U.S. Intelligence Agencies Agree: No Evidence of Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program

Source: End The Lie
Madison Ruppert

Despite the repeated statements made by United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta which have clearly indicated that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons and the analysis of the American intelligence community, the heated anti-Iranian rhetoric never seems to let up.

Indeed, it has even been reported by none other than the New York Times that intelligence analysts in America have yet to find any hard evidence indicating that Iran has even decided to construct a nuclear bomb.

American intelligence assessments have continued to be congruent with the 2007 intelligence report which clearly concluded that Iran had in fact completely abandoned their nuclear program years before (scroll to the bottom of the article to read the embedded report).

According to anonymous U.S. officials, this assessment was reinforced by the 2010 National Intelligence Estimate and “it remains the consensus view of America’s 16 intelligence agencies.”

So, how can the governments of the United States and Israel continue to ignore their own intelligence agencies and nonsensically push forward with the effort to go to war with Iran?

If nothing else, it has become painfully clear that our so-called leaders are ignoring any and all contrary evidence which might weaken their war effort and making the relentless push towards war.

Engdahl: 'Greek Bailout Terms Remind of Hitler Epoch'

Source: RT

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging her lawmakers to support the new rescue package for Greece. This despite worries that Athens will need even more cash in the future, and suggestions from Germany's Interior Minister that it's time Greece left the Eurozone altogether. The 130-billion euro bailout was agreed in principle last week after months of tense discussions among the Eurozone leaders. Germany, as Europe's richest economy, has to contribute the majority towards it. But there is a sense of unease in Berlin that it will have to keep coughing up cash to prevent a Greek debt default. It's the second bailout in a little over 18 months would ensure Athens can pay its debtors for the time being. To discuss the possible outcome of this package, RT is joined by political analyst William Engdahl.

Language Imperialism - Dr. Thorsten Pattberg on GRTV

Source: GRTV

As China, Russia, and the other so-called BRICS nations rise in economic and geopolitical power, interest in these countries' language and culture is increasing in the West. Dr. Thorsten Pattberg of Peking University examines the ways that translation of certain key concepts misrepresents history and culture.

This is the GRTV Feature Interview for Global Research TV with host James Corbett and guest Dr. Thorsten Pattberg.

Mainscream Media: Iran hysteria stirring up in US

Source: RT

Anti-Iranian rhetoric from Israel and Western powers seems to be having some impact on the U.S. public, according to opinion polls. The latest survey shows that a third of Americans now see the Islamic Republic as their country's worst enemy, compared to just 25 percent a year ago. RT's Marina Portnaya reports now on the intensity of the anti-Iranian message flooding the U.S. media - and its impact.

CIA-NATO Front Group Drafts "Humanitarian Aid" For Syria

Source: Infowars
Kurt Nimmo

An effort to impose the sort of “humanitarian aid” on Syria that ultimately killed around 30,000 people in Libya is underway in Tunisia.

CNN reports that “world powers” – corrupt states belonging to the Arab League and ultimately members of the European Union – are “mapping out a plan to deliver humanitarian aid” in Syria under the banner of “Friends of Syria.”

On Thursday, Secretary of State Clinton gave her blessing to a move to arm the Syrian opposition. CNN attempted to soften the deadly impact of Clinton’s move to initiate a fresh round of terror and murder by stating that “the opposition will find willing sources to supply them with munitions to counter the Syrian government onslaught blamed for thousands of deaths.”

“There will be increasingly capable opposition forces,” Clinton hinted. “They will from somewhere, somehow, find the means to defend themselves as well as begin offensive measures.”

The latest “Arab Spring” effort to impose a new political order in Syria arrives after months of corporate media coverage portraying the al-Assad regime as murderous while ignoring reports of CIA and NATO snipers killing civilians.

An Arab League report issued earlier this month revealed that the Free Syria Army and other “armed opposition groups” are currently engaged in killing civilians and police and conducting terrorist attacks targeting innocent civilians.

Hysteria Replaces "International Law" in Search for Empire

Source: Tarpley.net

A New Anti-Imperialist Bloc of Nations Convened by Russia is Needed to Prevent a New Middle East War.

The US tries to break up existing countries and turn them into “rump states”, such as Libya that is descending into chaos, an analyst tells Press TV referring to the current situation in Syria. 

After vetoing an anti-Syria resolution in the UN Security Council earlier this month, China and Russia said that the current crisis in the Arab country should be resolved through political channels.

Meanwhile, the United States, Israel and some Arab States as well as al-Qaeda are seeking to overthrow the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March and many people have lost their lives in the violence.

The West and the Syrian opposition accuse the government of killing protesters. But Damascus blames “outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups” for the unrest, insisting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Webster Griffin Tarpley, author and historian from Washington, to share his opinion on this issue. The following is a transcript of the interview:

Space ball: UFO shocks Brazilians

Source: RT

An unidentified metal sphere has plunged from the sky on unsuspecting villagers in northern Brazil, causing an uproar. According to eyewitnesses, the UFO weighs about 50 kilograms and measures roughly one meter in diameter.

