told the BBC that Saudi anxieties about the growing threat of AQAP would have been behind the government's decision to allow the US to fly drones from inside the kingdom.
  "The Saudis see AQAP as a very real threat to their domestic security," he said. "They are worried about attacks on their energy infrastructure and on the royal family, so it fit their strategy to allow the drone attacks."
  The existence of the base was likely a "sensitive issue" for both Washington and Riyadh, Mr Coates-Ulrichsen added.
  A source close to the Saudi Interior Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.
  The Washington Post reported that President Barack Obama's counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, a former CIA station chief in Saudi Arabia, played a key role in negotiations with the government in Riyadh over building the drone base.
  Saudi Arabia is home to some of Islam's holiest sites and the deployment of US forces there was seen as a historic betrayal by many Islamists, notably the late leader of al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden.
  It was one of the main reasons given by the Saudi-born militant to justify violence against the US and its allies.
  Leaked memoThe revelation of the drone base came shortly after the leaking of a US justice department memo detailing the Obama administration's case for killing Americans abroad who are accused of being a "senior, operational leader" of al-Qaeda or its allies.
  Lethal force is lawful if they are deemed to pose an "imminent threat" and their capture is not feasible, the memo says. The threat does not have to be based on intelligence about a specific attack, since such actions are being "continually" planned by al-Qaeda, it adds.
  NBC News said it was given to members of the US Senate intelligence and judiciary committees as a summary of a classified memo on the targeted killings of US citizens prepared by the justice department.
  The latter memo was written before the drone strike that killed Awlaki.
  Under President Obama, the US has expanded its use of drones to kill hundreds of al-Qaeda suspects in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen. It says it is acting in self-defence in accordance with international law.
  Critics argue the drone strikes amount to execution without trial and cause many civilian casualties.
  Senators are expected to ask Mr Brennan about drone strikes, the memo and the killing of Awlaki on Thursday when he faces a confirmation hearing on his nomination to become the new CIA director.
Virginia Set To Charge Obama With Death Penalty Murder
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  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:10
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  VirginiaSet To Charge Obama With Death Penalty Murder
  By:Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers
  A stunning Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) report on current legislative actions being considered and/or proposed by the individual States in America states that Virginia appears to be close to executing a warrant against President Barack Obama for the crime of ''capital murder'' which carries the death penalty.
  According to this report, the top law enforcement officer in Virginia, Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli[photo 2nd left], believes he has sufficient evidence to charge Obama with murder over the US Presidents killing of former State resident, and US citizen, Anwar al-Aulaqi.
  Under Virginia law, this report continues, ''the willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of more than one person within a three-year period'' constitutes the charging of Obama with capital murder, which carries the death sentence, due to the President's killing of al-Aulaqi's 16 year old son, Abdulrahman Anwar al-Aulaqi, who, like his father, was also a US citizen.
  Attorney General Cuccinelli, this report says, has long been critical of Obama and during a 2010 appearance, when an audience member asked, ''what can we do about Obama and the birth certificate thing'', responded that if Virginia challenged a law, he could seek to invalidate it because ''someone qualified to be President didn't sign it'', and the possibility that Obama was born in Kenya did not ''seem beyond the realm of possibility''.
  Virginia appears to one of the most anti-Obama regime States as evidenced by when the White House called drone strikes against Americans on US soil 'legal,' 'ethical' and 'wise' - even without evidence of a pending attack '' they responded by starting the process of enacting a law banning the use of police and/or Federal government drones, and their city of Charlottesville becoming the first in the United States to outlaw these pilotless assassins from being in their skies.
  Al-Aulaqi, this report says, served as imam at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque near Falls Church, Virginia, serving Muslims in Northern Virginia. He also led academic discussions frequented by FBI Director of Counter-Intelligence for the Middle East Gordon M. Snow. Al-Aulaqi also served as the Muslim chaplain at George Washington University and in 2002 he became the first imam to conduct a prayer service for the Congressional Muslim Staffer Association at the US Capitol.
  In 2010, however, Obama signed an ''assassination order'' against al-Aulaqi and on 30 September 2011 he was killed after being targeted by a CIA drone strike in Yemen.
  Two weeks later, on 14 October 2011, al-Aulaqi's son Abdulrahman was likewise killed in Yemen by Obama's order leading human rights groups to ask questions as to why this child, an American teenager, was killed by the US in a country with which the United States is not at war. Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), further stated after this childs assassination, ''If the government is going to be firing Predator missiles at American citizens, surely the American public has a right to know who's being targeted, and why.''
  The Obama regime, however, disagrees with the ACLU and in a memo obtained by NBC News this past week refers to a broader definition of imminence and specifically says their government is not required to have ''clear evidence that a specific attack on US persons and interests will take place in the immediate future'' in order to assassinate anyone the President chooses without either charges or trial.
  The highly respected US Constitutional lawyer and political journalist Glen Greenwald, writing in London Guardian newspaper, further stated, in his article titled Chilling Legal Memo From Obama DOJ Justifies Assassination Of US Citizens:
  ''The most extremist power any political leader can assert is the power to target his own citizens for execution without any charges or due process, far from any battlefield. The Obama administration has not only asserted exactly that power in theory, but has exercised it in practice. In September 2011, it killed US citizen Anwar Awlaki in a drone strike in Yemen, along with US citizen Samir Khan, and then, in circumstances that are still unexplained, two weeks later killed Awlaki's 16-year-old American son Abdulrahman with a separate drone strike in Yemen.
  Since then, senior Obama officials including Attorney General Eric Holder and John Brennan, Obama's top terrorism adviser and his current nominee to lead the CIA, have explicitly argued that the president is and should be vested with this power. Meanwhile, a Washington Post article from October reported that the administration is formally institutionalizing this president's power to decide who dies under the Orwellian title ''disposition matrix''.
  So truly Orwellian has the United States become under the Obama regime, it should be further noted, that while at the same time their President claims the right to kill or imprison any American citizen we wants, for any reason he wants, and to keep those reasons secret, the real terrorists being targeted are children, and include:
  A 10-year-old boy who was nearly arrested in his New York school for saying the words ''Nerf gun.''
  A 5-year-old boy in Massachusetts suspended from school for building a ''Lego gun.''
  A 5-year-old girl in Pennsylvania suspended from school as a ''terrorist threat'' because she extolled the virtues of a Hello Kitty toy, and said, ''I'll shoot you, you shoot me and we'll all play together.''
  A 6-year-old Maryland boy suspended from school because he used his fingers like a gun and said ''pow'' while playing during recess.
  A 10-year-old girl in Philadelphia searched and called a ''murderer'' by her school because she had in her possession a scrap of paper that looked like a gun.
  A 7-year-old Colorado student suspended from school because he threw an ''imaginary grenade'' trying to ''save the world from evil'' while playing during recess.
  A 10-year-old Alexandria boy arrested for bringing a toy gun to school.
  To if these seven children will now become targets for assassination by Obama too it is not in our knowing, other than to mention that in the US Presidents new ''disposition matrix'' it might be so'...and no one will ever be allowed to know why.
  February 6, 2012 (C) EU and US all rights reserved. Permission to use this report in its entirety is granted under the condition it is linked back to its original source at WhatDoesItMean.Com. Freebase content licensed under CC-BY and GFDL.
  [Ed. Note: Western governments and their intelligence services actively campaign against the information found in these reports so as not to alarm their citizens about the many catastrophic Earth changes and events to come, a stance that the Sisters of Sorcha Faal strongly disagrees with in believing that it is every human beings right to know the truth. Due to our missions conflicts with that of those governments, the responses of their 'agents' against us has been a longstanding misinformation/misdirection campaign designed to discredit and which is addressed in the report ''Who Is Sorcha Faal?''.]
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The twelve powers of a President. - Democratic Underground
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:07
  OpEdNewsOriginal Content at http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ed_marti_070621...
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------June 22, 2007
  The twelve powers of a President.
  By Ed Martin
  The President of the United States is in all respects a creation of our Constitution. The position of President is created by Article ll. Sections two and three are the only place in the Constitution that define a President and his powers and duties. They consist of just 317 words which can be condensed to just twelve items of 129 words:
  l. Be commander in chief of the Army and Navy when called into service.
  2. Require the opinion of the principal officer in each executive department.
  3. Have power to grand reprieves and pardons.
  4. Make treaties.
  5. Nominate and appoint ambassadors, judges of the Supreme Court and all other officers of the United States.
  6. Fill up all vacancies during the recess of the Senate.
  7. Give to Congress information of the state of the union.
  8. Recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.
  9. On extraordinary occasions convene both Houses, or either of them.
  10. Receive ambassadors and other public ministers.
  11. Take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
  12. Commission all the officers of the United States.
  There you have it, the complete list of the constitutional duties of the President. The Constitution doesn't say anything about his power to veto legislation. Article l, Section 7 allows him to return to Congress, within 10 days, any bills he doesn't approve of, with his objections. It would be interesting to know if he has done this with the bills he has supposedly "vetoed." If he didn't, they automatically become law.
  Take a look at those twelve items that a president is limited to doing and consider the following list of things that George Bush has been involved in and all the candidates are spouting off about:
  Abortion, budget, economy, civil rights, corporations, crime, drugs, education, energy, oil, environment, families, children, foreign policy, free trade, government reform, gun control, health care, homeland security, immigration, jobs, principles, values, social security, tax reform, technology, war, peace, welfare and poverty.
  Notice that none of the above items are included in the list of twelve items the president is limited to doing. George Bush has been doing and all the candidates have been talking about doing things which are completely outside a president's powers and duties, and which they are constitutionally prohibited from doing. In other words, they're talking nonsense. They're talking about things, which as president, they have no business sticking their noses in. They have a right to their personal opinion on these matters, but that's all it is.
  Notice, also, that the twelve powers of a president does not include, as George Bush claims, any such thing as executive privilege, the unitary executive or signing statements. He has no constitutional authority to claim those things. Item five says that he can appoint officers of the United States, such as US attorneys, and item two says he can ask for their opinion. But, that's all he can do. Nowhere in the twelve items is he given the power to fire them.
  It would be enlightening if someone would ask Bush or any of the candidates, "What are the twelve constitutional powers of a president?" I'd be willing to bet that neither Bush nor any of the candidates could recite the short list of twelve things that a president, by law, has the power to do. And, I'll bet that none of them understand that a president is limited to doing just those twelve things.
  The most significant evidence that the United States has come to completely misunderstand what a president is, is that Bush nor any of the candidates are asked any questions about the twelve powers that a president can actually do, and it's doubtful that, even if asked, any of them could answer.
  We have a President and candidates who want to be President who are completely in the dark about what it means to be the President of the United States.
  Authors Bio: Ed Martin is an unindicted curmudgeon. He is not a Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal, deist, atheist, or a member of any -ism.
Republic Bike | Build custom Plato Dutch Step-thru bike | built by us and you
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 14:56
  Total assembled weight: 40 lbs (18.14 kgs)
  Frame: Custom lugged design in hi-ten steel. Adjustable alloy seat tube clamp. Front and rear pipe carrier racks included.
  Forks: Crown Lugged, hi-ten steel.
  Gearing (1-speed): 36T chainwheel, 18T freewheel
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  Grips: Custom stitched comfort grips.
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  Wheels: Alloy 26 x 1.5". Nutted axles to both front and rear.
  Tires: 26 x 2.25" custom hue balloon tires
  Rear hub (1-speed): Coaster brake hub with 18T freewheel.
  Rear hub (3-speed): Shimano Nexus 3-speed Coaster brake hub with 18T freewheel.
  Front hub: Shimano Nexus roller brake.Chainset: Steel 1/2 x 1/8 x 36T with 165mm Alloy cranks
  Handlebars: Alloy, 600mm wide semi-raised.
  Pedals: 9/16 PVC with reflectors.
  Brakes: Rear coaster brake, front Shimano roller brake.
  Seat post: Alloy 28.6mm x 400mm.
  Center kickstand included.
  Front, rear and wheel reflectors included.
Opinio Juris >> Blog Archive >> The DoJ White Paper's Fatal International Law Flaw '-- Organization
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:57
  There is much to say about the DoJ White Paper on the targeted killing of US citizens, which reflects the US's idiosyncratic interpretation of international law. In this post I want to focus on the White Paper's primary '-- and in my view fatal '-- flaw: its complete failure to address the relationship between the organized armed groups that it considers to be engaged in a single non-international armed conflict (NIAC) with the US.
  The White Paper begins with the standard premise that ''[t]he United States is in an armed conflict with al-Qa'ida and its associated forces'' (p. 2). It then claims that the armed conflict in question is a global NIAC that extends to any member of ''al-Qai'da and its associated forces'' anywhere in the world (p. 3; citations omitted; emphasis mine):
  [T]he United States retains its authority to use force against al-Qa'ida and associated forces outside the area of hostilities that targets a senior operational leader of the enemy forces who is actively engaged in planning operations to kill Americans. The United States is currently in a non-international armed conflict with al-Qa'ida and its associated forces. Any U.S. operation would be part of this non-international armed conflict, even if it were to take place away from the zone of active hostilities.
  After making that claim, the White Paper does something interesting: it explicitly addresses the argument that the existence of a NIAC between the US and al-Qaida must be determined according to the test established by the ICTY in Tadic '-- the test adopted by the ICRC, by the ICC, and by nearly all international law scholars. Here is what it says (pp. 3-4; some citations omitted):
  Claiming that for purposes of international law, an armed conflict generally exists only when there is ''protracted armed violence between governmental authorities and organized armed groups,'' Prosecutor v. Tadic, Case No. IT-94-1AR72, Decision on the Defence Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction, para. 70 (Int'l Crim. Trib. for the Former Yugoslavia, App. Chamber Oct 2. 1995), some commenters have suggested that the conflict between the United States and al-Qa'ida cannot lawfully extend to nations outside Afghanistan in which the level of hostilities is less intense or prolonged than in Afghanistan itself. See, e.g., Mary Ellen O'Connell, Combatants and the Combat Zone, 43 U. Rich. L. Rev. 845, 857-59 (2009). There is little judicial or other authoritative precedent that speaks directly to the question of the geographic scope of a non-international armed conflict in which one of the parties is a transnational, non-state actor and where the principal theater of operations is not within the territory of the nation that is a party to the conflict. Thus, in considering this potential issue, the Department looks to principles and statements from analogous contexts.
  The Department has not found any authority for the proposition that when one of the parties to an armed conflict plans and executes operations from a base in a new nation, an operation to engage the enemy in that location cannot be part of the original armed conflict, and thus subject to the laws of war governing that conflict, unless the hostilities become sufficiently intense and protracted in the new location. That does not appear to be the rule of the historical practice, for instance, even in a traditional international conflict. Particularly in a non-international armed conflict, where terrorist organizations may move their base of operations from one country to another, the determination of whether a particular operation would be part of an ongoing armed conflict would require consideration of the particular facts and circumstances in each case, including the fact that transnational non-state organizations such as al-Qaida may have no single site serving as their base of operations.
  If an operation of the kind discussed in this paper were to occur in a location where al-Qa'ida or an associated force has a significant and organized presence and from which al-Qa'ida or an associated force, including its senior operational leaders, plan attacks against U.S. persons and interests, the operation would be part of the non-international armed conflict between the United States and al-Qa'ida that the Supreme Court recognized in Hamdan.
  In one important respect, this analysis is absolutely correct: as long as the US is engaged in a NIAC with an al-Qa'ida group in a particular location '-- because the organization of the group and the intensity of the hostilities there satisfy Tadic '' any member of that al-Qa'ida group can be targeted anywhere in the world. In such a situation, contrary to what scholars like O'Connell argue, there is no need to find Tadic-level hostilities in the location where the member of that al-Qa'ida is located. The laws of war, in this regard, are indeed completely aspatial.
  But here we come to the White Paper's fatal flaw. Notice that it completely ignores one of the two constitutive elements of the Tadic test: the organization requirement. The White Paper simply assumes that ''al-Qa'ida and its associated forces'' constitute a single organized armed group for purposes of IHL '-- ''a transnational, non-state actor'' that is ''one of the parties'' involved in ''the non-international armed conflict between the United States and al-Qa'ida that the Supreme Court recognized in Hamdan'' (emphasis mine). Indeed, the White Paper must make that assumption because, by its own admission, what justifies targeting a ''senior operational leader'' away from an active battlefield is precisely that, as a member of ''al-Qa'ida or an associated force,'' he takes part in that NIAC.
  The assumption that ''al-Qa'ida and its associated forces'' constitute a single organized armed group for purposes of IHL, however, is deeply problematic. Here is a snippet of my essay on signature strikes (citations omitted):
  For various groups that call themselves AQ or associate themselves with AQ to qualify as a single party, they must '' at a minimum '' share a common command structure. That requirement has been accepted by the ICTY, by the ICRC, and by scholars '' and it means that different terrorist groups cannot be considered one organization simply because they share the same ideology.
  There is little evidence, however, that the various terrorist groups that call themselves AQ or associate themselves with AQ possess the kind of integrated command structure that would justify considering them a single party involved in a global NIAC with the U.S. According to Kenneth Anderson, ''Islamist terror appears to be fragmenting into loose networks of shared ideology and aspiration rather than vertical organizations linked by command central.'' Similarly, Bruce Hoffman insists that, since 9/11, AQ ''has become more an idea or a concept than an organization; an amorphous movement tenuously held together by a loosely networked transnational constituency rather than a monolithic, international terrorist organization with either a defined or identifiable command and control apparatus.'' Indeed, even the U.S. government rejects the idea that AQ is a unified organization, dividing AQ into three separate tiers: (1) core AQ; (2) ''small groups who have some ties to an established terrorist organization, but are largely self-directed''; and (3) ''homegrown extremists' who 'have no formal affiliation with al Qaeda, but'... are inspired by its message of violence.''
  The actual organization of ''al-Qa'ida and its associated forces'' fatally undermines the White Paper. If those terrorist groups do not form a single organized armed group, there can be no single NIAC between the US and ''al-Qa'ida and its associated forces.'' And if there is no single NIAC between the United States and ''al-Qa'ida and its associated forces,'' the US cannot '-- by its own standards '-- justify targeting anyone who is a ''senior operational commander'' in one of those groups simply by citing the existence of the hostilities between the US and al-Qai'da in Afghanistan. On the contrary, in order to lawfully target a ''senior operational commander'' in a terrorist group that does not qualify as part of al-Qaida in Afganistan, the US would, in fact, have to show (under Tadic) that there is a separate NIAC between the US and that group where that group is located.
  It is possible, of course, that the US could make the requisite showing. But the White Paper never even considers the issue, because of its flawed understanding of the Tadic test. As a result, the White Paper authorizes the use of lethal force against individuals whose targeting is, without more, prohibited by international law.
Opinio Juris >> Blog Archive >> The DoJ White Paper's Confused Approach to Imminence (and Capture)
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:49
  According to the White Paper (p. 6), a US citizen ''who is located outside the United States and is an operational leader continually planning attacks against US persons or interests'' cannot lawfully be killed unless, inter alia, ''an informed, high-level official of the US government has determined that the targeted individual poses an imminent threat of attack against the United States.'' Early criticism of the White Paper has focused on how it defines imminence. The ACLU's Jameel Jaffer, for example, says that it ''redefines the word imminence in a way that deprives the word of its ordinary meaning.'' That's actually something of an understatement; as I'll discuss in this post, the White Paper's entire approach to the concept of imminence is deeply confused '-- and deeply problematic from the standpoint of international law.
  The first thing to note is that it's not clear why the White Paper even discusses imminence. As I noted in my previous post, the White Paper's central premise is that all targeted killings of ''senior operational leaders'' in ''al-Qa'ida or its associated forces'' take place in the context of a global non-international armed conflict (NIAC) and are thus all subject to the laws of war (IHL). The White Paper also takes the position that the laws of war apply to a U.S. citizen in the same way that they apply to a non-citizen; it specifically argues (p. 3) that because ''the military may constitutionally use force against a US citizen who is part of enemy forces,'' the DoJ ''does not believe that US citizenship would immunize a senior operational leader of al-Qa'ida or its associated forces from a use of force abroad.''
  Although I reject the White Paper's claim that the US is engaged in a global NIAC with ''al-Qa'ida and its associated forces,'' I have no problem with the idea that US citizenship does not affect the targetability of an individual who is otherwise a legitimate target under IHL. But why, then, discuss imminence at all? It is black-letter IHL that a legitimate target can be targeted at any time; it is not necessary to show that the target is an imminent threat, regardless of how imminence is defined. Given that the White Paper assumes both that all targeted killings of US citizens take place in armed conflict and that US citizenship does not affect targetability under IHL, it should consider whether a US citizen poses ''an imminent threat of attack against the United States'' '-- or against anything else '-- to be completely irrelevant.
  So why does the White Paper graft an imminence requirement onto IHL? There are two possible explanations. The cynical one is simply politics. The DoJ doesn't really believe imminence is required before a US citizen who is a member of al-Qa'ida or an associated force can be lawfully targeted, but it is worried that the American public would reject the idea that an ''enemy'' US citizen can be killed abroad at any time. So it has decided to endorse an imminence requirement that '-- as discussed below '-- provides no meaningful constraints on the use of lethal force against a US citizen. A cynical move, to be sure. But a smart one.
  The more generous explanation is that the DoJ believes that imminence is required by IHL's presumption of civilian status. Article 57(2) of the First Additional Protocol provides that ''[t]hose who plan or decide upon an attack shall'... [d]o everything feasible to verify that the objectives to be attacked are neither civilians nor civilian objects,'' while Article 50(1) provides that if it is still unclear whether an individual is a legitimate target after all feasible precautions are taken, ''that person shall be considered to be a civilian'' who is immune from attack. IHL is notoriously vague concerning the precise quantum of evidence necessary to determine that an individual is a member of an organized armed group, so perhaps the DoJ believes that a showing of imminence is the minimum necessary to establish that a target is a member of al-Qa'ida or an associated force '-- at least, or perhaps especially, when the target is a US citizen.
  That explanation has a nice ring to it, but it is difficult to accept. To begin with, it would still contradict the White Paper's claim that US citizenship is irrelevant to the application of IHL. Nothing in IHL suggests that the standard of proof for membership in an organized armed group differs for citizens and non-citizens; indeed, such a citizen/non-citizen distinction would contradict IHL's basic targeting premise, which is that the only relevant distinction is between civilians and non-civilians.
  The generous explanation of the imminence requirement also suffers from a more important flaw: it is completely inconsistent with the White Paper's insistence (p. 6) that a US citizen can be targeted only when ''a capture operation would infeasible.'' First, the capture requirement does not help establish whether a US citizen is, in fact, a member of al-Qa'ida or an associated force. Second, the capture requirement has no basis in IHL: as Article 41(2)(b) of AP I makes clear, unless a lawful target ''clearly expresses an intention to surrender'' '-- such as by yelling surrender or by raising his hands or a white flag '-- IHL imposes no capture obligation whatsoever on an attacker. That is an unforgiving rule, permitting the use of lethal force against a target who is unarmed, defenseless, running away, or even asleep. But it is a rule nonetheless.
  We are left, then, with the cynical explanation. The imminence requirement and the capture requirement both come from international human rights law (IHRL), not from IHL. The US, however, categorically rejects the idea that IHRL applies to any of its targeted killings; as noted above, it considers itself to be in a global NIAC with al-Qa'ida and its associated forces. There is thus no non-political (i.e., legal) reason for the US to condition the use of lethal force agains a US citizen on the threat of an imminent attack and the impossibility of capture. The imminence requirement is all for show.
  Finally, given that many scholars (including me) reject the US position that none of its targeted killings are subject to IHRL, it is worth noting that the US definition of imminence is significantly broader than the IHRL definition. I discuss that issue at length in my essay on signature strikes; see pp. 29-31. I will simply note here that at least one aspect of the US definition is clearly unacceptable from an IHRL perspective '-- namely, its acceptance of the idea that a ''senior operational leader'' in al-Qa'ida or an associated force can be considered an imminent threat even when there is no evidence that he is planning future attacks against the US. Here is what the White Paper says (p. 8):
  [W]here the al-Qa'ida member in question has recently been involved in activities posing an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States, and there is no evidence suggesting that he has renounced or abandoned such activities, that member's involvement in al-Qa'ida's continuing terrorist campaign against the United States would support the conclusion that the member poses an imminent threat.
  Even granting '-- as most scholars do '-- that IHRL's imminence requirement is far from the picture of clarity, this standard is woefully overbroad. It not only relieves the US of the need to possess evidence that the ''senior operational leader'' in question intends to continue to attack the US, it actually shifts the burden of proof onto that individual to show that he is no longer a threat. (How he would actually do that is never addressed in the White Paper. Take an ad out in the New York Times?) That is simply unacceptable from an IHRL perspective; as the Human Rights Committee has specifically noted, states must ''not use 'targeted killings' as a deterrent or punishment.''
Reactions to the Drone Strike ''White Paper''
  Link to Article
  Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:46
  Jonathan H. Adler ' February 6, 2013 8:23 am
  The release by NBC News of a confidential ''white paper'' outlining the basis upon which the Obama Administration justifies the use of drones to conduct targeted killings of suspected terrorists, including American citizens, has prompted a substantial amount of commentary '-- mostly negative. Among other things, critics note the expansive notion of what constitutes an ''iminent'' threat. So, for instance, the memo provides:
  the condition that an operational leader present an ''imminent'' threat of violent attack against the United States does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons will take place in the immediate future.
  Conor Friedersdorf sees echoes of the early Bush Administration in this rationale (as does Charles at Popehat), and Glenn Greenwald finds it ''chilling.'' Patterico worries about the slippery slope and Jacob Sullum finds the memo disturbing. But don't worry. White House spokesman Jay Carney assures us there's nothing problematic about the administration's position.
  On the academic side of things, Greg McNeal notes ''six key points'' on the white paper. Kevin Jon Heller comments on the memo's ''confused approach to imminence (and capture)'' and its mishandling of al Qaida's organizational structure.
  In the Washington PostJack Goldsmith argues the white paper highlights the need for a new ''rulebook'' for the war on terror, preferably a statute debated and adopted by Congress (a step Gerard Magliocca urges as well), and his colleagues at the Lawfare blog have severalmoreposts on the issue.
Activision claim thwarts North Korea
  Link to Article
  Source: BBC News - Technology
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:45
  6 February 2013Last updated at08:02 ETA propaganda video from the North Korean authorities has been removed from YouTube following a copyright claim by games maker Activision.
  The clip showed a young man dreaming about a North Korean space shuttle destroying a city that resembles New York.
  But the footage of burning buildings was taken from Activision's top selling game, Call of Duty.
  North Korea insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes.
  But the country's intent - particularly towards South Korea - has raised concerns leader Kim Jong-un has plans for a ballistic missile system.
  The video was posted on Saturday by North Korea's official Pyongyang YouTube channel.
  'Wickedness is ablaze'It shows a futuristic space craft flying around the world and eventually over a city. The buildings are then seen crumbling amid fires and missile attacks.
  However, the dramatic images were soon recognised as having been lifted from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, a multi-million selling game released in 2011.
  Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
  The BBC's Martin Patience: "Privately Chinese officials will be deeply worried about these developments"
  The video contained subtitles, in Korean, which read: "Somewhere in the United States, black clouds of smoke are billowing. It seems that the nest of wickedness is ablaze with the fire started by itself."
  Footage of North Korea's own recent rocket launches is also shown in the clip.
  Intriguingly, the anti-US footage is sound-tracked by an instrumental version of We Are The World, the 1985 charity single written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.
  By Tuesday, the video had been blocked, with a message notifying users of Activision's complaint shown in its place.
  On Wednesday it appeared that the North Korean channel's administrators had removed the video completely.
Broke US Postal Service Cuts Saturday Delivery
  Link to Article
  Source: Zero Hedge
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:45
  The completely bankrupt US Postal Service, employer of some 500,000 government workers, which for the past two quarters has been surviving on liquidity fumes even as it posted it biggest ever loss in Fiscal 2012, and which recently announced its latest stamp price hike (which bought it two extra weeks of time), has just disclosed what was long anticipated: the end of Saturday mail delivery - a crushing blow to shippers of junk mail everywhere.
  From The AP:
  The financially struggling U.S. Postal Service says it plans to stop delivering mail on Saturdays, but continue delivering packages six days a week.
  In an announcement scheduled for later Wednesday, the service is expected to say the cut, beginning in August, would mean a cost saving of about $2 billion annually.
  The move accentuates one of the agency's strong points '-- package delivery has increased by 14 percent since 2010. The delivery of letters and other mail has declined with the increasing use of email and other Internet use.
  Considering the USPS loss last year was $16 billion, all the postal office needs to do to return to profitability is cut delivery on 7 more days in the week and all shall be fixed. Sadly, we are confident some government worker just read this and a lightbulb went over their head. And no: taxing Americans $0.45 per email sent will not be a popular measure.
  Of course, the inevitable outcome is that the USPS itself will have to be bailed out. In the meantime, the USPS can spend what little money it does not have on TV ads on channels such as CNBC whose viewers are certainly unaware of the services provided by this most bloated of legacy government entities.
  Average:Your rating: NoneAverage: 3.7(3 votes)
UKIP Nigel Farage: The EU is Increasingly About War - Feb 2013
  Link to Article
  Source: Uploads by ukipmedia
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:41
OK School Says 'Zero Tolerance' for Bullying After Teen Shoots Self in Bathroom
  Link to Article
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:40
  Authorities in Oklahoma on Monday were unable to confirm if bullying was involved after a 15-year-old male killed himself with a gun in a Cowetta school bathroom.
  Speaking to reporters at press conference, Superintendent Jeff Holmes explained that a "ninth grade student at Cowetta Intermediate High School died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound" soon after school began on Monday morning.
  Coweta Police Lieutenant Donnie Krumsiek praised the school faculty for their response, saying that "unfortunately a life was lost but it could have been a lot worse."
  "You've seen the same coverage I have, school shootings where multiple lives are lost," Krumsiek told reporters. "We're very fortunate that didn't occur today."
  Several reporters noted that witnesses had said bullying may have been a factor in the student's death, but Krumsiek said he had no evidence to support that claim and Holmes refused to release any personal information regarding the victim.
  "We do have a bullying policy," Holmes remarked. "There's zero tolerance for bullying in each of our schools -- starting from elementary school on up -- have extensive character education programs and a component of each of those would be suicide prevention."
  "I'm not going to comment on the student," he insisted, noting that the principals and counselors described the ninth grader as "a very fine young man."
  Holmes said he was not yet sure if criminal charges were possible if bullying was suspected in the case.
  "We want parents to know that we care about their kids, we care about every single one of their kids," the superintendent added as he choked up. "That's all I have at this point."
Washington Post
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:33
  By Krissah Thompson, Published: FEBRUARY 04, 8:40 PM ET Aa They're at it again.
  The latest public rant against Michelle Obama's effort to promote low-calorie school lunches was recently caught on tape in Alabama '-- the usual protest against the federal government meddling in local business. And then it quickly found its way around to the first lady's posterior.
  ''Fat butt Michelle Obama,'' said Bob Grisham, a high school football coach who was surreptitiously recorded by one of his students. ''Look at her. She looks like she weighs 185 or 190. She's overweight.''
  Grisham, who was suspended Monday, is neither the first nor the most high-profile person to feel moved to comment on the first lady's physique. Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has repeatedly called her Michelle ''My Butt'' Obama. And Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, the Wisconsin Republican, issued an apology after he was caught commenting on her ''large posterior.'' (Grisham has also said he misspoke.)
  Michelle Obama obviously is not the first first lady to be subjected to criticism for the way she looks. Hillary Clinton was accused of having ''cankles'' '-- slang for chubby ankles. One of her predecessors was immortalized in song by the group Mission of Burma: ''I'm haunted by the freakish size of Nancy Reagan's head /No way that thing came with that body.''
  But what is it with Michelle Obama's critics and the fixation with her derriere?
  ''We have a history in this country of white people not showing adequate respect for and devaluing the bodies of black women, and this most definitely falls in line with that,'' says Ayana Byrd, the co-editor of the anthology ''Naked: Black Women Bare All About Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips and Other Parts.'' (Grisham, Limbaugh and Sensenbrenner are white men.)
  The focus on this first lady's posterior has historical antecedents. It reaches back to the imagery of Hottentot Venus, a woman from what is now South Africa whose naked body and pronounced posterior were paraded in shows throughout 19th-century Europe. On to the selling and trading of black women's bodies through slavery. In modern times, black women's figures continue to be up for public discussion in ways that are celebratory (see: ''Brick House'' by The Commodores) and insulting (see above).
  Michelle Obama '-- who is 5-foot-11 and praised for her fashion sense, her bangs and her toned biceps '-- regularly emerges in polls as one of the most popular public figures in the country. (The White House does not discuss her weight.) She has graced magazine covers from Vogue to Better Homes & Gardens. Women's health magazines have created workouts to help other women get ''Michelle Obama arms.''
  Her presence as first lady challenges the historic view of a black woman's place and notions of beauty, says Michaela Angela Davis, a fashion expert who has campaigned for more positive images of black women in the media. ''Michelle is black from a distance. She's a real black girl,'' Davis says. ''A lot of people have tried to make diversity into this weird beige thing. Her presence is just really powerful to interject into the global consciousness.''
  The first lady's critics ''are reacting to the culture in which they've grown up or they are using it as a code to racialize Michelle Obama and remind people that she's black,'' says Andra Gillespie, an associate professor of political science at Emory University. ''It is unreasonable to expect a nearly 50-year-old woman to have the body of a 25-year-old. She looks great for her age.''
  Although the White House declined to comment, Michelle Obama was asked a few years ago during an interview whether the focus on her has affected her body image.
