A Documentary for Monetary Reform
30 Sept 2012
International Blasphemy Day
International Blasphemy Rights Day, held each year on September 30, is a day to promote the rights to freedom of belief and expression and stand up in a show of solidarity for the liberty to challenge reigning religious beliefs without fear of murder, litigation, or reprisal. The event is administered by the Center for Inquiry as part of its Campaign for Free Expression.
Free speech is the foundation on which all other liberties rest. Without having the right to express our opinions, however unpopular, those willing to use political clout, violence, and threats will stifle dissent -- and we will all suffer the consequences of this.
International Blasphemy Rights Day takes place September 30 to commemorate the publishing of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons. ...
The purpose of Blasphemy Rights Day is not to promote hate or violence; it is to support freedom of belief and expression, support the right to criticize religion, and to oppose any resolutions or laws, binding or otherwise, that discourage or inhibit freedom of speech of any kind.
Historic Aleppo burning
Fires sparked by clashes between Syrian government troops and rebels raged through the medieval marketplace of Aleppo on Saturday, destroying hundreds of shops lining the vaulted passageways where foods, fabrics, perfumes and spices have been sold for centuries, activists said.
Some described the overnight blaze as the worst blow yet to a historic district that helped make the heart of Syria's largest city and commercial hub of the UNESCO world heritage site.
The souk, a labyrinth of narrow alleys lined with shops, was once a major tourist attraction, but has been the scene of near-daily firefights and shelling in recent weeks after rebels who fought their way into the city two months ago pushed toward its centre.
Activists say regime troops and snipers have taken up positions in the citadel that dominates the city.
Opposition duo die at Venezuelan election rally
Two opposition politicians have been killed in Venezuela during a campaign rally, a week before the country's presidential election. Geison Valero belonged to the opposition party First Justice and Omar Fernandez was an independent.
The First Justice party said they were campaigning for opposition leader Henrique Capriles in Barinas state when gunmen shot them dead. Witnesses said the vehicle belonged to the state oil company PDVSA. But there has been no confirmation of this from the Venezuelan authorities.
A statement by the party said a rally had been planned in Barinas, President Hugo Chavez's home state, but the road was blocked by government supporters. When the two men left their car to try to gain access, they were fired on by gunmen inside a van, it said.
Mr Chavez and Mr Capriles are wrapping up their campaigns over the next few days ahead of the 7 October elections. There have been other incidents of violence on the campaign trail. Supporters of both candidates threw stones at each other earlier this month when Mr Capriles attempted to march through the city of Puerto Cabello.
29 Sept 2012
Kick Out The Jams
MC5 (1968) - The MC5 was an American rock band from Lincoln Park, Michigan, formed in 1964. "Crystallizing the counterculture movement at its most volatile and threatening", according to Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the MC5's far left political ties and anti-establishment lyrics and music positioned them as emerging innovators of the punk movement in the United States. Their loud, energetic style of back-to-basics rock 'n' roll included elements of garage rock, hard rock, blues rock, and psychedelic rock.
Extra Terrestrial Beacons, and other places Google doesn't want you to see
It’s pretty ridiculous how blatantly blurred this one is, but then again, WikiLeaks did publish a diplomatic cable that confirmed the presence of nuclear warheads at this base.
28 Sept 2012
Greek police send crime victims to neo-Nazi 'protectors'
Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party is increasingly assuming the role of law enforcement officers on the streets of the bankrupt country, with mounting evidence that Athenians are being openly directed by police to seek help from the neo-Nazi group, analysts, activists and lawyers say.
In return, a growing number of Greek crime victims have come to see the party, whose symbol bears an uncanny resemblance to the swastika, as a "protector".
One victim of crime, an eloquent US-trained civil servant, told the Guardian of her family's shock at being referred to the party when her mother recently called the police following an incident involving Albanian immigrants in their downtown apartment block.
"They immediately said if it's an issue with immigrants go to Golden Dawn," said the 38-year-old, who fearing for her job and safety, spoke only on condition of anonymity. "We don't condone Golden Dawn but there is an acute social problem that has come with the breakdown of feeling of security among lower and middle class people in the urban centre," she told the Guardian. "If the police and official mechanism can't deliver and there is no recourse to justice, then you have to turn to other maverick solutions."