The sphere fell on Wednesday in a village of Riacho dos Poços in Brazilian Maranhão state. No casualties were reported apart from an unfortunate cashew tree that was severed by the object as it plunged to the ground, according to MR NOTÍCIAS, a Mata Roma news site.

Valdir José Mendes, 46, told police the sphere landed several meters from his house leaving a one-meter-deep hole in the yard. 

"I heard the noise and I went out to see what caused it. I thought it was a plane that had fallen, or an earthquake," he said.

The noise was such that Mendes was too scared to go outside. However, curiosity got the better of him and he headed outside to find the cashew tree’s trunk snapped in half by a mysterious metal sphere lying in a hole nearby.

Some 20 villagers joined Mendes to help him extract the object from the ground and examine it. Mendes says the sphere is hollow and if shaken some sort of liquid can be felt swishing inside. Locals quickly spread the news, as they reached the town of Mata Roma over 2,000 people flocked to see the “UFO”.

"It was a huge uproar here. Some feared it was the beginning of the 2012 end of the world, others said it was ‘alien’, but I think it is a piece of satellite," said Max Garreto Mauro, 25, a resident of Mata Roma. 

Peter Costa, the meteorologist at the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), agrees with Garetto, saying the object would probably be part of a satellite. "I'm sure this is not a weather balloon or part of it," he said as quoted by O Imparcia.

Military police confiscated the sphere and took it to the barracks in the nearby Mata Roma. They have not specified what the UFO’s possible future will be. In a statement the Air Force Command said it "does not have specialized structures to perform scientific research on this type of aerial phenomena, which prevents the institution to submit an opinion on these events."

Russian Secret Services: U.S., NATO, GCC Arm Syrian Rebels Through Iraq, Lebanon And Turkey

Source: Itar-Tass

“Huge batches of small arms and munitions for the Syrian Liberation Army’s troops are supplied from Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey, but unofficially, not through these countries’ governments,” the source said. “The supply list includes sub-machine guns, machine guns, sniper rifles and antitank grenade launchers.”

Russia’s military expert, Lieutenant General Leonid Sazhin told Itar-Tass that “the scenario that has already been developed and administered by the United States and their NATO allies, mainly by France, Britain and Turkey, as well as the monarchy regimes from the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, in particular Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, is being implemented in Syria.”

“This scenario was developed taking into account recent events in Libya, Egypt and other countries of the region with only one reservation – the lack of the UN Security Council resolution needed for the West. In fact, we see an unannounced military interference of some NATO member-states and countries of the region into Syria’s domestic affairs, who side with one of the conflicting parties – the armed opposition,” he said.

Sazhin noted that in addition to the Syrian National Council Syria’s refugees and army deserters in Turkey create a military structure - Supreme Revolutionary Council – led by Syrian army general Mustafa Ahmed al-Sheikh, who deserted to neighbouring Turkey.

'US Pays Price in Blood for Israel'

Source: PressTV


The US embassy is under lockdown and Afghan police have killed 20 people in protests spread across the country against the burning of the Koran by US troops.

Interview with James Morris, Editor of America-hijacked.com, Los Angeles.‎

Russia Continues to Take Action in Opposition to US-NATO ABM Program

Source: End The Lie
Madison Ruppert

Russia has been opposed to the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) program headed up by the United States and NATO for a considerable amount of time, this is far from news to anyone who has been keeping up with this issue.

However, in recent months, Russia has been taking what is arguably a more active and direct role in opposing the system currently being put in place in Europe (with some assets strategically placed in regions outside of continental Europe).

Indeed, not too long ago I reported on Russia’s move to roll out an advanced warning radar system of their own to compete with (and potentially defend against) the US-NATO program.

This announcement added to the long list of reasons why Russia has every right to be suspicious of the ultimate goal of the US-NATO missile shield by proving that the West has no interest in working with Russia.

Unsurprisingly, when Russia offered to have this advanced warning system integrated into the US-NATO system, their offer was not accepted.

At the time I wrote,

Russian President Medvedev stated that these could be used as part of a joint detection system, but obviously Europe has no interest in cooperating with Russia in such a project.

This fact deals a major blow to the false assertion that it is a purely peaceful, defensive measure. If this were the case, it would only make sense for the United States and NATO to integrate Russian systems in order to have more comprehensive detection system.

With all of the evidence piling up showing that this is not a purely defense measure to protect us from those evil people who hate us for our freedom as proponents laughably claim.

It appears that the Russian leadership is well aware of this and thus they are not stopping with just the additional radar systems.

Insider Says Talk of Paul-Romney Alliance is “Establishment Trick”

Source: Prison Planet
Paul Joseph Watson

Lew Rockwell: Rhetoric is a political ruse to make Ron Paul appear as a sell out.

Former Ron Paul staffer Lew Rockwell says that talk of an alliance between Mitt Romney and Ron Paul is an “establishment trick” to smear Paul by making him appear as a sell out.