  ''No, not really '-- but I thank God I'm 45 in this and not 35. I feel bad for young women going through the same thing, because [at that age] you don't know who you are. I know what makes me happy,'' she said. ''My message to women: Do what makes you feel good, because there'll always be someone who thinks you should do it differently.''
  Translation: Naysayers, butt out.
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21st Century Wire '-- News for the Waking Generation
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:26
  February 6, 2013 By 21wire
  Amazon is introducing its own 'Bitcoin' virtual currency customers can use to purchase Kindle Fire apps and games from its AppstoreRosie BakerMarketing Week
  The online retailer says it will give customers ''tens of millions'' of dollars worth of its virtual Amazon Coins for free to spend on apps in the Amazon Appstore. It will then be converted into real money for developers, who will earn the standard 70 per cent revenue share when customers make purchases using Amazon Coins.
  The initiative is designed to offer a new way for app owners '' such as brands and developers '' to make money through content for Kindle Fire devices and to encourage customers to spend through its app store.
  The move is also a way for Amazon to encourage customers and developers to commit to its platform as it looks to take on rivals Google and Apple.
  Paul Ryder, vice president of apps and games for Amazon, says: ''Developers continue to report higher conversion rates on Amazon compared to other platforms. Now we have another new way to help developers reach even more of our millions of customers.''
  Coins has been supported by a number of games developers including ZeptoLab, the creator of games such as Parachute Ninja.
  Misha Lyalin, ZeptoLab's CEO, says: ''Everyone recognises Amazon's success in the e-commerce world '' now the Amazon Appstore has become a major player in the mobile app marketplace. Amazon's new virtual currency is designed to open new opportunities for developers and make things easier for customers. This is a great example of appstore innovation and we want to support it.''
  Amazon says its Coins currency helps make it ''the most complete end-to-end ecosystem for building, monetising and marketing apps and games''.
  The launch follows the introduction of in-app purchasing, which allows customers to use their Amazon accounts to buy virtual goods within games, and a number of functions that let developers integrate Amazon's shopping features and APIs into their content.
  Customers can also buy additional Amazon Coins credits through their Amazon accounts.
  Amazon Coins will launch in the US May, but is likely to roll out to other territories.
  Facebook launched its Facebook Credits currency in 2011 allowing users to purchase apps and games using it, but has since shifted its strategy to favour real money '' a move it says simplifies the experience for users.
  February 6, 2013 By 21wire
  Michael CollinsOpEd News
  Tearing Down the Empire Project: This speech represents a moment of extreme truth for the NATO powers. The United States, Great Britain, France and the lesser powers have been throwing their weight around Asia and Africa without regard to the norms of civilized behavior Their drill includes attacking countries that pose no threat to any NATO member; engaging in ruinious sanctions as a negotiating tool; threatening war; and, engaging in military actions as a matter of routine. Laurent Louis, a Belgian MP and crusader for human rights, spoke to parliament and laid out the truth behind naked aggression and the lies that justify it. '' Michael Collins (Originally found at Kenny's Sideshow)
  LAURENT LOUIS, MP: Thank you, Mr President. Dear Ministers, dear Colleagues'...
  Belgium is indeed the land of surrealism.
  This morning we learned from the media that the Belgian army is incapable of fighting some extremist soldiers having radical Islamist beliefs existing within its own ranks but who cannot be dismissed for lack of legal means.
  However, at the same time, we decide to help France in its war against ''Terror'' by providing logistical support for its operation in Mali. What wouldn't we do in order to fight against terrorism outside our borders? I just hope we took care not to send for this anti-terrorist operation, in Mali, these much talked about Belgian Islamists soldiers!
  I seem to be joking, but what is going on in the world today does not make me laugh at all. It doesn't make me laugh, because without any doubt, the leaders of our Western countries are taking the people for imbeciles with the help and support of the Media which are nothing more today than an organ of propaganda of the ruling powers.
  Around the world, military actions and regime's destabilization are becoming more and more frequent. Preventive war has become the rule.
  And today, in the name of democracy and the fight against terrorism, our states grant themselves the right to violate the sovereignty of independent countries and to overthrow legitimate leaders.
  There has been Iraq and Afghanistan, the wars of the American lie. Later, came Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, where thanks to your decisions, our country has been ''first in line'' to participate in crimes against humanity, in each case overthrowing progressive and moderate regimes and to replace them with Islamist regimes, and '' isn't it weird ? '' Their first act was to impose Sharia law.
  This is exactly what is currently happening in Syria where Belgium is shamefully funding the arming of the Islamist rebels who are trying to overthrow Bashar Al Assad. Thus, in the midst of economic crisis, as more and more
  Belgians can no longer house themselves, feed, heat and cure themselves '' Yeah, I can hear what a filthy populist I am '' well, the Minister of Foreign Affairs decided to offer the Syrian rebels nine million Euros!
  Of course, they'll try to make us believe that this money will be used for humanitarian purposes '... one more lie! And as you can see, for months, our country is only participating to put in place, Islamic regimes in North Africa and the Middle East. So, when they come and pretend to go to war in order to fight against terrorism in Mali, well'... I feel like laughing. It's false!
  Under the appearance of good actions, we only intervene to defend financial interests in a complete neo-colonialist agenda. It makes no sense to go to help France in Mali in the name of the fight against Islamic terrorism when '' at the same time '' we support the overthrow of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad by Islamist rebels who want to impose Sharia Law, as was done in Tunisia and in Libya.
  It is about time to stop lying to us and treating people like imbeciles'...
  Read more
  February 6, 2013 By 21wire
  Medication questions about troops'...
  by Martha RosenbergOpEd News
  Why does the suicide rate among military personnel continue to climb''even among those who never saw combat? This week the Pentagon announced there were more suicides among active-duty members of the armed services in 2012 than combat deaths '' a staggering 349. Eighty-five percent had not even seen combat, reported Bloomberg.
  The suicide rate rose similarly last year and also included troops who had not faced combat. There were 38 Army suicides in July of 2012 compared with 32 suicides in July of 2011 . In a 2010 Army report called Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention Report, 36 percent of the troops who killed themselves had never even deployed. The suicide rate increased by more than 150 percent in the Army and more than 50 percent in the Marine Corps between 2001 to 2009, reported Military Times in a series of in-depth articles.
  One in six service members was on a psychoactive drug in 2010 and ''many troops are taking more than one kind, mixing several pills in daily 'cocktails' for example, an antidepressant with an antipsychotic to prevent nightmares, plus an anti-epileptic to reduce headaches''despite minimal clinical research testing such combinations,'' said Military Times.
  The pills and pill cocktails many troops are prescribed are clearly linked to suicidal thoughts and behavior. Antidepressants like Prozac and Paxil, antipsychotics like Seroquel and Zyprexa and anti-seizure drugs like Lyrica and Neurontin all carry clear suicide warnings and all are widely used in the military. Almost 5,000 newspaper reports link antidepressants to suicide, homicide and bizarre behavior on the website www.SSRIstories.com . The malaria drug Lariam is also highly correlated with suicide and its use actually increased in the Navy and Marine Corps in 2011, according to the Associated Press.
  Eighty-nine percent of troops with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are now given psychoactive drugs and between 2005 and 2009, half of all TRICARE (the military health plan) prescriptions for people between 18 and 34 were for antidepressants. During the same time period, epilepsy drugs like Topamax and Neurontin, increasingly given off-label for mental conditions, increased 56 percent, reports Military Times . In 2008 , 578,000 epilepsy pills and 89,000 antipsychotics were prescribed to deploying troops.
  Both the increase in the overall suicide rate in the US (rising to 36,000 a year after falling in the 1990s according to USA Today) and in the military coincide with the debut of direct-to-consumer drug advertising in the late 1990s. They are also correlated with the FDA's approval of many drugs with suicide links and a population that is increasingly taking psychoactive drugs for minor problems and symptoms. Several powerful military psychiatrists and administrators are also consultants to Big Pharma who shamelessly enroll veterans in drug studies and promote the pills that drug companies pay them to promote. Who can say conflict of interest?
  When concerns about the rise in the general suicide rate in the US surfaced last fall, US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin announced federal grants for suicide hotlines, more mental health workers, better depression screening and Facebook tracking of suicidal messages. Nowhere, did she mention examining the role of suicide-linked drugs on, ahem, suicide. The Pentagon is apparently in similar denial.
  ****
  More information about overmedication of troops and suicide-linked drugs is found in Martha Rosenberg's recently published Born With a Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks and Hacks Pimp The Public Health.
  Martha Rosenberg is a health reporter and commentator whose work has appeared in Consumers Digest, the Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Los Angeles Times, Providence Journal and Newsday. She serves (more'...)February 5, 2013 By 21wire
  On Tuesday, a confidential Justice Department memo was released revealing the legal justification for the US government to conduct drone strikes on American citizens abroad. The portion of the memo that has been getting a lot of attention is that the government does not need evidence to justify a deadly attack. NBC first got its hands on the white paper and now a group of 11 bipartisan senators are demanding answers from the Obama administration. Stephen Miles, coalition coordinator for Win without War, gives us his take on the secret drone memo.February 5, 2013 By 21wire
  Allegations of sexual activity among 4- and 5-year-olds have come out of a Carson preschool. The School is set to close down'...February 5, 2013 By 21wire
  An unmanned plane capable of supersonic flight will undergo flight tests to check whether it can be allowed to join the ranks of British defence aircraft.The 'Taranis' stealth combat drone was originally unveiled in 2010 and has already completed a series of tests of its propulsion system and low observable platform, but must now undergo flight trials in 2013.
  ''The progress being made on the programme, and the learning we are taking from it, is very positive,'' said Future Combat Air Systems director, Tom Fillingham, of the previous round of testing. ''The drive now to getting Taranis in the air clearly shows the confidence industry and the UK's MOD has in the UK's ability to develop world-leading unmanned combat aircraft technologies and capabilities.''
  Taranis, named for the Celtic god of thunder, will fly largely automatically, only seeking human intervention or input when attacking targets. From the BAE Systems description of Taranis these targets are intended to include those at very long range '' potentially even in other continents.
  ''I think that the Taranis programme will be used to inform the UK MoD thinking, regarding the make up for the future force mix,'' said BAE Systems group managing director of programmes, Nigel Whitehead as reported by the Telegraph. ''I anticipate that the UK will choose to have a mix of manned and unmanned front-line aircraft.''
  February 5, 2013 By 21wire
  ''When it was reported earlier this week that Israeli officials had been giving birth control to arriving Ethiopian Jews ''without their consent'', the international media had a field day. Twitter lapped it up, too. Here was hard evidence, observers said, of Israeli racism. Some even used the word ''sterilisation'' and haughtily reminded Israelis that the Holocaust, that thing they go on about all the time, also started with the sterilisation of ''undesirables''. Echoing Lib Dem MP David Ward's recent chastisement of ''the Jews'' for failing to learn anything from their experiences during the Holocaust, bloggers and observers accused Israel's sterilisers of repeating the very history that Israel's founders sought to escape from.''*Israel has an immigration problem. One of the more disturbing trends shown by the country is the forced injection of birth control to Ethiopian immigrant women under false pretenses. Why would the nation do this, and why hasn't the act elicited more outrage?
  February 5, 2013 By 21wire
  21st Century Wire says'... Whenever politicians try to stage-manage PR jewels that they think will help the public think, 'hey, he's one of us!', it always seems to backfire (no pun intended). This one takes the biscuit '' the White House release from last year where they tried to make Barry look like a meat eating American'... went horribly wrong for Obama spin-meister Jay Carney.
  Maser Media
  This contest is NOT approved by His O'liness or any other sycophant working in the government.
  ''This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.''
  Obama at a skeet shoot last summer
  SEE ALSO: Skeet-Shooting Obama: White House Photo is as Phony as the Photoshops
  Ok Shoppers! MaserMedia is having it's first contest. Photoshop the best item into Obama's hands. First Prize will be accolades and an item to be named later. (email your entries to Reiuxcat@yahoo.com) Submissions close at midnight, Monday Feb 4. Voting will take place until the following Friday at midnight. I will post entries as I recieve them.
  UPDATE '' Due to high participation, the contest will be extended until midnight, TUESDAY Feb 5'...
  And here are the entries. Voting instructions will be posted in a separate post Wednesday.
  Thanks y'all!
  Reiuxcat
  Entry #1
  Entry #4
  Entry #5
  Entry #6
  Entry #7
  Entry #8
  Entry #9
  Entry #10
  entry #11
  Entry #13
  Entry #14
  Read more
  February 5, 2013 By 21wire
  Before It's News
  UPDATE: Thanks to all our readers for their supportive emails today. You're the best!
  Malware alerts struck the web last night and this morning, in a preview of what Internet users have to look forward to once the real cyber false flag hits the Net. Real and fake malware will create chaos, as users get blocked from their favorite websites.
  Regular visitors to BIN may have noticed that we had some of those cute red screens courtesy of your browsers (Safari, Chrome and Firefox) on our site last night and this morning alerting you that ''you'd better not go there''.
  The Google Chrome malware warning from BIN late last night. Firefox and Safair had similar dire warnings for these sites.
  Outages were reported at many popular sites, including ZD Net, CNET, Glenn Reynold's popular Instapundit, etc. Here's a report from ZD Net that covered their end of things. Facebook is running behind, they are still showing warnings for some sites, including BIN. The BIN site is completely clean at this time, according to Google.
  Here's a screen grab from Instapundit:
  Has anyone else noticed what's happened to the internet? Sites with edgy alternative content or conservative points of view get hacked more often, and in this case not hacked, but effectively taken down by scary looking warning messages. This type of censorship has been going on for years with email. If you want to keep a lid on the news, you just signup for a site's email, then send it to one of the 50 self appointed ''spam police'' sites and they'll blacklist a site. It usually takes a day or two for things to return to normal and get off the blacklist and by then the damage is done.
  The same thing is now happening to web sites'...
  Read more
  February 5, 2013 By 21wire
  By Josey WalesBefore It's News
  A confidential Justice Department memo concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be ''senior operational leaders'' '-- even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S.
  The 16-page memo, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, provides new details about the legal reasoning behind one of the Obama administration's most secretive and controversial polices: its dramatically increased use of drone strikes against ''Terror'' suspects, including those aimed at American citizens, such as the September 2011 strike in Yemen that killed alleged al-Qaida operatives Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. Both were U.S. citizens who had never been indicted by the U.S. government nor charged with any crimes.
  The secrecy surrounding such strikes is fast emerging as a central issue in this week's hearing of White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, a key architect of the drone campaign, to be CIA director. Brennan was the first administration official to publicly acknowledge drone strikes in a speech last year, calling them ''consistent with the inherent right of self-defense.''
  Rachel Maddow asks, 'How Long Before there are Drone Strikes On American Citizens, On American Soil? Authorized by CIA?' Looks Like It's Finally Starting To Sink In, Obama Is Anti American.Must See Interview:
  Michael Isikoff at NBC News has obtained a Justice Department white paper that purports to explain when it would be lawful for the government to carry out the extrajudicial killing of an American citizen believed to be affiliated with a terrorist organization. Many of the white paper's arguments are familiar because Attorney General Eric Holder set them out in a speech at Northwestern University in March of last year. But the white paper offers more detail, and in doing so it manages to underscore both the recklessness of the government's central claim and the deficiencies in the government's defense of it.
  The 16-page white paper (read it here) is said to summarize a 50-odd page legal memo written in 2010 by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel to justify the addition of U.S. citizen Anwar Al-Aulaqi to the government's ''kill lists.'' That legal memo is one of the documents the ACLU is seeking in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Needless to say, the white paper is not a substitute for the legal memo. But it's a pretty remarkable document.
  The paper's basic contention is that the government has the authority to carry out the extrajudicial killing of an American citizen if ''an informed, high-level official'' deems him to present a ''continuing'' threat to the country. Would that include American Citizens speaking out against government Tyranny?
  This sweeping authority is said to exist even if the threat presented isn't imminent in any ordinary sense of that word, even if the target has never been charged with a crime or informed of the allegations against him, and even if the target is not located anywhere near an actual battlefield. The white paper purports to recognize some limits on the authority it sets out, but the limits are so vague and elastic that they will be easily manipulated.
  The paper initially suggests, for example, that the government's authority to use lethal force is limited to people who present ''imminent'' threats, but it then proceeds to redefine the word imminence in a way that deprives the word of its ordinary meaning. The paper does something similar with the phrase ''capture is infeasible.'' It initially sounds like a real limitation but by page 8 it seems to mean only that the government won't use lethal force if capture is more convenient. It's the language of limits'--but without any real restrictions.
  Even more problematic, the paper contends that the limits on the government's claimed authority are not enforceable in any court. (''There exists no appropriate judicial forum to evaluate these constitutional considerations.'') According to the white paper, the government has the authority to carry out targeted killings of U.S. citizens without presenting evidence to a judge before the fact or after, and indeed without even acknowledging to the courts or to the public that the authority has been exercised. Without saying so explicitly, the government claims the authority to kill American terrorism suspects in secret.
  Some of the white paper's key legal arguments don't stand up to even cursory review. The paper omits crucial language from Mathews v. Eldridge, a case in which the Supreme Court held that the question of what process must be afforded to a person before he is deprived of life or liberty must take into account ''the risk of an erroneous deprivation of such interest through the procedures used, and the probable value, if any, of additional or substitute procedural safeguards.'' The white paper skips over this language, like the attorney general's speech did. While the white paper does acknowledge ''the risk of erroneous deprivation of a citizen's life,'' it doesn't grapple with the possibility of additional procedural safeguards. And when the white paper dismisses the possibility of judicial review, it does so in a single paragraph that fails even to acknowledge the possibility of after-the-fact judicial review of the kind that our courts routinely provide in other contexts.
  (Incidentally, this after-the-fact judicial review is what the ACLU and CCR are seeking in Al-Aulaqi v. Panetta, a case now pending before the district court in D.C. We'll be filing our principal brief in that case tomorrow).
  The white paper also suggests, incorrectly, that the courts have endorsed the view that there is no geographic limitation on the government's exercise of war powers.
  In fact all of the cases in which the D.C. Circuit has upheld the detention of a prisoner held at Guantanamo involved a connection of some kind to Afghanistan. And, more important, the Supreme Court case on which the white paper relies most heavily involved an American who was detained in Afghanistan. You can't reasonably read a case that permitted the military detention of an American on an actual battlefield to supply a green light for the extrajudicial killing of American terrorism suspects anywhere in the world.
  Finally, the white paper assumes a key conclusion: It takes as a given that the target of the strike will be a ''senior operational leader of al-Qa'ida or an associated force of al-Qa'ida,'' and it reasons from that premise that judicial process is unnecessary. This is a little bit like assuming that the defendant is guilty and then asking whether it's useful to have a trial. Perhaps the white paper omits analysis that appears in the Justice Department's legal memos, but again the legal memos are, inexcusably, still secret.
  My colleagues will have more to say about the white paper soon, but my initial reaction is that the paper only underscores the irresponsible extravagance of the government's central claim. Even if the Obama administration is convinced of its own fundamental trustworthiness, the power this white paper sets out will be available to every future president'--and every ''informed high-level official'' (!)'--in every future conflict.
  As I said to Isikoff, that's truly a chilling thought.
  Ryan Firebee was a series of target drones/unmanned aerial vehicle.
  Source: http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/justice-departments-white-paper-targeted-killing
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a reduced rate of excise tax on beer produced domestically by certain qualifying producers. (H.R. 494)
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:18
  GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
  Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
  No summary available.
  House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
  No summary available.
  House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
  So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
  We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the taxation of marijuana, and for other purposes. (H.R. 501)
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:16
  GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
  Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
  No summary available.
  House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
  No summary available.
  House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
  So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
  We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
Dems move to change federal pot laws
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:45
  SEATTLE (AP) '-- An effort is building in Congress to change U.S. marijuana laws, including moves to legalize the industrial production of hemp and establish a hefty federal pot tax.
  While passage this year could be a longshot, lawmakers from both parties have been quietly working on several bills, the first of which Democratic Reps. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Jared Polis of Colorado plan to introduce Tuesday, Blumenauer told The Associated Press.
  Polis' measure would regulate marijuana the way the federal government handles alcohol: In states that legalize pot, growers would have to obtain a federal permit. Oversight of marijuana would be removed from the Drug Enforcement Administration and given to the newly renamed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana and Firearms, and it would remain illegal to bring marijuana from a state where it's legal to one where it isn't.
  The bill is based on a legalization measure previously pushed by former Reps. Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Ron Paul of Texas.
  Blumenauer's bill would create a federal marijuana excise tax of 50 percent on the ''first sale'' of marijuana '-- typically, from a grower to a processor or retailer. It also would tax pot producers or importers $1,000 annually and other marijuana businesses $500.
  His office said Monday it doesn't yet have an estimate of how much the taxes might bring in. But a policy paper Blumenauer and Polis are releasing this week suggests, based on admittedly vague estimates, that a federal tax of $50 per ounce could raise $20 billion a year. They call for directing the money to law enforcement, substance abuse treatment and the national debt.
  Last fall's votes in Colorado and Washington state to legalize recreational marijuana should push Congress to end the 75-year federal pot prohibition, Blumenauer said.
  Washington state officials have estimated that its legal marijuana market could bring in about half a billion dollars a year in state taxes.
  ''You folks in Washington and my friends in Colorado really upset the apple cart,'' Blumenauer said. ''We're still arresting two-thirds of a million people for use of a substance that a majority feel should be legal. '... It's past time for us to step in and try to sort this stuff out.''
  Advocates who are working with the lawmakers acknowledge it could take years for any changes to get through Congress, but they're encouraged by recent developments. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell last week came out in support of efforts to legalize hemp in his home state of Kentucky, and U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., is expected to introduce legislation allowing states to set their own policy on marijuana.
  Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has indicated he plans to hold a hearing on the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws and has urged an end to federal ''mandatory minimum'' sentences that lead to long prison stints for drug crimes.
  ''We're seeing enormous political momentum to undo the drug war failings of the past 40 years,'' said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, who has been working with lawmakers on marijuana-related bills. ''For the first time, the wind is behind our back.''
  The Justice Department hasn't said how it plans to respond to the votes in Washington and Colorado. It could sue to block the states from issuing licenses to marijuana growers, processors and retail stores, on the grounds that doing so would conflict with federal drug law.
  Blumenauer and Polis' paper urges a number of changes, including altering tax codes to let marijuana dispensaries deduct business expenses on federal taxes, and making it easier for marijuana-related businesses to get bank accounts. Many operate on a cash basis because federally insured banks won't work with them, they noted.
  Blumenauer said he expects to introduce the tax-code legislation as well as a bill that would reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, allowing states to enact medical marijuana laws without fear that federal authorities will continue raiding dispensaries or prosecuting providers. It makes no sense that marijuana is a Schedule I drug, in the same category as heroin and a more restrictive category than cocaine, Blumenauer said.
  The measures have little chance of passing, said Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy adviser. Sabet recently joined former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy and former President George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum in forming a group called Project SAM '-- for ''smart approaches to marijuana'' '-- to counter the growing legalization movement. Sabet noted that previous federal legalization measures have always failed.
  ''These are really extreme solutions to the marijuana problem we have in this country,'' Sabet said. ''The marijuana problem we have is a problem of addiction among kids, and stigma of people who have a criminal record for marijuana crimes.
  ''There are a lot more people in Congress who think that marijuana should be illegal but treated as a public health problem, than think it should be legal.''
  Project SAM suggests people shouldn't get criminal records for small-time marijuana offenses, but instead could face probation or treatment.
Virginia Becomes First State to Pass Drone Regulations - US News & World Report
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 02:42
  People inspect a Gatewing X100 drone at the 'UAV Show Europe', Sept. 26, 2012.
  The Virginia General Assembly passed a bill Tuesday that will put a two-year moratorium on the use of drones by state and local law enforcement. If signed by Gov. Bob McDonnell, Virginia will become the first state in the U.S. to enact drone regulations.
  Virginia House Bill 2012 easily passed Monday by a vote of 83-16 and its companion, Senate Bill 1331, passed Tuesday by a vote of 36-2.
  The measures require that no state or local law enforcement agency "shall utilize an unmanned aircraft system before July 1, 2015." In cases where there is a "major disaster" or Amber Alert, a search and rescue operation using police drones may be used when "necessary to protect life, health, or property."
  [RELATED: Va. City Becomes First to Pass Anti-Drone Law]
  Both bills are largely pared down from earlier drafts, which would have required law enforcement to obtain government permission to purchase a drone and a warrant in order to operate the unmanned aerial vehicles.
  Claire Gastanaga, director of the Virginia branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, says law enforcement and privacy groups couldn't agree on the more extensive drafts.
  "We folded it into the moratorium bill because we just couldn't come to consensus with all the stakeholders. Frankly, the law enforcement folks were saying they didn't want to go beyond the bare privacy protections the fourth amendment allows," says Gastanaga, who helped write the bill. "This preserves the status quo, and allows us to go slow, and gives us the time to show everyone why we'd want to require a warrant to use this technology. The idea with the moratorium is we'll get everyone to the table to agree on regulations, then we'll come back next session."
  [PHOTOS: 'Stealth' Hoodie Lets You Duck Drone Cameras]
  Charlottesville, Va., became the first city in the United States to pass anti-drone legislation, passing a resolution banning drone use on Monday. That resolution included language that "endorses the proposal for a two-year moratorium on drones in the state of Virginia."
  One potential hang-up is McDonnell, who said last summer that use of drones by law enforcement agencies would be "great" and "absolutely the right thing to do." Gastanaga says her group's work has stemmed from those comments.
  "With such as strong bipartisan vote, I'm hoping he will sign the legislation," Gastanaga says.
  More News:
Constitutional Duties of the President: Information from Answers.com
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 01:14
  Constitutional Duties of the President
  The president's duties, as outlined by Article II, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution:
  The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
  He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
  The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Super Bowl Blackout Wasn't Caused by Cyberattack - Bloomberg
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:38
  Entergy Corp. (ETR) has ruled out a cyberattack as a cause of the blackout that interrupted the Super Bowl.
  ''After a thorough and extensive review of our equipment and operating systems, Entergy has ruled out the possibility of the power outage being caused by a cyber event,'' Michael Burns, a spokesman for New Orleans-based Entergy, said today in a telephone interview.
  There was no Internet or remote computer access to the piece of equipment inside the stadium that sensed an abnormality in the electrical system and partially cut power to the Superdome, Burns said. The nine workers who were monitoring the so-called electrical switchgear equipment found no evidence of either a cyber or physical attack, Burns said.
  Entergy, the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District and SMG, the New Orleans Superdome manager, will hire an independent third-party expert to probe the cause of the power failure, the companies and district said today in a joint statement.
  About half of the lights at the facility, which held 71,024 fans for the last NFL game of the season, went dark early in the third quarter of what is historically the most-watched television program in the U.S. every year. The failure halted play for 34 minutes.
  The Federal Bureau of Investigation had ''no intelligence to indicate the power outage was the result of a cyberattack or a threat of terrorism of any kind,'' Mary Beth Romig, a spokeswoman for the FBI's New Orleans Division, said in an e- mail statement.
  The blackout doesn't fit the profile of an attack from a terrorist or nation-state, which probably would have been designed to cause widespread panic by shutting off all the lights, James Arlen, a utility security consultant at Leviathan Security Group, said in a telephone interview. If it was a cyber prank or activist hacker, they would ''probably want to do something far more interesting like flicking the lights on and off,'' Arlen said.
  ''There is a far greater chance that it was something like a rat fell and touched two conductors simultaneously and that was just enough to cause a blip in the power field,'' he said.
  To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Chediak in San Francisco at mchediak@bloomberg.net
  To contact the editor responsible for this story: Susan Warren at susanwarren@bloomberg.net
  The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is seen during a sudden power outage that lasted 34 minutes during the second half of Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images
G(C)rard de Villiers, the Spy Novelist Who Knows Too Much - NYTimes.com
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:02
  Last June, a pulp-fiction thriller was published in Paris under the title ''Le Chemin de Damas.'' Its lurid green-and-black cover featured a busty woman clutching a pistol, and its plot included the requisite car chases, explosions and sexual conquests. Unlike most paperbacks, though, this one attracted the attention of intelligence officers and diplomats on three continents. Set in the midst of Syria's civil war, the book offered vivid character sketches of that country's embattled ruler, Bashar al-Assad, and his brother Maher, along with several little-known lieutenants and allies. It detailed a botched coup attempt secretly supported by the American and Israeli intelligence agencies. And most striking of all, it described an attack on one of the Syrian regime's command centers, near the presidential palace in Damascus, a month before an attack in the same place killed several of the regime's top figures. ''It was prophetic,'' I was told by one veteran Middle East analyst who knows Syria well and preferred to remain nameless. ''It really gave you a sense of the atmosphere inside the regime, of the way these people operate, in a way I hadn't seen before.''
  The book was the latest by G(C)rard de Villiers, an 83-year-old Frenchman who has been turning out the S.A.S. espionage series at the rate of four or five books a year for nearly 50 years. The books are strange hybrids: top-selling pulp-fiction vehicles that also serve as intelligence drop boxes for spy agencies around the world. De Villiers has spent most of his life cultivating spies and diplomats, who seem to enjoy seeing themselves and their secrets transfigured into pop fiction (with their own names carefully disguised), and his books regularly contain information about terror plots, espionage and wars that has never appeared elsewhere. Other pop novelists, like John le Carr(C) and Tom Clancy, may flavor their work with a few real-world scenarios and some spy lingo, but de Villiers's books are ahead of the news and sometimes even ahead of events themselves. Nearly a year ago he published a novel about the threat of Islamist groups in post-revolutionary Libya that focused on jihadis in Benghazi and on the role of the C.I.A. in fighting them. The novel, ''Les Fous de Benghazi,'' came out six months before the death of the American ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, and included descriptions of the C.I.A. command center in Benghazi (a closely held secret at that time), which was to become central in the controversy over Stevens's death. Other de Villiers books have included even more striking auguries. In 1980, he wrote a novel in which militant Islamists murder the Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, a year before the actual assassination took place. When I asked him about it, de Villiers responded with a Gallic shrug. ''The Israelis knew it was going to happen,'' he said, ''and did nothing.''
  Though he is almost unknown in the United States, de Villiers's publishers estimate that the S.A.S. series has sold about 100 million copies worldwide, which would make it one of the top-selling series in history, on a par with Ian Fleming's James Bond books. S.A.S. may be the longest-running fiction series ever written by a single author. The first book, ''S.A.S. in Istanbul,'' appeared in March 1965; de Villiers is now working on No. 197.
  For all their geopolitical acumen, de Villiers's books tend to provoke smirks from the French literati. (''Sorry, monsieur, we do not carry that sort of thing here,'' I was told by the manager at one upscale Paris bookstore.) It's not hard to see why. Randomly flip open any S.A.S. and there's a good chance you'll find Malko (he is Son Altesse S(C)r(C)nissime, or His Serene Highness), the aristocratic spy-hero with a penchant for sodomy, in very explicit flagrante. In one recent novel, he meets a Saudi princess (based on a real person who made Beirut her sexual playground) who is both a dominatrix and a nymphomaniac; their first sexual encounter begins with her watching gay porn until Malko distracts her with a medley of acrobatic sex positions. The sex lives of the villains receive almost equal time. Brutal rapes are described in excruciating physiological detail. In another recent novel, the girlfriend of a notorious Syrian general is submitting to his Viagra-fueled brutality when she recalls that this is the man who has terrorized the people of Lebanon for years. ''And it was that idea that set off her orgasm,'' de Villiers writes.
  ''The French elite pretend not to read him, but they all do,'' I was told by Hubert V(C)drine, the former foreign minister of France. V(C)drine is one of the unapologetic few who admit to having read nearly every one of Malko's adventures. He said he consulted them before visiting a foreign country, as they let him in on whatever French intelligence believed was happening there.
  About 10 years ago, when V(C)drine was foreign minister, de Villiers got a call from the Quai d'Orsay, where the ministry is based, inviting him to lunch. ''I thought someone was playing a joke on me,'' de Villiers said. ''Especially because V(C)drine is a leftist, and I am not at all.'' When he went to the ministry at the scheduled time, V(C)drine was waiting for him in his private dining room overlooking the Seine.
  ''I am very happy to join you,'' de Villiers recalled telling the minister. ''But tell me, why did you want to see me?''
  V(C)drine smiled and gestured for de Villiers to sit down. ''I wanted to talk,'' he said, ''because I've found out you and I have the same sources.''
  De Villiers's books have made him very rich, and he lives in an impressively grand house on the Avenue Foch, a stone's throw from the Arc de Triomphe. I went there one day this winter, and after a short wait on the fourth-floor landing, a massive wooden door swung open, and I found myself facing a distinguished-looking man in brown tweeds with a long, bony face and pale brown eyes. De Villiers uses a walker '-- a result of a torn aorta two years ago '-- but still moves with surprising speed. He led me down a high-ceilinged hallway to his study, which also serves as a kind of shrine to old-school masculinity and kinky sex. I stood next to a squatting woman made of steel with a real MP-44 automatic rifle coming out of her crotch. ''That one is called 'War,' '' de Villiers said. In the middle of the floor was a naked female figure bending over to peek at the viewer from between her legs; other naked women, some of them in garters or chains, gazed out from paintings or book covers. On the shelves were smaller figurines in ivory, glass and wood, depicting various couplings and orgies. Classic firearms hung on the wall '-- a Kalashnikov, a Tommy gun, a Winchester '-- and books on intelligence and military affairs were stacked high on tables. Among the photos of him with various warlords and soldiers in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, I noticed a framed 2006 letter from Nicolas Sarkozy, praising the latest S.A.S. novel and saying it had taught him a great deal about Venezuela. ''He pretends to read me,'' de Villiers said, with a dismissive scowl. ''He didn't. Chirac used to read me. Giscard read me, too.''