Regime of Secrecy
In U.N. Address, WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Urges Obama Admin to End "Regime of Secrecy". Speaking via videolink from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange addressed a side meeting of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday evening. In his remarks, Assange gave thanks to the United Nations for its treaties on political asylum and denounced the U.S. treatment of alleged Army whistleblower Bradley Manning. Assange also accused President Obama of exploiting the Arab Spring, and called on the U.S. to end its persecution of WikiLeaks and its supporters. We air Assange's address.
27 Sept 2012
Tunisia rape victim accused of 'indecency'
Tunisian civil society is rallying in support of a young woman who was raped by police officers in what they say is part of a broader assault on women's rights by religious conservatives. There is widespread outrage after 27-year-old victim was summoned by the investigating judge on Wednesday to face chargers of "indecency" from the two men accused of raping her, in what many argue is an attempt by the authorities to intimidate her.
Leading human rights, feminist groups and other prominent members of civil society have formed a committee evening to co-ordinate a campaign in support of the woman, including the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women and the Tunisian League of Human Rights.
Faïza Skandrani, the head of the Equality and Parity organisation, told Al Jazeera that the case was an important one for two reasons: it marked the first time a woman allegedly raped by the police had taken the case to court, and it was the first time the authorities were trying to publicly shame a woman into dropping such charges.
"The investigating judge is turning her from the victim to the accused, to help the police officers get away with it," she said. "I've heard about similar cases in Pakistan, but this is a first in Tunisia. Next they will be charging her with prostitution."
The Unending War
This documentary recounts the story of the veterans who withdrew from the US army after realizing the truth to the made-up excuses of the US for Iraq & Afghanistan wars.
Julian Assange claims Obama is exploiting Arab Spring for political gain
The Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, has accused president Obama of seeking to exploit the Arab Spring revolutions for political gain, claiming Obama's vocal support for freedom of expression had not been translated into action.
Assange was speaking to a gathering of diplomats at the UN general assembly through a satellite videolink from the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he sought refuge three months ago from extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning on allegations of sex offences.
The meeting was hosted by the Ecuadorean foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, who said he would once more demand the UK grant Assange safe passage to Ecuador when he meets his British counterpart, William Hague later on Thursday. He accused the British government of violating Assange's human rights, saying he could be stuck in the embassy in London for ten years, which a severe impact on his health.
26 Sept 2012
25 Sept 2012
U.S. Drones Have Killed Hundreds Of Civilians
A new study conducted by law professors at Stanford and New York University contends that the U.S. use of drones to target suspected militants in Pakistan has had a "damaging and counterproductive effect" on the country and has killed far more civilians than previously acknowledged.
The study, which was released on Tuesday, relies on some 130 interviews with civilians living in the regions of northern Pakistan where targeted drone strikes have been most frequent. Working with the activist group Reprieve, the team of professors have added to the growing body of literature that argues, contrary to Obama administration claims, that numerous civilians have been killed, and many more traumatized, by the drone strike program.
Romney mocked for comment about jet windows
During a Saturday fundraiser in Beverly Hills, Calif., which took in $6 million, Mitt Romney expressed his concerns over Ann Romney’s emergency landing on Friday. The candidate cast doubt on the mechanical design of airplane windows, in a general sense. “When you have a fire in an aircraft, there’s no place to go, exactly, there’s no — and you can’t find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem. So it’s very dangerous....” he said.
Romney’s idea doesn’t work scientifically, as one blogger on Dailykos explains: “It'd be like the mile-high club for Seamus, with the added benefit of asphyxiation induced by the low oxygen levels at cruising altitude — assuming that you manage to avoid having the plane rip apart due to the sudden loss of cabin pressure.”
24 Sept 2012
Burn Your iPhones
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, who of Israel’s pre-eminent haredi rabbis, issued a public notice on Sunday urging owners of iPhones to burn their devices, comparing the popular cell phones to weapons of war.