Rockwell, who served as Ron Paul’s congressional chief of staff from 1978 to 1982 and remains close to Paul and several campaign insiders, told the Alex Jones Show that rhetoric about a potential partnership wherein Ron Paul would be granted a VP slot was merely a political ruse to “make Ron Paul supporters like Romney”.

The controversy received fresh impetus earlier this week when Rick Santorum and his campaign manager claimed Paul and Romney were in cahoots to shoot down Santorum’s candidacy. The talking point has subsequently been pushed by the mainstream media, including a Washington Post article today that speculates on whether the alliance is genuine.

Rockwell said that although Romney may be a pleasant person, his political positions are anathema to Ron Paul given the fact that he is a globalist, a big government advocate and a warmonger.

Buying the Vote: 12 Facts About Super PACs That Will Blow Your Mind

Source: Activist Post
Michael Snyder

In American politics, it takes an enormous amount of money to win campaigns, and the rise of the "Super PACs" is allowing the wealthy to exert even more influence over the political process than they did before.  When you examine the results of federal elections over the past several decades, you quickly discover that the candidate that raises the most money almost always wins.

Wealthy individuals are limited by law as to how much money they can give directly to a political campaign, but there are no limits on how much money they can give to Super PACs.  During the 2012 election season, some of these Super PACs actually have more money than the campaigns of the candidates that they support do.  Buying the vote is not illegal in America, and these Super PACs are buying huge amounts of advertising in key states.  Unfortunately, most Americans have never learned to think for themselves.  Instead, they let the television do much of their thinking for them.  If their trusted friend, the television, tells them to vote a certain way, then that is what they are likely to do.  Super PACs are much more likely to run negative ads than the actual candidates are, and we have already seen very negative ads dramatically move the poll numbers in some of the states.  Sadly, as long as very negative ads keep working people are going to keep using them.

Super PACs are supposed to be completely and totally "independent" of the campaigns that they support, but the reality is that many of these Super PACs are run and staffed by former top aides of the candidates.

Some of the candidates are relying on the Super PACs to be the "attack dogs," while they sit back and try to maintain a more "positive" image.  If a Super PAC goes too far, a candidate can simply claim that he does not have any control over that Super PAC.

If money did not influence elections, then people would stop giving so much of it to the campaigns and to the Super PACs.  The truth is that money does influence elections, and when wealthy individuals and big corporations are allowed to pour millions upon millions of dollars into these Super PACs it gives them a much, much larger say in the outcome of our elections than you and I have.

Let Your Life Be a Friction to Stop the Machine

Source: ClassWarFilms

This film is heavy but extremely powerful and necessary. These are indeed the times that try our souls as never before, and whether we become the hero of our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren, the next few years will surely show.

Greek Deal Leaves Europe on the Road to Disaster

Source: Bloomberg
Clive Cook

If Europe’s new plan for Greece succeeds, nobody will be more surprised than the politicians who designed it. At best, the arrangement is a holding action, one that fails yet again to deal with the much larger confidence crisis facing the euro area.

The deal announced on Tuesday starts with private lenders. Their representatives agreed to accept even bigger losses on Greek government bonds than previously discussed. The bonds’ face value will be cut by 53.5 percent, and they’ll pay a low interest rate, starting at 2 percent then rising later. Altogether, this reduces their net present value by about 75 percent, far more than deemed necessary just weeks ago.

If enough private lenders go along, that triggers the inter-governmental side of the plan: new official loans to cover Greece’s ongoing budget deficit and replace debt coming due. The terms include a lower interest rate on bailout loans as well as various other kinds of European Union taxpayer subsidy, folded in with greater or lesser degrees of stealth. The European Central Bank and national central banks, for example, will pitch in by channeling back to Greece the “profits” they have made on Greek bonds bought at deep discounts to face value. The International Monetary Fund is going to take part, too. 

Exactly how still isn’t clear.

If too many private lenders opt out, it’s back to the drawing board. Ditto if voters in Greece force the government to renege on promises to cut the minimum wage, make advance debt- service payments into an externally monitored account, change the constitution to prioritize debt repayment, accept oversight of public accounts by an on-site team of EU officials, and more.

That’s only a partial list of what might still derail the agreement. Even if it sticks, its designers don’t sound confident it will work. An official analysis leaked to the Financial Times discusses a “tailored downside scenario,” which, to many observers, looks more like a plausible central case.