  After an hour or so, de Villiers led me downstairs to his black Jaguar, and we drove across town to Brasserie Lipp, a gathering spot for aging lions of the French elite. As we pushed through a thick crowd to our table, a handsome old man with a deeply tanned face called out to de Villiers from across the room. It was the great French nouvelle vague actor Jean-Paul Belmondo. He grinned and waved de Villiers over for a conspiratorial chat.
  ''That's Table No. 1,'' de Villiers said as we sat down. ''Mitterrand always used to sit there.'' After a waiter rushed up to help him into his seat, de Villiers ordered a suitably virile lunch of a dozen Breton oysters and a glass of Muscadet. He caught me looking at his walker and immediately began telling me about his torn aorta. He nearly died and had to spend three months in a hospital bed. ''If you fall off your horse, you have to get back on or you are dead,'' he said. He was able to maintain his usual publishing pace even while in the hospital. There was only one real consequence: he had used the real name of the C.I.A. station chief in Mauritania in his manuscript, and in the confusion after the accident, he forgot to change the final text. ''The C.I.A. was angry,'' he said. ''I had to explain. My friends at the D.G.S.E. [the French foreign-intelligence agency, General Directorate for External Security] apologized on my behalf, too.''
  One of the many myths surrounding de Villiers is that he employs a team of assistants to help with his prodigious turnout. In fact, he does it all himself, sticking to a work routine that hasn't changed in half a century. For each book, he spends about two weeks traveling in the country in question, then another six weeks or so writing. The books are published on the same schedule every year: January, April, June, October. Six years ago, at age 77, de Villiers increased his turnout from four books a year to five, producing two linked novels every June. ''I'm not a sex machine, I'm a writing machine,'' he said.
  De Villiers was born in Paris in 1929, the son of a wildly prolific and spendthrift playwright who went by the stage name Jacques Deval. He began writing in the 1950s for the French daily France Soir and other newspapers. Early on, during a reporting assignment in Tunisia, he agreed to do a favor for a French intelligence officer, delivering a message to some members of the right-wing pro-colonial group known as la main rouge. It turned out de Villiers was being used as a pawn in an assassination scheme, and he was lucky to escape with his life. He returned to Paris and confronted the officer, who was completely unrepentant. The incident taught him, he said, that ''intelligence people don't give a damn about civilian lives. They are cold fish.'' But rather than being turned off, de Villiers found that blend of risk and cold calculation seductive.
  In 1964, he was working on a detective novel in his spare time when an editor told him that Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, had just died. ''You should take over,'' the editor said. That was all it took. The first S.A.S. came out a few months later. Although sales are down a bit since his peak in the 1980s, he still earns between 800,000 and a million euros a year (roughly $1 million to $1.3 million) and spends summers at his villa in St. Tropez, where he gads about on his boat by day and drives to parties in the evenings in his 1980s Austin Mini.
  He has long been despised by many on the French left for his right-wing political views. ''We are all strangled by political correctness,'' he told me, and he used the word ''fags'' several times in our conversations. But his reputation as a racist and anti-Semite is largely myth; one of his closest friends is Claude Lanzmann, the Jewish leftist and director of ''Shoah,'' the landmark Holocaust documentary. And in recent years, de Villiers has gained a broader following among French intellectuals and journalists, even as his sales have slowed down. ''He has become a kind of institution,'' said Renaud Girard, the chief foreign correspondent of Le Figaro. ''You can even see articles praising him in Lib(C)ration,'' the left-leaning daily.
  De Villiers created Malko, his hero, in 1964 by merging three real-life acquaintances: a high-ranking French intelligence official named Yvan de Ligni¨res; an Austrian arms dealer; and a German baron named Dieter von Malsen-Ponickau. As is so often the case, though, his fiction proved prophetic. Five years after he began writing the series, de Villiers met Alexandre de Marenches, a man of immense charisma who led the French foreign-intelligence service for more than a decade and was a legend of cold-war spy craft. De Marenches was very rich and came from one of France's oldest families; he fought heroically in World War II, and he later built his own castle on the Riviera. He also helped create a shadowy international network of intelligence operatives known as the Safari Club, which waged clandestine battles against Soviet operatives in Africa and the Middle East. ''He was doing intelligence for fun,'' de Villiers told me. ''Sometimes he didn't even pick up the phone when Giscard called him.'' In short, de Marenches was very close to being the aristocratic master spy de Villiers had imagined, and as their friendship deepened in the 1970s, de Villiers's relationship with French intelligence also deepened and lasts to this day.
  De Villiers has always had a penchant for the gruesome and the decadent. One of his models was Curzio Malaparte, an Italian journalist whose best-known book is ''Kaputt,'' an eerie firsthand account from behind the German front lines during World War II. Another was Georges Arnaud, the French author of several popular adventure books during the 1950s. ''He was a strange guy,'' de Villiers said. ''He once confessed to me that he started life by murdering his father, his aunt and the maid.'' (Arnaud was tried and acquitted for those murders, possibly by a rigged jury.) I couldn't help wondering whether Georges Simenon, the famously prolific and perverted Belgian crime writer, was also an influence. Simenon is said to have taken as little as 10 days to finish his novels, and he published about 200. He also claimed to have slept with 10,000 women, mostly prostitutes. De Villiers laughed at the comparison. ''I knew Simenon a little,'' he said, then proceeded to tell a raunchy story he heard from Simenon's long-suffering wife, involving roadside sex in the snow in Gstaad.
  This seemed like a good moment to ask about de Villiers's own preoccupations. ''I've had a lot of sex in my life,'' he said. ''That's why I have so much trouble with wives. In America they would say I am a 'womanizer.' '' He has married four times and has two children, and now has a girlfriend nearly 30 years his junior, an attractive blond woman whom I met briefly at his home. When I suggested that the sex in S.A.S. was unusually hard-core, he replied with a chuckle: ''Maybe for an American. Not in France.''
  One thing de Villiers does not have is serious literary ambitions. Although he is a great admirer of le Carr(C), he has never tried to turn espionage into the setting for a complex human drama. He writes the way he speaks, in terse, informative bursts, with a morbid sense of humor. When I asked whether it bothered him that no one took his books seriously, he did not seem at all defensive. ''I don't consider myself a literary man,'' he said. ''I'm a storyteller. I write fairy tales for adults. And I try to put some substance into it.''
  I had no idea what kind of ''substance'' until a friend urged me to look at ''La Liste Hariri,'' one of de Villiers's many books set in and around Lebanon. The book, published in early 2010, concerns the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister. I spent years looking into and writing about Hariri's death, and I was curious to know what de Villiers made of it. I found the descriptions of Beirut and Damascus to be impressively accurate, as were the names of restaurants, the atmosphere of the neighborhoods and the descriptions of some of the security chiefs that I knew from my tenure as The Times' Beirut bureau chief. But the real surprise came later. ''La Liste Hariri'' provides detailed information about the elaborate plot, ordered by Syria and carried out by Hezbollah, to kill Hariri. This plot is one of the great mysteries of the Middle East, and I found specific information that no journalists, to my knowledge, knew at the time of the book's publication, including a complete list of the members of the assassination team and a description of the systematic elimination of potential witnesses by Hezbollah and its Syrian allies. I was even more impressed when I spoke to a former member of the U.N.-backed international tribunal, based in the Netherlands, that investigated Hariri's death. ''When 'La Liste Hariri' came out, everyone on the commission was amazed,'' the former staff member said. ''They were all literally wondering who on the team could have sold de Villiers this information '-- because it was very clear that someone had showed him the commission's reports or the original Lebanese intelligence reports.''
  When I put the question to de Villiers, a smile of discreet triumph flashed on his face. It turns out that he has been friends for years with one of Lebanon's top intelligence officers, an austere-looking man who probably knows more about Lebanon's unsolved murders than anyone else. It was he who handed de Villiers the list of Hariri's killers. ''He worked hard to get it, and he wanted people to know,'' de Villiers said. ''But he couldn't trust journalists.'' I was one of those he didn't trust. I have interviewed the same intelligence chief multiple times on the subject of the Hariri killing, but he never told me about the list. De Villiers had also spoken with high-ranking Hezbollah officials, in meetings that he said were brokered by French intelligence. One assumes these men had not read his fiction.
  What do the spies themselves say about de Villiers? I conducted my own furtive tour of the French intelligence community and found that de Villiers's name was a very effective passe-partout, even among people who found the subject mildly embarrassing. Only one of those I spoke with, a former head of the D.G.S.E., said he never provided information to de Villiers. We met in a dim corridor outside his office, where we chatted for a while about other matters before the subject of de Villiers came up. ''Ah, yes, G(C)rard de Villiers, I don't know him,'' he said, chuckling dismissively, as if to suggest that he had not even read the books. Then after a pause, he confessed: ''But one must admit that some of his information is very good. And in fact, one sees that it has gotten better and better in the past few novels.''
  Another former spook admitted freely that he had been friends with de Villiers for years. We met at a cafe in Saint-Germain-des-Pr(C)s on a cold, foggy afternoon, and as he sipped his coffee, he happily reeled off the favors he'd done '-- not just talking over cases but introducing de Villiers to colleagues and experts on explosives and nuclear weapons and computer hacking. ''When de Villiers describes intelligence people in his book, everybody in the business knows exactly who he's talking about,'' he said. ''The truth is, he's become such a figure that lots of people in the business are desperate to meet him. There are even ministers from other countries who meet with him when they pass through Paris.''
  A third former government official spoke of de Villiers as a kind of colleague. ''We meet and share information,'' he told me over coffee at a Paris hotel. ''I've introduced him to some sensitive sources. He has a gift '-- a very strong intellectual comprehension of these security and terrorism issues.''
  It is not just the French who say these things. De Villiers has had close friends in Russian intelligence over the years. Alla Shevelkina, a journalist who has worked as a fixer for de Villiers on a number of his Russian trips, said: ''He gets interviews that no one else gets '-- not journalists, no one. The people that don't talk, talk to him.'' In the United States, I spoke to a former C.I.A. operative who has known de Villiers for decades. ''I recommend to our analysts to read his books, because there's a lot of real information in there,'' he told me. ''He's tuned into all the security services, and he knows all the players.''
  Why do all these people divulge so much to a pulp novelist? I put the question to de Villiers the last time we met, in the cavernous living room of his Paris apartment on a cold winter evening. He was leaving on a reporting trip to Tunisia the next day, and on the coffee table in front of me, next to a cluster of expensive scotches and liqueurs, was a black military-made ammunition belt. ''They always have a motive,'' he said, absently stroking one of his two longhaired cats like a Bond villain at leisure. ''They want the information to go out. And they know a lot of people read my books, all the intelligence agencies.''
  Renaud Girard, de Villiers's old friend and traveling companion, arrived at the apartment for a drink and offered a simpler explanation. ''Everybody likes to talk to someone who appreciates their work,'' he said. ''And it's fun. If the source is a military attach(C), he can show off the book to his friends, with his character drawn in it.'' He also suggested that if the source happens to have a beautiful wife, she will appear in a sex scene with Malko, and some of them enjoy this, too. ''If you have read the books,'' he said, ''it's fun to enter the books.''
  I asked de Villiers about his next novel, and his eyes lighted up. ''It goes back to an old story,'' he said. ''Lockerbie.'' The book is based on the premise that it was Iran '-- not Libya '-- that carried out the notorious 1988 airliner bombing. The Iranians went to great lengths to persuade Muammar el-Qaddafi to take the fall for the attack, which was carried out in revenge for the downing of an Iranian passenger plane by American missiles six months earlier, de Villiers said. This has long been an unverified conspiracy theory, but when I returned to the United States, I learned that de Villiers was onto something. I spoke to a former C.I.A. operative who told me that ''the best intelligence'' on the Lockerbie bombing points to an Iranian role. It is a subject of intense controversy at the C.I.A. and the F.B.I., he said, in part because the evidence against Iran is classified and cannot be used in court, but many at the agency believe Iran directed the bombing.
  De Villiers excused himself to continue packing for Tunisia, after cheerfully delivering his cynical take on the Arab Spring. (''What this really means is the empowerment of the Muslim Brotherhood across the region.'') His views on other subjects are similarly curt and disillusioned. ''Russia? Russia is Putin. People fooled themselves with Medvedev that there would be change. I never believed it.'' And Syria? ''If Bashar falls, Syria falls. There is nothing else to hold that country together.''
  Girard and I poured ourselves more Scotch, and he began reeling off stories of his and de Villiers's adventures together. Many of them involved one of de Villiers's former wives, who always seemed to show up in Gaza or Pakistan in wildly inappropriate dress. ''One time in the mid-'90s, we went to a Hamas stronghold together, and G(C)rard had his wife with him, wearing a very provocative shirt with no bra,'' Girard said. ''There were young men there who literally started stoning us, and we had to flee.''
  It was getting late, and Girard seemed to be running out of stories. ''He is 83 years old, and he is not slowing down,'' he said before we parted. ''He still goes to Mali and Libya, even after his heart troubles.'' He paused for a moment, looking into his Scotch. ''I remember one time during the rebellion in Albania, in 1997, we were sitting on a rooftop together, and we started talking about death. He told me: 'I will never stop. I will keep going with my foot on the accelerator until I die.' ''
EXCLUSIVE - Petraeus: the Plot Thickens - WhoWhatWhy
  Link to Article
  Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:01
  All (Taken) In?
  Was the ambitious General David Petraeus targeted for take-down by competing interests in the US military/intelligence hierarchy'--years before his abrupt downfall last year in an adultery scandal?
  Previously unreported documents analyzed by WhoWhatWhy suggest as much. They provide new insight into the scandalous extramarital romance that led to Petraeus's resignation as CIA director in November after several years of rapid rise'--going from a little-known general to a prospective presidential candidate in a stunningly brief time frame.
  Among other revelations the documents show that:
  -Petraeus was suspected of having an extramarital affair nearly two years earlier than previously known.
  -Petraeus's affair was known to foreign interests with a stake in a raging policy and turf battle in which Petraeus was an active party.
  -Those providing the ''official'' narrative of the affair'--and an analysis of why it led to the unprecedented removal of America's top spymaster'-- have been less than candid with the American people.
  ***
  According to internal emails of the Austin-based private intelligence firm Stratfor, General David Petraeus was drawing attention to his private life much earlier than previously believed. Because it was his private life that resulted in his being forced out as CIA director, alterations in our understanding of the time frame are significant.
  Until now, the consensus has been that Petraeus began an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, in the fall of 2011, after he retired from the military and took over the CIA.
  Lt. Col. John Nagl, a friend of Petraeus, claims the Petraeus-Broadwell extramarital affair did not begin until after Petraeus became CIA director, which was in September 2011. And retired US Army Col. Steve Boylan, a former Petraeus spokesperson, says the affair did not begin until several months after August 2011, when Petraeus retired from the Army.
  But documents'--researched by WhoWhatWhy and published for the first time as part of an investigative partnership with WikiLeaks'--suggest otherwise. These documents characterize Petraeus as having regular dinners in early 2010 with Abdulwahab al-Hajri, then Yemen's ambassador to the US, and note that Petraeus brought to at least one of those dinners a woman ''not his wife'''--whom the Yemenis believed was ''his mistress.'' It's possible'--although not confirmed'--that this woman was Paula Broadwell, Petraeus's biographer and mistress, who sent allegedly threatening emails that spawned the strange FBI investigation that precipitated the former Army general's resignation on November 9, 2012.
  Stratfor has a longstanding position of not commenting on the emails obtained by WikiLeaks. The company's boilerplate public response regarding the internal documents in WikiLeaks' possession is that it ''will not be victimized twice by submitting to questioning about them.''
  Petraeus's attorney, Robert Barnett, declined to comment.
  ***
  According to the Stratfor emails, Petraeus brought a woman believed to be his mistress to at least one dinner at al-Hajri's house as early as January or February 2010. It is known that by late 2010, after Petraeus took command for the Afghanistan war, Paula Broadwell had already established what has been called ''unfettered'' and ''unprecedented'' access to Petraeus, including lodging on his Kabul base.
  By bringing to such a gathering a younger woman who aroused such suspicion, Petraeus was already exhibiting the kind of recklessness not uncommon to highly ambitious people on the rapid ascent. This was especially true given the stakes involved'--and Petraeus's own formidable enemies within the US government.
  If the young woman was Broadwell, her willingness to accompany a top military official to such a closed-door, high-level event should draw additional attention to her thinking and motivations. Broadwell was a military intelligence reservist'--and her take on what was discussed at precisely those kinds of dinners would have been of interest to her superiors.
  By the date of these 2010 dinners, Broadwell had known Petraeus for four years'--and had been working closely with him on his biography since the previous year. She says she first met him in the spring of 2006, when she was a graduate student at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and asked if she could write his biography. She began work on the biography in 2009 when he headed CENTCOM, the US Central Command. With the biography as her justification, she followed him to Afghanistan where he led the US forces.
  Thus, if Stratfor's Yemeni diplomat source is correct, and the woman was Broadwell, an attractive military intelligence reserve officer was far more deeply entwined than previously known with a controversial, fast-climbing figure at the center of some of America's and the world's hottest disputes'--at the risk of compromising him and his future.
  Stratfor's Source: a Yemeni diplomat based in DC
  Mohammed al-Basha, press attach(C) for the Yemen embassy in Washington DC, is one of Stratfor's informants, referred to by DC-based Stratfor analyst Reva Bhalla as her ''Yemeni diplomatic source.''
  In an interview with us, al-Basha confirmed that Petraeus dined with Abdulwahab al-Hajri at the former ambassador's house in DC for ''an event or a party'' while Petraeus was head of CENTCOM. Petraeus was CENTCOM commander from October 31, 2008 until July 18, 2011'-- which is within the scope of the Stratfor emails and before the dates Nagl and Boylan give for the start of the affair.
  Al-Basha told WhoWhatWhy he had ''no idea'' whether Paula Broadwell attended a dinner with Petraeus and the Yemeni ambassador. ''I have no idea. No, no, I have no idea,'' he said. ''That's the first I've heard this.'' He then denied being Stratfor's source.
  However, there are at least one hundred and twenty emails between the Yemen embassy's al-Basha and Stratfor's analyst Bhalla in the WikiLeaks cache; many consist of al-Basha answering her questions. In Email-ID 81508, sent January 15, 2010, Bhalla and al-Basha discuss Yemen's terms for surrendering American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki; al-Basha tells Bhalla he is ''not sure about the terms'... I will assume a fair prosecution can be part of the plea''; in Email-ID 1098283, sent the same day, Bhalla forwards his exact words to other Stratfor analysts, telling them they came from her ''Yemeni diplomatic source.''
  In Email-ID 90306, sent February 5, 2010, Stratfor Watch Officer Michael Wilson tells the firm about a champagne party where he learned that Petraeus brought an intriguing woman to a dinner with al-Hajri. The email states that a Stratfor source, a ''Yemeni diplomat based in DC'' and handled by Bhalla, provided the information. Unless Stratfor has multiple Yemeni diplomat sources in DC handled by Bhalla, that source is al-Basha. Furthermore, the WikiLeaks cache appears to contain no email contacts with any other Yemeni diplomats.
  Having acknowledged the Petraeus/al-Hajri dinner, al-Basha nonetheless requested that the event not be reported. Then, in a follow-up email exchange, he cited an unnamed former colleague's assertion that ''the General never came over with his biographer to any of our events public or private.'' That statement is constructed in such a way that it does not actually deny Petraeus's presence at the dinners with a woman who was not his wife, or even deny that the woman was Broadwell. Technically, it only excludes a scenario in which Petraeus arrived with Broadwell. We were unable to clarify further because repeated requests that al-Basha identify the former colleague went unanswered.
  Why Champagne Hangovers Suck
  Email-ID 90306 (with the droll subject line ''Re: INSIGHT '' YEMEN '' why champagne hangovers suck'') contains Wilson's report of ''a hectic, late night'' meeting occasioned by Abdulaziz bin Fahd, a son of Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, former king of Saudi Arabia, challenging ''everyone to a champagne bottle drinking contest.''
  Wilson, writing of what he learned that night, says:
  ''Petraeus has become BFF [slang for best friends forever] with the Yemeni ambassador here. Dinners every other week at the amb's house. Last time he came with this woman, not his wife. The Yemenis think she was his mistress, but i seriously doubt that he'd be that stupid considering how high profile he is. You can see Petraeus taking a much deeper interest in Yemen these days though. Petraeus (after he drinks a few) says privately there is an Iranian link in Yemen, but it is not yet critical.''
  A 2010 US diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaksreports that on January 2, 2010 '-- that is, around the time of Petraeus's dinners with the ambassador '-- Petraeus met with then-president of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh, who, referring to secret US air strikes in Yemen, promised Petraeus ''We'll continue saying the bombs are ours, not yours.'' Broadwell's biography of Petraeus, All In: The Education of General David Petraeus, briefly mentions Petraeus trips to Yemen, but does not indicate if she went along.
  The Turf War
  Control over US policy in Yemen was at stake, and General Petraeus was right in the midst of it. The CIA and the Pentagon had competing objectives in Yemen. The CIA was pushing Obama to authorize the agency to deploy its pilotless drones against radical Islamist forces, while the military wanted to train and supply Yemeni special forces to handle the country's problems. Debate raged over whether US drone operations'--which often involve civilian casualties'--were not just further alienating the local population and thereby playing into those Islamists' hands. Both sides were leaking information to the press to try to influence the White House, and Petraeus himself was one of the leakers. (Later, as CIA director, Petraeus would advocate for increased use of drones.)
  Email-ID 1204569, sent September 4, 2010, while Petraeus was CENTCOM commander, contains Stratfor analyst Bhalla's report of a discussion over hookah (''sheesha'') with her ''Yemeni diplomat source'' and two younger sons of President Saleh.
  She mentions ''leaks from a couple weeks ago on CIA recommendations to the [Obama] administration to carry out drone strikes in Yemen,'' and says: ''There's a huge turf war between CIA and JSOC over this, which is why all these leaks are coming out,'' and notes that
  CENTCOM leaked their rec for $1.2 billion assistance funding for Yemeni special forces (this was all Petraeus, who has a very good relationship with the Yemenis and goes to the Yemeni ambo's house pretty regularly for dinner.) The Yemenis are nervous about [General James] Mattis taking over Centcom. They could deal well with Petraeus, whom they consider a 'diplomat.' Don't know yet how to read Mattis.
  Why Yemen?
  Powerful competing US (and international) interests and factions have stakes in Yemen that are not transparent to the public nor shared with it. The political landscape in Yemen is complex and shifting (Saleh is no longer in power, and some reforms are underway), but certain realities must be understood. Some of these were noted nearly a year ago on the site Small Wars Journal, put out by ex-Marines with an interest in nuances that often get lost:
  Over the last decade the US has viewed Yemen almost exclusively through a counterterrorism lens. This has proven short-sighted and often counter-productive. Some make a compelling case that Ali Abdullah Saleh kept the terrorism threat alive to secure both US funding and ultimately his regime, which was dubbed by Yemen expert Robert Burrowes as nothing short of a ''kleptocracy.''
  [snip]
  A careful look at the map reveals that Yemen is the hinge between East and West. The Bab-el-Mandeb '' which links the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden '' highlights Yemen's vital geostrategic location. Most will be familiar with the strategic and economic importance of the area, particularly the Canal, which remains at the heart of world trade and commerce.
  [snip]
  [A] restructured, well-led and well-equipped Yemeni Coastguard active in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden could be leveraged in support of Combined Task Force 150 and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) forces to counter piracy and also quell the aspirations of both Al-Shabaab and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Additionally, the US would have a trusted ally acting across the CENTCOM '' AFRICOM boundary.
  That tracks with public discussions of regional policy. But what is the interest of Stratfor in Yemen, besides generating content for its subscription newsletters? According to its internal emails, in 2010 the private intelligence firm was providing custom analysis on Yemen for its clients National Oilwell Varco (a Houston-based multinational which builds oil rigs), and Hunt Oil (for more on Ray Hunt'--a member of President George W. Bush's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board'--and his Middle Eastern operations, including in Iraqi Kurdistan, see this.) Email ID 5300460, sent May 23, 2011, shows Stratfor's work for Hunt Oil included creating a database of incidents of violence, with precise information such as GPS coordinates. This is yet another reminder that where political struggles play out, the pursuit of profit cannot be far afield.
  Petraeus, a canny man, surely understood the factors besides pure military strategy that underlie foreign policy calculations. Also, it was during this period that he was being mentioned as a possible opponent to Obama (Listen here to a top Fox News executive repeating speculation to Petraeus that he was being brought into the CIA to derail a possible run against Obama'--and how Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes and their Fox News team would get behind him if he chose to run. Petraeus deflected the talk about a presidential run, saying, with a laugh, ''My wife would divorce me.'')
  Who Gets Credit?
  One of the more revealing aspects of the Stratfor memos is their candor about the narrow and self-serving behavior of agencies and departments whose official justifications are too seldom questioned by the media.
  In Email-ID 1204569, coming a year before the US raid on Bin Laden's haven in Abbottabad, Pakistan, Bhalla writes, with brutal cynicism:
  There's been a ton of media spin and leaks later about Anwar al Awlaki being the next bin Laden. OBL is becoming old news now. CIA and JSOC want a new target to claim success, so there's a concerted campaign going on right now to play up al Awlaki as the #1 terrorist. Al Awlaki is much easier to target anyway and they have leads on him, so every agency wants to be the one to say they got him. [Emphasis added.]
  The month before this September 4, 2010 email, the Obama Administration had placed Anwar al-Awlaki on a ''kill or capture'' list. A little over a year later, on September 30 2011, a US drone strike killed al-Awlaki in Yemen without his having been charged, given any due process or trial, and without any of the evidence against him being made public'--an unprecedented attack on a US citizen.
  That Stratfor analysts report a ''turf war'' between the CIA and JSOC also foreshadows what many see as the biggest fallout from installing a military general as head of what had been regarded as a civilian agency '-- the further militarization of the CIA's mission. The fact that the general had a mistress in tow (or'--if one assumes that the woman mentioned in Stratfor's intelligence about that dinner in Yemen wasn't Paula Broadwell'--a series of mistresses) can only add to the disquiet.
  It may be that Petraeus shared foreign policy secrets with Broadwell, possibly granting her unauthorized access to classified information. A speech Broadwell gave at the University of Denver near or within the time frame of the FBI investigation of her suggests she may have had inside information about the controversial response to the attacks on the US consulate and the CIA annex in Benghazi.
  It is unfortunate how little interest the media has shown in Broadwell's work as a military intelligence officer. She directed the Counterterrorism Studies Center at Tufts, which stresses advance planning and soft power over military efforts: ''We're playing chess, they're playing poker.'' Clearly, she was not just an eager young scribe falling in love with a brave commander.
  Ostensibly, Petraeus was toppled for his involvement in a secret extramarital affair'-- which became public knowledge with the revelation of Broadwell's reportedly threatening behavior toward socialite Jill Kelley, whom Broadwell allegedly perceived as a romantic rival.
  By agreeing to Broadwell's original request that he admit her into his life as his biographer, the ambitious general may have unwittingly allowed himself to be set up. If he did invite her along to private dinners where confidential international strategy was discussed, she presumably was quite glad to go, and may even have suggested it. Their affair thus became a sub rosa time-bomb, the fuse of which was in her control.
  General David Petraeus's headlong fall from grace cannot be dismissed as the denouement of yet another peccadillo in an unforgiving moral climate. The plot is thicker than that'--perhaps as thick as the often-unnamed heart of the story: oil.
  WhoWhatWhy plans to continue doing this kind of groundbreaking original reporting. You can count on it. But can we count on you? We cannot do our work without your support.Please click here to donate.It's tax deductible. And it packs a punch.
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'...Breaking news! Defendant Barack Obama defaulted in Grinols et al v Obama et al. Notice of Default filed | Dr. Orly Taitz, Esquire
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:47
  Press Release
  Law office of Orly Taitz
  Defendant Barack Obama defaulted in Grinols et al v Obama et al. Notice of default filed, expedite default judgment requested.
  Grinols Notice of Default of Defendant Obama
  Notice of Electronic Filing
  The following transaction was entered by Taitz, Orly on 1/30/2013 at 8:14 PM PST and filed on 1/30/2013Case Name:Grinols et al v. Electoral College et alCase Number:2:12-cv-02997-MCE-DADFiler:James GrinolsKeith JuddThomas Gregory MacLeranEdward NoonanRobert OddenDocument Number:64Docket Text:NOTICE Notice of DEFAULT of DEFENDANT Obama, request for an expedited DEFAULT Judgment and post judgment discovery by All Plaintiffs. (Taitz, Orly)
  2:12-cv-02997-MCE-DAD Notice has been electronically mailed to:Edward A Olsen , GOVT edward.olsen@usdoj.gov, karen.james@usdoj.gov, monica.lee@usdoj.gov, teisha.stogsdill@usdoj.govGeorge Michael Waters george.waters@doj.ca.gov, lydia.sandoval@doj.ca.govOrly Taitz orly.taitz@gmail.com, dr_taitz@yahoo.com2:12-cv-02997-MCE-DAD Electronically filed documents must be served conventionally by the filer to:
  The following document(s) are associated with this transaction:
  Document description:Main Document Original filename:n/a Electronic document Stamp: [STAMP dcecfStamp_ID=1064943537 [Date=1/30/2013] [FileNumber=5951932-0 ] [99d8319f28ecde09f487b404ac329fd4f73ab3686d082711ed46399b174fcfceffa 05bd43535b2382241da21cfca3e458c187091127b9ed9bb688a5c9f99773e]]
  Dr. Orly Taitz ESQ
  29839 Santa Margarita, ste 100
  Rancho Santa Margarita, Ca 92688
  949-683-5411 fax 949-766-7603
  Orly.taitz@gmail.com
  IN THE US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
  Grinols et al ) Case # 12-cv-2997
  V ) Honorable Morrison C. England
  Electoral College et al ) Chief Judge Presiding
  NOTICE OF DEFAULT OF DEFENDANT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, AKA BARACK (BARRY) SOETORO, AKA BARACK (BARRY) OBAMA SOEBARKAH
  REQUEST FOR AN EXPEDITED DEFAULT JUDGMENT AND A PROPOSED DEFAULT JUDGMENT
  Case at hand was file on 12.12.2012. Defendant BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, AKA BARACK (BARRY) SOETORO, AKA BARACK (BARRY) OBAMA SOEBARKAH was sued in his capacity as a candidate for the U.S. President. Defendant was served by Same Day professional service processer on 01. 04.2013. Defendant was under an obligation to file an answer or a responsive pleading within 21 days on 01.25.2013. Defendant failed to file an answer or a responsive pleading and is currently in DEFAULT.
  Plaintiffs are hereby respectfully requesting a default judgment against the defendant, post judgment discovery, costs and attorney fees. Additionally, Plaintiffs are seeking an EXPEDITED DEFAULT JUDGMENT for the following reason:
  Commissioner of Social Security, Bush appointee is Michael Astrue. He announced that he is leaving office in February, within days. According to evidence provided to this court, Obama made his tax returns public, which show him using a CT SSN xxx-xx-4425, which was never assigned to him according to E-Verify and SSNVS. Affidavits of investigators Sankey and Daniels already submitted to this court with the complaint, show aforementioned SSN to be linked in a number of databases to a date of birth 1890.
  Recently investigator Albert Hendershot found in the database of http://www.acxiom.com/identity-solutions/acxiom-identity-batch-solutions/ the name of the individual whose Social Security Obama is using. Acxciom-batch-solutions showed (Exhibit 1) that Harry J Bounel with the same Social Security number xxx-xx-4425 at 5046 S Greenwood Ave in Chicago, home address of Barack Obama, Database shows Bounel with the same address and Social Security number as Barack Obama himself. According to the databases last changes to the information on Harrison(Harry) J Bounel were made in and around November 2009 by Michelle Obama, who is listed as Bounel's relative. Database changes can involve entering the information or deletion of information. It appears that changes made by relative Michelle Obama included deletion of information, which was done at a time when Taitz brought to Federal court in the Central District of California before Judge David O. Carter a case of election challenge by her client, former U.S. ambassador Dr. Alan Keyes and 40 state Representatives and high ranked members of the U.S. military.
  Recently obtained results of the 1940 census, Exhibit 2, provided the last missing link, link between Harry J. Bounel and the date of birth of 1890. Exhibit 2 shows the printout of the U.S. census, showing Harry J Bounel, immigrant from Russia, residing at 915 Daly Ave, Bronx, NY, age 50 during the 1940 census, meaning he was born in 1890, as shown in the affidavit of Investigators Daniels and Sankey.
  There is a pattern of Obstruction of Justice and tampering with the official records and falsification/forgery of the official records related to Obama. This happens in particular when Bush employees leave their positions and are replaced by Obama appointees.
  In March of 2009 one of the clients of Taitz, Major General Carol Childers arranged for her to meet with the Director of the Selective Service William Chatfield. After Taitz provided Chatfield with evidence of forgery of Obama's alleged Selective Service certificate, Childers resigned and was replaced by Obama appointee Lawrence Romo. Later, when Sheriff of Maricopa county, AZ Joseph Arpaio demanded from Romo the original paper registration by Obama, Romo responded that it was destroyed.
  Similarly, when the former intelligence officer Pamela Barnett sought passport records of Stanley Ann Dunham, Obama's mother, she was given only some of the records and was told that the 1965 passport for Dunham was destroyed.