The ban on iPhone products was published on the front page of the popular haredi paper Yated Ne’eman. The edict stated that not only is it forbidden for Jews to possess an iPhone, but that it is also not permitted to sell the phone to non-Jews, citing a Jewish law forbidding the sale of weapons to non-Jews. The only solution – burning the device.
Rabbi Kanievsky’s ruling came after he was approached by businessman asking his opinion about the phones. The Eda Haredit has also condemned iPhones and all other smart phones. Smartphone devices have been condemned by many hareidi rabbis due to the ease of using the internet privately, taking part in social media, and accessing pornography sites.
Foxconn halts production at plant after mass brawl
Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology, a major supplier for Apple, has halted production at a plant in northern China after a fight broke out among workers.
Foxconn confirmed that a "personal dispute" escalated into an incident involving about 2,000 workers, injuring 40 of them. Police later dealt with the situation near the facility in Taiyuan, which employs about 79,000 workers.
Foxconn has previously been accused of having poor conditions for its workers.
Opposition shut out in Belarus election
Official results in Belarus' parliamentary election have delivered an overwhelming victory to parties allied to President Alexander Lukashenko, fulfilling a prediction by opposition groups that boycotted the vote amid claims it would again be rigged for the president.
Central Elections Commission Chairwoman Lidiya Yermoshina said on Monday that she had received a preliminary turnout figure of 74.3 per cent and downplayed more sceptical assessments by independent election observers, saying that only official turnout tallies would be considered.
There were no runoffs, and Yermoshina said that all but one of the 110 seats in parliament had been assigned. The vote was held on Sunday without the main opposition parties, which boycotted to protest the detention of political prisoners and election fraud.
23 Sept 2012
The Last Megaphone Video
Dearest viewers,
Following 3 and a half years of megaphoning; I feel I have provided ample free guides as to how to hack, upset, inspire, and gonzo the matrix. I leave you amazing people with a short interaction with the Police. Please note how he asks many questions and I politely refuse to answer any of them.
Of course the Army guy called the Police. I called him evil. This is very dangerous. Imagine if we called all recruiters for child-killers evil. It could be the end of the world.
At the end of the interaction you will hear me ask the Police man "Am I under arrest?" - and of course the answer is NO - this is your cue to walk away. Thank them for their time.
The rest of the video is the simple joy of megaphoning around Manchester's corporate centre, Spinningfields.
I've had a son. A big healthy baby boy who has changed my life. I hope the videos, all 400 or so of them inspire and help you to remember who you are.
With deep affection
Charlie Veitch
And remember - the show must go on...
Iran commander says could launch pre-emptive strike on Israel
Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure the Jewish state were preparing to attack it, a senior commander of its elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made the comments to Iran's state-run Arabic language Al-Alam television, according to a report on the network's website. "Iran will not start any war but it could launch a pre-emptive attack if it was sure that the enemies are putting the final touches to attack it," Al-Alam said, paraphrasing the military commander.
Hajizadeh said any attack on Iranian soil could trigger "World War Three". "We cannot imagine the Zionist regime starting a war without America's support. Therefore, in case of a war, we will get into a war with both of them and we will certainly get into a conflict with American bases," he said. "In that case, unpredictable and unmanageable things would happen and it could turn into a World War Three."
Is Netanyahu going crazy?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu devoted a series of unprecedented pre-Rosh Hashanah appearances on American TV programs to promote the same two-pronged idea he has been touting with growing vehemence in the Israeli media: that Iran is coming closer and closer to achieving nuclear viability, and that US President Barack Obama is allowing it to happen.
On Meet the Press, Netanyahu said Iran was "20 yards from a bomb." Netanyahu has repeatedly called for Obama to declare his "red lines," or, in other words, to put his cards on the table when it comes to Iran. In an hour-long phone call on Tuesday, Obama responded that he intended to do no such thing.
Republican challenger Mitt Romney wasted no time in announcing that he and Netanyahu share the same vision of the "red line" on Iran.
22 Sept 2012
Libyans storm militia bases in Benghazi
Ansar al-Sharia, blamed for consulate attack, forced to evacuate base as public anger against armed groups boils over. At least one person has died and 20 others injured after demonstrators in Benghazi attempted to storm the headquarters of militias based in the eastern Libyan city.