Virginia Nullifies NDAA, Iran Oil Bourse, Illuminati Pimping - New World Next Week

Source: Corbett Report and Media Monarchy


Welcome back to New World Next Week — the video series from Corbett Report and Media Monarchy that covers some of the most important developments in open source intelligence news. This week:

Story #1: Virginia Votes to Refuse NDAA
http://ur1.ca/8blpk
Top Rated Oregon Talk Show Host Calls for States to Nullify NDAA
http://ur1.ca/8blpr

Story #2: Iran Oil Bourse to Trade In Non-US Dollar Currencies on March 20
http://ur1.ca/8blp9
Stocks Gained on Greece, Dow Briefly Hit 13,000
http://ur1.ca/8blpc

Story #3: DSK Arrested by French Police for ‘Complicity In Pimping’
http://ur1.ca/8blq7
Flashback: Sexual Assault Charges Against Ex-IMF Chief Dismissed
http://ur1.ca/8blql
Related: Whitney Houston Worth More Dead to Illuminati?
http://ur1.ca/8blr0

Visit http://NewWorldNextWeek.com to get previous episodes in various formats to download, burn and share. And as always, stay up-to-date by subscribing to the feeds from Corbett Report http://ur1.ca/39obd and Media Monarchy http://ur1.ca/kuec Thank you.

Previous Episode: Special Ops, Global Tax, Zombie Voters
http://ur1.ca/8blrb

Document Proves DHS is Monitoring Social Media for Government Criticism

Source: Prison Planet
Paul Joseph Watson

Keywords agency is tracking include “body scanner,” “nationalist” , “police,” and “immigration”

A Homeland Security training manual belies claims made by DHS representatives during a Congressional hearing last week that the federal agency is only monitoring social media outlets for “situational awareness,” and proves the fact that Big Sis is also tracking online criticism of government, including discussion of airport body scanners.

“Analysts for a Department of Homeland Security program that monitors social networks like Twitter and Facebook have been instructed to produce reports on policy debates related to the department, a newly disclosed manual shows,” reports the New York Times.

The manual, entitled Department of Homeland Security National Operations Center Media Monitoring Capability Desktop Reference Binder, was obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center via a FOIA request.

The controversy over DHS spying on social media erupted last month following the release of 300 documents which detailed how DHS had hired an outside contractor, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, to monitor social media outlets along with a list of websites, on a “24/7/365 basis,” in order to uncover “any media reports that reflect adversely on the U.S. Government and the Department of Homeland Security.”

During a subsequent Congressional hearing on the matter, DHS representatives Mary Callahan and Richard Chávez denied the fact that tracking criticism of government agencies formed any part of the program, and that the effort was merely aimed at developing “situational awareness” of potential threats, mostly related to extreme weather events.

However, the 2011 manual makes it abundantly clear that the program was a backdoor effort to keep tabs on what the American people were saying about not just the DHS, but a whole host of federal agencies, including the CIA, the ATF, the TSA, FEMA, as well as organizations outside of the U.S. government such as the United Nations and the Red Cross.

The County Sheriff Project with Sheriff Richard Mack

Source: Infowars

Over a hundred sheriffs from across the country came together at this convention to hear presentations on a wide variety of topics relevant to the powers and rights of their constitutional duties and oaths of office. It was a powerfully moving conference, and many videos are now online for your viewing at The County Sheriff Project YouTube Channel.
http://www.sheriffmack.com/
www.countysheriffproject.org 

[I'm Running for Congress in Texas]
http://sheriffmackforcongress.com/

Irresponsible Anti-Iranian Fear-Mongering

Source: SJLendman.com
Steve Lendman

Irresponsible anti-Iranian political and pack journalism rhetoric sound ominously like spurious Iraqi WMD threats in the run-up to the 2003 war.

In his January State of the Union address, Obama said:

"Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal."

At the same time, Netanyahu told Israel's Knesset:

"Only a combination of crippling sanctions and putting all the options on the table can make Iran stop" its nuclear program.

Republican presidential aspirants also use the issue irresponsibly. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum all support bombing Iran's nuclear sites and assassinating its scientists. Only Ron Paul's strongly opposed but hawkish din drowns him out.

Daily reports heighten the alleged "Iranian threat." Multiple rounds of sanctions were imposed. In late January, Israel's Mossad connected DEBKAfile reported Obama ordering a "massive US military buildup around Iran: up to 100,000 troops by March."

America's heaviest concentration of regional might matches its strength before invading Iraq in 2003. DEBKA suggested "May as (a) tentative date for clash(ing) with Iran."

On February 22, DEBKA stoked more fear headlining,"Iran cuts down to six weeks timeline for weapons-grade uranium," saying:

"Tehran this week hardened its nuclear and military policies in defiance of tougher sanctions and ahead of international nuclear talks."

Washington, NATO allies, Israel, and IAEA inspectors know Iran poses no nuclear threat. Nonetheless, pro-Western IAEA head Yukiya Amano said Tuesday night:

"It is disappointing that Iran did not accept our request to visit Parchin during the first or second meetings. We engaged in a constructive spirit, but no agreement was reached."

DEBKA claims its where Tehran "conducts experiments in nuclear explosives and triggers."

In fact, no evidence suggests Parchin Military Complex conducts nuclear related activities. IAEA's been there before, took environmental samples, and found nothing. Parchin manufactures and tests conventional explosives.