  When investigator Sandler provided Taitz and reporter Corsi with a batch number for the immigration/travel records for Obama for August 1-7 1961, those records disappeared from the National Archives, even though the records for the other 51 weeks for 1961 could be found with no problem. After an article was written about missing records, there was a falsification of records and another investigator, Montgomery Blair Sidley found a record, where original date of August 7, 1961 was visibly erased and August 1, 1961 was written over it (Exhibit 3).
  Based on the pattern of the original vital records, which are essential in removing Obama from office and criminally prosecuting him, rapidly disappearing, there is a high probability that the SSA application SS-5 for the Social Security number for Harry J. Bounel will be either destroyed or falsified the moment Bush appointee Commissioner of Social Security Astrue leaves in February and is replaced by the Obama appointee. Due to high probability of essential evidence being destroyed or altered Plaintiffs are asking this court to issue and expedited Default Judgment against the Defendant Obama, aka Soetoro, aka Soebarkah and order expedited post judgment discovery, which should include the production of the original SS-5 for the Connecticut SSN xxx-xx-4425.
  Respectfully submitted
  /s/ Dr. Orly Taitz ESQ
  Attorney for Plaintiffs
  CC.
  UN Nations committee for civil rights defenders
  OHCHR in New YorkUN HeadquartersNew York, NY 10017USA
  Inter-American Commission for Human rights
  1889 F St., NW,Washington, D.C., USA 20006
  Darrel Issa
  Chairman of the House oversight committee
  2157 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING,
  WASHINGTON, DC 20515
  Congressman Bob Goodlatt ,
  Chairman of the Judiciary Committee
  House of Representative
  24092157 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING,
  WASHINGTON, DC 20515
  PROPOSED ORDER
  Case at hand was file on 12.12.2012. Defendant BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, AKA BARACK (BARRY) SOETORO, AKA BARACK (BARRY) OBAMA SOEBARKAH was sued in his capacity as a candidate for the U.S. President. Defendant was served by SameDay professional service processer on 01. 04.2013. Defendant was under an obligation to file an answer or a responsive pleading within 21 days on 01.25.2013. Defendant failed to file an answer or a responsive pleading and is currently in DEFAULT.
  Complaint and 100 exhibits provided by the Plaintiffs provided the following evidence, which was not refuted by the Defendant:
  Defendant Obama never lawfully registered with the Selective Service and the selective service registration represents a computer generated forgery and as such defendant is not eligible to work in any position in the executive branch of the U.S. Government, which of course includes the Chief Executive- The U.S. President and the Commander in Chief of the U.S. military. (Sworn Affidavit of Jeffrey Stephan Coffman, the Chief Investigator of the Special investigations Unit of the U.S. Coast Guard (ret) and former special agent of the U.S. Department of the Homeland Security). As such Obama fraudulently submitted his candidacy for the U.S. President, while knowing all along that he is not eligible for any position in the Executive Branch.Defendant fraudulently ran for the position of the U.S. President while using the last name Obama, while in his mother's passport records he is listed under the legal name Soebarkah. As such Barack Obama was unlawfully elected, confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn in by the Chief Justice John Roberts, as legal entity ''Barack Obama'' does not exist. Defendant failed to provide any proof of legal change of name from Soebarkah to Obama.Plaintiffs provided this court with the copy of the School registration of the Defendant from the Assissi School in Jakarta, Indonesia, where his citizenship is listed as Indonesian. Defendant failed to provide any evidence of Change of Citizenship from Indonesian to American. Even if he were to legally relinquish his Indonesian citizenship to American upon his arrival from Indonesia in 1971, he would be a Naturalized Citizen and not Natural born as required by the Article 2, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution.OCON, official certification of Candidate signed by the Chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii Brian Schatz(recently appointed to the U.S. Senator from HI) and the secretary of the Democratic Party of Hawaii Lynn Matusow was a flagrantly falsified document, as required wording ''eligible according to provisions of the U.S. Constitution'' was removed from the Certification, whereby there was never a valid certification of the candidate, which showed an intent to defraud and fraud on the part of the Defendant and aforementioned executives of the Democratic Party of Hawaii.Defendant himself posted his tax returns on the public web site WhiteHouse.gov, one of the most travelled web sites in the world and did not flattened the PDF file, therefore full, unredacted Connecticut Social Security xxx-xx-4425, which he used in conjunction to his 2009 Tax Returns became available to millions of the U.S. citizens and citizens around the world. This Social Secuirty failed both E-Verify and SSNVS (Social Security Number Verification Systems), two systems of verification of the Social Security number, showing that the number that the Defendant is using in his tax returns was never issued to him. This represents Social Security Fraud, Identity fraud and Elections Fraud as defendant ran for the highest office in the U.S. government without possessing a valid Social security number, one of the two basic Identification papers used in the United States of AmericaPlaintiffs provided sworn affidavits of Sheriff Joseph Arpaio, Investigator Mike Zullo, Typesetting expert Paul Irey, Adobe-Illustrator/Computer Graphics expert Felicito Papa, scanning machines expert Douglas Vogt and others, which show that the alleged copy of Barack Obama's alleged long form birth certificate represents a computer generated forgery, while Department of Health of Hawaii refused to comply with any and all federal and state subpoenas and never provided to any judge or jury or expert an original birth certificate that they claim to possess. At this point there is no reason to believe that the original 1961 type written birth certificate ever existed, as there would not have been a reason to create a flagrant forgery, if an original birth certificate ever existed.Based on all of the above Default Judgment is GRANTED. This court is forwarding its findings to the Chairman of the Judiciary Commission of the U.S. Congress for determination whether the Articles of impeachment against Defendant BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, AKA BARACK (BARRY) SOETORO, AKA BARACK (BARRY) OBAMA SOEBARKAH are justified.Based on the unrefuted evidence by the Plaintiffs this court makes a finding and Declaratory ruling that Defendant BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, AKA BARACK (BARRY) SOETORO, AKA BARACK (BARRY) OBAMA SOEBARKAH was not eligible to the position of the U.S. President and Commander in Chief as he is a citizen of Indonesia, who ran for the U.S. Presidency based on fraud and misrepresentation and using either forged or fraudulently obtained identification papers.Plaintiff are entitled to their costs, attorneys fees and post judgment discovery.So ORDERED and ADJUDGED on this ____________________________________ of __________
  Chief Judge U.S District Court of
Announcing We the People 2.0 and a White House Hackathon
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:44
  Peter WelschFebruary 05, 201310:58 AM EST
  Since we launched We the People, our team of developers has been hard at work on the code that makes the whole thing tick. Good thing, too! More than 2 million users joined We the People in the last two months of 2012 alone and some 6 million of you have logged in to the system and left more than 10 million signatures. That's a lot of citizen engagement for one application to handle, but it's done well, and we continue to release updates to the source code on GitHub and Drupal.org
  Today, though, we're starting the next stage of We the People's development. I'm pleased to announce that Petitions 1.0, the code that We the People runs on, is complete. We're now working towards Petitions 2.0.
  In software development, when you go from one version number to another it means that something big is going on. We're taking a new approach to how the application works, one that starts with the assumption that it should be as open, transparent, and flexible as possible.
  As a result, Petitions 2.0 is based on an application programming interface, or API, that we will release to the public in the coming months. The first set of methods, Read API, will be released in March, 2013 and will allow anyone to retrieve data on petitions, signatures, and responses. Later, we'll release a second set of methods, Write API, that will allow other websites and apps to collect and submit signatures without directly sending users to WhiteHouse.gov. With this API in place we'll be able to decouple the presentation and data layers of the application and build a new, streamlined signature process. This also means that developers who reuse our code will be able to choose which database the application relies on. Between that and our continued work on a white label theme, Petitions 2.0 will be easier for others to contribute to and reuse.
  But it all starts with the API'... and we'd like to give you a sneak peek.
  We're inviting a small group to join us in Washington, DC on February 22, 2013 for the White House Open Data Day Hackathon. In the weeks before the event we'll give participants access to We the People's Read API methods so they can use them, ask questions, provide feedback, and build cool stuff. For the hackathon, participants will come to the White House to share their work, talk with the API developers, and submit examples to be included in a software development kit (SDK).
  Want to take part? If you have the skills necessary to work with APIs and develop visualizations, tools, or other services that rely their data, we want to hear from you.
  Click here to apply for the White House Open Data Day Hackathon.
  If you are selected to attend, you will be notified no later than Friday, February 8, 2013. To learn more about Open Data Day or find other ways to take part, visit OpenDataDay.org.
Working to Counter Online Radicalization to Violence in the United States
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 22:01
  Quintan WiktorowiczFebruary 05, 201310:02 AM EST
  The American public increasingly relies on the Internet for socializing, business transactions, gathering information, entertainment, and creating and sharing content. The rapid growth of the Internet has brought opportunities but also risks, and the Federal Government is committed to empowering members of the public to protect themselves against the full range of online threats, including online radicalization to violence.
  Violent extremist groups '-- like al-Qa'ida and its affiliates and adherents, violent supremacist groups, and violent ''sovereign citizens'' '-- are leveraging online tools and resources to propagate messages of violence and division. These groups use the Internet to disseminate propaganda, identify and groom potential recruits, and supplement their real-world recruitment efforts. Some members and supporters of these groups visit mainstream fora to see whether individuals might be recruited or encouraged to commit acts of violence, look for opportunities to draw targets into private exchanges, and exploit popular media like music videos and online video games. Although the Internet offers countless opportunities for Americans to connect, it has also provided violent extremists with access to new audiences and instruments for radicalization.
  As a starting point to prevent online radicalization to violence in the homeland, the Federal Government initially will focus on raising awareness about the threat and providing communities with practical information and tools for staying safe online. In this process, we will work closely with the technology industry to consider policies, technologies, and tools that can help counter violent extremism online. Companies already have developed voluntary measures to promote Internet safety '-- such as fraud warnings, identity protection, and Internet safety tips '-- and we will collaborate with industry to explore how we might counter online violent extremism without interfering with lawful Internet use or the privacy and civil liberties of individual users.
  This approach is consistent with Internet safety principles that have helped keep communities safe from a range of online threats, such as cyber bullies, scammers, gangs, and sexual predators. While each of these threats is unique, experience has shown that a well-informed public, armed with tools and resources to stay safe online, is critical to protecting communities. Pursuing such an approach is also consistent with the community-based framework we outlined in Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States and the Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States.
  A New Interagency Working Group
  To more effectively organize our efforts, the Administration is establishing a new Interagency Working Group to Counter Online Radicalization to Violence, chaired by the National Security Staff at the White House and involving specialists in countering violent extremism, Internet safety experts, and civil liberties and privacy practitioners from across the United States Government. This Working Group will be responsible for developing plans to implement an Internet safety approach to address online violent extremism, coordinating the Federal Government's activities and assessing our progress against these plans, and identifying additional activities to pursue for countering online radicalization to violence.
  Raising Awareness through Existing Initiatives
  In the coming months, the Working Group will coordinate with Federal departments and agencies to raise awareness and disseminate tools for staying safe from online violent extremism primarily through three means.
  First, information about online violent extremism will be incorporated into existing Federal Government Internet safety initiatives. Internet safety initiatives at the Department of Education, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies provide platforms that already reach millions of Americans, and relevant departments and agencies will work to add materials related to online radicalization.
  The primary government platform for raising awareness about Internet safety is OnGuard Online, managed by the Federal Trade Commission and involving 16 departments and agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Education. OnGuard Online'-- in addition to other Federal Government Internet safety platforms like Stop.Think.Connect and Safe Online Surfing'-- will begin including information about online violent extremism. This information also will be posted on the Countering Violent Extremism homepage on the Department of Homeland Security's website and updated to reflect new best practices and research.
  Second, the Federal Government will work with local organizations throughout the country to disseminate information about the threat. One reason for the success of Federal Government Internet safety awareness efforts is that they work closely with local organizations '-- such as school districts, Parent Teacher Associations, local government, and law enforcement '-- to communicate to communities. Law enforcement is a particularly important partner in raising awareness about radicalization to violence and is already developing materials with support from the Department of Justice. Law enforcement departments and agencies have established Internet safety programs and relationships with community members and local organizations that can reach multiple audiences with critical information about the threat of online violent extremism and recruitment. Departments and agencies will provide the latest assessments of this threat to our local partners and encourage them to incorporate this information into their programs and initiatives.
  Third, departments and agencies will use our preexisting engagement with communities to provide information about Internet safety and details about how violent extremists are using the Internet to target and exploit communities. U.S. Attorneys throughout the country, who historically have engaged with communities on a range of public safety issues, are coordinating these Federal engagement efforts at the local level, with support from other departments and agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Education. U.S. Attorneys and others involved in community engagement will seek to incorporate information about Internet radicalization to violence into their efforts, as appropriate. At the same time, the Federal Government will engage with State, local, and tribal government and law enforcement officials to learn from their experiences in addressing online threats, including violent extremism.
  Going Forward
  As the Federal Government implements this effort in the coming months, we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who use the Internet to recruit others to plan or carry out acts of violence, while ensuring that we also continue to uphold individual privacy and civil liberties. Preventing online radicalization to violence requires both proactive solutions to reduce the likelihood that violent extremists affect their target audiences as well as ensuring that laws are rigorously enforced.
  For a fact sheet on Countering Online Radicalization to Violence, click here.
  Quintan Wiktorowicz is the White House Senior Director for Community Partnerships, on the National Security Staff
Diseases rife amid Syria drug shortages - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 22:03
  Water-borne diseases are spreading in Syria, compounding the problems of hospitals that are perilously short of medicine and doctors after nearly two years of fighting, the World Health Organisation says.
  The country's health ministry has run out of trauma treatments made in factories in rebel areas to help the increasing numbers of burn victims and wounded civilians in intensive care units, it said on Tuesday.
  That is assuming patients can reach treatment in the first place. Many surgeons have fled, hospitals are closed and most ambulances are either damaged or are being used by both sides as a clandestine way to transport fighters, the WHO said.
  "The biggest concern for us is the breakdown of the water and sanitation system and the increasing numbers of water-borne diseases," WHO representative Elisabeth Hoff told a news briefing about the deteriorating health situation on the ground on Tuesday.
  Hepatitis A, a viral liver disease that can cause explosive epidemics, has been reported in Aleppo and Idlib - where there has been intense fighting - and some crowded shelters for the homeless in the capital, she said by telephone from Damascus.
  Aid groups have had to start using alternatives to purify water because the import of chlorine gas has been banned over fears it could be misused as a chemical weapon.
  The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) began importing sodium hydrochloride, a liquid used for water purification, via Jordan on Sunday, spokeswoman Marixie Mercado told the same briefing.
  'Fluid situation'
  Heavy fighting between the forces of President Bashar al-Assad and rebels trying to topple him could swell the ranks of the four million who already need urgent assistance in Syria and two million internally displaced in the past two years.
  "The catastrophic humanitarian crisis continues to deepen," Jens Laerke, spokesman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told the briefing.
  "We are operating mostly out of government-controlled areas, that doesn't mean we don't deliver in opposition-controlled areas. Frontlines are changing, it is fluid situation," he said.
  Hoff said she could see black smoke from every corner of Damascus. "Rural Damascus, with four million people, is now heavily embroiled in the conflict," she said.
  She said she had visited a burns hospital in the capital which receives patients from all over the country.
  "These explosions are taking place and hitting into highly populated areas. You see a number of children and women with serious burns," she said.
  However, Hoff said the government could not access a factory in Aleppo that produces serum to help such trauma patients, because the road is controlled by the opposition. The health ministry has requested 150,000 units of serum from the WHO.
  "The factory has the serum which is needed for operations, for trauma and for injured, but they cannot access it because three kilometres of the road between the factory and the city is totally controlled by the opposition," Hoff said.
  Syrian military planes carrying doses of vaccine against measles and polio were shot at last week in Aleppo, she said.
  "So we are now trying to see how we can set up a convoy and negotiate also with the opposition to try to get this in, not only to the public hospitals but also to the non-governmental organisations," she said.
  Surgeons flee
  More than half of Syria's public hospitals have been damaged and more than a third of them are out of service, Hoff said.
  Most of the surgeons in Homs have left the embattled province.
  "The problem is that many surgeons are leaving many of the heavily affected governorates. Because some patients don't seek treatment because of the security forces in the hospital, they actually go to the homes of some of the surgeons and this led to unfortunate incidents happening to these surgeons," she said.
  Some 78 percent of Syria's ambulances are damaged, and more than half of them are not functional, according to the WHO.
  But as both sides are misusing ambulances to transport fighters, the UN agency can no longer supply new vehicles, Hoff said.
  "Women particularly come to hospitals, asking doctors for medicines, broad-spectrum antibiotics and bandages, this is giving a clear signal that patients are being looked after in their homes," she said.
  736
Statement by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan on Bulgaria's Announcement of Hizballah's Role in the 2012 Burgas Terrorist Attack
  Link to Article
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:12
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  February 05, 2013
  The United States commends the Government of Bulgaria for its professional and comprehensive investigation into the barbaric July 18, 2012 terrorist attack in Burgas. Today, following a thorough review of the evidence collected to date, Bulgarian authorities announced their judgment that Lebanese Hizballah was responsible for carrying out this act of terrorism, which killed six innocent civilians and injured many others. Bulgaria's investigation exposes Hizballah for what it is '' a terrorist group that is willing to recklessly attack innocent men, women, and children, and that poses a real and growing threat not only to Europe, but to the rest of the world. We commend Bulgarian authorities for their determination and commitment to ensuring that Hizballah is held to account for this act of terror on European soil. The United States will continue to provide the Bulgarian Government assistance in bringing the perpetrators of this heinous attack to justice.
  Hizballah's dangerous and destabilizing activities '' from attacking tourists in foreign countries to leader Hassan Nasrallah's active support of Bashar al-Assad's violent campaign against the Syrian people '' threaten the safety and security of nations and citizens around the world. Bulgaria's implication of Hizballah underscores the importance of international cooperation in disrupting terrorist threats. We call on our European partners as well as other members of the international community to take proactive action to uncover Hizballah's infrastructure and disrupt the group's financing schemes and operational networks in order to prevent future attacks.
  The United States is proud to stand with its friend and NATO ally Bulgaria. We deeply value our strong partnership on a wide range of issues including advancing global and regional security in Afghanistan and the Balkans, expanding economic and commercial ties, and promoting cultural and education programs.
How Obama Transformed an Old Military Concept So He Can Drone Americans | Danger Room
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:30
  An MQ-9 Reaper drone taxies on the airfield at Fort Drum, New York, October 2011. Photo: U.S. Air Force
  ''Imminence'' used to mean something in military terms: namely, that an adversary had begun preparations for an assault. In order to justify his drone strikes on American citizens, President Obama redefined that concept to exclude any actual adversary attack.That's the heart of the Justice Department's newly leaked white paper, first reported by NBC News, explaining why a ''broader concept of imminence'' (.pdf) trumps traditional Constitutional protections American citizens enjoy from being killed by their government without due process. It's an especially striking claim when considering that the actual number of American citizens who are ''senior operational leader[s] of al-Qaida or its associated forces'' is vanishingly small. As much as Obama talks about rejecting the concept of ''perpetual war'' he's providing, and institutionalizing, a blueprint for it.
  Imminence has always been a tricky concept. It used to depend on observable battlefield preparations, like tanks amassing near a front line, missile assemblage, or the fueling of fighter jet squadrons. Even under those circumstances, there has been little international consensus about when a nation under threat can take action. A classic example is Israel's June 1967 bombing of the Egyptian Air Force on its tarmac, which followed months of signals that Egypt was about to launch a massive assault. Whether you view Israel or Egypt as the aggressor tends to depend on your sympathy to either party in the conflict.
  President George W. Bush contended that the U.S. had to invade Iraq not because the government knew Saddam Hussein was about to launch an attack on America, but because it didn't. Bush contended that uncertainty about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, augmented by 9/11'²s warnings of shadowy terrorist groups plotting undetectable attacks, redefined ''imminence'' to mean the absence of dispositive proof refuting the existence of an unconventional weapons program that could be used in an attack. But when U.S. troops invaded, they learned that Saddam did not possess what Bush aide Condoleezza Rice famously termed a smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.
  The undated Justice Department white paper, a summary of a number of still-classified legal analyses, redefines imminence once again. Al-Qaida leaders are ''continually planning attacks,'' the undated white paper says, and so a preemptive attack ''does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests in the immediate future.'' Referencing the intelligence failures preceding 9/11, the paper concedes the U.S. ''is likely to have only a limited window of opportunity within which to defend Americans.'' For an adversary attack to be ''imminent,'' and a preemptive U.S. response justified, U.S. officials need only ''incorporate considerations of the relevant window of opportunity, the possibility of reducing collateral damage to civilians, and the likelihood of heading off future disastrous attacks to America.''
  There's a subtlety at work in the Justice Department framework. It takes imminence out of the context of something an enemy does, and places it into the context of a policymaker's epistemic limitations. ''The U.S. government may not be aware of all al-Qaida plots as they are developing and thus cannot be confident that none is about to occur,'' the white paper warns.
  If there is a reasonable debate over what imminence means in an era of terrorism, and what standards ought to be accepted for defining it as an international norm, that framework preempts it. All that matters to justify a drone strike attack is for the U.S. to recognize it can't be all-knowing. It's the logical equivalent of the CIA's signature strike, which target anonymous military-age males in areas where terrorists operate based on a presumption that their pattern of observed behavior is consistent with those of terrorists.
  It would be one thing if Obama was talking about foreigners who enlist in al-Qaida. But he's actually talking specifically about American citizens overseas who are ''senior operational leader[s] of al-Qaida or its affiliated forces'' '-- people whom the Constitution protects against the loss of life without due process of law. (The Justice Department stops short of claiming the government can take such lethal actions at home.) U.S. citizenship ''does not immunize'' such a person from reprisal. Here the white paper does not define what it means to be a ''senior operational leader'' of al-Qaida, let alone its ''affiliated forces,'' and instead asserts the applicability of Supreme Court precedent from World War II holding that U.S. citizens who joined the Axis can be treated as enemy belligerents. (My Wired colleague David Kravets will have more on the specific legal claims Obama makes.)
  To read this, you might think the U.S. faced an onslaught of treason. The data show otherwise. For the third straight year, U.S. Muslim involvement in terrorism declined, according to the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security, to the point where it's assessed to be fewer than 10 cases in a million '-- none of which resulted in anyone's death. The few such cases that do exist do not in any rigorous way describe ''senior operational leaders'' of al-Qaida. The only American in al-Qaida's senior cadre is a Californian metalhead turned propagandist named Adam Gadahn. The administration has asserted that Anwar al-Awlaki, the American citizen who incited terrorism in YouTube clips, was a senior operational leader of al-Qaida's Yemen branch, but refuses to provide evidence for the claim. Not only did the U.S. kill Awlaki in a drone strike, it later killed his 16-year old son Abdulrahman, whom it has never publicly claimed was a senior operational leader of al-Qaida.
  Under the Obama administration, the decision to target members of al-Qaida abroad, both foreign citizens and Americans, is made under a regularized institutional process known by the shorthand of the ''disposition matrix.'' One of its architects, White House counterterrorism chief, John Brennan, will testify on Thursday ahead of a Senate vote to confirm him as CIA director. Eleven senators, Democrat and Republican, wrote to the White House on Monday requesting the full secret memos '-- plural '-- explaining the administration's arguments for targeting Americans in drone strikes and commando raids.
  Whether or not they receive the memos, the white paper asserts an understanding of battlefield imminence that means little more than the mere existence of al-Qaida, and unconstrained by protections for U.S. citizens that the Constitution traditionally grants. Once the U.S. makes that claim, so can others, creating pretext for further acts of war.
  ''The Justice Department's legal arguments purportedly defending targeted killing fundamentally misconceive the nature of self-defense,'' University of Notre Dame professor Mary Ellen O'Connell said in a prepared statement. ''It is a right to use military force against a state that has or is about to launched a major military attack on the United States. The 9/11 attacks led to a war of self-defense in Afghanistan. That had all the hallmarks of legality. Contrast that use of force with the CIA firing of missiles from drones at a single individual and innocent bystanders in Yemen. You do not need to be an expert in international law to understand the enormous violation of law involved and the egregious conduct involved in attempting to exploit lack of knowledge of the law to achieve political cover for targeted killing.''
Iran's new stealth jet, or is it?
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 01:38
  Iran wants you to believe that it has a new stealth fighter with all the bells and whistles to compete with the U.S. military's F-22 and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
  Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran Defense Ministry Ahmad Vahidi attended a Feb. 2 unveiling of what the Iranians are calling the Qaher 313.
  Of course, plenty of questions revolve around the authenticity of the Iranian stealth fighter. From the pictures, the cockpit glass is a dead give away at how unreal this plane likely is. John Reed at Foreign Policy took a deeper dive.
  ''In fact, it looks like the Iranians dumped some rudimentary flight controls and an ejection seat into a shell molded in what they thought were stealthy angles,'' Reed writes.
  He goes further writing: ''The jet is so small it looks like the man is sitting in a clown car, er, clown fighter. It's seriously unlikely that such an aircraft has room to carry the avionics, radars, electronic countermeasures, heat masking gear, and, most importantly for a fighter, the weapons that make modern stealth jets effective.''
  Below is a video of the unveiling. Enjoy.
  February 4th, 2013 | Air, Air-to-Air Combat, F-35 Watch, Fast Movers, Iran | 192848 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F2013%2F02%2F04%2Firans-new-stealth-jet-or-is-it%2FIran%27s+new+stealth+jet%2C+or+is+it%3F2013-02-04+23%3A39%3A31Mike+Hoffmanhttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F%3Fp%3D19284
It's 'common sense' '' or is it? The politics of Obama's new favorite phrase - Yahoo! News
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:22
  In these early days of his second term, President Obama isn't just promoting legislation on guns and immigration. The president and his surrogates are promoting ''common-sense proposals'' to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, and a revamped, ''common-sense'' immigration system.
  Indeed, it is rare in recent Obama administration pronouncements that the terms ''gun measures'' and ''immigration reform'' appear without the words ''common sense'' nearby.
  At a campaign-style event on gun violence in Minneapolis on Monday, for instance, Mr. Obama used the phrase five times in a 15-minute speech.
  RECOMMENDED: Know your US presidents? See if D.C. Decoder can stump you!
  ''I need everybody who's listening to keep the pressure on your member of Congress to do the right thing,'' Obama said at the Minneapolis Police Department Special Operations Center. ''Ask them if they support common-sense reforms like requiring universal background checks or restoring the ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.''
  The use of ''common sense'' to woo the public is as old as the nation. In 1776, activist Thomas Paine wrote the best-selling pamphlet ''Common Sense'' to promote the idea of colonial independence from Britain '' and the term has been deployed regularly for political use ever since.
  ''It has been a hallmark of populism on both the right and left,'' says Sophia Rosenfeld, a historian at the University of Virginia and author of ''Common Sense: A Political History.'' ''It was used to argue for abolition and also for slavery, for women's suffrage and against women's suffrage.''
  In the modern era, one way for an interest group to project a hint of populism is to put ''common sense'' in its name '' such as Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington-based watchdog group that tracks federal spending (and named Alaska's infamous ''Bridge to Nowhere''). Some tea party groups, like Alabama's Common Sense Tea Party Patriots, have also incorporated the phrase into their titles.
  Other Republicans have been prone to recent pleas for ''common sense'' as well. During the 2012 presidential campaign, GOP nominee Mitt Romney called for repeal of the Affordable Care Act and replacement with ''common-sense, patient centered reforms.'' In 2009, the House Republicans' answer to Obamacare was a bill called the Common Sense Health Care Reform and Affordability Act.
  So what does this ''common sense'' rhetorical flourish really convey? And does it work?
  It's a way of asserting that an issue has been decided '' when in fact, just the opposite is the case '' and of depicting opponents as unreasonable ideologues, say experts on language and political rhetoric.
  ''Political figures say something is 'just common sense' when they want to imply that it's obvious to anyone whose thinking isn't fogged by ideology or strained by excessive cleverness,'' says Geoffrey Nunberg, a linguist at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Information.
  ''Both right and left have appealed to 'common sense' over the years, but in politics the fact that you feel obliged to invoke 'common sense' usually means that the views aren't common to everyone,'' Mr. Nunberg adds. ''It's like saying that an issue is 'not political,' which more or less guarantees that it is."
  On a practical level, by framing his ideas as ''common sense,'' Obama is trying to get the public to take action.
  ''It's clearly an effort to capture the center, the independents, and moderate voters who did vote for him in the election, or at least a majority of them,'' says Martin Medhurst, a professor of rhetoric and political science at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. ''I'm sure [Obama] hopes they will put pressure on their elected representatives and somehow conjure a majority on his proposals.''
  Indeed, as part of his argument for reform on both guns and immigration, Obama often mentions opinion polls that he says support his positions. Many polls show majority public support for the major elements of his gun legislation '' a renewed ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, and background checks on all gun buyers.
  But anybody who has followed the debate over guns knows that the matter is far from settled. Obama's other rhetorical turn '' referring to ''gun violence measures'' and not ''gun control'' '' shows how mindful he is being of his word choices on a delicate issue. To some gun-rights advocates, ''gun control'' can signal the beginning of a slippery slope to confiscation.
  Still, Republicans aren't too worried that the Second Amendment is about to bite the dust. Even Vice President Joe Biden, who chaired Obama's task force on gun violence following the Dec. 14 school massacre in Newtown, Conn., played down the proposed ban on assault weapons, saying he thinks access to high-capacity magazines is of greater concern. After all, most gun deaths in the US are caused by hand guns, not assault weapons.
  Political analysts say the proposed ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines doesn't have the votes in Congress and that the most Obama will get is expanded background checks.
  But Obama's use of open-ended rhetoric ''could be a big problem for Republicans down the line,'' when deficit reduction and defense spending come back to the fore, says Republican strategist Ford O'Connell. ''Like the phrase 'paying your fair share.' I can see the expressions on people's faces, they think he's being reasonable. Same with 'common sense.' Everyone places their own meaning on it.''
  RECOMMENDED: Know your US presidents? See if D.C. Decoder can stump you!
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To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to incentivize the development of abuse-deterrent drugs. (H.R. 486) - GovTrack.us
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:19
  GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
  Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
  No summary available.
  House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
  No summary available.
  House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
  So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
  We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
To establish the position of National Nurse for Public Health, to be filled by the same individual serving as the Chief Nurse Officer of the Public Health Service. (H.R. 485) - GovTrack.us
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:19
  GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
  Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
  No summary available.
  House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
  No summary available.
  House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
  So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
  We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
To prevent United States businesses from cooperating with repressive governments in transforming the Internet into a tool of censorship and surveillance, to fulfill the responsibility of the United States Government to promote freedom of expression on the
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:19
  GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
  Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
  No summary available.
  House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
  No summary available.
  House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
  So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
  We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
Police now accompanying Smart Meter installations: Two homeowners arrested for saying NO!
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:12
  (NaturalNews) As if police in most major cities didn't have enough to do already, now they are being deployed as enforcers for the nanny state.Cops in Naperville, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, have arrested two mothers after they attempted to block utility workers from installing so-called "smart meters" on their homes. The women, who were known to be vocal opponents of the wireless electric meters, apparently, were not the only smart meter opponents, however, because city officials told the Chicago Tribune they have ordered police to accompany utility crews as they install the meters on other homes where they were previously sent away.
  "The previous installation attempts were met with some resistance and we wanted to ensure our employees' safety," City Manager Doug Krieger told the paper.
  Translation: Your home isn't really your home anymore.
  Your home is not your castle
  According to the paper Naperville has installed about 57,000 smart meters already and is about 99 percent finished with the process. Officials say the meters will make the city's electrical system more efficient and reliable and will also reduce costs.
  But the Naperville Smart Meter Awareness group says they are concerned about the health, security and privacy aspects of the wireless smart meters. They group, which was led by the two women who were arrested, has a federal lawsuit pending against the city.
  Malia "Kim" Bendis, one of the two, was charged with a pair of misdemeanors, the Tribune said - attempted eavesdropping and resisting a peace officer. The other woman, Jennifer Stahl, also received two citations - interfering with police and preventing access to customer premises. Again, your home is not your home in Naperville, apparently.
  Upon her release, Stahl said when she refused a smart meter for her home utility installers accompanied by cops cut a bicycle lock she had put on her fence before entering her backyard. After that little incident of trespassing, she said she had no choice but to stand in front of her old meter, refusing to move.
  "It was forced on my house today," she said, according to the paper. "It was really a violation. I violated something, but I've been violated too so I guess we're now in a society of violating one another."
  Naturally, the city is defending its actions. Officials say the smart meters are no big deal - they are safe, they are "smart," they will save residents money and they will improve the efficiency of the electrical grid.
  But privacy advocates like Stahl and Bendis are rightfully concerned about what personal information and data the systems are relaying back to - whomever.
  Others are also worried about the anti-privacy implications associated with smart meter technology. National Geographic outlined such concerns in a recent report:
  In theory, the information collected by smart meters could reveal how many people live in a home, their daily routines, changes in those routines, what types of electronic equipment are in the home, and other details. "It's not hard to imagine a divorce lawyer subpoenaing this information, an insurance company interpreting the data in a way that allows it to penalize customers, or criminals intercepting the information to plan a burglary," the private nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation noted in a blog post about smart meters.
  Plus, to add insult to injury, the smart meters come with added costs, at least for Naperville residents: According to the Tribune, "there is a $68.35 initial fee for a non-wireless meter plus a $24.75 monthly fee for reading it" (our emphasis). So, not only do Naperville residents not have a choice whether or not they get one, they are going have to pay a monthly stipend for the "privilege" of having their civil rights violated.