Protesters seized the headquarters of the Ansar al-Sharia militia and evicted its fighters from its bases on Friday night. The confrontation appeared to be part of a co-ordinated sweep of militia headquarters buildings by police, government troops and activists following a mass public demonstration against armed groups earlier in the day.
Ansar al-Sharia has been linked to the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi last week in which J Christopher Stevens, US ambassador to Libya, and three other Americans died amid demonstrations over a YouTube video deemed insulting to Prophet Muhammad. The group denies any involvement in the killing of Stevens.
Chanting "Libya, Libya," hundreds of demonstrators entered the compound, pulling down militia flags and torching a vehicle inside the headquarters, Ansar al-Sharia's main base in Benghazi - once an internal security base under former leader Muammar Gaddafi. People in the crowd waved swords and even a meat cleaver, shouting "No more al-Qaeda!" and "The blood we shed for freedom shall not go in vain!"
UK Judge in late abortion case linked to conservative Christian charity
A British judge who criticised UK abortion policies while sentencing a woman to eight years in prison for performing her own abortion at a late stage in her pregnancy is one of at least five members of the judiciary with links to a Christian charity which has campaigned for more conservative abortion laws.
There has been surprise at the severity of the sentence Justice Jeremy Cooke imposed on Sarah Catt, who took a drug when she was 39 weeks pregnant to cause an early delivery and pleaded guilty in July to administering a poison with intent to procure a miscarriage. Catt told police that she buried the remains but has refused to disclose the location.
In remarks that some commentators have criticised, he told her: "There is no mitigation available by reference to the Abortion Act, whatever view one takes of its provisions which are, wrongly, liberally construed in practice so as to make abortion available essentially on demand prior to 24 weeks with the approval of registered medical practitioners."
21 Sept 2012
British Minister Denies Calling Police 'Plebs'
A British millionaire Cabinet minister was threatened with arrest after an astonishing foul-mouthed rant at armed cops in Downing Street.
Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell — newly-promoted by PM David Cameron — raged: “You’re f***ing plebs.” The cycling Tory’s outburst came the day after two women PCs were shot dead. Foul-mouthed Mr Mitchell yelled the four-letter abuse at cops because they wouldn’t let him pedal his bike out of Downing Street.
He exploded with fury when armed police guarding No10 refused to open the street’s famous gates. The PC targeted by the tirade reported to his superiors that Mitchell told him: “Best you learn your f***ing place. You don’t run this f***ing government. “You’re f***ing plebs.” An eyewitness said Mr Mitchell, 56, also branded them “morons”.
Marche Funèbre
From Piano Sonata Op.35 No.2 by Frédéric Chopin played by Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Spin
Artist Brian Springer spent a year scouring the airwaves with a satellite dish grabbing back channel news feeds not intended for public consumption. The result of his research is SPIN, one of the most insightful films ever made about the mechanics of how television is used as a tool of social control to distort and limit the American public's perception of reality.
Take the time to watch it from beginning to end and you'll never look at TV reporting the same again. Tell your friends about it. This extraordinary film released in the early 1990s is almost completely unknown. Hopefully, the Internet will change that.
20 Sept 2012
19 Sept 2012
Jesus and his wife
A Harvard University professor has unveiled a fourth-century fragment of papyrus she said is the only existing ancient text quoting Jesus explicitly referring to having a wife.
Karen King, an expert in the history of Christianity, said the text contains a dialogue in which Jesus refers to "my wife," whom he identifies as Mary. King says the fragment of Coptic script is a copy of a gospel, probably written in Greek in the second century.
King helped translate and unveiled the tiny fragment at a conference of Coptic experts in Rome. She said it doesn't prove Jesus was married but speaks to issues of family and marriage that faced Christians.