Adam Kokesh: Why The Media Ignored Veterans for Ron Paul Rally

Source: Infowars

Eye of the Storm: Western Plans for Iraq-Style Tension on Pakistan-Iran Border

Source: The Nation
S.R.H Hashmi

The Nation in its February 22 issue, has reported that the United States is putting pressure on Pakistani authorities to allow it to establish intelligence bases in the country’s Balochistan province to gather intelligence on Iran, and this report has been confirmed by two officials from the security agencies and one from diplomatic circles. Furthermore, the resolution introduced in the US Congress to recognize the right of Baloch people to self-determination is part of the pressure tactics to force Pakistan to give in. 

We heard so much about dictator Pervez Musharaf giving in to the US on one telephone call and that this would not have happened had a democratic government been in power then. However, continuation of drone attacks despite unanimous parliamentary resolutions against these as well as unequivocal condemnation by top civilian and military leaders, the Abbottabad operation and subsequent attack of Salalah post that killed 24 soldiers do not quite reassure the public of government’s strength. Of course Salalah attack drew strong response from civilian and military leaders, like stoppage of Nato supplies going through Pakistan, throwing out Americans from Shamsi airbase, and determining new terms of engagement with the US by the parliament. However, we heard that Nato supplies through our airspace resumed while the parliament has still not finalised its recommendations, which is surprising to say the least.  

We have not seen much way of good governance but hope that at least on a matter of such vital importance for Pakistan, the government would take a firm stand and will not accede to requests or even threats from Americans who are no friends of ours and are here to implement their agenda of redrawing the maps of Muslim states as well as depriving us of our nuclear weapons. Allowing the Americans to operate near the Iranian border would be doubly harmful because in addition to their subversive activities in Balochistan, they would successfully draw a wedge between us and friendly Iran. The Americans and their accomplices successfully created tension, between Shia and Sunni communities which have been living together peacefully in Iraq for ages. It would be a shame if we allow them to do the same here and thus cooperate with them in our own undoing and that of our neighbours, in return for a few dollars in aid or otherwise.

Top Social Media Websites Caught Censoring Controversial Content

Source: Washington's Blog

Censorship By Top Social Media Websites

Facebook pays low-wage foreign workers to delete certain content based upon a censorship list. For example, Facebook deletes accounts created by Palestinian resistance groups.

Digg was caught censoring stories which were controversial or too critical of the government. See this and this.

Now, even social media site Reddit – which helped launch the anti-Sopa Internet blackout and publicize GoDaddy’s slimy Sopa support – is doing the same thing.

As just one example, posts from this website are being censored by Reddit. Specifically, a friend of this site who has submitted stories to Reddit has received the following messages of rejection from a Reddit moderator named davidreiss666:

from davidreiss666 via /r/worldnews/

WashingtonBlog is not something we consider a good source for r/Worldnews. From davidreiss666 via /r/worldnews/

Please submit that story from an alternate domain. Thank you.

And another moderator named Maxion:

from Maxion via /r/worldnews/
I am sorry but this submission is not appropriate for this subreddit.

There are certainly also more open-minded moderators at Reddit. But a couple of censors can squash discussion on entire topics.

Why Are They Censoring?

Why are they censoring?

Well, censorship is rampant in America … and social media has grown so big that it has become a target as well.

In addition, as I pointed out last year [for ease of reading, we'll skip indentation]:
Wired reported on Friday:

The Pentagon is looking to build a tool to sniff out social media propaganda campaigns and spit some counter-spin right back at it.

Corbett Report Radio - Anarcho-Libertarianism with Dr. Walter Block

Source: Corbett Report
James Corbett

Tonight we talk to Dr. Walter Block, Professor of Economics at Loyola University and Senior Fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. We discuss positive and negative rights, blackmail, abortion, anarchism, and a host of other contentious issues in this wide-ranging philosophical edition of the broadcast.

Breaking News: Israel Backing Down from Iran Threats

Source: Global Research
Michael Carmichael

Israel is backing down from her threats to bomb Iran. 

In a scathing loss of face for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, diplomatic sources in Israel have revealed that President Shimon Peres will meet privately with President Obama at the White House before - repeat before Netanyahu. 

High level sources in Israel have just leaked a sanitized version of the President's plan to the Israeli press. But, there is much more to the story. In his meeting at the White House, Peres will inform Obama that Netanyahu has performed poorly in his handling of the Iran nuclear crisis and that bellicose statements from the Prime Minister's cabinet have been both self-intimidating and self-destructive.

Then after meeting with Peres, Obama will address AIPAC and finally meet with Netanyahu to counsel him on the sad fact of the self-inflicted damage to the diplomatic credibility of his right-wing government. More on the diplomatic kabuki in due course.

According to a report in Haaretz, by Yossi Verter (February 22, 2012), entitled Peres to tell Obama Israel should not strike Iran soon,

Empire, Power and People with Andrew Gavin Marshall - Episode 7

Source: Boiling Frogs Post
Andrew Gavin Marshall

Empire in the Arab World

 

Taking a look at the historical realities of Western imperialism in the Middle East and North Africa following World War II allows us to place current conflicts in a wider context and understanding. Briefly looking at the coup in Iran in 1953, the Egyptian Suez Crisis in 1956, the Syrian Crisis in 1957, and the independence struggles in North Africa against the French during the same period, we are able to see a recurring focus on the same major states as to this very day being strategically important for Western interests in a region of vast import for the United States. As one key U.S. adviser in the State Department acknowledged in 1945, Middle Eastern oil is “a stupendous source of strategic power, and one of the greatest material prizes in world history.” 