  And just exactly how are these devices supposed to save residents money, when they cost more per month just to have? If the meters don't save residents more than $25 a month, it looks to us like electric bills in Naperville just went up.
  'We have the right to violate your rights'
  Stahl has it right. She says residents who want a non-wireless meter shouldn't have to pay for it because, after all, if the city utility is foisting it on residents, the cost should be on the city. She says she represents other homeowners who were unable to continue refusing the installation.
  "I have not done the work of attempting to educate the community and advocating for the right of anybody in Naperville to refuse the smart meter just to stand off to the side," she said.
  When Bendis exited the police department, a handful of smart meter opponents were there to cheer her. Citing advice from her attorney, however, she declined comment to the press.
  Krieger was unrepentant, as expected, as well as dismissive of homeowners' concerns.
  "The city has always had and maintains the right to access our equipment, and...we were simply exercising that right," he told the paper.
  Sources:
  http://www.chicagotribune.com
  http://news.nationalgeographic.com
  http://www.naturalnews.com/smart_meters.html
  people have commented on this article.
Standard & Poor's says it will face Justice Dept suit over subprime ratings - Feb. 4, 2013
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:08
  Shares of S&P parent McGraw-Hill fell sharply on news of the looming suit.
  NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
  The ratings agency said in a statement that the Department of Justice "has informed the company that it intends to file a civil lawsuit against S&P focusing on its ratings in 2007 of certain U.S. collateralized debt obligations," investments based on pools of mortgages.
  S&P called the potential lawsuit "entirely without factual or legal merit." The firm said that it "deeply regrets" the fact that its ratings "failed to fully anticipate the rapidly deteriorating conditions in the U.S. mortgage market," but that it relied on the same data as U.S. government officials and other analysts who failed to predict the housing bust.
  News of the looming lawsuit was reported earlier by TheWall Street Journal. A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice declined to comment.
  S&P is a division of McGraw-Hill(MHP, Fortune 500), shares of which dropped sharply on the news, closing down 13.8%. Shares of fellow ratings agency Moody's(MCO) fell 10.7%.
  A Moody's spokesman declined to comment. A spokesman for Fitch, the other of the big three ratings agencies, said the firm has "no reason to believe Fitch is a target of any such action."
  Related: U.S. credit ratings test is yet to come
  Analysts have long pointed to ratings agencies as key culprits in the financial crisis.
  Wall Street firms and other investors rely on the agencies to analyze risk and give debt a "grade" that reflects the borrower's ability to pay the underlying loans. The safest investments are rated "AAA."
  Some investors, including pension funds and insurance companies, operate under guidelines that require them to hold a certain percentage of highly rated securities in their portfolios.
  In the years preceding the meltdown in 2008, large numbers of mortgage-backed securities received AAA ratings, only to fail as the housing market collapsed. Critics say that because the major ratings agencies are paid by banks and other issuers of securities rather than investors, they succumbed to a conflict of interest in giving their seals of approval to dubious investments.
  "Credit rating agencies allowed Wall Street to impact their analysis, their independence and their reputation for reliability," U.S. Senator Carl Levin said in a 2010 hearing. "And they did it for the money."
  A 2011 Senate report on the financial crisis said the agencies "weakened their standards as each competed to provide the most favorable rating to win business and greater market share."
  First Published: February 4, 2013: 3:47 PM ET
Tagatose - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:44
  Tagatose(3S,4S,5R)-1,3,4,5,6-Pentahydroxy-hexan-2-one
  IdentifiersCAS number17598-81-1 YPubChem92092ChemSpider83142Jmol-3D imagesImage 1OC[C@@H](O)[C@H](O)[C@H](O)C(CO)=O
  InChI=1S/C6H12O6/c7-1-3(9)5(11)6(12)4(10)2-8/h3,5-9,11-12H,1-2H2/t3-,5+,6-/m1/s1Key: BJHIKXHVCXFQLS-PQLUHFTBSA-N
  InChI=1/C6H12O6/c7-1-3(9)5(11)6(12)4(10)2-8/h3,5-9,11-12H,1-2H2/t3-,5+,6-/m1/s1Key: BJHIKXHVCXFQLS-PQLUHFTBBT
  PropertiesMolecular formulaC6H12O6Molar mass180.16 g/molAppearanceWhite solidMelting point133''135 °C
  HazardsMSDS[1]NFPA 704 Y (verify) (what is: Y/N?)Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)Infobox referencesTagatose is a functional sweetener. It is a naturally occurring monosaccharide, specifically a hexose. It is often found in dairy products, and is very similar in texture to sucrose (table sugar) and is 92% as sweet, but with only 38% of the calories.
  Tagatose is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FAO/WHO and has been since 2001.
  Since it is metabolized differently from sucrose, tagatose has a minimal effect on blood glucose and insulin levels. Tagatose is also approved as a tooth-friendly ingredient.
  [edit]ProductionTagatose is a natural sweetener present in only small amounts in fruits, cacao, and dairy products. Tagatose can be commercially produced from galactose through an enzymatic process, starting with lactose which is hydrolyzed to glucose and galactose. The galactose is isomerized under alkaline conditions to D-tagatose by calcium hydroxide. The resulting mixture can then be purified and solid tagatose produced by crystallization.
  [edit]Development as a sweetenerD-Tagatose was proposed as a sweetener by G. Levin, after unsuccessful attempts to market L-glucose for that application. He patented an inexpensive method to make tagatose in 1988.[1] The low food calorie contents is claimed to be due to its resemblance to L-fructose.[2]
  [edit]Safety and functionFood and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tagatose as a food additive in October 2003 and designated it as generally recognized as safe (GRAS). Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) approved tagatose as health functional food for antihyperglycemic effect. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approved tagatose as novel food and novel food ingredient.
  [edit]Characteristics[edit]Functional characteristics[edit]Low glycemic indexTagatose has very similar sweetness to sugar while its glycemic index (GI 3) is very low. GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates in food on blood sugar levels. It estimates how much each gram of available carbohydrate (total carbohydrate minus fiber) in a food raises a person's blood glucose level following consumption of the food, relative to consumption of glucose. Glucose has a glycemic index of 100, by definition, and other foods have lower glycemic index. Sucrose has a GI of 68, fructose is 24, and tagatose has very low GI compared with other sweeteners.
  High blood glucose levels or repeated glycemic "spikes" following a meal may promote type 2 diabetes by increasing systemic glycative stress other oxidative stress to the vasculature and also by the direct increase in insulin levels,[3] while individuals who followed a low-GI diet over many years were at a significantly lower risk for developing both type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and age-related macular degeneration than others.[4]
  [edit]Antihyperglycemic effectKFDA approved the safety and function of tagatose for controlling postprandialblood glucose level. Tagatose reduces blood glucose level in the liver by promoting glucokinase activity which promotes transfer of glucose to glycogen. It also inhibits digestive enzymes and degradation of carbohydrates in small intestine which result in inhibition of carbohydrate absorption in the body. Clinical studies have shown that tagatose significantly reduces blood glucose levels among healthy, prediabetic, impaired fasting glucose, and impaired glucose tolerance subjects. Antihyperglycemic function is important for those with both type 1 diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes mellitus especially because diabetes is continuously growing and spreading to the younger generation. 92 billion USD was spent for diabetes medication in 2008 in the US, and 50 billion USD is paid in China per year.[5]
  [edit]Physical characteristicsTagatose is a white crystalline powder with a molecular formula of C6H12O6 with a molecular weight of 180.16g/mol. Active maillard reaction of tagatose enhances flavor and brown coloring performance and is usually used for baking, cooking and with high-intensity sweeteners to mask their bitter aftertaste.
  [edit]MarketingIn 1996, MD/Arla Foods acquired the rights to production from Spherix, the American license holder. In the following years, no products were brought to market by MD/Arla Foods, so Spherix brought them before a US Court of Arbitration for showing insufficient interest in bringing the product to market. The companies settled, with MD/Arla Foods agreeing to pay longer term royalties to Spherix and Spherix agreeing to not take further action.
  In March 2006, SweetGredients (a joint venture company of Arla Foods and Nordzucker AG) decided to put the tagatose project ''on hold''. SweetGredients was the only worldwide producer of tagatose. While progress has been made in creating a market for this innovative sweetener, it has not been possible to identify a large enough potential to justify continued investments, and SweetGredients has decided to close down the manufacturing of tagatose in Nordstemmen, Germany.
  In 2006, the Belgian company NUTRILAB NV took over the Arla (SweetGredients) stocks and project, and is setting up a production site for D-tagatose with the brand name Nutrilatose, with an enzymatic process method (different from the already published patents). Damhert N.V., the mother company of Nutrilab, has released the tagatose-based sweetener Tagatesse under its own brand name, along with some other products (jams and some chocolate-based products) using tagatose in October 2007 in the Benelux and France.
  [edit]References^A Natural Way to Stay Sweet, NASA, http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/Spinoff2004/ch_4.html, retrieved 2009-09-02.^Evan Ratliff (Nov 2003). "Hitting the Sweet Spot". Wired.com. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.11/newsugar.html.^Temelkova-Kurktschiev TS, Koehler C, Henkel E, Leonhardt W, Fuecker K, Hanefeld M., Postchallenge plasma glucose and glycemic spikes are more strongly associated with atherosclerosis than fasting glucose or HbA1c level., Diabetes Care. 2000 Dec;23(12):1830-4.^Chiu CJ, Liu S, Willett WC, Wolever TM, Brand-Miller JC, Barclay AW, Taylor A., Informing Food Choices and Health Outcomes by Use of The Dietary Glycemic Index., Nutr Rev., 2011 ;69(4): 231-42.^WHO report, 13Nov 2009[edit]External links
Damhert gaat zoetstof produceren voor Pepsi en Yoplait - De Standaard
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:44
  Het Limburgse bedrijf Damhert gaat zijn alternatieve suiker, tagatose, leveren aan frisdrankengigant PepsiCo en zuivelproducent Yoplait. Daartoe trekt het bedrijf LRM, Gimv en de Boerenbond aan als investeerders. Het nieuws is een goede zaak voor de werkgelegenheid in Belgi.
  LRM, de Boerenbond en Gimv zijn klaar om 6 tot 7 miljoen euro extra in Damhert te pompen. 'We­ten­schap­pe­lijk staat ons pro­duct op punt, we moe­ten nu al­leen vol­doen­de kun­nen pro­du­ce­ren. Daar­om heb­ben we dat extra ka­pi­taal drin­gend nodig', zegt Grete Remen, ceo bij de Limburgse producent van bio- en natuurvoeding.
  De licentie om tagatose te produceren werd vijf jaar geleden aangekocht. Tagatose is een alternatieve suiker, die gewonnen wordt uit lactose. De zoetstof is bijna even zoet als echte suiker, maar bevat een derde minder calorien.
  Al snel toonden frisdrankconcerns zoals Coca-Cola en PepsiCo zich uitermate ge¯nteresseerd in de alternatieve zoetstof. Volgens Remen waren de middelen bij Damhert niet meteen toereikend, dus werd de boot afgehouden, tot vandaag.
  'Geen weg terug'
  Volgens Grete Remen staan we momenteel op een scharniermoment in de geschiedenis van het bedrijf. 'Er is geen weg terug.' Het AIF-fonds, van Gimv en de Boerenbond, en de Limburgse Reconversiemaatschappij (LRM) werden na moeilijke onderhandelingen toch bereid gevonden om in tagatose te investeren.
  Damhert beschikt over een productiefaciliteit in Itali voor het vervaardigen van tagatose. Daar wordt de zoetstof gewonnen uit kaaswei. Maar Damhert wil nu ook dringend de productie in Belgi opstarten. Een goede zaak voor de Belgische tewerkstelling, zegt Grete Remen daarover op Radio1.
  'We zouden graag alles in Belgi houden'
  Momenteel produceert Damhert jaarlijks tot 700 ton van de alternatieve zoetstof. Om tegemoet te komen aan de vereiste hoeveelheden voor PepsiCo en Yoplait, moet die productie opgekrikt worden naar 2.500 ton. Op termijn zou jaarlijks zo'n 10.000 ton tagatose afgeleverd moeten kunnen worden.
  'We zou­den graag alles in Belgi hou­den. Daar­om wen­s­ten we ook per se Bel­gi­sche in­ves­teer­ders. We zijn een Lim­burgs fa­mi­li­aal be­drijf, dus die ver­an­ke­ring is be­lang­rijk', aldus de gedelegeerd bestuurder van Damhert.
BrainWave Generator - Download
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:47
  Contents:Main PageInformationTheoryFeaturesTestimonialsF.A.Q.NewsMailing ListDownloadPreset Library RegisterLinksAffiliates
  Copyright 1998-2004 by Noromaa Solutions Oy.All rights reserved.
  Download BrainWave Generator 3.1 by clicking the following link. Run the self-extracting archive and follow the instructions of the installation program.bwgen31.exe 1,207,296 02/22/2005 BrainWave Generator version 3.1.12BrainWave Generator is also available to download from Simtel.net.
  You can also download extra background sounds for use with BrainWave Generator. You will need these sounds only if you are creating your own brain wave entrainment programs (presets). To install, run the self-extracting archive, select the folder where you installed BrainWave Generator, and click Unzip. After this, the new backgrounds should be visible in the Background box in the Preset Options dialog of BrainWave Generator.
  bgextra.exe 574,464 07/01/2002 Extra background sounds
7.83 Hz Sounds '¹ SPARKY's Blog
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:44
  The Schumann Resonance is 7.83 cycles per second (7.83 Hz).
  Named after Winfried Otto Schumann, the Schumann Resonance is said to be the frequency of the Earth's vibration. This puts the Schumann Resonance in the ELF (extremely low frequency) range of the Earth's total electromagnetic spectrum.
  The Schumann Resonance is also associated with 13.8 Hz, 19.7 Hz, 25.7 Hz, 31.7 Hz, 39 Hz, and 45 Hz. The exact frequency also varies over time. On top of that, there's evidence that the Earth's average frequencies are drifting over time too.
  At 7.83 Hz, the Schumann Resonance lies within the alpha brain wave range. Therefore, listening to a binaural beats at the Schumann Resonace tends to increase alpha brain wave patterns.
  For example, Nada Brahma Schumann Resonance is a binaural beat I made with a 7.83Hz difference between the L and R channels. Both start at 136.1 Hz (C#) but drift apart.140.02 '' 132.19 = 7.83L channel: 136.1 fading to 132.19 HzR channel: 136.1 fading to 140.02 Hz
  The Schumann Resonances are quasi standing wave electromagnetic waves that exist in this cavity. Like waves on a spring, they are not present all the time, but have to be 'excited' to be observed. They are not caused by anything internal to the Earth, its crust or its core. They seem to be related to electrical activity in the atmosphere, particularly during times of intense lightning activity. They occur at several frequencies between 6 and 50 cycles per second; specifically 7.8, 14, 20, 26, 33, 39 and 45 Hertz, with a daily variation of about +/- 0.5 Hertz. So long as the properties of Earth's electromagnetic cavity remains about the same, these frequencies remain the same. Presumably there is some change due to the solar sunspot cycle as the Earth's ionosphere changes in response to the 11-year cycle of solar activity. Schumann resonances are most easily seen between 2000 and 2200 UT. (source:NASA)
  Schumann frequency and its effects on the bodyThe way the earth's pulsating frequency operates can now be explained in detail. Applying the earth's frequency to the human body has been shown in double blind studies and in practical application to have definite positive results with many disorders. The success of therapy with 7.83 Hertz pulsating magnetic fields very clearly demonstrates the importance of this frequency.
  The human brain in a healthy state has also been shown to oscillate at 7.83 Hertz. Consequently our brains are in a natural state of resonance with the earth. The loss of this characteristic would result in not insignificant limitations to our vitality and health.
  In just the same way the natural oscillations of water can be disrupted or superimposed by artificially generated frequencies. In addition the information-bearing structures can be destroyed on the long journey through the pipes. If this is the case, water can no longer fulfil its regulatory role in the body properly. The Schumann frequency is all the more important here.
  Free Download : The Nada Brahma Schumann Resonance (MP3)
  Brain Wave Generator
Mathews v. Eldridge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:23
  Mathews v. EldridgeSupreme Court of the United StatesArgued October 6, 1975Decided February 24, 1976Full case nameF. David Mathews, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, v. George H. EldridgeCitations424 U.S.319 (more)96 S.Ct. 893; 47 L.Ed.2d 18
  Prior historyGrant of certiorari from the United States Court of Appeals, 492 F.2d 1230HoldingDue process does not require a Goldberg-type hearing prior to the termination of social security disability benefits on the ground that the worker is no longer disabledCourt membershipCase opinionsMajorityPowell, joined by Burger, Stewart, White, Blackmun, RehnquistDissentBrennan, joined by MarshallStevens took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.Laws appliedU.S. Const. amend. VMathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S.319 (1976), is a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that individuals have a statutorily granted property right in social security benefits, that the termination of those benefits implicates due process, but that the termination of Social Security benefits does not require a pre-termination hearing. The case is important in the development of American administrative law.
  [edit]Legal principlesIn determining the amount of process due, the court should weigh three factors:
  The interests of the individual in retaining their property, and the injury threatened by the official actionThe risk of error through the procedures used and probable value, if any, of additional or substitute procedural safeguards;The costs and administrative burden of the additional process, and the interests of the government in efficient adjudicationSocial security benefits are a statutorily created property right implicating due process.
  Termination of social security benefits does not require a pre-termination hearing.
  [edit]Facts and procedural postureThe SSA terminated Eldridge's social security benefits through its normal procedures. However, Eldridge was not provided with a hearing before the termination of his benefits in which he could argue for a continuation of the benefits. He sued, even though he had not exhausted his post-termination administrative remedies. The district court held that the termination was unconstitutional, and the court of appeals affirmed.
  The Supreme Court reversed, holding that no pre-termination hearing was required.
  [edit]See also[edit]External linksText of Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319 (1976) is available from: Justia ·Findlaw
EXCLUSIVE: Justice Department memo reveals legal case for drone strikes on Americans
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:13
  Khaled Abdullah / Reuters file
  Tribesmen examine the rubble of a building in southeastern Yemen where American teenager Abdulrahmen al-Awlaki and six suspected al-Qaida militants were killed in a U.S. drone strike on Oct. 14, 2011. Al-Awlaki, 16, was the son of Anwar al-Awlaki, who died in a similar strike two weeks earlier.
  By Michael IsikoffNational Investigative Correspondent, NBC News
  A confidential Justice Department memo concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be ''senior operational leaders'' of al-Qaida or ''an associated force'' -- even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S.
  The 16-page memo, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, provides new details about the legal reasoning behind one of the Obama administration's most secretive and controversial polices: its dramatically increased use of drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects, including those aimed at American citizens, such as the September 2011 strike in Yemen that killed alleged al-Qaida operatives Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. Both were U.S. citizens who had never been indicted by the U.S. government nor charged with any crimes.
  The secrecy surrounding such strikes is fast emerging as a central issue in this week's hearing of White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, a key architect of the drone campaign, to be CIA director. Brennan was the first administration official to publicly acknowledge drone strikes in a speech last year, calling them ''consistent with the inherent right of self-defense.'' In a separate talk at the Northwestern University Law School in March, Attorney General Eric Holder specifically endorsed the constitutionality of targeted killings of Americans, saying they could be justified if government officials determine the target poses ''an imminent threat of violent attack.''
  But the confidential Justice Department ''white paper'' introduces a more expansive definition of self-defense or imminent attack than described by Brennan or Holder in their public speeches. It refers, for example, to what it calls a ''broader concept of imminence'' than actual intelligence about any ongoing plot against the U.S. homeland.
  Michael Isikoff, national investigative correspondent for NBC News, talks with Rachel Maddow about a newly obtained, confidential Department of Justice white paper that hints at the details of a secret White House memo that explains the legal justifications for targeted drone strikes that kill Americans without trial in the name of national security.
  ''The condition that an operational leader present an 'imminent' threat of violent attack against the United States does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future,'' the memo states.
  Read the entire 'white paper' on drone strikes on Americans
  Instead, it says, an ''informed, high-level'' official of the U.S. government may determine that the targeted American has been ''recently'' involved in ''activities'' posing a threat of a violent attack and ''there is no evidence suggesting that he has renounced or abandoned such activities.'' The memo does not define ''recently'' or ''activities.''
  As in Holder's speech, the confidential memo lays out a three-part test that would make targeted killings of American lawful: In addition to the suspect being an imminent threat, capture of the target must be ''infeasible, and the strike must be conducted according to ''law of war principles.'' But the memo elaborates on some of these factors in ways that go beyond what the attorney general said publicly. For example, it states that U.S. officials may consider whether an attempted capture of a suspect would pose an ''undue risk'' to U.S. personnel involved in such an operation. If so, U.S. officials could determine that the capture operation of the targeted American would not be feasible, making it lawful for the U.S. government to order a killing instead, the memo concludes.
  The undated memo is entitled ''Lawfulness of a Lethal Operation Directed Against a U.S. Citizen who is a Senior Operational Leader of Al Qa'ida or An Associated Force.'' It was provided to members of the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees in June by administration officials on the condition that it be kept confidential and not discussed publicly.
  Although not an official legal memo, the white paper was represented by administration officials as a policy document that closely mirrors the arguments of classified memos on targeted killings by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, which provides authoritative legal advice to the president and all executive branch agencies. The administration has refused to turn over to Congress or release those memos publicly -- or even publicly confirm their existence. A source with access to the white paper, which is not classified, provided a copy to NBC News.
  ''This is a chilling document,'' said Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the ACLU, which is suing to obtain administration memos about the targeted killing of Americans. ''Basically, it argues that the government has the right to carry out the extrajudicial killing of an American citizen. '... It recognizes some limits on the authority it sets out, but the limits are elastic and vaguely defined, and it's easy to see how they could be manipulated.''
  In particular, Jaffer said, the memo ''redefines the word imminence in a way that deprives the word of its ordinary meaning.''
  A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the white paper. The spokeswoman, Tracy Schmaler, instead pointed to public speeches by what she called a ''parade'' of administration officials, including Brennan, Holder, former State Department Legal Adviser Harold Koh and former Defense Department General Counsel Jeh Johnson that she said outlined the ''legal framework'' for such operations.
  Pressure for turning over the Justice Department memos on targeted killings of Americans appears to be building on Capitol Hill amid signs that Brennan will be grilled on the subject at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.
  On Monday, a bipartisan group of 11 senators -- led by Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon '-- wrote a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to release all Justice Department memos on the subject. While accepting that ''there will clearly be circumstances in which the president has the authority to use lethal force'' against Americans who take up arms against the country, it said, ''It is vitally important ... for Congress and the American public to have a full understanding of how the executive branch interprets the limits and boundaries of this authority.''
  Anticipating domestic boom, colleges rev up drone piloting programs
  The completeness of the administration's public accounts of its legal arguments was also sharply criticized last month by U.S. Judge Colleen McMahon in response to a lawsuit brought by the New York Times and the ACLU seeking access to the Justice Department memos on drone strikes targeting Americans under the Freedom of Information Act. McMahon, describing herself as being caught in a ''veritable Catch-22,'' said she was unable to order the release of the documents given ''the thicket of laws and precedents that effectively allow the executive branch of our government to proclaim as perfectly lawful certain actions that seem on their face incompatible with our Constitution and laws while keeping the reasons for the conclusion a secret.''
  In her ruling, McMahon noted that administration officials ''had engaged in public discussion of the legality of targeted killing, even of citizens.'' But, she wrote, they have done so ''in cryptic and imprecise ways, generally without citing '... any statute or court decision that justifies its conclusions.''
  In one passage in Holder's speech at Northwestern in March, he alluded '' without spelling out'--that there might be circumstances where the president might order attacks against American citizens without specific knowledge of when or where an attack against the U.S. might take place.
  ''The Constitution does not require the president to delay action until some theoretical end-stage of planning, when the precise time, place and manner of an attack become clear,'' he said.
  But his speech did not contain the additional language in the white paper suggesting that no active intelligence about a specific attack is needed to justify a targeted strike. Similarly, Holder said in his speech that targeted killings of Americans can be justified if ''capture is not feasible.'' But he did not include language in the white paper saying that an operation might not be feasible ''if it could not be physically effectuated during the relevant window of opportunity or if the relevant country (where the target is located) were to decline to consent to a capture operation.'' The speech also made no reference to the risk that might be posed to U.S. forces seeking to capture a target, as was mentioned in the white paper.
  The white paper also includes a more extensive discussion of why targeted strikes against Americans does not violate constitutional protections afforded American citizens as well as a U.S. law that criminalizes the killing of U.S. nationals overseas.
  It also discusses why such targeted killings would not be a war crime or violate a U.S. executive order banning assassinations.
  ''A lawful killing in self-defense is not an assassination,'' the white paper reads. ''In the Department's view, a lethal operation conducted against a U.S. citizen whose conduct poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States would be a legitimate act of national self-defense that would not violate the assassination ban. Similarly, the use of lethal force, consistent with the laws of war, against an individual who is a legitimate military target would be lawful and would not violate the assassination ban.''
  More from Open Channel:
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Report: Big Sis Considering Run For President In 2016'...
  Link to Article
  Source: Weasel Zippers
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 01:46
  Just the thought of a ''President Janet Napolitano'' is enough to make you break out in cold sweats.
  Via WaPo:
  So, what happens if Hillary Clinton doesn't run in 2016?
  It is hard to imagine the presidential field without a woman contender, and here's one to keep your eye on: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Napolitano is quietly making it known that she is considering the race, and there is reason to take her seriously.
  Before coming to Washington, Napolitano was a highly regarded and very popular governor in Arizona, a state not known as a hospitable one for Democrats. In 2005, Time Magazine named her one of the nation's five best governors, noting: ''Positioning herself as a no-nonsense, pro-business centrist, she has worked outside party lines since coming to office in January 2003 to re-energize a state that, under her predecessors, was marked by recession and scandal.'' [...]
  Still, Napolitano is a sharp and savvy politician, and her decision to remain in the Obama administration for a second term is a telling one. Immigration overhaul may well be an opportunity to put herself at the forefront of an issue''and a constituency''that represent the future of the Democratic party. Particularly if Clinton doesn't run, it's a decent bet that she will be on the debate stage in 2016.
Is your 401K about to be nationalized?
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 01:45
  Mike Shortridge
  WASHINGTON, February 3, 2013 '• The $19.4 trillion sitting in personal retirement accounts like the 401K may be too tempting an apple for a government that is quite broke, both monetarily and morally. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray recently mentioned these accounts in a recent interview, stating ''That's one of the things we've been exploring and are interested in, in terms of whether and what authority we have.''
  This agency, created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank-Act, is very concerned about how safe your retirement savings are. They are apparently concerned that retiring baby boomers may become victims of financial scams.
  If the government takes control of retirement accounts, it will not be called "nationalization." There will most likely be an indecipherable document that provides an opt-out option (initially), but why would you want to do that? The US government only wants to ensure the safety of your retirement funds; they did after all create a new bureaucracy for that specific purpose. And what could be a safer investment than US bonds?
  China's premier Wen Jiabao recently made a very polite, but very pointed statement to the US concerning its continued policy of debt monetization (printing money to pay the bills).
  ''We have made a huge amount of loans to the United States. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I'm a little bit worried. I would like to call on the United States to honor its words, stay a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets.''
  It is estimated that of the roughly $2 trillion China holds in currency reserves, about half is in U.S. Treasuries. While that may not seem significant, you would not want to know what would happen should they put even half of those treasuries on the open market. While that is certainly not expected, an escalation of Japan-China tensions in their ongoing (and worsening) argument over East and South China Sea islands, with the U.S. firmly behind Japan, means anything is possible.
  Assuming that the island dispute does not turn into open warfare, there is still the matter of addressing the very serious concerns that China has voiced, and many other countries echo: We are devaluing our currency, which they are heavily invested in, at a rapid pace and with no indication of ever stopping.
  This brings us back to that juicy apple hanging from the tree of our life's work. Nationalizing the personal retirement accounts would allow our government to borrow even more from its largest debtor (U.S. citizens) without further devaluing the currency. While this may seem far-fetched, as international pressure mounts to maintain the value of the dollar, you will hear more about this.
  If at some date we find ourselves at a tipping point in international relations, it may very well come down to nationalizing our 401K's or going to war. Many Americans are choosing to take their penalties and withdraw their 401K funds while they still can.
  This article is the copyrighted property of the writer and Communities @ WashingtonTimes.com. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media. REPRINTING TWTC CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION AND/OR PAYMENT IS THEFT AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.
Beyonce's Superbowl Illuminati Hand Sign Inspires Debate, Sarcasm, HuffPost Disinfo >> WTF RLY REPORT
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:51
  | WTF News |
  Officially on #occult & #newworldorder watch for @nfl @superbowl. #nwo'... #Superbowl47#Superbowl#nfl @49ers @ravens
  '-- WTFRLY.COM (@WTFRLY) February 3, 2013
  Two things are being widely talked about after Superbowl XLVII, the blackout and Beyonce giving what is said to be an ''Illuminati'' hand sign.
  It has gotten enough buzz to earn a response from the disinformation producing media sources. Yahoo's Shutdown Corner added their own sarcasm, but the ''disinfo'' award of the day goes to HuffPost.
  As far as the internet is concerned, the star flashed an unmistakable symbol during her sexy half-time show.
  Yep, Beyonce's in the Illuminati.
  It's all over, people. We're toast. (Or, maybe she was just doing the Roc-A-Fella records sign that pretty much everyone else does'... but Illuminati is more fun.)
  Yea, great story HuffPo. Since they are so ''enlightened'', why couldn't they cover the real origin of the hand sign? Maybe it is just laziness.
  Sure, Jay-Z and Roc-a-Fella records started it.Given that the word can be best described as meaning ''enlightened'', maybe that was Hova's (Jehovah?) inspiration for the light in the middle.
  These old Hebrew symbols mean nothing then.
  The one eye model with the pyramid on the back of the dollar means nothing either.
  It's just a big joke, right HuffPo?
  GTFO'...The word ''Illuminati'' gets misused in many ways, but the hand sign is hundreds of years old, guaranteed. Prove it wrong, HuffPo.
  US News did a brief article before the game about a ''Super PAC'' called Elect a New Congress which said before the game that the halftime show would be Illuminati propaganda.
  The libertarian-leaning super PAC that announced Friday that America should boycott the Super Bowl halftime performance because it would be the work of the ''Illuminati'' said Beyonce confirmed their worst expectations.
  Though Elect a New Congress didn't actually watch the show due to the boycott, its founder, Bill Fawell, tells Whispers he was informed of a hand signal Beyonce made near the end of her performance that he says is a symbol of the Illuminati.
  Discovery had a longer piece on the history of the Illuminati and the many head games played using the information. To maintain a cult-like aura of mystery of its existence works to help the rumor (fear?) endure while giving it sound evidence of denial. It also serves to keep people fighting over anecodotal coincidences and stop debating whether it does exist and for what purpose.
  Secret societies have always intrigued people, partly because of their claims to esoteric knowledge. The Illuminati was a group founded in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt, a law professor in Bavaria.
  Weishaupt claimed to have been given mysterious, arcane knowledge by a ''higher source,'' which presumably could have been anything from God to extraterrestrials to voices in his head.
  The Illuminati organization resembled a pyramid scheme cult, with new initiates required to pledge total obedience to Weishaupt, and promises of greater revealed wisdom the more invested a member became.
  Weishaupt shared his philosophical insights with others who joined his group, telling them for example that ''Man is not bad, except as he is made so by arbitrary morality. He is bad because religion, the state, and bad examples pervert him. When at last reason becomes the religion of men, then will the problem be solved.''
  Weishaupt outlined his plans to change the world so that all would accept his teachings.
  Until that could happen, secrecy was a key tenet of the group's philosophy: ''Let it never appear in any place in its own name, but always covered by another name, and another occupation. None is fitter than the three lower degrees of Freemasonry,'' Weishaupt wrote, and thus many members also became Freemasons, another secret society.
  This, by itself, was not unusual; throughout history members of groups who shared unorthodox or unpopular beliefs had to meet in secrecy and lead double lives.
  However this virtually guaranteed that conspiracy theories would forever be attached to the Illuminati name. Since any real member would deny involvement, the Illuminati could theoretically be anywhere and everywhere (even the Superbowl) '-- and no one could prove otherwise.
  The Illuminati was outlawed in Bavaria in 1783, and by 1800 the group was all but defunct in Germany but its ideas had spread to America, Europe and elsewhere.
  According to Mark Booth's New York Times bestseller ''The Secret History of the World,'' the real truth about the Illuminati was revealed when a high-ranking member was suddenly killed, and Illuminati documents were found among his effects: ''The seized writings revealed that the ancient wisdom and the secret supernatural powers promulgated within the Illuminati had always been a cynical invention and a fraud. An aspirant progressed through the grades only to discover that the spiritual elements in the teachings were merely a smokescreen.''
  It was all a cynical spiritual con game done for power and prestige, playing on the very human desire to be part of something secret and powerful.
  Still some remained unconvinced, believing that the exposure of the scam was itself a conspiracy to discredit Weishaupt and the Illuminati. After all, if the government feared their secret wisdom it had to do everything in their power to stop them (no one ever explained why those in power weren't already Illuminati, or wouldn't be eager to embrace the hidden knowledge it offered, instead of trying to destroy it).
  Though the Illuminati only existed for less than two decades over two centuries ago, many conspiracy theorists believe that it remains active and powerful, often associated with New World Order and anti-Jewish conspiracies.
  So what about that Illuminati sign that Beyonce made with her hands? Could it be that she was letting the world know about her involvement with the Illuminati (in direct defiance to its core tenets)?