Caesar's Messiah
Caesar's Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus website
Joseph Atwill is an independent scholar who has set the world of New Testament scholarship in a new direction. In his book Caesar's Messiah, Atwill outlines the series of events in Jesus' ministry that are parallels with the events of the battle campaign of Titus Flavius. His research has been made into a documentary. Through interviews with seven controversial Bible scholars, the "Caesar's Messiah" documentary shows that Christianity was invented by the Romans as a political tool to control the masses of the day, and it is still being used this way today. Producer/Director of the film Fritz Heede along with Co-Producer/Writer Nijole Sparkis also join in on this interview. In the first hour, we’ll retrace Joseph’s main thesis, including Caesar’s possible intentions behind the gospels. In the second hour, we’ll discuss literary techniques used by the Romans. Atwill explains Titus typology and reversal of the gospels. He also reveals the logic puzzle of the last four gospels. Later, we talk about the need for new myths. Also, we’ll discuss what method of thought can set us free from doctrine.
Red Ice Radio (with a lot of links for further reading)
Activists and Journalists beaten and detained in Belarus
Several people were detained and beaten in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Tuesday as they attempted to hold a rally calling for a nationwide boycott of this weekend's parliamentary elections in the former Soviet republic.
"Opposition activists were going to hold another picket near the Frunzensky store in Minsk calling on people not to vote in the elections to the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly," the opposition Charter 97 group said on its website. (RIA Novosti)
Agents in plainclothes repeatedly hit several journalists covering an opposition protest organized by activists calling for a boycott of Sunday's parliamentary vote, according to news reports. Sergei Grits, a photographer for The Associated Press, said his face was covered with blood after one of the assailants punched him and broke his glasses, according to AP.
All of the journalists were shoved into a minivan with no license plates and driven to a police station where their equipment and documents were confiscated with no explanation, news reports said. Police held the journalists without charge for two hours and then released them, the AP reported. The officials also deleted the images and video recordings from the journalists' cameras before returning the equipment, Reuters reported.
18 Sept 2012
State of siege
Scenes from a very hard-to-find movie made in 1972: "State of Siege". It's a fictionalized account of a true story.
Using an "aid" program as a cover, the CIA trained police officers throughout South America to fight "subversives" using of torture, assassination, and police-staged explosives to blame on terrorists.
Nato Afghan strategy in disarray after joint ground operations suspended
The Nato-led military strategy in Afghanistan has been thrown into disarray after joint on-the-ground operations were suspended because of a collapse in trust over the killings of Americans and other Nato soldiers by Afghan government forces.
The move, which came after a surge in the number of "insider attacks" by Afghan government soldiers and police officers, which have killed 51 Nato soldiers in 36 attacks this year, threatens the joint plan to train an effective Afghan army to keep the Taliban at bay after troops start pulling out.
General John Allen, the US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, ordered the suspension of joint combat operations and patrols "until further notice".
17 Sept 2012
Billionaires Getting Richer
Many millionaires got poorer in the last year, but billionaires did just fine, using their heavyweight money management teams to ride out market and economic turmoil that hit the lesser rich, research company Wealth-X said on Monday.
The ranks of people with at least $30 million edged up to 187,380 but their total wealth fell 1.8 percent to $25.8 trillion -- still a sum bigger than the combined size of the U.S. and Chinese economies, Wealth-X said in a report.
Hardest hit globally were those in the $200 million to $499 million range, whose numbers dropped 9.9 percent and whose fortunes shrank 11.4 percent, the World Ultra Wealth Report said, using data for the year through July 31.
But the really, really rich got even richer as the number of billionaires rose 9.4 percent to 2,160 people and their wealth grew 14 percent to $6.2 trillion.
Tensions between China and Japan
China’s incoming leader re-emerged this weekend after an unexplained two-week absence, just in time to see the country he’s about to inherit consumed with rabid anti-Japanese nationalism that his Communist Party unleashed, and which the United States warned on Sunday could lead to a regional war.
Beijing’s rapidly deteriorating relationship with Tokyo will top the agenda as Xi Jinping takes over as general secretary of the Communist Party from President Hu Jintao, a promotion expected as early as next month. While Mr. Xi will continue to share power with Mr. Hu for months afterward, the stakes could scarcely be higher for his first test.
Six days of sanctioned anti-Japanese protests – which escalated Sunday into a nationwide day of rage that saw Japanese businesses and diplomatic missions attacked – have whipped up hatred and created a situation that leaves the Chinese leadership little room to compromise in a showdown over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who is on the verge of calling an election that will see him challenged from the nationalist right, similarly has little room to negotiate.