With research drawing from declassified State Department, Pentagon, CIA, National Security Council and White House documents from the era, the American Empire following World War II sought to define for itself a more pragmatic strategy aimed at domination, which simultaneously sought to separate itself from the formal colonial empires of France and Britain, while still serving their interests, and in supporting “moderate” and pro-Western Arab nationalists in the region in order to undermine the “extremist nationalists” like Nasser in Egypt, acknowledging that national liberation was a force of history through which the United States would have to navigate if it had any hope of maintaining itself as an imperial power.

Is The Federal Reserve Doing A Good Job?

Source: The American Dream

Have you noticed that very few people in the mainstream media ever directly criticize the Federal Reserve?  But why should that be the case?  Criticizing top politicians from both major political parties has become a national pastime.  Most Americans love to throw mud at either the Republicans or the Democrats.  But we are told that the Federal Reserve is "above politics" and that it is absolutely vital that the Fed remain "independent".  The reality is that the Federal Reserve has more control over the performance of the U.S. economy than the president even does, and yet most Americans never spend much time thinking about the Fed at all.  It is almost as if someone has instructed us to "ignore the man behind the curtain" and most of us just blindly obey.  With the economy in such a mess and with the national debt exploding so dramatically, isn't it about time that we had a national conversation about the performance of the Federal Reserve?  Isn't it about time that we evaluated whether the Federal Reserve is doing a good job or not?

Today I came across a Bloomberg article that was full of endless praise for the secretive Jekyll Island conference in 1910 that developed the plan for the Federal Reserve system.  The following is a very brief excerpt from that article....

Although it may seem shocking to watch the 112th Congress, there was a time when national leaders were swift and decisive in getting things done. In November 1910, in the space of less than two weeks, a group of government and business leaders fashioned a powerful new financial system that has survived a century, two world wars, a Great Depression and many recessions.

But has this "powerful new financial system" really performed well for the American people?

The Federal Reserve system has now been in place for about 100 years.  That is certainly long enough to evaluate how well it has performed.

So has the Federal Reserve done a good job?

Well, one of the things that the Federal Reserve is charged with doing is to protect the value of our currency.  In other words, they are supposed to keep inflation under control.

In that regard, the Federal Reserve has failed miserably.  The U.S. dollar has lost 96.2 percent of its value since 1900, and almost 100 percent of that decline has come during the Federal Reserve era.

Corbett Report Interview 465 - Bill Still Runs for President

Source: Corbett Report
James Corbett


Bill Still, the author and documentary filmmaker behind such films as The Secret of Oz, joins us to discuss his bid for the presidential nomination for the Libertarian Party in 2012. We discuss the main planks of his platform and how interested libertarians can support his campaign.

'Pakistan-US Ties Reach Point of No Return'

Source: PressTV

Pakistani people spilled onto the streets of the capital, Islamabad, on Monday for another anti-US rally.

Thousands of demonstrators --who were opposed to what they call the US intervention in Pakistan-- chanted "death to America". The protesters described the US as "the biggest enemy" of Pakistan who will be defeated. They also denounced the US assassination attacks on Pakistani soil.

Anti-American sentiment has grown in Pakistan after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a US air strike in November. The attack sparked large rallies across the country. Ties between Islamabad and Washington became tense following the attack.

TSA: Tyrants Sucker America

Source: Boiling Frogs Post

TRANSCRIPT AND SOURCES:

Of all of the myriad agencies, bureaucracies, laws and legislation that have sprung up to oppress the American citizenry in this age of the unending war against an abstract noun, perhaps none have garnered as much ire and opprobrium as the innocuously named Transportation Security Administration.

Created in the wake of 9/11 under the pretext of “fixing” the system that had “somehow” allowed 19 men with box cutters to supposedly commit the most egregious violation of American airspace in history (aided in no small part by the simultaneous “failure” of the entire American intelligence establishment and the most sophisticated air defense in the world), the TSA was originally placed under the Department of Transportation and tasked with securing the nation’s transportation system from future attacks. It was just a matter of months, however, before the TSA was transitioned into the newly-created Department of Fatherland Security and began turning the relatively benign process of clearing airport security into an ordeal that traumatizes and humiliates virtually everyone who has to endure it.

Minority Report-Styled Advertising Rolled Out in London

Source: Prison Planet
Paul Joseph Watson

Face-scanning technology labeled “creepy”

High-definition face-scanning cameras have been installed at a bus stop in Oxford Street, London as part of a new invasive advertising campaign that uses Minority Report-style technology to deliver gender-specific targeted ad content.