  Or could it be that she was making a diamond symbol with her hands as a plug for her husband Jay-Z's record company, which uses a diamond as its symbol? Or could it be that conspiracy theorists don't realize that there are only so many symbols that can be formed with four fingers and a thumb, and that by random chance many of them will look similar?
  Assuming that the Illuminati still exist as a secret and powerful organization (and not a discredited cult scam), how will we know that they are active? Apparently when reason and rationality overwhelm ''the public mind.''
  The amazing thing about disinformation and influencing the mind is that it can be all smoke and mirrors. The Illuminati's dubious history is derived from the occult which means hidden, secret or clandestine, knowledge of the hidden. Hence the symbolism about light and dark and ''occulting'' the light which is referring to knowledge. Ask yourself again why the Superbowl blackout happened after reading about the occult signs within.
  The awareness of occultism has skyrocketed in recent years because of the internet allowing for real time debate. Last year, Madonna's performance with Nikki Minaj and M.I.A. raised eyebrows, with pyramid and occult imagery everywhere.
  After last year's Super Bowl halftime show, conspiracy theorists similarly said Madonna's performance was the work of the Illuminati, in part because she was surrounded by male dancers who formed in the shape of a pyramid.US News
  Pyramid imagery has been a part of controversy for a long time, not just in music. For more on the occult, symbols, entertainment and politics, see our article on Ke$ha's ''Die Young'' video, you know, that song radio stations pulled after Sandy Hook.
  As for Beyonce, to Sasha Fierce or not?Via Vigilant Citizen (May 2009)
  Along with her new album, Beyonce has presented her fans to a new alter-ego named Sasha Fierce. The singer affirms that this new persona is the fun, more sexual and more aggressive side of her. This is however the ''general public'' version of the story. The esoteric meaning revealed by the symbols surrounding this new persona is much deeper: Sasha Fierce is a symbolic representation of an artist taken over by evil to obtain success.
  ''I have someone else that takes over when it's time for me to work and when I'm on stage, this alter ego that I've created that kind of protects me and who I really am''.-Beyonce
  Good Beyonce with crossEvil Sasha Fierce mimicking devil hornsThe theme of the album ''I am'...Sasha Fierce'' revolves around the duality between the godly Beyonce and the evil Sasha Fierce. This spiritual duality is fought in the songs, the pictures and the videos. Notice on the above images the Christian cross of the good and pure Beyonce versus Sasha Fierce who is mimicking devil horns with her hands. Songs like ''Ave Maria'' and ''Halo'' on her album contain obvious spiritual connotations and can be interpreted as either religious songs or odes to her satanic possessor. The persona of Sasha Fierce '' who is presented as a separate entity- always wears heavy makeup on her eyes, if not sunglasses which represent her deceptive nature.
  Website PicturesBefore we get into an in depth analysis, let's look at the main picture displayed at beyonce.com, which sums ups perfectly the purpose of this article.
  Baphomet's vehiculeSasha Fierce is wearing a metal plate featuring prominently the face of Baphomet, who is also featured on the sigil of the Church of Satan: (For more information on Baphomet, read the article entitled Who is Baphomet?)
  Sigil of Church of Satan
  Baphomet's head is the only part of the picture that is in color, which shows the importance of this symbol. Another head of Baphomet sits right on top of the first making things even more significant. Sasha's ''dress'' is adorned with stylish rear-view mirrors and motorcycle handles, which makes Sasha Fierce the vehicle of Baphomet. This exact outfit was used for a George Michael video'...someone, somewhere thought it would be a perfect fit for Sasha Fierce. In her interviews, Beyonce describes her performances as Sasha Fierce like an experience coming right out of The Exorcist.
  ''When I'm onstage I'm aggressive and strong and not afraid of my sexuality. The tone of my voice gets different, and I'm fearless. I'm just a different person.''
  Another way to put this is that she has allowed herself to become possessed'...
  The Birth of Sasha FierceSasha Fierce was born when I did 'Crazy in Love.' People, when they meet me, expect that all the time, but that person is strictly for the stage.''Beyonce, People Magazine, November 18th, 2008
  Why did Beyonce say that? How can a character be born during a song like ''Crazy in Love'', which doesn't have anything to do with Sasha Fierce? The answer lies in the video.
  The video tells the story of the birth of Sasha Fierce by depicting the steps towards Beyonce's transformation. Through symbolic scenes, we first see Beyonce walking towards a speeding car (wih Jay-z in the backseat). The driver is the entity that already took over Jay-Z. Beyonce loosens up her hair to prepare herself and gets on a stage to begin initiation, symbolized by sexual dance moves. She then reaps the rewards of the selling of her soul with fame and fortune. Next, she is emulated by young girls who copy her dancing style. In the final scene, the good Beyonce gets literally blown up while sitting in the backseat of a car by Jay-Z '' who calls himself ''Young'' in the song. As you know, Jay-Z isn't young, but, in this song, he is considered ''Young'' after his recent rebirth on the dark side. After the explosion, Sasha Fierce magically appears next to Jay-Z, looking sexy yet devilish. In his verse, Jay-Z refers to Beyonce as ''Young B'' because she was just reborn.
  1- Beyonce goes up on a symbolic stage and mimicks ritual sex for initiation
  2- The flashes represent celebrity and success
  3- Surrounded by girls who emulate her
  4- Stuck in the backseat of a car
  5- Explosion of the car, representing the death of the old Beyonce (who was still stuck in the backseat)
  6- Sasha Fierce appears out of nowhere
  The video of ''Diva'' uses the exact same allegory of the car exploding.
  Video of ''Diva''
  ''Diva'' starts with a shot of dummies in the trunk of a car who represent the ''dummies'' that idolized and imitated Sasha Fierce. Sasha Fierce is walking away, wearing glasses who are literally shades hiding her eyes, representing the fact that we are not dealing with Beyonce but a deceiver. After going into a warehouse to dance frenetically, act bitchy and sing about vain subjects like materialism, she comes out and lights the car on fire. The same way Jay-Z blew up the car in ''Crazy in Love'' (which killed the old Beyonce and gave birth to Sasha Fierce), she blows up the car filled with the mindless dummies who were seduced by her deceitful ways.
  Why is Sasha Fierce Often Dressed Like a Robot?Beyonce's performance at the 2007 BET Awards carried heavy symbolism. Dressed in a robot suit, she wakes up after being electrically charged . Here's the performance (you just need to watch the first couple of minutes).
  This performance is inspired by a scene of the 1927 movie ''Metropolis'' where a female robot becomes alive.
  The recreation of this scene from Metropolis is quite significant. The movie depicts a society divided between two rigid social classes, the ''thinkers'' and the ''workers'', who can't communicate with each other. Maria, a young female worker who has some influence among her exploited colleagues gets kidnapped by the ruling class. She is taken to the laboratory of a mad scientist who created a robot that could take her physical likeness. The scene above depicts the transformation of the robot into Maria, who will then be controlled by the scientist to incite revolt among the workers. The inverted pentagram behind the robot symbolises the initiation of Maria into the evil side. She is designed to bring out the worst in men, causing violence, lust, passion and corruption among them. The robot is a devilish and sexually provocative version of Maria and ends up performing in a decadent nightclub of the metropolis. Her mesmerizing dance caused such excitement that it caused a widespread fight among the men present.
  Satanic robot with inverted pentagram in the back
  Is this why we chose to portray Beyonce as Maria from Metropolis? To use her physical likeness to propagate evil messages to the ''working class''?
  Good Beyonce vs disturbing looking Sasha FierceIn ConclusionI'm pretty sure I'll get messages from confused people, wondering why I ''see evil'' everywhere or something. Those people do not understand a couple of fundamental truths, who aren't based on wild beliefs but on facts: Record companies like Columbia Records own the image of pop stars like Beyonce or Rihanna. These conglomerates are owned by a handful of powerful people who, more often than not, are initiated into occult secret societies. They believe in the powers of the mind, channeling spirits, Black and White Magick, demon possession, sacred rituals and entities populating the ethereal spheres. In other words, if you don't believe in the spiritual realm, THEY DO. So the analysis here makes perfect sense to them and they know that the average Joe doesn't think in those terms'...mostly because he was educated since childhood to be blind to those things.
  As in anything in life, esoteric teachings range from the sublimely good to the infernal evil. They can elevate your consciousness to a godly level or they make you a slave of malignant spirits. That being said, there appears to be a conscious effort to subject the population to negative imagery through the different outlets of mass media. Plato, the Greek philosopher believed that music had such far reaching effects on the hearts of men that popular songs should be carefully chosen:
  ''Music which ennobled the mind was of a far higher kind than that which merely appealedto the senses, and he strongly insisted that it was the paramount duty of the Legislature to suppress all music of an effeminate andlascivious character, and to encourage only that which was pure and dignified''-Manly P. Hall, Secret Teachings of All Ages
  If Plato, one of the brightest minds of the Western world believed that music played a vital part in the creation of a perfect nation, can you imagine the effects of negative messages on our modern society? Even if the general population only gets the first level of interpretation of songs or videos, it is believed that the hidden meanings and symbols still affect the collective subconscious. The result is people leading vain existences, trying to fill the gaping void of their lives by continually satisfying their lowest impulses. In other words, lost souls that can be easily controlled and manipulated.
Broad Powers Seen for Obama in Cyberstrikes - NYTimes.com
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:50
  By Ben Werschkul, Nikolia Apostolou, Channon Hodge, Erica Berenstein, Pedro Rafael Rosado, Kriston Lewis, Abe Sater and Robin Lindsay
  Responding to a Digital Attack: The Times's David E. Sanger discusses a secret legal review concerning President Obama's powers in the face of a major cyberattack on the United States.
  WASHINGTON '-- A secret legal review on the use of America's growing arsenal of cyberweapons has concluded that President Obama has the broad power to order a pre-emptive strike if the United States detects credible evidence of a major digital attack looming from abroad, according to officials involved in the review.
  That decision is among several reached in recent months as the administration moves, in the next few weeks, to approve the nation's first rules for how the military can defend, or retaliate, against a major cyberattack. New policies will also govern how the intelligence agencies can carry out searches of faraway computer networks for signs of potential attacks on the United States and, if the president approves, attack adversaries by injecting them with destructive code '-- even if there is no declared war.
  The rules will be highly classified, just as those governing drone strikes have been closely held. John O. Brennan, Mr. Obama's chief counterterrorism adviser and his nominee to run the Central Intelligence Agency, played a central role in developing the administration's policies regarding both drones and cyberwarfare, the two newest and most politically sensitive weapons in the American arsenal.
  Cyberweaponry is the newest and perhaps most complex arms race under way. The Pentagon has created a new Cyber Command, and computer network warfare is one of the few parts of the military budget that is expected to grow. Officials said that the new cyberpolicies had been guided by a decade of evolution in counterterrorism policy, particularly on the division of authority between the military and the intelligence agencies in deploying cyberweapons. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk on the record.
  Under current rules, the military can openly carry out counterterrorism missions in nations where the United States operates under the rules of war, like Afghanistan. But the intelligence agencies have the authority to carry out clandestine drone strikes and commando raids in places like Pakistan and Yemen, which are not declared war zones. The results have provoked wide protests.
  Mr. Obama is known to have approved the use of cyberweapons only once, early in his presidency, when he ordered an escalating series of cyberattacks against Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities. The operation was code-named Olympic Games, and while it began inside the Pentagon under President George W. Bush, it was quickly taken over by the National Security Agency, the largest of the intelligence agencies, under the president's authority to conduct covert action.
  As the process of defining the rules of engagement began more than a year ago, one senior administration official emphasized that the United States had restrained its use of cyberweapons. ''There are levels of cyberwarfare that are far more aggressive than anything that has been used or recommended to be done,'' the official said.
  The attacks on Iran illustrated that a nation's infrastructure can be destroyed without bombing it or sending in saboteurs.
  While many potential targets are military, a country's power grids, financial systems and communications networks can also be crippled. Even more complex, nonstate actors, like terrorists or criminal groups, can mount attacks, and it is often difficult to tell who is responsible. Some critics have said the cyberthreat is being exaggerated by contractors and consultants who see billions in potential earnings.
  One senior American official said that officials quickly determined that the cyberweapons were so powerful that '-- like nuclear weapons '-- they should be unleashed only on the direct orders of the commander in chief.
  A possible exception would be in cases of narrowly targeted tactical strikes by the military, like turning off an air defense system during a conventional strike against an adversary.
  ''There are very, very few instances in cyberoperations in which the decision will be made at a level below the president,'' the official said. That means the administration has ruled out the use of ''automatic'' retaliation if a cyberattack on America's infrastructure is detected, even if the virus is traveling at network speeds.
  While the rules have been in development for more than two years, they are coming out at a time of greatly increased cyberattacks on American companies and critical infrastructure. The Department of Homeland Security recently announced that an American power station, which it did not name, was crippled for weeks by cyberattacks. The New York Times reported last week that it had been struck, for more than four months, by a cyberattack emanating from China. The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post have reported similar attacks on their systems.
  ''While this is all described in neutral terms '-- what are we going to do about cyberattacks '-- the underlying question is, 'What are we going to do about China?' '' said Richard Falkenrath, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. ''There's a lot of signaling going on between the two countries on this subject.''
  International law allows any nation to defend itself from threats, and the United States has applied that concept to conduct pre-emptive attacks.
  Pre-emption always has been a disputed legal concept. Most recently Mr. Bush made it a central justification for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, based on faulty intelligence about that country's weapons of mass destruction. Pre-emption in the context of cyberwar raises a potentially bigger quandary, because a country hit by a pre-emptive cyberstrike could easily claim that it was innocent, undermining the justification for the attack. ''It would be very hard to provide evidence to the world that you hit some deadly dangerous computer code,'' one senior official said.
  The implications of pre-emption in cyberwar were specifically analyzed at length in writing the new rules. One major issue involved in the administration's review, according to one official involved, was defining ''what constitutes reasonable and proportionate force'' in halting or retaliating against a cyberattack.
  During the attacks on Iran's facilities, which the United States never acknowledged, Mr. Obama insisted that cyberweapons be targeted narrowly, so that they did not affect hospitals or power supplies. Mr. Obama frequently voiced concerns that America's use of cyberweapons could be used by others as justification for attacks on the United States. The American effort was exposed when the cyberweapon leaked out of the Iranian enrichment center that was attacked, and the ''Stuxnet'' code replicated millions of times on the Internet.
  Under the new guidelines, the Pentagon would not be involved in defending against ordinary cyberattacks on American companies or individuals, even though it has the largest array of cybertools. Domestically, that responsibility falls to the Department of Homeland Security, and investigations of cyberattacks or theft are carried out by the F.B.I.
  But the military, barred from actions within the United States without a presidential order, would become involved in cases of a major cyberattack within the United States. To maintain ambiguity in an adversary's mind, officials have kept secret what that threshold would be; so far, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has only described the ''red line'' in the vaguest of terms '-- as a ''cyber 9/11.''
  The Obama administration has urged stronger firewalls and other systems to provide a first line of defense, and then ''resiliency'' in the face of cyberattacks. It failed to get Congress to pass cybersecurity legislation that would have allowed the government to mandate standards.
President given ''broad authority'' to order cyber attacks | Ars Technica
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:50
  The New York Times reports that a secret White House legal review has cleared the way for preemptive cyber attacks if the president determines there is credible evidence of a pending attack. Officials who had been involved in the review told The Times' David Sanger and Thom Shanker that the new rules give the president "broad power" to order computer-based attacks on adversaries that disrupt or destroy their systems, without requiring a declaration of war from Congress. The rules also govern how intelligence agencies can monitor networks for early warnings of imminent attacks, and when the Department of Defense can become involved in dealing with domestic network-based attacks.
  The rules will leave the Department of Homeland Security and FBI responsible for defending US government and commercial networks from attack up to a certain threshold'--the exact nature of which is being kept secret'--after which the Department of Defense would become involved. The DoD would only be allowed to take offensive action with direct presidential approval.
  News of the ruling comes on the heels of reports of major computer-based attacks on the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, all of which were attributed to state-sponsored hackers in China.
  So far, the only software-based attack that has been attributed to the US (though never officially acknowledged by the US government) has been the Stuxnet virus, which was reportedly codeveloped with Israeli intelligence to disable production equipment in an Iranian nuclear facility. Other sophisticated malware attacks, such as Flame, Duqu, and Gauss have not been definitively tied to the US, but analysts at Kaspersky Labs and other antivirus and network security firms have described them as "state-sponsored."
Statement by the President on United States Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan | The White House
  Link to Article
  Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:43
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  February 01, 2013
  I want to thank Mark Sullivan for nearly 30 years of service to our nation at the United States Secret Service, a tenure that saw the agency protect five first families including my own. Mark started out in the Detroit Field Office before joining the Presidential Protective Division. And since 2006, as Director, Mark has led the Agency with incredible dedication and integrity. The Secret Service is best known for protecting our nation's leaders, but every day they also protect the American people. From securing large events such as Presidential Inaugurations to safeguarding our financial system, the men and women of the agency perform their mission with professionalism and dedication. That is a testament to Mark and his steadfast leadership, which will be missed. Michelle and I wish him all the best.
Karzai: Helmand Was Safer Before UK Troops Arrived
  Link to Article
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:31
  LONDON -- Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai says security in southern Helmand province was better before the arrival of British troops.
  Karzai is in London Monday for meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss prospects for peace talks with the Taliban.
  He said in an interview with The Guardian and ITV News that it's possible western forces are being drawn down in Afghanistan because international leaders realized "they were fighting in the wrong place" and that he expects fighting to diminish once NATO forces withdraw.
  Karzai said Helmand province -- where the U.S-led coalition has lost more soldiers than anywhere else -- was more peaceful before British troops arrived in 2006. He says the greatest threat to his country's prospects is foreign meddling.
  (C) Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Message -- National Emergency with respect to C´te d'Ivoire
  Link to Article
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 23:04
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  February 04, 2013
  TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
  Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency, unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13396 of February 7, 2006, with respect to the situation in or in relation to C´te d'Ivoire is to continue in effect beyond February 7, 2013.
  The situation in or in relation to C´te d'Ivoire, which has been addressed by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 1572 of November 15, 2004, and subsequent resolutions, has resulted in the massacre of large numbers of civilians, widespread human rights abuses, significant political violence and unrest, and fatal attacks against international peacekeeping forces. Since the inauguration of President Alassane Ouattara in May 2011, the Government of C´te d'Ivoire has made progress in advancing democratic freedoms and economic development. While the Government of C´te d'Ivoire and its people continue to make progress towards peace and prosperity, the situation in or in relation to C´te d'Ivoire continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency and related measures blocking the property of certain persons contributing to the conflict in C´te d'Ivoire.
  BARACK OBAMA
FCC Proposes Public Wifi Networks To Spur Innovation
  Link to Article
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 23:02
  FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski discussing public broadband back in 2011.
  Wow, this is a shocker. I was beginning to believe that the United States would never catch up with the rest of the world. Now it's up to us to let our elected officials know voters are behind this latest proposal:
  The federal government wants to create super WiFi networks across the nation, so powerful and broad in reach that consumers could use them to make calls or surf the Internet without paying a cellphone bill every month.
  The proposal from the Federal Communications Commission has rattled the $178 billion wireless industry, which has launched a fierce lobbying effort to persuade policymakers to reconsider the idea, analysts say. That has been countered by an equally intense campaign from Google, Microsoft and other tech giants who say a free-for-all WiFi service would spark an explosion of innovations and devices that would benefit most Americans, especially the poor.
  The airwaves that FCC officials want to hand over to the public would be much more powerful than existing WiFi networks that have become common in households. They could penetrate thick concrete walls and travel over hills and around trees. If all goes as planned, free access to the Web would be available in just about every metropolitan area and in many rural areas.
  The new WiFi networks would also have much farther reach, allowing for a driverless car to communicate with another vehicle a mile away or a patient's heart monitor to connect to a hospital on the other side of town.
  If approved by the FCC, the free networks would still take several years to set up. And, with no one actively managing them, con­nections could easily become jammed in major cities. But public WiFi could allow many consumers to make free calls from their mobile phones via the Internet. The frugal-minded could even use the service in their homes, allowing them to cut off expensive Internet bills.
  ''For a casual user of the Web, perhaps this could replace carrier service,'' said Jeffrey Silva, an analyst at the Medley Global Advisors research firm. ''Because it is more plentiful and there is no price tag, it could have a real appeal to some people.''
  [...] The FCC's plan is part of a broader strategy to repurpose entire swaths of the nation's airwaves to accomplish a number of goals, including bolstering cellular networks and creating a dedicated channel for emergency responders.
  Some Republican lawmakers have criticized Genachowski for his idea of creating free WiFi networks, noting that an auction of the airwaves would raise billions for the U.S. Treasury.
  That sentiment echoes arguments made by companies such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Intel and Qualcomm, in a letter to the FCC staff late last month, that the government should focus its attention on selling the airwaves to businesses.
  For once, maybe the government will actually do something for its citizens instead of big business. Stay tuned.
Mini Drones: Army Deploys Tiny Helicopters
  Link to Article
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:41
  British troops are using a nano drone just 10cm long and weighing 16 grams on the front line in Afghanistan to provide vital information on the ground.
  They are the first to use the state-of-the-art handheld tiny surveillance helicopters, which relay reliable full motion video and still images back to the devices' handlers in the battlefield.
  The Black Hornet Nano Unmanned Air Vehicle is the size of a child's toy, measuring just 10cm (4 ins) by 2.5cm (1 inch), and is equipped with a tiny camera.
  The 16g helicopters are used to assess enemy threatSoldiers use the mini drone to peer around corners or over walls to identify any hidden threats and the images are relayed to a small screen on a handheld terminal.
  Sergeant Christopher Petherbridge, of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force in Afghanistan, said: "Black Hornet is definitely adding value, especially considering the light weight nature of it.
  "We used it to look for insurgent firing points and check out exposed areas of the ground before crossing, which is a real asset. It is very easy to operate and offers amazing capability to the guys on the ground."
  The nano helicopter has been developed by Prox Dynamics AS of Norway as part of a £20m contract for 160 units with Marlborough Communications Ltd (MCL), Surrey.
  The tiny drones send video and still images back to a handheld screenPhilip Dunne, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, said: "Black Hornet gives our troops the benefits of surveillance in the palm of their hands. It is extremely light and portable whilst out on patrol.
  "Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems are a key component in our 10-year equipment plan and now that we have balanced the defence budget we are able to confidently invest in these kinds of cutting-edge technologies."
Europol Investigation Shows Fixing Is Suspected in 680 Soccer Matches - NYTimes.com
  Link to Article
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:33
  Soccer is known throughout much of the world as the beautiful game. But the sport's ugliest side '-- the scourge of match-fixing '-- will not go away.
  The Times's soccer blog has the world's game covered from all angles.
  With next summer's World Cup in Brazil drawing closer, a European police intelligence agency said Monday that a 19-month investigation revealed widespread occurrences of match-fixing in recent years, with nearly 700 games globally deemed suspicious. The list of matches is staggering and encompasses about 380 games in Europe, covering World Cup and European championship qualifiers, as well as Champions League games, including one match played in England.
  Officials of Europol, an agency that works with countries across the continent, offered details that strike at the sport's core: nearly $11 million in profits and nearly $3 million in bribes were discovered during the investigation, which uncovered ''match-fixing activity on a scale we have not seen before,'' said Rob Wainwright, the director of Europol.
  Fixers typically seek to dictate a game's result by corrupting the players or the on-field officials, and officials said Monday that roughly 425 people were under suspicion because of the investigation, with 50 people having been arrested. The scope of the investigation covered games from 2008 to 2011.
  An organized crime syndicate based in Asia is believed to be the driving force behind the fixing activity, which stretches across at least 15 countries, officials said. Individual bribes were, in some instances, upward of $136,000, and fixers would place bets on the tainted matches through bookmakers in Asia. Various matches in Africa, Asia and South and Central America were identified as suspicious, though the European element of the investigation is the most significant.
  ''This is a sad day for European football,'' Wainwright said at a news conference in the Netherlands, adding: ''It is clear to us this is the biggest-ever investigation into suspected match-fixing in Europe. It has yielded major results, which we think have uncovered a big problem for the integrity of football in Europe.''
  But officials at the news conference repeatedly dodged questions from reporters on how many of the 680 matches cited were previously known and how many were newly discovered.
  Nor would they identify any of the teams and individuals newly linked to match-fixing, citing the need to guard the confidentiality of police procedures.
  Still, the breadth of the investigation was significant, and it inspired strong reactions from global fans. Even as the news conference continued, fans took to social media to speculate on which matches might have been fixed, with a particular fascination as to what English Champions League contest drew the investigators' scrutiny. Indeed, the notion that corruption has been identified in British soccer, home of the English Premier League, the world's most popular grouping, will reverberate globally.
  ''It would be na¯ve and complacent of those in the U.K. to think such a criminal conspiracy does not involve the English game and all the football in Europe,'' Wainwright said.
  Europol and Interpol officials said an international arrest warrant had been issued for the ringleader of the Asian syndicate so that he can be extradited to Europe to face fraud and bribery charges.
  Europol did not publicly identify the ringleader, but several knowledgeable law enforcement officials later said on condition of anonymity that it was a man based in Singapore known as Dan Tan. They said Tan had been implicated in match-fixing cases dating to 1999.
  The conclusion of Europol's investigation comes after a slew of high-profile incidents. Last month FIFA, the sport's governing body, barred 41 players for fixing matches in South Korea; in December 2012 the president of the South African Football Association was suspended after FIFA determined that four exhibition matches before the 2010 World Cup had been fixed; and last summer a complex match-fixing network was discovered in Italy, rocking that country's high-profile professional leagues.
  David Jolly contributed reporting from The Hague.
BBC News - Bin Laden city Abbottabad to build amusement park
  Link to Article
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:26
  4 February 2013Last updated at16:38 ETThe Pakistani city where Osama Bin Laden was found and killed by US special forces is building an amusement park in the hope of boosting tourism.
  The park has no link to the al-Qaeda leader, who was discovered living in a compound in Abbottabad in 2011.
  Instead, it will boast a zoo, water sports, mini-golf, rock-climbing and a paragliding club, officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said.
  The park will cost some $30m (£19m) and take five years to build, they said.
  That cost could rise to $50m with further private investment.
  "The amusement city will be built on 50 acres (20ha) in the first phase but later will be extended to 500 acres," Syed Aqil Shah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's minister for tourism and sports told the AFP news agency.
  The compound where Bin Laden lived in Abbottabad has now been demolished, and the new amusement park will not be built on the site.
  Officials are reported to have earmarked the old compound for government housing units.
  Instead the new venture will be located on the edge of Abbottabad, part of a major push to improve tourist facilities across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
  "This project has nothing to do with Osama bin Laden," Mr Shah said, adding: "We are working to promote tourism and amusement facilities."
  Raid remindersAbbottabad, situated in the Himalayan foothills some 120km (75 miles) north of Islamabad, was an anonymous military garrison town before it shot to international notoriety in 2011.
  The US Navy Seal raid that saw Bin Laden killed caused an diplomatic row between the US and Pakistan, which was furious the US launched the raid without its permission.
  The hunt for Bin Laden and the raid itself have recently been the focus of renewed attention with the release of the film Zero Dark Thirty, which the story of the long hunt for the 9/11 mastermind.
  The film is being boycotted in Pakistan, although bootleg copies are freely available.
Power outage stops Super Bowl for 33 minutes
  Link to Article
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:03
  Power outage stops Super Bowl for 33 minutes Power outage stops Super Bowl for 33 minutes The Super Bowl was delayed because of a power outage Sunday, leading to a 33-minute delay in the biggest game of the year. When it happened, the Baltimore Ravens were leading the San Francisco 49ers 28-6. (Feb. 3)
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  The Super Bowl was delayed because of a power outage Sunday, leading to a 33-minute delay in the biggest game of the year. When it happened, the Baltimore Ravens were leading the San Francisco 49ers 28-6. (Feb. 3)
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Abbottabad, waar Bin Laden werd gedood, krijgt attractiepark
  Link to Article
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:06
  De Pakistaanse stad Abbottabad, waar het Amerikaanse leger in mei 2011 Osama bin Laden heeft vermoord, krijgt binnenkort een attractiepark met dierentuin, meerdere restaurants en een zweefvliegcub. Dat maakten de lokale autoriteiten maandag bekend. Het project zou evenwel niets te maken hebben met de vermoorde terroristenleider.
  Het park zal zich uitstrekken over een domein van 200 hectare. Met het park wil de regering van de provincie Khyber Pakhtunkhwa het toerisme aanwakkeren.
  Abbottabad, 50 km ten noorden van de Pakistaanse hoofdstad Islamabad, is gelegen aan de uitlopers van het Himalaya-gebergte. Het is al een trekpleister voor Pakistaanse toeristen, die er komen genieten van het weer. Het klimaat is er minder verstikkend dan in de rest van het land.
  'Dit project heeft niets te maken met Bin Laden. Wij willen het toerisme en de parken in de hele provincie verbeteren', zei Syed Aqil Sjah, lokaal minister van Sport en Toerisme, aan het persagentschap AFP.
  'Het eerste deel van het park zal 20 hectare groot zijn. Daarna wordt het park uitgebreid tot 200 hectare'. 'Er komt ruimte voor historische exposities, een dierentuin, restaurants, een joggingparcours, watervallen, een avonturenclub en een zweefvliegclub'.
  De aanleg van het park moet eind deze maand of begin maart starten en zal acht jaar in beslag nemen, aldus de minister. Kostprijs: zo'n 3 miljard roepies (22 miljoen euro).
  De villa waar Bin Laden doodgeschoten werd, is in februari 2012 volledig afgebroken.
Toyota commercial conditioning against conspiracy types. : conspiracy
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  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:00
  "The towers are gone now, reduced to bloody rubble, along with all hopes for Peace in Our Time, in the United States or any other country. Make no mistake about it: We are at War now-with somebody-and we will stay at War with that mysterious Enemy for the rest of our lives." Hunter S. Thompson
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Afghanistan mission a total failure
  Link to Article
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:58
  Hugh White February 05, 2013
  'The real reason we are leaving is that [the US] is leaving.'
  As our troops leave Oruzgan this year, the province could slide deeper into the abyss.
  This year the Australian Defence Force will pull out of Afghanistan's Oruzgan Province without having achieved the objectives for which it was sent. That means Australia's military operation in Afghanistan has failed. It is important to face this uncomfortable fact and learn from it what we can.
  Do not expect this from government, the opposition or the ADF. They will all keep saying our soldiers are coming home because their mission has been successfully achieved. That is simply false and they all know it to be false.
  We can understand why they keep claiming success nonetheless. There is the usual reluctance to pay the political price of admitting that any policy has failed. But admitting that this policy has failed is especially hard because it has cost, so far, the lives of 39 Australians, and terrible injuries to many more.
  Our military failure in Afghanistan is complex because our reasons for sending forces to Oruzgan have been complex. The simplest reason has been to deny Afghanistan to al-Qaeda, but this never made sense. Al-Qaeda was out of Afghanistan and sprouting elsewhere long before we went to Oruzgan. The more sophisticated reason was to make sure al-Qaeda didn't come back by defeating the Taliban insurgency and fostering a government in Kabul that was effective, stable, just and pro-Western.
  Instead, we leave Afghanistan with a deeply corrupt and incompetent government exercising little authority over most of the country and people it is supposed to govern, and no serious prospect that a better government will emerge. Meanwhile, the Taliban seems as strong as ever, and as we withdraw it could soon take back at least a share of the grip on the government in Kabul that it lost in the last weeks of 2001.
  There was never any reason to expect a better result. It was always a fantasy that Western military intervention could fundamentally transform Afghanistan's political and social fabric, which is what our objective presupposed.
  The fantasy was called Counterinsurgency, or COIN. Its advocates said that our forces could turn Afghanistan into the country we wanted it to be by fanning out among the people, winning their hearts and minds and building support for the regime in Kabul by providing security and aid programs.
  The formula has been tried in many places since the Western empires collapsed, and it has always failed, just as it has failed again now. Even 200,000 Western troops were far too few to make it work in Afghanistan, and even three times that number could do nothing to make the government in Kabul look good to the Afghan people.
  Yet again, COIN has stumbled on the inherent contradiction that lies at its heart. Any government that is too weak to win a counterinsurgency without massive outside help is too weak to be worth supporting.
  After this became clear a few years ago, the Western governments intervening in Afghanistan changed their story again. They stopped saying their aim was to transform the country themselves, and talked instead about training the Afghan army and police so that they could provide the security needed for the Afghans to build their country.
  The government was soon telling us that this was now the key mission for Australia's forces in Oruzgan, and also our exit pass. Once the Afghan forces in our province were trained enough to provide security, they argued, the ADF could leave. And this is the job they now say has been done successfully.
  This is nonsense. Despite years of hard and dangerous work, the Afghan security forces remain what they have always been: undermotivated, undertrained, underequipped and underfunded. Above all they are woefully led - especially at the higher levels.
  And how could it be otherwise? Even if we had succeeded in building strong Afghan forces, what would have been the point when there is no credible government for them to serve and support? The forces we are leaving behind in Oruzgan will do nothing to prevent the province sliding even deeper into the abyss once we are gone
  Of course none of these failures are Australia's alone, because we have been part of an American-led coalition. And as many people understand, this is the real reason the government sent our forces to Afghanistan and have kept them there - to support our ally. And the real reason we are leaving is that they are leaving.