16 Sept 2012
illegal House Demolition for Olympics in Russia
The Russian authorities’ illegal bulldozing on a property in Sochi is a stain on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games preparations, Human Rights Watch said today. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should urgently intervene with the Russian government to respect the rights of the family, including by providing reasonable compensation, such as relocation to a home in a different neighborhood, Human Rights Watch said.
Sergei Khlistov has been living in a modest two-story house in the Adler section of Sochi for 16 years. His wife, daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren, ages 3 and 8, also live in the home. On September 14, 2012, at 11 a.m., without warning, local authorities brought in a demolition excavator and knocked down the storage shed next to the Khlistovs’ home. The authorities threatened to destroy the house and forcibly evict the family early next week.
“The Russian authorities are proceeding with this demolition and eviction in an utterly reckless manner that completely flies in the face of the Olympic principles of human dignity and respect,” said Jane Buchanan, senior researcher for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch. “The IOC needs to get the federal and Sochi authorities to stop this immediately or this family will be made homeless in the name of the Olympics.”
15 Sept 2012
Malaysia holds seminars to help teachers spot 'gay children'
The Malaysian government has begun holding seminars aiming to help teachers and parents spot signs of homosexuality in children, underscoring a rise in religious conservatism in the country. So far, the Teachers Foundation of Malaysia has organised 10 seminars across the country. Attendance at the last event on Wednesday reached 1,500 people, a spokesman for the organisation said.
"It is a multi-religious and multicultural [event], after all, all religions are basically against that type of behaviour," said the official. The federal government said in March that it is working to curb the "problem" of homosexuality, especially among Muslims who make up over 60% of Malaysia's population of 29 million people.
According to a handout issued at a recent seminar, signs of homosexuality in boys may include preferences for tight, light-coloured clothes and large handbags, local media reported. For girls, the details were less clear. Girls with lesbian tendencies have no affection for men and like to hang out and sleep in the company of women, the reports said.
Malaysia frowns on oral and gay sex, describing them as against the order of nature. Under civil law, 'offenders', both male and female, can be jailed for up to 20 years, caned or fined.
14 Sept 2012
Obama HOPE poster artist gets probation
The artist who created the "HOPE" poster that came to symbolize Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign was sentenced Friday to two years of probation and 300 hours of community service by a judge who cited his charity work.
Shepard Fairey hugged his lawyers, was kissed by wife and shook hands with friends and supporters after his sentence was pronounced.
The government had said in a presentence memorandum that Fairey, 42, should serve some time for destroying documents and fabricating others in a civil lawsuit he brought against The Associated Press in 2009. No prison term, it said, would send a "terrible message" to others who might engage in similar conduct.
"After spending a great amount of time, energy and legal effort, all of us at The Associated Press are glad this matter is finally behind us," AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said in a statement. "We hope this case will serve as a clear reminder to all of the importance of fair compensation for those who gather and produce original news content."
13 Sept 2012
Demonstrators Angered By Anti-Islam Film Storm U.S. Embassy In Yemen
Chanting "death to America" and "death to Israel," hundreds of protesters angered by an anti-Islam film stormed the U.S. Embassy compound in Yemen's capital and burned the American flag on Thursday, the latest in a series of attacks on American diplomatic missions in the Middle East.
The string of assaults this week, in Yemen, Egypt and the storming of a U.S. consulate in Libya that killed four Americans, point to an increased boldness among Islamists who have become more powerful since last year's wave of revolts toppled authoritarian leaders.
The anger over the movie denigrating Islam's Prophet Muhammad has also put the region's new leaders — some of whom are themselves Islamists — in a difficult corner, between a base demanding a free hand to respond to the insult and U.S. pressure to crack down. In the past, protests have broken out over perceived insults to Islam from the West, but in Arab countries they never escalated to the degree of breaching
12 Sept 2012
Greek plea for Nazi damages
Greece has dramatically revived demands for billions in war damages from Germany as the euro crisis deepens. Ministers have set up a working party to add up how much Germany owes them for crimes committed after Hitler invaded Greece in 1941.