“With a 90 percent accuracy rating, the computer built into the placement analyzes and guesses gender based on specific facial attributes of the jawline, cheekbones, nose and eyes. Based on the current guess of a pedestrian’s gender, the digital placement shows an advertisement targeted at a man or a woman. As this technology continues to be applied to the field of advertising, the computer could also make a judgement about a person’s age, race or body type,” reports Digital Trends.

The $60,000 dollar ad, displayed on a screen that is a cross between an iPad and an XBox Kinect, plays a 40 second video message when a female’s face is scanned but only a brief message if a man walks past. “We’re not giving men and boys the choice to see the full ad on this occasion – so they get a glimpse of what it’s like to have basic choices taken away,” said Marie Staunton, chief executive of Plan UK, the organization featured in the ad.

The technology itself was developed by Clear Channel UK and 3D Exposure, who assert that while concerns about people being subjected to Minority Report-style invasive advertising have been voiced, what they are working on for future projects “may soon surpass what we’ve seen at the cinema.”

Privacy watchdog The Open Rights Group labeled the idea “creepy”.

Virginia Votes to Refuse NDAA

Source: RT

Although Congress approved this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, lawmakers on another level continue to find faults with its nasty detainment provisions. Virginia is now the latest state to consider laws that nix some of the NDAA.

When US President Barack Obama signed his name to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, he authorized the US military to detain and torture anyone on Earth — Americans included — without charge. Opposition was widespread even before the commander-in-chief put pen to paper, but critics are continuing to condemn the legislation only two months after Obama approved it. So weary of the NDAA are lawmakers in Virginia, in fact, that a recent vote within the state’s House of Delegates led to the passing of a counter-act that will keep those detainment provisions out of VA.

A recent meeting of lawmakers in the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly yielded an impressive 96-to-4 approval for HB 1160, a bill that will ban state officials from abiding by some elements of the NDAA. Should the act see similar support in the state’s Senate, Virginia will be spared from the detainment provisions that have garnered opposition against Congress and the Obama White House over the NDAA’s passing.

Under the Virginia law-in-waiting, state agents are forbidden from aiding “an agency of the armed forces of the United States in the conduct of the investigation, prosecution or detention of any citizen pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1541 as provided by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.”

The Virginia bill would specifically see to it that Section 1021 of the NDAA is made illegal, which, per President Obama’s approval, legitimizes the detainment of any alleged terrorist, including Americans, that are believed to have committed a “belligerent act” or have supported “hostilities,”

Scary NSA Propaganda: Anonymous Cyberattack Will Take Down Power Grid

Source: Infowars
Kurt Nimmo

An article for Wall Street Journal subscribers reveals that NSA boss Gen. Keith Alexander believes the hacktavist collective Anonymous may soon have the capability to take down the power grid in the United States through a cyberattack.

Alexander has peddled his theory at White House meetings and in other private sessions, according to people familiar with the gatherings, WSJ reports. “While he hasn’t publicly expressed his concerns about the potential for Anonymous to disrupt power supplies, he has warned publicly about an emerging ability by cyberattackers to disable or even damage computer networks,” writes Siobhan Gorman.

It’s not easy to disrupt the power grid in the United States. Most systems use proprietary operating systems and applications that are “not readily available for study by your average hacker,” writes Michael Tanj. Power grid or drinking-water systems and networks are not connected to the public internet.

In other words, it would take more than the efforts of an internet meme scattered across imageboards and forums to disrupt this complex system. It would take the concerted resources of a nation-state like China or Russia – or more likely the NSA itself.

“Even in places like the United States, where there isn’t much you cannot find online, you’re not going to be able to get the depth and detail you need to turn off the lights with a simple network connection. You’re going to have to deploy national-level resources,” writes Tanj.

The NSA knows this. It is exploiting the minimal threat poised by Anonymous as part of a propaganda campaign designed to extend the reach of its “Perfect Citizen” program. Perfect Citizen is being developed by defense contractor Raytheon and consists of sensors that would report public utility anomalies to the NSA via a partnership with Homeland Security, according to Ryan Singel. A Raytheon employee described it as a “Big Brother” system.

The NSA has over the years specialized is slurping up mega-amounts of private data in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The resultant database is the largest in the world. It only makes sense the NSA will do the same with the data it will now collect from utilities and the public infrastructure.

Corbett Report Radio - The Fight Against Fluoridation with Dr. Paul Connett

Source: Corbett Report
James Corbett

Dr. Paul Connett is a retired professor of environmental chemistry and toxicology. He is the Director of the Fluoride Action Network at fluoridealert.org, which details the documented health effects of water fluoridation, from lowered IQ to increase in bone cancer. Tonight on the program we talk about the fight against fluoridation and how the people in community after community are taking the power back into their own hands and getting the fluoride removed from the water supply.

Manipulating Reality: Shaping Threats, Destroying Democracy

Source: Consortium News
Lawrence Davidson

Over the past few decades in America, reality has been put in play as never before, with powerful interests using  sophisticated “perception management,” the shaping of how the public perceives the outside world, a threat that Lawrence Davidson says is again leading the nation to destruction.