  But they are leaving not just because they are sick of the war and no longer believe it can be ''won''. They are leaving because they have new strategic priorities - especially in Asia. And here is the final source of our failure in Afghanistan. We sent forces there to bolster our alliance with the US, just as we have been sending them to every American conflict in the Middle East for decades. We did that because when Asia was at peace this was what America expected of us.
  But now all that is changing. America no longer cares much what we have done in Afghanistan, because it now sees China as its biggest strategic challenge. Today it judges Australia's worth as an ally by the support we provide it against China - politically as the two giants jockey for influence, and militarily if they come to blows. The depth of our failure in Afghanistan is that our service and sacrifice there has already become irrelevant to the alliance it was supposed to support. Even tougher tests lie ahead.
  Hugh White is professor of strategic studies at ANU's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre.
Reynders: 'Belgi gaat voor Europa full option' - De Standaard
  Link to Article
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:13
  BRUSSEL - Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Didier Reynders heeft maandag op de diplomatieke dagen in Brussel de Belgische blik op Europa benadrukt.
  Ons land heeft gekozen voor een ''full option Europa met alle rechten en plichten'' die daar bij horen, drukte hij de Belgische ambassadeurs op het hart. Reynders zette zo het verschil in de verf met meer eurosceptische EU-lidstaten als het Verenigd Koninkrijk.
  ''Wij kiezen voor het 'full option model''', zei Reynders op de jaarlijkse bijeenkomst van de Belgische ambassadeurs, consuls-generaal en permanente vertegenwoordigers wereldwijd. Voor het eerst tekenden ook enkele Europese collega-ministers present.
  Reynders zei de aankondiging van de Britse premier David Cameron te ''respecteren'', maar waarschuwde dat een dergelijke ''ontrafeling'' van Europa ''ons voor een serieus probleem zou stellen''. Cameron kondigde enkele weken geleden aan Europese bevoegdheden naar Londen te willen terughalen, om nadien de Britse bevolking te laten kiezen al dan niet uit de Europese Unie te stappen.
BREAKING: HOOGGERECHTSHOF DENKT DAT OBAMA NIET HET EINDE VAN 2E TERMIJN UITZIT
  Link to Article
  Source: ZapLog - externe links
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:49
  03.02.2013.17.30u
  Op 25 januari jl, verkreeg mr. Lyndon Larouche (gerennommeerd journalist en en politiek activist) inlichtingen vanuit bronnen uit het Witte Huis, dat Obama ge¯nspecteerd wordt door een hooggerechtshof. Larouche geeft de details hierover en beschreeft de inspectie als veruit de grootste ooit tegen een dienende president.Share this:Vind ik leuk:Wees de eerste die dit leuk vindt.
  bedenkingen, gerecht, hof, inspectie, obama, onderzoek
  Dit item is geplaatst op 3 februari 2013, 18:41 en gearchiveerd onder (eindtijd)nieuws. Je kunt reacties op dit item volgen via RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
Geeks are the New Guardians of Our Civil Liberties
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:39
  Recent events have highlighted the fact that hackers, coders, and geeks are behind a vibrant political culture.
  Freedom fighters: A protester wearing a mask takes part in a march protesting SOPA and ACTA in Dublin, Ireland, in February 2012.
  A decade-plus of anthropological fieldwork among hackers and like-minded geeks has led me to the firm conviction that these people are building one of the most vibrant civil liberties movements we've ever seen. It is a culture committed to freeing information, insisting on privacy, and fighting censorship, which in turn propels wide-ranging political activity. In the last year alone, hackers have been behind some of the most powerful political currents out there.
  Before I elaborate, a brief word on the term ''hacker'' is probably in order. Even among hackers, it provokes debate. For instance, on the technical front, a hacker might program, administer a network, or tinker with hardware. Ethically and politically, the variability is just as prominent. Some hackers are part of a transgressive, law-breaking tradition, their activities opaque and below the radar. Other hackers write open-source software and pride themselves on access and transparency. While many steer clear of political activity, an increasingly important subset rise up to defend their productive autonomy, or engage in broader social justice and human rights campaigns.
  Despite their differences, there are certain websites and conferences that bring the various hacker clans together. Like any political movement, it is internally diverse but, under the right conditions, individuals with distinct abilities will work in unison toward a cause.
  Take, for instance, the reaction to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a far-reaching copyright bill meant to curtail piracy online. SOPA was unraveled before being codified into law due to a massive and elaborate outpouring of dissent driven by the hacker movement.
  The linchpin was a ''Blackout Day'''--a Web-based protest of unprecedented scale. To voice their opposition to the bill, on January 17, 2012, nonprofits, some big Web companies, public interest groups, and thousands of individuals momentarily removed their websites from the Internet and thousands of other citizens called or e-mailed their representatives. Journalists eventually wrote a torrent of articles. Less than a week later, in response to these stunning events, SOPA and PIPA, its counterpart in the Senate, were tabled (see ''SOPA Battle Won, but War Continues'').
  The victory hinged on its broad base of support cultivated by hackers and geeks. The participation of corporate giants like Google, respected Internet personalities like Jimmy Wales, and the civil liberties organization EFF was crucial to its success. But the geek and hacker contingent was palpably present, and included, of course, Anonymous. Since 2008, activists have rallied under this banner to initiate targeted demonstrations, publicize various wrongdoings, leak sensitive data, engage in digital direct action, and provide technology assistance for revolutionary movements.
  As part of the SOPA protests, Anonymous churned out videos and propaganda posters and provided constant updates on several prominent Twitter accounts, such as Your Anonymous News, which are brimming with followers. When the blackout ended, corporate players naturally receded from the limelight and went back to work. Anonymous and others, however, continue to fight for Internet freedoms.
  In fact, just the next day, on January 18, 2012, federal authorities orchestrated the takedown of the popular file-sharing site MegaUpload. The company's gregarious and controversial founder Kim Dotcom was also arrested in a dramatic early morning raid in New Zealand. The removal of this popular website was received ominously by Anonymous activists: it seemed to confirm that if bills like SOPA become law, censorship would become a far more common fixture on the Internet. Even though no court had yet found Kim Dotcom guilty of piracy, his property was still confiscated and his website knocked off the Internet.
  As soon as the news broke, Anonymous coordinated its largest distributed denial of service campaign to date. It took down a slew of websites, including the homepage of Universal Music, the FBI, the U.S. Copyright Office, the Recording Industry Association of America, and the Motion Picture Association of America.
  Just a few weeks later, in Europe, as massive online and offline demonstrations, notably in Denmark and Poland, were unfolding to protest ACTA, another international copyright agreement, Anonymous again appeared (see ''Europeans Protest Anti-Piracy Treaty''). After the Polish government agreed to ratify ACTA, Anonymous took down a slew of government websites and publicized street protests sweeping Krakow. Soon after, the left-leaning Polish Party, Palikot's Movement Party, adopted the signature Anonymous symbol, the Guy Fawkes masks, wearing them during a parliamentary session to protest ACTA. Amidst this and many other outcries, the European Union scrapped this proposed law in July 2012.
  So powerful was Anonymous in these events that a few weeks after they passed, I received a call from a venture capitalist involved with organizing the SOPA protests. He wanted to learn more about how Anonymous operated and whether its members could be harnessed a little more directly. The beauty and frustration of Anonymous lies in an unruly and unpredictable spontaneity'--as they like to boast, ''We are not your personal army.'' But his intuition'--that they were an important part of the mix'--was correct.
  One key ingredient to the success of Anonymous lies in its participatory nature, especially when compared to spheres of hacker action where technical skill is a prerequisite for participation (and often respect). Skilled hackers are indeed vital to Anonymous's networks'--they set up communication infrastructure and grab most of the headlines'--for instance, when they hack into servers to search for information on government or corporate corruption. Hacking, however, still remains one tool of many (and some Anonymous subgroups oppose hacking and defacing). There is other work to be done: stirring press releases to write, propaganda posters to design, and videos to edit. Geeks and hackers may have different skills sets, but they are often traveling companions online, ingesting similar news, following similar geeky cultural currents, and defending Internet freedom, although using distinct methods and styles of organizing.
  The depth, extent, and especially diversity of this geek political movement was made evident to me just recently, not at an official political event but at a memorial service that doubled as an informal political rally. Over a thousand people gathered in New York City's regal Cooper Union Hall to honor Aaron Swartz, a hacker and self-proclaimed activist who had recently taken his own life, some say due to government overreach in his federal case concerning the legality of downloading millions of academic articles from MIT's library website (see ''Why Aaron Swartz's Ideas Matter'').
  They spoke about Aaron's life, quirky personality, and especially his political accomplishments and aspirations. Like his peers, he abhorred censorship, and thus naturally joined the fight against SOPA; the service featured snippets of his famous keynote address at the Freedom to Connect conference from May 2012, when Swartz said, ''It was really stopped by the people themselves.'' He had been instrumental in fundamental ways, for he had founded an organization, Demand Progress, a nonprofit that had effectively harnessed this citizen discontent over SOPA through petitions and other campaigns.
  Unlike Anonymous, which has no single mission, physical address, or official spokesperson, Demand Progress is an institution with a board and executive director located in the heart of political power, Washington, D.C. Although it channels, quite effectively, grassroots activities in the service of protecting civil liberties, a contained group can co¶rdinate action with deliberation and precision.
  Clearly geeks and hackers are behind distinct modalities of political organizing, willing to deploy a diverse array of tactics. Demand Progress, along with the prominence of the Pirate Party in Western Europe, demonstrates the willingness of geeks and hackers to work within existing institutional channels. And all signs point to this type of traditional political activity becoming more common. But it will likely exist alongside the loosely organized acts of disobedience, defiance, and protests that have also become more frequent and visible in the last few years, in large part thanks to Anonymous.
  But on that Saturday afternoon, any differences were largely cast aside in favor of standing united in grief, in commemoration, especially in the conviction that the battle to preserve civil liberties has really only just begun.
Prince George's considers copyright policy that takes ownership of students' work.
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:39
  A proposal by the Prince George's County Board of Education to copyright work created by staff and students for school could mean that a picture drawn by a first-grader, a lesson plan developed by a teacher or an app created by a teen would belong to the school system, not the individual.
  The measure has some worried that by the system claiming ownership to the work of others, creativity could be stifled and there would be little incentive to come up with innovative ways to educate students. Some have questioned the legality of the proposal as it relates to students.
  ''There is something inherently wrong with that,'' David Cahn, an education activist who regularly attends county school board meetings, said before the board's vote to consider the policy. ''There are better ways to do this than to take away a person's rights.''
  If the policy is approved, the county would become the only jurisdiction in the Washington region where the school board assumes ownership of work done by the school system's staff and students.
  David Rein, a lawyer and adjunct law professor who teaches intellectual property at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, said he had never heard of a local school board enacting a policy allowing it to hold the copyright for a student's work.
  Universities generally have ''sharing agreements'' for work created by professors and college students, Rein said. Under those agreements, a university, professor and student typically would benefit from a project, he said.
  ''The way this policy is written, it essentially says if a student writes a paper, goes home and polishes it up and expands it, the school district can knock on the door and say, 'We want a piece of that,' '' Rein said. ''I can't imagine that.''
  The proposal is part of a broader policy the board is reviewing that would provide guidelines for the ''use and creation'' of materials developed by employees and students. The boards's staff recommended the policy largely to address the increased use of technology in the classroom.
  Board Chair Verjeana M. Jacobs (District 5) said she and Vice Chair Carolyn M. Boston (District 6) attended an Apple presentation and learned how teachers can use apps to create new curricula. The proposal was designed to make it clear who owns teacher-developed curricula created while using apps on iPads that are school property, Jacobs said.
  It's not unusual for a company to hold the rights to an employee's work, copyright policy experts said. But the Prince George's policy goes a step further by saying that work created for the school by employees during their own time and using their own materials is the school system's property.
  Kevin Welner, a professor and director of the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder, said the proposal appears to be revenue-driven. There is a growing secondary online market for teacher lesson plans, he said.
  ''I think it's just the district saying, 'If there is some brilliant idea that one of our teachers comes up with, we want be in on that. Not only be in on that, but to have it all,' '' he said.
Senate plan would give Napolitano the final say on border security
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:39
  Under a bipartisan Senate framework, Democrats say, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano would have final say over whether the border is secure enough to put 11 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.
  If Napolitano does not provide the green light for putting illegal immigrants on a pathway to citizenship, the responsibility for judging whether the metrics for border security have been met will be given to her successor.The early debate over immigration reform has yielded two thorny questions: What metrics will be used to determine whether the goals for border security and other safeguards against illegal immigration have been met? Who will decide whether the metrics have been achieved?
  Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the lead Democratic sponsor of the bipartisan immigration reform framework unveiled this past week, said Napolitano should decide.
  ''What we've proposed is that the DHS secretary, whomever it is, will have final say on [whether] whatever metrics we proposes are met,'' Schumer said. ''We think those metrics will be quite objective.''
  More from The Hill:' NFL could spend off-season playing defense on Capitol Hill' Panetta: Benghazi response not like calling '911'' NRA chief: Public cannot 'trust' White House on guns' FCC shows little interest in policing TV indecency' With NRA in his backyard, Dem talks tough on gun control' NFL 'commissioner' optimistic about future of sport
  Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the lead Republican sponsor of the framework, said the issue is under discussion within the Gang of Eight.
  ''We're working on a lot of it,'' he said.
  But the idea of letting Napolitano, who plans to stay in the cabinet for President Obama's second term, or a future secretary of Homeland Security make the final call on the border has sparked alarm among other Republicans.
  ''My constituents are not going to accept a Washington bureaucrat making a representation the border is secure when they know it's not true. So that's unacceptable,'' said Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn, who represents Texas.
  There are other tough issues that could derail immigration reform negotiations. These include the establishment of an entry-exit visa system to track whether persons who enter the country leave when they are supposed to. An estimated 40 percent of illegal immigrants have overstayed their visas.
  Another is the question of how to handle the future flow of workers for so-called low-skill jobs in meat processing, hospitality and other service industries. Some lawmakers say disagreements over a guest worker program blew up a comprehensive reform bill in the Senate in 2007.
  The proposal to make border security a condition for allowing illegal immigrants onto a pathway to citizenship has emerged as the biggest disagreement in the early debate. Obama pointedly did not call for it during a speech in Las Vegas, Tuesday.
  The Senate framework would create a commission made up of governors, attorneys general and community leaders from Southwestern border states to recommend when border security goals have been met.
  They could not render the final judgment, however, because lawmakers fear that would violate the Constitution.
  McCain says the commission nevertheless will have a significant influence.
  ''The Constitution requires that action taken by the Congress is not dictated by a commission. We will be guided to a large degree by their conclusions and recommendations,'' he said.
  The bipartisan Senate group envisions metrics for border security that can be objectively verified, such as target numbers for border patrol agents and unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles.
  ''They will be objective so there's not that much leeway,'' Schumer said. ''What we envision is that because they [are] objective, the advisory committee and DHS will in all likelihood agree.''
  Members of the Gang of Eight would like to put in place a sequential process.
  The commission of Southwestern officials would submit evaluations of border security that Napolitano or another DHS secretary would then approve. Democrats say Napolitano would not have unilateral power to put 11 million immigrants on a pathway to citizenship.
  Advocates for a fast path to citizenship say Napolitano or someone else in the Obama administration would be a preferable choice to make the call.
  ''Having the DHS secretary decide rather than (Arizona Gov.) Jan Brewer decide is obviously a no-brainer,'' said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice.
  Sharry said ''having clear metrics be the goalpost rather than the moving goalpost that Republicans have been engaged in the last five years is much better.''
  ''But any condition that leaves room for mischief is a potential problem,'' he added.
  Democrats and advocates for a relatively fast pathway to citizenship worry border security could become an excuse for delay.
  Sharry and his allies say it should not be conditioned on further enforcement ''when the border is already secure.''
  He points to a dramatic increase to more than 21,000 border guards in the last several years and a large decrease in net levels of illegal immigration from Mexico, according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center.
  Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations for NumbersUSA, which supports reduced immigration levels, said even with the trigger endorsed by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a member of the Gang of Eight, the Senate framework would grant immediate amnesty to 11 million illegal immigrants.
  ''On Day One, illegal aliens step forward and get their probationary status and essentially get on the path. They start the path right there, Day One,'' she said. ''So the triggers are pretty much useless anyway.''
  Jenks also argued the plank of the Senate framework requiring the completion of an entry-exit system to track whether visitors leave the country on schedule includes a big loophole. She said the entry-exit system would be ineffective because it would track only people entering and leaving the United States via airports and seaports.
  ''Do we really believe that agricultural workers are going to be flying into the country through airports or cruising in to seaports?'' she said. ''You just totally exempted them from the entry-exit system. You exempted everyone who comes across the Southern border and the Northern border.''
Richard III: DNA confirms twisted bones belong to king
  Link to Article
  Source: The Guardian World News
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:38
  Not just the identity of the man in the car park with the twisted spine, but the appalling last moments and humiliating treatment of the naked body of Richard III in the hours after his death have been revealed at an extraordinary press conference at Leicester University.
  There were cheers when Richard Buckley, lead archaeologist on the hunt for the king's body, finally announced that the university team was convinced "beyond reasonable doubt" that it had found the last Plantagenet king, bent by scoliosis of the spine, and twisted further to fit into a hastily dug hole in Grey Friars church, which was slightly too small to hold his body.
  Grey Friars car park, Leicester, where the remains of King Richard III were found. Photograph: Darren Staples/ReutersBut by then it was clear the evidence was overwhelming, as the scientists who carried out the DNA tests, those who created the computer-imaging technology to peer on to and into the bones in raking detail, the genealogists who found a distant descendant with matching DNA, and the academics who scoured contemporary texts for accounts of the king's death and burial, outlined their findings.
  "What a morning. What a story," said Philippa Langley, of the Richard III Society. She had been driving on the project for years, in the face of incredulity from many people, and finding funds from Ricardians all over the world when it looked as if the money would run out before the excavation had even begun.
  Canadian-born Michael Ibsen, a direct descendant of Richard III's eldest sister, Anne of York, uses an oral swab to give a DNA sample to researchers. Photograph: Colin Brooks/AFP/Getty ImagesWork has started on designing a new tomb in the cathedral, only 100 yards from the excavation site, and Canon David Monteith said a solemn multifaith ceremony would be held to lay him into his new grave there, probably next year. Leicester's museums service is working on plans for a new visitor centre in an old school building overlooking the site.
  Richard died at Bosworth on 22 August 1485, the last English king to fall in battle, and the researchers revealed how for the first time. There was an audible intake of breath as a slide came up showing the base of his skull sliced off by one terrible blow, believed to be from a halberd, a fearsome medieval battle weapon with a razor-sharp iron axe blade weighing about two kilos, mounted on a wooden pole, which was swung at Richard at very close range. The blade probably penetrated several centimetres into his brain and, said the human bones expert Jo Appleby, he would have been unconscious at once and dead almost as soon.
  The skull of Richard III. Injuries to the skeleton appear to confirm contemporary accounts that the king died in battle. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesThe injury appears to confirm contemporary accounts that he died in close combat in the thick of the battle and unhorsed '' as in the great despairing cry Shakespeare gives him: "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"
  Another sword slash, which also went through the bone and into the brain, would also have proved fatal. But many of the other injuries were after death, suggesting a gruesome ritual on the battlefield and as the king's body was brought back to Leicester, as he was stripped, mocked and mutilated '' which would have revealed for the first time to any but his closest intimates the twisted back, a condition from an unknown cause, which began to contort his body from the age of about 10. By the time he died he would have stood inches shorter than his true height of 5' 8", tall for a medieval man. The bones were those of an unusually slight, delicately built man '' Appleby described him as having an "almost feminine" build '' which also matches contemporary descriptions.
  Jo Appleby, a lecturer in human bioarchaeology at the University of Leicester, who led the exhumation, is hugged by Prof Lin Foxhall. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PAOne terrible injury, a stab through the right buttock and into his pelvis, was certainly after death, and could not have happened when his lower body was protected by armour. It suggests the story that his naked corpse was brought back slung over the pommel of a horse, mocked and abused all the way, was true. Bob Savage, a medieval arms expert from the Royal Armouries who helped identify the wounds, said it was probably not a war weapon, but the sort of sharp knife or dagger any workman might have carried.
  Michael Ibsen, the Canadian-born furniture maker proved as the descendant of Richard's sister, heard the confirmation on Sunday and listened to the unfolding evidence in shocked silence. "My head is no clearer now than when I first heard the news," he said. "Many, many hundreds of people died on that field that day. He was a king, but just one of the dead. He lived in very violent times, and these deaths would not have been pretty or quick."
  It was Mathew Morris who first uncovered the body, in the first hour of the first day of the excavation. He did not believe he had found the king. The mechanical digger was still chewing the tarmac off the council car park, identified by years of research by local historians and the Richard III Society as the probable site of the lost church of Grey Friars, whose priests bravely claimed the body of the king and buried him in a hastily dug grave, probably still naked, but in a position of honour near the high altar of their church. The leg bones just showing through the soil were covered up again.
  Sir Laurence Olivier as Richard III. The actor also directed the 1955 film. Photograph: The Criterion Collection/Sportsphoto/AllstarTen days later, on 5 September, when further excavation proved Morris had hit the crucial spot at the edge of the choir in the church, he returned with Lin Foxhall, head of the archaeology department, and Appleby, swathed in crime scene overalls to prevent contamination, to excavate the body. "We did it the usual way, lifting the arms, legs and skull first, and proceeding gradually towards the torso '' so it was only when we finally saw the twisted spine that I thought: 'My word, I think we've got him.'"
  Turi King, leader of the DNA team, said she completed her work confirming the mitochondrial DNA match only on Saturday night, and there is more work to be done on the Y chromosome through the male line.
  The complete skeleton showing the curved spine of Richard III, who was killed in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. Photograph: EPAAs far as Langley is concerned, Richard was the true king, the last king of the north, a worthy and brave leader who became a victim of some of the most brilliant propaganda in history, in the hands of the Tudors' image-maker, Shakespeare.
  Foxhall quoted one contemporary description of Richard as "slight in body and weak in strength '... to his last breath he held himself nobly in a defending manner".
  A painting of King Richard III by an unknown artist is displayed in the National Portrait Gallery in central London. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesThere remains the dark shadow of the little princes in the tower, an infamous story even in Richard's day: the child Edward V and his brother Richard, declared illegitimate when Richard III claimed the throne, imprisoned in the Tower of London and never seen alive again. King said that although it is by no means certain that the bones claimed found at the tower centuries later were theirs, there may be more DNA detective work to be done there.
  "I'm a medievalist really," Morris said. "I don't go much for the Tudors. Even if Richard did kill the princes in the tower, you have to judge him by the standards of his day '' no other medieval king would have taken the risk of leaving them alive."
Zitting Dutroux onder grote belangstelling
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:36
  Zitting Dutroux onder grote belangstelling15:03 Onder enorme belangstelling van de media is maandagmiddag in Brussel een zitting begonnen over het verzoek van de beruchte kindermoordenaar en -verkrachter Marc Dutroux om onder voorwaarden onder elektronisch toezicht te worden vrijgelaten. De ...
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U.S. Ambassador To Egypt Gushes Over Our Muslim Brotherhood ''Partners'' At Ceremony To Mark Delivery Of Four F-16s'...
  Link to Article
  Source: Weasel Zippers
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:36
  It's almost like nobody bothered to inform the Obama administration Egypt is being run by Islamic fundamentalists, this statement would have made sense during the Mubarak regime.
  Via Daniel Pipes:
  The two-day old tenure of Secretary of State John Kerry got off to a flying start today with an astonishing statement from his ambassador to Egypt, Anne W. Patterson, at a joint ceremony in Cairo to mark the delivery of four American-made F-16 aircraft:
  ''Today's ceremony demonstrates the firm belief of the United States that a strong Egypt is in the interest of the U.S., the region, and the world. We look to Egypt to continue to serve as a force for peace, security, and leadership as the Middle East proceeds with its challenging yet essential journey toward democracy. '... Our thirty-four year security partnership is based upon shared interests and mutual respect. The United States has long recognized Egypt as an indispensible partner.''
  Keep reading'...
  HT: BCF
Nigeria: 17 Insurgents, One Soldier Killed in Borno as JTF Storms Boko Haram Training Camps
  Link to Article
  Source: AllAfrica News: Latest
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:35
  Maiduguri '-- Few days after declaring ceasefire, 17 suspected members of the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunnah Lidda'awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram, had been killed when the Joint Task Force (JTF) raided two training camps of the insurgents in swampy locations in two local government areas of Borno State between Wednesday and Thursday.
  One soldier was also killed during what the JTF officials called 'special operations' that were reportedly supported by a Nigerian Air Force Helicopter Gunship and armoured personnel carriers (APCs).
  The JTF described the siege as a landmark onslaught which led to the discovery of cache of arms including 40 assorted primed Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) canisters, six AK 47 rifles, two G3 rifles, three pistols, a Rocket Propelled Grenade Bomb (RPG), an RPG Tube, 20 RPG Chargers, two double barrel rifles and 2,543 assorted ammunition.
  Other discoveries include, 33 assorted empty magazines, three laptops computers, 10 assorted Motorola walkie talkies, 20 telephone handsets, three bags of rice, two bags of beans, two jerry cans of palm oil, a bag of salt, a generator set and light green uniforms (sown and unsown).
  The offensives were carried out two days after one Sheik Muhammad Abdulazeez Ibn Idris announced a cease fire on behalf of the sect, and three days before the visit of Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo to Borno State today (Saturday).
  A statement by JTF spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said the operations were carried out when troops were 'supported by the Nigerian Air Force to dislodge Boko Haram terrorists' camps' located in Sambisa Game Reserve in Bama Local Government Area and Farin-Ruwa Forest South West/East of Damboa local Government Areaof Borno State.
  According to him, "the camps were properly sighted and fortified and had training facilities; armoury, accommodation, drugs store/medical, kitchen, vehicle holding area, latrine and water points (River).
  "The camps were used to conduct training and carry out recent attacks, killings and bombings in Maiduguri, Musari, Konduga, Biu, Bama, and Damboa communities.
  "Efforts by the JTF troops to destroy the camps led to fierce exchange of fire that resulted in the death of 17 Boko Haram terrorists and one JTF personnel was killed," he said.
  Our correspondents reports that the JTF has welcomed the cease fire announcement by Ibn Idris, but said it will continue to maintain law and order, and protect lives and property of the citizens.
  Meanwhile, residents of Maiduguri including traders and drivers had lauded the JTF for re-opening some roads it has closed for over six months.
  The Borno Elders Forum (BEF), led by Dr. Shettima Ali Monguno, which applauded the Boko Haram cease fire has on Thursday called on the JTF to relax some of the stringent measures taken in Maiduguri and environs that made life difficult for the people.
  Our correspondents who went round Maiduguri yesterday reports that part of the Ahmadu Bello Way which leads to the Monday market has been re-opened.
  A trader said he can now take his car close to his shop after more than six months of blockage of the road.
  Drivers said a disturbing roadblock along the Gwange road has been dismantled. "We can now freely move with our cars and our passengers are happy because they get home early," Modu Bana, a taxi driver said.
Some 35 Percent of Russians Back $100 Fine for Smokers
  Link to Article
  Source: RIA Novosti
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:34
  MOSCOW, February 4 (RIA Novosti) - Some 35 percent of Russians support an initiative to introduce a 3,000 ruble ($100) fine for smoking in public places, an opinion poll by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) published on Monday found.
  Thirty-four percent said the fine would be too big, whereas 19 percent do not approve of the initiative at all; five percent said the fine was too small and seven percent were undecided.
  Most respondents (61 percent) said they are against banning smoking lounges at workplaces, while 22 percent backed the idea.
  Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, approved a ban on smoking in public places in a crucial second reading on January 25. The Duma passed the anti-smoking bill in a first reading in December. It envisages a gradual ban on smoking in public, including government buildings, healthcare and educational facilities, cultural sites, sports stadiums and public transport.
  Further amendments to the anti-smoking bill, proposed on January 11, such as banning smoking lounges at workplaces, were not included in the final version.
  The poll also showed that most Russians (51 percent) believe the new anti-smoking law will not affect the number of smokers; 40 percent said it will change the situation.
  The poll was conducted on January 26 to 27, 2013, among 1,500 residents of 43 Russian regions.
  The legislation also imposes a blanket ban on tobacco advertising. Tobacco companies will be barred from holding promotional prize draws and sponsoring public events and competitions.
  The bill may also prohibit the display of tobacco products in shops.
  The law is due to come into force on June 1, 2013, though some of its provisions, including a total ban on smoking in trains and hotels, will come into effect next year.
  Russia signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control with the World Health Organization in 2008. This obliges Russia to enact tougher restrictions on tobacco by 2015.
  According to a survey conducted by the Levada Center in November, only 18 to 31 percent of respondents supported an outright ban on smoking in workplaces, airports, restaurants, bars and hotels, while up to 75 percent believe smoking should be restricted to specially designated areas.
  Around forty percent of Russian adults smoke.
Europol to unveil results of match fixing probe
  Link to Article
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:30
  THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -The European police agency is unveiling results of a major investigation across the continent into match fixing in football, including what it is calling "top international games."
  The presentation Monday at Europol's headquarters in The Hague will likely be one of the most comprehensive overviews yet of rigging games.
  Europol says investigators from Germany, Finland, Hungary and Slovenia are presenting the results of probes into the murky world of fixing matches and the huge sums of money involved.
  Football already has been rocked by several match-fixing cases, most notably in Germany and Italy.
  Last month, FIFA security director Ralf Mutschke said more help is needed from national law enforcement agencies and that FIFA had asked Interpol to persuade its members to help protect the world's most popular sport.
Vijf Nederlanders betrokken bij matchfixing-schandaal
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:28
  Vijf Nederlanders betrokken bij matchfixing-schandaal14:01 De KNVB heeft uit het maandag gepresenteerde onderzoek van Europol naar matchfixing begrepen dat er vijf Nederlanders tot de verdachten behoren. 'Maar op welke wijze ze betrokken zijn is ons niet duidelijk', zegt Gijs de Jong, manager ...
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Nipplegate Christina Milian
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  Source: Telegraaf.nl - prive
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:25
  Nipplegate Christina Milian - Priv(C) | Het laatste Priv(C) nieuws leest u op Prive.nl van De Telegraaf [prive]Uw browser ondersteunt geen javascript of javascript staat uitgeschakeld. Hierdoor kunnen er cookies geplaatst worden waar u geen toestemming voor heeft gegeven.
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It Is Not The United States Of Europe; Just The Opposite
  Link to Article
  Source: Zero Hedge
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:20
  Via Mark J. Grant, author of Out of the Box,
  It is not the United States of Europe but the other way around; the Europization of the United States. It is not a new game but a very old game and not played with such fervor in America since Franklin Delano Roosevelt stirred the pot which was done in an attempt to end the consequences of the Great Depression. This morning's commentary is not meant just for political consideration but what the ramifications of the Democrat's strategy will do and are doing to the financial markets. Round I has now all but ended and the next Round will, in my opinion, bring entirely different results. Round I consisted of the response of the world's central banks which was to flood the globe with money in a bid to curtail the financial crisis of 2008/2009. This has buoyed all of the markets, each and every market, because small pieces of green and blue paper must be put somewhere. There are consequences for this however and five years later, which is now, I believe we are about to have to start dealing with them. It may be Inflation or, even worse, Valuation but we are beginning to see the signs of change as Treasuries begin to head higher in yields which will affect all of the other bond markets and then the equity markets as a matter of relative value. Keep your eye fixed on the long bond and on gold as primal indicators of what is to come. The recent national election in the United States clearly demonstrated the oft quoted phrase that ''Americans vote from their pocketbooks.'' Fluff, philosophy and hyperbole are the centerpieces of the American elections but when real money is on the table it is from here that most people vote because it is in their self-interest to do so. The scenario is not too complicated and Romney was correct, if perhaps politically stupid, that a large portion of Americans will vote for the Democrats because they are giving them social programs and entitlements which may be read as ''Money'' to do so. People just are not going to vote to cut off their own flow of funds and so the lower classes in America, en masse, have voted and will vote to keep the money coming. This strategy has ramifications however because the money must come from somewhere and so we have entered the arena where more and more taxes will be demanded from individuals and corporations to ''keep the Spice flowing.'' This was clearly demonstrated in Obamacare, in our latest round of tax increases on individuals and in yesterday's comments from the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, who did not speak about curtailing social programs at all but focused on increasing taxes on oil and gas companies and on increasing corporate taxes in general while curbing write-offs. America now has the European infection, in my opinion, where personal taxes are as high as 75% in France and not too far behind that in many other European countries. Corporate taxes are also generally higher in Europe and the banks are the bedfellows of the State which are used to control and dominate the social programs of the various governments. There is no way around the general conclusion that America is becoming socialized, that having money and being successful is a bad thing, which is the general philosophy in Europe, and that the United States is going through a very serious moment of social and monetary equalization where those with capital are supposed to pay a great deal of it out to those who do not have capital as a matter of their patriotic duty. This bouncing ball is not too tough to follow. The people with money pay higher taxes and then have less money to spend on goods and services. The corporations pay higher taxes and then have less money to spend on acquisitions, dividends or growing their business. The money flows to the people who are not in the middle class but are poorer and it gets spent on the basics of life and not on consumer durables. The rich are poorer, the middle class is poorer, the poor become better off at first and then less well off in the second instance as taxes bleed the entire economy of excess capital. Votes are, in fact, bought and paid for but the money used to pay for them will begin to dry up as the Europization of America continues unabated. This will also have a profound impact upon all of the financial markets which will dovetail into the consequences of the central banks and so even that capital gets down streamed and leaves the markets by way of ever increasing higher taxes for both corporations and individuals. I expect soon, and it has certainly been rumored, that not just will the Democrats go after the exemption on Municipal bonds but that they will propose some kind of national Value Added Tax (VAT) which will be one more method to take money from those that earn it and hand it over to those who do not to assure their political stewardship of the nation or, more bluntly stated, to keep themselves in power which is always the main goal of politicians of course. I point all of this out this morning not to state right or wrong but to state with clarity that the markets will be seriously impacted by all of this. The equity markets may be at all-time highs today as fed by the central banks but a turn is coming, a quite severe turn in my view, which will wipe the glitter from the ornaments. As Treasury yields begin to rise and as markets reassess relative value then the rose petals will begin to fall and if the central banks begin to end their monetary flood at the same time then ''Katie Bar the Door'' will be the result. Later will be too late. The time to prepare is now!