In mid-February, an array of top U.S. intelligence chiefs appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee to give their annual report on “current and future worldwide threats” to national security. Those testifying included CIA Director David Petraeus, National Intelligence Director James Clapper, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. General Ronald Burgess, and FBI Director Robert Mueller.

Their presentations on what is and is not a real threat to the nation, as well as the reaction of the senators holding the hearings, turned out to be an exercise in one dimensional thinking. What is real? Well, what comports with your point of view. Here are two examples from their testimony:

1. The Enemy Within – Rogue individuals operating “within the ranks” of the intelligence community and armed forces now constitute a major threat to U.S. security. According to Lt. General Burgess these people are “self-radicalized lone wolves.” He pointed to the “recent massive WikiLeaks disclosures.”

Everyone involved in these hearings agreed with this assertion even though it is based on a dubious, yet unquestioned, assumption – that the behavior of U.S. government forces is a model of acceptable normal military and intelligence behavior. Those who work for the government but find this behavior unacceptable, and indeed a criminal betrayal of all that is humane, and then do something about that conviction are “self-radicalized” dangers to national security.

Image: Director of National Intelligence James Clapper talks with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office. (Photo credit: Office of Director of National Intelligence)

But what if the support of oppressive and racist regimes, the invasion of other countries based on lies, the killing of thousands upon thousands of civilians, and the official use of torture and “extraordinary rendition” constitute radical and unreasonable behavior? Then those who expose such extremism would not be the radicals at all. They would be champions of a more reasonable norm and also heroes.

My suggestion is that this is exactly the case. The country’s pursuit of its alleged national interests is being directed by a bunch of thugs in suits who have taken it upon themselves to label as “radicals” those citizen heroes who point out this fact. They are afraid that more and more citizens might see the real barbaric nature of their policies and call them to account. So, to prevent this, they criminalize (and demonize) the truth-tellers.

Propaganda Alert: The Ninja Threat from Iran

Source: Activist Post

The CNN video below is just the latest salvo in the shameless media distortion about events in Iran.  The most dangerous propaganda is of course Iran's supposed nuclear weapons threat, which is being revealed at every turn as unfounded allegations, even as Iran welcomes the IAEA to investigate and discuss their nuclear program.  Iran continues to insist that the program is strictly for energy and not world destruction.  The hyperbole, however, even extends down to the social level.  What most rational people would simply call martial arts training -- similar to what can be found in any American city -- instead receives a CNN segment title of "Iran's Potential Assassins" with the caption, "3,500 women train as Ninjas."  Funnily enough, the anchors don't seem to cooperate with the gravitas of the headline, instead stating it for what it really is: a sport, or a way toward healthy self-empowerment.  Or, even perhaps the nefarious objective to "defend their country."

Terror War Cheerleader Gets Reality Check on Underwear Bomber Facts

Source: Prison Planet
Paul Joseph Watson

C-Span callers hammer home U.S. government’s role in aiding Abdulmutallab.

A proponent of the war on terror was left with egg on his face during a recent C-Span appearance when caller after caller hammered home the fact that the underwear bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was allowed to board Delta flight 253 by the U.S. government.

The victim of this ‘truth bomb’ was Mickey McCarter, a prominent mouthpiece for the military-industrial complex that relies heavily on the manufactured ‘war on terror’ to the tune of billions of dollars every year. McCarter is a journalist specializing in “homeland security matters” and has also worked for government agencies like the US Navy’s Bureau of Naval Personnel and the Defense Contract Management Agency.

After discussing the recent conviction of the underwear bomber with no mention of the fact that he boarded the plane only with the aid of the U.S. government, McCarter faced a barrage of callers who set him straight. The first caller immediately drew attention to Flight 253 passenger Kurt Haskell, an attorney who witnessed a well dressed Indian man force airport officials to let Abdulmutallab board the plane despite the fact that he had no passport and was on a terror watchlist.

“Why would a CIA agent….get that guy on the plane,” the caller asked, to which McCarter responded by claiming, “I am not familiar with the story,” before erroneously claiming that Abdulmutallab “raised no alarm”.

In reality, the State Department was ordered not to revoke Abdulmutallab’s visa by “federal counterterrorism officials” even though the accused bomber had known terrorist ties, in addition to the fact that his own father had warned U.S. intelligence officials of the threat posed by Abdulmutallab a month before the attempted attack.

After initially claiming otherwise, the FBI finally had to admit that Kurt Haskell’s testimony was true. When Abdulmutallab signaled he wanted to call Haskell as a defense witness, it threatened to blow the whole case wide open. However, within 48 hours he mysteriously withdrew the call and admitted all eight counts of guilt.

The notion that McCarter, who bills himself as a terror expert, has no idea about Kurt Haskell’s testimony, FBI confirmation of the fact, in addition to media reports concerning how AbdulMutallab was helped on the plane by a well-dressed man, over two years after it was initially revealed, is dubious to say the least.