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EU President Schulz: "EU is mortally threatened" (translation)
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:17
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Belgium: Secret service investigated politicians' contacts with Church of Scientology.
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:17
  Secret service investigated politicians' contacts with Church of ScientologySat 02/02/2013 - 11:29Update: Sat 02/02/2013 - 16:49It has emerged that Belgium's state intelligence service carried out an investigation into the contacts Belgian politicians and academics had with several sects active in the country. The daily De Morgen has published details of a state intelligence service report that was sent to several of Belgium's highest dignitaries.
  The investigation centred on contacts with the Church of Scientology, Sahaja Yoga and the Muslim Brotherhood. De Morgen alleges that prominent lawmakers including Rik Torfs (Flemish Christian democrat), Kris Van Dijck (Flemish nationalist) and Hilde Vautmans (Flemish liberal) all attracted the interest of Belgium's state intelligence service.
  Senator Rik Torfs has been amongst the first to respond: "This gives me a really scary feeling. You shouldn't look into religious groups, but into possible offences committed by people or groups. I want to stress that my contacts with the Church of Scientology had to do with my scientific work and not my political action. This is the road to a police state, if this continues."
  All the politicians and academics named at one time or other formed part of the official commission scrutinising Belgium's sects. This could also explain why they contacted several of the organisations. Belgium's Intelligence Committee, the security services watchdog, has been asked to investigate the matter.
  'Perplexed and indignant'In an unprecedented move the state intelligence service on Saturday called a news conference to respond to the publication of details of a secret report in the press. The service's head, Alain Winants, announced that his organisation would be filing a complaint with the police 'against persons unknown' as a result of the report's leaking to the press. The state intelligence service says it's perplexed and indignant about what's happened.
Krugman: NRA Thinks 'We're Living in a Mad Max Movie'
  Link to Article
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:13
  New York Times columnist Paul Krugman on Sunday asserted that the National Rifle Association (NRA) had been "revealed as an insane organization" that "has this vision that we're living in a Mad Max movie" because it wants to put more guns in schools instead of supporting universal background checks and limits on military-style weapons.
  During a panel segment on ABC, former Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina said she supported universal background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines, but "both sides have overplayed" their arguments on gun control after the December massacre of 20 school children in Newtown, Connecticut.
  "We've gotten glimpse into the mindset of the pro-gun people," Krugman observed. "And we've seen certainly with [NRA CEO] Wayne LaPierre and some of these others, it's bizarre, they have this vision that we're living in a Mad Max movie and that nothing can be done about it, that America cannot manage unless everybody's prepared to shoot intruders, that the idea that we have a police force that provides public safety is somehow totally impractical, despite the fact that that is in fact the way we live."
  "Now the craziness of the pro-gun lobby has been revealed," he added. "And that has got to move the debate and got to move legislation, at least to some degree."
  But Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Lou Barletta said that he was comfortable with the NRA's opposition to universal background checks because the idea was a "perfect example of why Washington is broke."
  "I know people will get guns no matter what laws we pass, just like the illegal drugs," Barletta argued.
  "I just caught you on a false statement there," Krugman interrupted. "Because at least I do believe that guns are the root. There are crazy people everywhere, but mass murders are a lot more common here... I looked at the international differences, and countries that have effective gun control have a lot fewer incidents."
  "Will banning a spoon stop obesity? Of course not," Barletta quipped.
  "There are plenty of gun owners that are fine, but the NRA is now revealed as an insane organization," Krugman pointed out. "And that matters quite a lot."
Roger Faxon: A manager of creative disruption
  Link to Article
  Source: LIVE@LEEDS
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:01
  Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson 02/03/13 Financial Times
  Roger Faxon tugs on a pulley to take an eccentric old elevator up to the Tribeca loft apartment he moved into last month after stepping down as chief executive of EMI. He has not had time to hang all his contemporary art, but his tall, 13-year-old poodle looks settled in, and orchids and a plate of biscuits are arranged neatly on a long wooden table. ''I learnt about always having cookies from working with the British,'' he says.
  It seems civilised and calm after 18 years at the company behind The Beatles and Katy Perry, which ended in September with the sale of EMI's record labels to Universal Music.
  When Jim Fifield, the former head of EMI's recorded music business '' known as Lucky Jim, thanks to the generous bonuses he was paid '' suggested in 1994 that Mr Faxon should join EMI to run business development, he said music was ''the easiest business in the world'', Mr Faxon recalls. Instead, the following years put Mr Faxon through a crash course in managing disruption.
  Mr Faxon had looked up his old contact when seeking to leave the auction house Soth­eby's after a gruelling re­structuring job. EMI, by contrast, had experienced a decade of rising profits thanks to the CD, the Walkman, retail mega­stores and global expansion. Mr Faxon says that in 1994 he had ''been beating my brains out'' trying to reorganise Sotheby's, and that EMI ''sound­ed like nirvana''.
  Within a few years, however, EMI was battling digital piracy, Napster's file-sharing and regulators who refused to let it merge with a rival. By 2002, when Mr Faxon became finance director, it was on the day of one of many profit warnings, and ''the business was in financial free fall''.
  EMI's last five years before being broken up and sold were spent labouring under debts in­curred in Guy Hands' 2007 buyout, and then in the hands of Citigroup, his lender. Mr Faxon was one of the few constants at EMI and has taken time to reflect on the lessons of those years.
  One of the biggest, he says, is that because music executives re­lied on retail and radio intermediaries to tell them what consumers liked, they failed to understand how customer behaviour was changing '' and to change products and services accordingly. ''How many times,'' he says, ''have you tried to open a CD and said 'who in God's name designed this?''Š''
  Irritating consumers with fiddly casing is nothing compared to suing them, however. The industry's battles with Napster users are now seen as its cardinal blunder in the digital era. But within the music companies, Mr Faxon says, they seemed logical. After a legal victory against MP3.com in 2000, the industry felt it was winning. ''The reality is that the consumer was changing, and the guy who understood that was Steve Jobs.''
  Piracy, file-sharing and iTunes broke the industry's ability to make profits through controlling distribution. This triggered successive restructurings '' each one ''less and less thoughtful and more and more driven by just panic''.
  Even before Mr Hands' buyout six years ago, EMI still saw itself as a big company rather than recognising the need to reinvent itself as a more nimble competitor. And even before interest charges on its buyout debt outstripped earnings, maintaining the high dividends of a previous era sapped the company's cash.
  Mr Faxon says he had a good relationship with Mr Hands, who, after running EMI himself and trying out two CEOs, put him in charge. But he adds: ''The leverage that was put on the business was unconscionable. It was unrealistic even with the best of strategies.'' He says Mr Hands is ''always working on options, always looking for different answers and never comfortable until he's explored every possibility''.
  As those options ran out, Mr Faxon spent much of his time urging people to distinguish between its woeful capital structure and its improving operating performance.
  As CEO, he scrapped a predecessor's reporting structure that left EMI ''constantly in a process of evaluation'', but his own big strategic move was un­wound by its break-up. In 2010 he decided EMI must become a ''global rights management'' company, ending the traditional split between recorded music and music publishing. Some rivals doubted the strategy, but Mr Faxon says sharing knowledge across divisions proved its value.
  ''The shining light in this thing is that [EMI] decided to really take seriously understanding the consumer,'' he says. Its consumer insight team helped launch hits from artists including Lady Antebellum, David Guetta and Tinie Tempah, but most media companies are still ''light years away'' from truly understanding the insights that data analytics offers.
  Mr Faxon did not go through classic management training or follow a career plan. With a degree in int­er­national relations and economics, he passed up Harvard Law School for a job in shipping that involved troubleshooting when a crew mutinied or a captain refused to pay a bribe. Instead of Harvard Business School, he chose a New York redevelopment organisation before moving on to the Congressional Budget Office. After working with Washington heavyweights such as Jack Lew, then a political aide and now Treasury secretary nominee, Mr Faxon stumbled into the media sector.
  Asked to organise film director George Lucas's investments, the task turned into a job that included overseeing actors' contracts on movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark. ''I wouldn't mind hanging out with Harrison Ford, but what I really did like doing was figuring out how to make the business work so Harrison could get another job,'' Mr Faxon says. He caught the film bug and co-founded a production company that made Bull Durham, Tequila Sunrise and Frantic. Stints at TriStar and Columbia Pictures followed.
  . . .
  Mr Faxon portrays each step on the winding road to EMI in similar terms: as a knotty restructuring job needing both a firm financial focus and a sensitivity to creative talent. ''How do you maintain the discipline in a way that doesn't stifle the creativity? That's the secret of running a creative business,'' he says.
  He has not decided what to do next. He is on the board of Johns Hopkins University, his alma mater, helping it look at massive open online courses (Moocs) and the digital revolution in higher education, and rec­ently became a director of ITV. The UK broadcaster approached him for his experience of media, the US market, ''the travails of digital'' and regulatory issues, he says.
  He ducks suggestions that he might take another big music industry role, saying: ''I'm just interested in getting a really juicy, interesting set of issues to get my hands around.''
  Mr Faxon has not lost his appetite for disruption.
  The CV
  '—� Born: 1948'—� Education: BA in international relations and economics from Johns Hopkins University'—� Career: Early roles in a shipping company, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, Congressional Budget Office and House Budget Committee'—� 1980-84: Executive vice-president, then chief operating officer at Lucasfilm'—� 1984-86: Co-founds Mount Company, a film and TV production firm'—� 1986-90: Executive at TriStar, then senior executive vice-president of Columbia Pictures'—� 1990-94: COO of Sotheby's North America, then chief executive of Sotheby's Europe'—� 1994-02: Joined EMI to run business development and strategy'—� 2002-05: chief financial officer'—� 2005-09: COO, then co-CEO, then chairman and CEO of EMI Music Publishing'—� 2009-12: CEO of EMI'—� Interests: Skiing, coaching daughter's football team, reading
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  Tags: EMI, Roger Faxon
  This entry was posted on February 4, 2013 at 11:04 am and is filed under Executives, music Industry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Cattle Drive
  Link to Article
  Source: Clusterfuck Nation
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:51
  How hilarious is the Federal Reserve's cattle drive of cash money (i.e. "liquidity") into the stock markets? I'll tell you: if that cash is outflow from bonds that pay ZIRP interest rates, then this attempt to stampede investment into the stock market is only going to succeed in ravaging the bond market and by extension the credibility of the dollar, the US banking cartel, and then the world financial system as a whole. If bond-dumpers rush into stocks, then who are the next bond buyers at ZIRP? The USA can't keep going without continuous bond selling. Somebody has to buy the darn things. The Federal Reserve is now buying around 70 percent of US issue -- a lot of it via secondary market pass-thru shenanigans involving "Primary dealers" (a.k.a. Too Big To Fail banks, who get to cream off a premium when they flip bonds to the Fed -- tidy little racket). If the other 30 percent of issue can't find willing buyers at ZIRP then interest rates will have to go up. If interest rates go up, then interest paid out on bonds (that is "debt service") by the US government will go up catastrophically, because the aggregate debt is so colossal and most of the debt is short term, meaning that in a post-ZIRP world the interest rate ratchets up automatically every 13 weeks as bonds roll over. The US will then only be able to pretend that it can service the debt at higher interest rates. Everybody in the world will recognize this -- surely only increasing the velocity of the stampede away from bonds. The question is: how long can pretending to service debt go on before it is just called by it's real name: default? Or, if countered with additional furious computer "money" creation: hyperinflation? Either way, of course, you end up broke. This cattle drive into stocks is strictly a political gambit. The cattle are being driven to the slaughterhouse. It's discretionary strategic national financial suicide. They're driving up the stock markets for cosmetic purposes, to make it appear that an economic recovery is going on, and with the aim of setting in motion a self-reinforcing financial feeding frenzy in this rush to "equities." By the way, in case my manner seems didactic today I am attempting to define my terms as I go along because most other financial bloggers seem to assume that ordinary people understand all their jargon, which I am quite sure they do not. Returning to my point... the Fed and their auditors on Wall Street and in government, are jacking up the stock markets in the hopes of stirring up "animal spirits," as the financial psychologists say, to put over the story that it equals a vibrant economy -- which is nonsense, of course, to anyone who shoots a casual glance at the economic wreckage all around them. Anyway, since the stock market action these days is dominated by high frequency trading robots running on algorithms, where exactly would animal spirits even factor in? If anything the absence of real animal spirits in this action also implies the absence of its counterpart, animal survival instinct, of which human intelligence is an order. What can come of stirring up animal spirits among robots? A train wreck is exactly what. Now, I ask you: at a moment in history when vast interlinked global financial markets have never been so unstable, so primed for unintended consequences courtesy of the diminishing returns of technology, so ripe for a massive, cascading "accident," is it a prudent thing to fuck around with such crude PsyOps? One other factor outside pure financials assures that US economic performance will remain impaired (that is, the kind of economic activity we regard as "normal" (suburban sprawl building, credit card "consumer" spending): the price of oil, which is inching up to the $100-a-barrel hashmark. Apparently that shale oil bonanza we hear so much about has not left the USA swimming in cheap oil. As a general principle, it's probably safe to say that an oil price above $80 crushes the US economy. It drives up the cost structure of just about everything we make, do, or sell here, but of course the primary things that go up in price are food and motor fuel. Hence, it's tragically ironic that -- getting back to official financial PsyOps -- that one of the primary motives for the Fed keeping interest rates super-low in the first place (apart from enabling wild fiscal irresponsibility in government) has been to promote the housing sector -- because in the reality of our time "housing" translates into building more suburban sprawl. How smart is it to promote more suburban sprawl at a moment in history when there's no more cheap oil? It is this kind of stupendous foolishness that is putting the USA on the path of an epochal systemic collapse.Did anyone notice how violent and psychotic the Superbowl advertising was this year? An Oreo commercial that depicted a mob of nerds destroying a library -- huh? The Doritos spot where "Daddy" and his male buddies transform themselves into an insane clown posse of cross-dressers. The Fast and Furious 6 trailer featuring the destruction of every vehicle known to man and a few office buildings, too. The third-quarter power failure was a neat harbinger of things-to-come in the Most Exceptional United States of America. Party on, peeps!____________________________________
Guano Islands Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Link to Article
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:36
  The Guano Islands Act (11 Stat. 119, enacted 18 August 1856, codified at 48 U.S.C. ch.8 §§ 1411-1419) is federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress that enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of other governments. It also empowers the President of the United States to use the military to protect such interests and establishes the criminal jurisdiction of the United States.
  Whenever any citizen of the United States discovers a deposit of guano on any island, rock, or key, not within the lawful jurisdiction of any other Government, and not occupied by the citizens of any other Government, and takes peaceable possession thereof, and occupies the same, such island, rock, or key may, at the discretion of the President, be considered as appertaining to the United States.'--first section of Guano Islands Act
  [edit]BackgroundIn the 1840s, guano came to be prized as a source of saltpeter for gunpowder as well as an agricultural fertilizer. In 1855, the U.S. learned of rich guano deposits on islands in the Pacific Ocean. Congress passed the Guano Islands Act to take advantage of these deposits.
  The act specifically allows the islands to be considered a possession of the U.S., but it also provided that the U.S. was not obliged to retain possession after the guano was exhausted. However, it did not specify what the status of the territory was after it was abandoned by private U.S. interests. The implication is that it would return to its former status as terra nullius.
  This is the beginning of the concept of insular areas in U.S. territories. Up to this time, any territory acquired by the U.S. was considered to have become an integral part of the country unless changed by treaty and eventually to have the opportunity to become a state of the Union. With insular areas, land could be held by the federal government without the prospect of its ever becoming a state in the Union.
  The provision of the Act establishing U.S. criminal jurisdiction over such islands was considered and ruled constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in Jones v. United States, 137 U.S.202 (1890).
  [edit]ClaimsMore than 100 islands have been claimed for the U.S. under the Guano Islands Act. Most are no longer considered United States territory; those remaining under U.S. claim are:
  Unlike some of the other Islands claimed under the Guano Act of 1856, but whose ownership was also disputed, a series of events cemented Navassa Island becoming part of the United States. Because of the actions of Haiti due to its own claim to Navassa Island, President James Buchanan issued Executive Orders establishing United States territorial jurisdiction beyond just the Guano Act. The United States Supreme Court in 1890 ruled the Guano Act of 1856 constitutional; and, citing the actions of the Executive Branch, amongst other points in Law, determined Navassa Island as pertaining to the United States. See: ''Jones v. United States, 137 U. S. 202 (1890)'' Control of Navassa Island was transferred by the Department of the Interior to the Director of the Office of Insular Affairs under Order No. 3205 on January 16, 1997, both the Department of the Interior, and Insular Affairs, would later grant administration responsibilities to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service under Order No. 3210 on December 3, 1999. Order No 3210 also established a 12 nautical mile territorial sea boundary for the United States around Navassa Island.
  There are complicated case deals with Serranilla Bank and the Bajo Nuevo Bank, where multiple countries claim ownership. In 1899, a claim was even made on Fox Island, Quebec.
  In 1964, Leicester Hemingway, brother of author Ernest Hemingway, attempted to establish a country (or more appropriately, a micronation) dubbed the Republic of New Atlantis, on an 8 x 30 foot bamboo raft anchored with an engine block outside the territorial waters of Jamaica, using the Guano Islands Act as part of a claim to sovereignty. His apparent intention was to use the new country as the headquarters for his own International Marine Research Society, with which he planned to further marine research, as well as to protect Jamaican fishing. His claim was never recognized by either the USA or Jamaica, and the raft was destroyed in a storm in 1966.[3][4]
  In 1971, the U.S. and Honduras signed a treaty recognizing Honduran sovereignty over the Swan Islands.
  [edit]See also[edit]References[edit]External links
Australia Takes Over US Military As Obama War Crimes Fears Grow
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  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:16
  World's Largest English Language News Service with Over 500 Articles Updated Daily
  "The News You Need Today'...For The World You'll Live In Tomorrow."
  What You Aren't Being Told About The World You Live In
  IronMountainApocalypse: The True Story Of 2013
  A ''must have'' book for those seeking to understand the true events surrounding the most troubled years of our modern times. (Continued)
  Picking up the Pieces: Practical Guide for Surviving Economic Crashes, Internal Unrest and Military SuppressionBy: Sorcha Faal ''In the span of less than 3 months gasoline prices will rise 500%. The prices of both food and shelter rise over 300%. (Continued)
  Partisans Handbook:By: Sorcha Faal ''Essential Survival Guide For Resisting Foreign Military Occupation, Escape And Evasion Techniques, Surviving Interrogation, Facing Execution, Wilderness Survival (Continued)
  February 4, 2013
  AustraliaTakes Over US Military As Obama War Crimes Fears Grow
  By:Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers
  A stunning Foreign Military Intelligence Main Directorate (GRU) report circulating in the Kremlin today states that for the first time in United States history, a significant number of American military forces have been put under the command of a foreign general over fears President Obama may, at some future date, be charged with ''crimes against humanity.''
  According to this GRU report, during the past fortnight Australian Major General Richard Burr[photo 2nd left] was named by the Pentagon as the new Deputy Commanding General for Operations at United States Pacific Command (USARPAC) out of Hawaii, an action unheard of in all of American military history.
  Major General Burr, this report continues, is one of Australia's most distinguished military officers having spent the majority of his career with his nations Special Forces units, and with the USARPAC command he is now heading gives him total US military jurisdiction in Hawaii, Alaska, the Pacific Ocean, South Korea and Japan. USARPAC also performs missions in Southeast Asia, in the countries such as the Philippines and Bangladesh.
  With the Obama regime announcing their plans in November, 2011 to establish a permanent military presence in Australia, for the first time since World War II, to counterbalance China's growing power, this report says, Australian fears have grown over the US Presidents increasing use of ''war methods'' which have now brought him into direct conflict with the United Nations.
  The ''war methods'' Obama is accused of in this report include, kill lists, rampant drone strikes upon civilian targets, and the supporting of torture methods and armaments outlawed by the Geneva Convention.
  Unlike the United States, GRU military analysts say in this report, Australia, since 1 July 2002 is a signatory member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and should their troops be associated with Obama regime war crimes would face prosecution.
  The ICC is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression (in 2017) which the United States, under both the Bush and Obama regimes, has yet to ratify.
  Even worse, this report says, is the Obama regime stating that they will not cooperate with the United Nations drone attack investigation, and which, also, led to the Federal Council (FC) last month considering laws labeling the government of the United States as a ''criminal regime.''
  This unprecedented placement of Major General Burr into direct control over US military personal, this report further states, is a measure insisted upon Australia in order to protect itself against both the ICC and UN as their nation has outlawed the ''war methods'' currently practiced by the Obama regime.
  In addressing some of those ''war methods'' employed by the US military, the highly respected American author and political consultant Naomi Wolf, writing in London's Guardian newspaper yesterday, warned that even Obama's assassins are ''shell-shocked'' at how the ''kill lists'' they are given keep expanding.
  According to Ms Wolf's research on Obama's personal assassins, known as Joint Special Operations Command (JSoc) her Guardian article titled JSoc: Obama's Secret Assassins, chillingly says:
  ''JSoc operates outside the traditional chain of command; it reports directly to the president of the United States. In the words of Wired magazine:
  "JSoc operates with practically no accountability."
  Scahill calls JSoc the president's "paramilitary". Its budget, which may be in the billions, is secret. What does it means for the president to have an unaccountable paramilitary force, which can assassinate anyone anywhere in the world?''
  To what the Obama regime is planning to do with its rapidly expanding private army of assassins is even more chilling, according to the influential World Net Daily (WND) News Service, who in their article titled Why Is Government Stockpiling Guns, Ammo?, in part, says: ''And, if that's why Washington is stockpiling massive amounts of ammunition (hollow points, by the way), why is Homeland Security doing the buying instead of the Defense Department?''
  WND further quotes Obama as saying in 2008, ''We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.'', and notes that, to date, his regime has spent over $439 billion to build this ''domestic army.''
  To whom this ''domestic army'' is to used against (and has purchased enough ammunition to shoot every single American citizen 6 times over) this report warns is the outcry these people when have when Obama begins seizing their retirement accounts (known as 401-k's) which now equal $19.4 trillion.
  According to the highly influential American economic blog Zero Hedge, the Obama regimes planned confiscation of this mass wealth is much nearer than many will admit, and as they, in part, write ''The obvious concept is that when the government runs out of money, or they face a drying up in interest for its debt, they will come for the $19.4 trillion in American's retirement accounts. It seems that day may be finally drawing near.''
  To how the American people are responding to allowing their soldiers to be led by a foreign general it is not in our knowing as, and as always, the propaganda media in their country continues refusing to tell them the truth'...about anything.
  February 4, 2012 (C) EU and US all rights reserved. Permission to use this report in its entirety is granted under the condition it is linked back to its original source at WhatDoesItMean.Com. Freebase content licensed under CC-BY and GFDL.
  [Ed. Note: Western governments and their intelligence services actively campaign against the information found in these reports so as not to alarm their citizens about the many catastrophic Earth changes and events to come, a stance that the Sisters of Sorcha Faal strongly disagrees with in believing that it is every human beings right to know the truth. Due to our missions conflicts with that of those governments, the responses of their 'agents' against us has been a longstanding misinformation/misdirection campaign designed to discredit and which is addressed in the report ''Who Is Sorcha Faal?''.]
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Still Begunning
  Link to Article
  Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:47
  This blog writes the hard things, and the the things that require stating. It is the reason it is in the brier patch and holds point. It is the reason the noteworthy stay the hell away as they know manipulations and bribes will not work here.The brier patch is not a place for braggarts, fools or frauds, or for people who have the resources and cowardly qualities to hide in Chic Fil A orders
  There is a line in True Grit when John Wayne pulls his Colt on Glenn Campell who is beating on the ass of the girl in that story, and Rooster Cogburn says, "You're enjoying it too much".
  The Soldiers who resurrected sniping as an artform in the United States Navy in Land and Burke, and their star Wimbledon marksman, Carlos Hathcock, set about a course of professionalism as sniper. The whispering death had one purpose and that was to disrupt the enemy on their own country in numbers that would rival several platoons.
  Sgt. Hathcock once washed out a gunner, who decided to play in mock shooting a Vietnamese civilian. Those who desire attention have no purpose as snipers, as it makes not only them targets, but teaches the enemy to employ like means.Braggarts need no apply.Carlos Hathcock had 92 confirmed kills. His longest piece of work was with a 50 caliber machine gun. He noted the Army had a sniper they hauled around in his own Hughey to make kills. Sgt. Hathcock and the Marines hunted the enemy on their own ground from their own fire bases they walked from.
  This blog has covered the most lethal sniper in Simo H¤yh¤. He shot 700 Russians in winter weather, at temperatures of 40 below zero with snow. He did this at the front with the Russian military hunting him.Numbers though mean nothing, as one can only acquire numbers if the hunting is good and the idiots abound.Carlos Hathcock killed one of the best Asian snipers ever produced and one of thee most lethal Vietnamese French breeds who was a terrorists. Those kills saved hundreds of American lives and accounted for more kill ratio than some Siberian private or some turban head.
  I never met Chris Kyle, but in forensic psychology, I do not want to be around those who write books about killing people in catharsis, hide behind beards, wear skull caps and have needs for publicity as their big SEAL watches.His alleged shooter enjoyed compensation in being a Marine, having a big black 1 ton truck with big tires and rims in a Ford F 350. A beard too, and that same look of death in his eyes.Individuals who gravitate toward the elite warrior class are individuals looking to validate themselves in large ways.
  This blog has noted what the end of the Bush43 and the now Obama era has done to the US military in turning it's women into whores and the men in combat are drugged sociopaths being dumped back into society in part screaming for help in acting out in books being written or that wonderful delayed stress.
  Eddie Routh, is already being defined in those terms of stress, being helped by Kyle, and somehow in this we have a rather odd scenario like all these scenarios run like a Mike Gallagher Ambien episode at Sandy Hook.There are no details in this story, and that is suspect as all stories are cut and paste, meaning from one Mockingbird source to condition the public.Apparently Routh shot two people he knew at a remote gun range at a charity event for Kyle's security company.....Kyle handled Sarah Palin's media movie and Kyle punched Jesse Ventura in the mouth.What bothers me are the forensics in what is being covered over. Routh alledgedly shot the two people, one his neighbor and the other Kyle. Yes it was point blank, but no details on the forensics to examine what really took place.We know from this in what is being glazed over is, Routh had to have rummaged through the corpse of Kyle for some reason as Routh stole Kyle's vehicle to get away.That is puzzling in his knowing Kyle's vehicle, choosing to become Kyle in that vehicle, instead of the neighbor who one would think would have transported Routh. Things like that do not add up, unless one is looking at the volumes of drugs being given to this soldier mob of psychotics abused overseas and dumped back into America for self destruction.Routh was apprehended by police in a chase and crash in his then big Ford. Once again if one just murdered two people, one does not hang around the city cruising in your big truck. A Marine would by instinct run. It is what Lee Harvey Oswald did in Dallas.Did Routh even know he did what he did or is there something much larger taking place here, in a friend of Sarah and Todd Palin's, who just happened to kill a number of Barack Hussein Obama's al Qaeda friends in Iraq, like that other publicity seeking group of SEALS, simply in security competition, have his contract purchased?Odd is it not that one never hears of any Delta Force people having like results. Should not Congress examine why is it that SEALS are dropping like flies under Obama and Delta Force has no problems foreign or domestic.To put this for understanding, if Eddie Routh who is being donned with three names like Lee Harvey Oswald, has already had his personal medical data leaked to the press, is a Jared Loughner or any of these other Jokers and Hookers abounding in this Age of Obama, who activated this mind on Sirhan Sirhan Obamchurian with no Andrew Breitbart or Aaron Swartz types around to take the blame?An operation of this scope would have like Breitbart had to have come from inside the US protectorate. It would have enlisted a list of locals with "problems" in their sealed military medical files to make a patsy of them.That does not mean Tehran or Damascus, that means someone in the Middle East or someone in other security who did not like the competition or someone in the regime offering up an offering to al Qaeda in more SEAL on the wall, engaged in an operation utilizing former intelligence and military assets to conduct this operation in the contract was purchased for this event.The cover for this, knowing the web American security has, would have been signed off a top level for the FBI to "ignore" Homeland and NSA data being mined.Is this the biggest murder in Texas since Dallas in November at the Plaza, or is this a passive homicide of known drug created psychotics meant to terrorize communities, or is it an operation of a little of both.In 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald's hand print by miracle appeared on a rifle, so in any operation magic details with the accused could appear. As stated, Sirhan Sirhan's brain had left the building when security shot Robert Kennedy. Did Routhe fire the shots, did someone else, was Routhe even there, and that was the reason the boob was driving around town later as word went out.See in a land of sown cover ups and lies of Barack Hussein Obama from Wadgate, ANALGATE to Sandy Hook, the conspiracy trails is set based on Dallas to make the public too confused to know what to make of anything.The data clamp down on this story from the start points to Mockingbird, and it's fast cut and paste, reveals that someone wants this story defined exactly on the talking points of a nut Marine killing a braggart SEAL who liked high numbers of dead Muslims.
  The SEALS who broke protocols in the bin Laden situation, were offered up in payment in kind by this regime. We know for a fact that Chris Steven's anal region was reamed for the Obama 2012 election theft. We know in TURKEYGATE that Obama was arming terrorists in Syria. We know Obama had terror bases in Libya and that Obama armed the Mali and Algerian terrorists with Khadaffi weapons.We know US Soldiers were put in kill zones in Afnamistan as an Obama quid pro quo with is good terrorists, to murder Americans over there than here.We know Obama has yet to call Nidal Hassan a terrorist or to prosecute him for Fort Hood, as Hassan grows his Sharia beard for court.We know people die like Andrew Breitbart who were murdered. We know Gabby Giffords being shot scared the bajesus out of Sarah Palin to keep her out of the 2012 race as the Rovians set her up and Obama blamed the Rovians.I have doubts a trained killer like Chris Kyle could not evaluate a psychotic to approach. That means drugs were involved coming from the Obama regime which triggered this as in other suicide and murder events.That is the least of this, the expansion version is an inside operation which Chris Kyle's life was contracted for from outside sources, and inside sources set up and operation to pay off a debt in murdering this man and blaming another patsy Marine.....in Texas which just happens to be against Obama gun control.There appears someone signed off on something, and it is evident that like Sandy Hook and other shooter events that Mockingbird was engaged early as in Gabby Giffords, who appeared flapping her arms and sounding off about gun control on cue.I do not trust this situation as it has a cleanliness about it in fitting just too perfect a pattern story line, and all in notorious anti Obama Texas.These operations are very professional in all aspects. The flies are being picked off the carcase.Perhaps those sitting silent should hint at what is going on, before they become picked off too as hush money and hush power just does not keep death away.
DARPA's 1.8 gigapixel drone camera is a high-res Fourth Amendment lawsuit waiting to happen
  Link to Article
  Sun, 03 Feb 2013 23:54
  As unmanned aerial vehicles continue to populate the skies above battlefields and college campuses faster than anyone can count them, the US government has taken a keen interest in equipping them with an increasing number of state-of-the-art surveillance technologies. The latest to be revealed is DARPA's frightening ARGUS-IS, a record-setting 1.8 gigapixel sensor array which can observe and record an area half the size of Manhattan. The newest in the family of "wide area persistent surveillance" tools, the system can detect and track moving objects as small as six inches from 20,000 feet in the air.
  But what's most terrifying about ARGUS (fittingly named after Argus Panoptes, the 100-eyed giant of Greek myth) is what happens afterward: the system gives its owner (and eventually, DARPA says, a well-programmed A.I.) the ability to scan an entire city for all sorts of "suspicious" activity, not just in real-time but after the fact. It all adds up to around 6 petabytes (6,000 terabytes) worth of 12 frames-per-second video per day.
  What's really interesting is that the system is kind of a hack-job. Its massive resolution comes from chaining together 368 5-megapixel cellphone cameras '-- something similar doesn't seem like it would be impossible to reproduce on a civilian scale. The image processing, however, is another story. ARGUS' real-time surveillance capabilities rely on both on-board and ground-based processing, which need to transmit to the tune of 600 gigabits per second, though DARPA won't disclose exactly how they'd be able to run that kind of network from the air.
  The new info comes from "Rise of the Drones," a new PBS NOVA TV special-bordering-on-infomercial which was funded in part by drone manufacturer Lockheed Martin '-- seemingly in direct violation of PBS' own underwriting guidelines. It's not clear where ARGUS-IS will be used just yet, but its probably a safe bet we'll see it as payload on the cheap and ubiquitous MQ-1 Predator drone. Don't expect it to stay in war zones, though '-- thanks in part to a recent Department of Homeland Security initiative, the FAA estimates 30,000 drones in US skies in the next 20 years, and it's a probably safe to assume that ARGUS isn't far behind, with a trail of potential Fourth Amendment violations in tow.