The Greek National Bank was also forced to lend the Nazis 476 million reichsmarks interest-free during World War Two — worth £8.7billion today. Greeks claim they were forced to accept “unfavourable” reparation payments in the 50s. Deputy finance minister Christos Staikouras said: “The matter remains pending — Greece has never resigned its rights.” He insisted the investigation would be “realistic and cool-headed”.
The move comes as opposition grows in Germany to handing out more bailouts to Greece. And it risks inflaming anti-German feelings in Greece, where newspapers regularly depict Chancellor Angela Merkel as a Nazi. Germany’s constitutional court is due to rule today on whether Berlin should hand more cash to Athens.
American killed in attack on US consulate in Benghazi
An American member of staff at the US consulate in Benghazi has died following fierce clashes at the compound, two Libyan security sources said on Wednesday. "One American staff member has died and a number have been injured in the clashes," Abdel-Monem Al-Hurr, spokesman for Libya's supreme security committee, said, adding that he did not know the exact number of injured.
Gunmen attacked the compound in the eastern city on Tuesday evening, clashing with Libyan security forces before the latter withdrew as they came under heavy fire. Reuters reporters on the scene saw looters raiding the compound, walking off with desks, chairs and washing machines. A security official said a fire was burning inside the consulate and that staff had been evacuated. Three injured members of the Libyan security forces taken away in an ambulance. The gunmen formed part of a group protesting against a US film they say is blasphemous.
The incident followed a protest in Egypt where demonstrators scaled the walls of the US embassy, tore down the American flag and burned it during a protest over the same film, which attacks Islam's prophet, Muhammad. The film, clips of which are available on YouTube, depicts Muhammad as a fraud, showing him having sex and calling for massacres. Muslims find it offensive to depict Muhammad in any fashion, much less in an insulting way.
Russia Will Build a Permanent Moon Base
We knew Russia had ambitious plans for interplanetary exploration, and on Tuesday, an announcement from the head of the country's space agency really drove that point home. Russia wants to go to the Moon; and they want to stay there.
"We're not talking about repeating what mankind achieved 40 years ago," said Vladimir Popovkin, head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, at Tuesday's Global Space Exploration Conference in Washington, D.C. "We're talking about establishing permanent bases."
This isn't the first time we've heard Russia talk ambitious plans for the Moon; back in March, leaked documents outlined a number of the country's deep space mission objectives (including sending probes to Jupiter and Venus, and conducting "a demonstrative manned circumlunar test flight, with the subsequent landing of cosmonauts on [the Moon's] surface"); but it's the context of Tuesday's announcement that makes it especially noteworthy.
11 Sept 2012
What the real 9/11 witnesses saw and heard
On 9/11, the news media did an epic job of NOT following up on the hundreds of eye witnesses who clearly stated they heard numerous explosions.
The 9 11 Solution
This will blow the lid on 911. How come the media knew so much about it only minutes after the first tower was hit. Why is that people still believe that planes could destroy those towers. What about the 7th building that collapsed by itself. What about all the original footage what showed people saying their heard explosions before the first plane hit. But they have been deleted never to be seen again. What about the films of actual demolitions that show a remarkable similarity to 911. Oh and then there is the laws of physics taking a day off on 911, that just doesn't happen. The Passport that was not even marked oh and gold that was under those towers were trillions of dollars that went missing yet the passport just was amazingly found.
9/11 For Dummies
A sub 5 minute educational video about the events surrounding 9/11. How 19 men armed with box cutters and directed by a man on dialysis in a cave fortress halfway around the world, launched the most sophisticated attack in history, against the most heavily defended nation on the planet.
Controversial British plan to ‘divide and rule’ Afghanistan
Tory MP proposes hacking up Afghanistan into separate “kingdoms”, each ruled by a foreign power, and to include members of the Taliban.
The plan is the brainchild of conservative MP and Foreign Office aide Tobias Ellwood, a former army captain in the Royal Green Jackets, and is already under discussion in London and Washington, according to a report which was seen by the British newspaper The Independent on Sunday. The report puts forward a regionalized state under a powerful new prime minster and would attempt to deal with weak government, corruption and tribal disputes, which have plagued Afghanistan.
The blueprint – which has been labeled Plan C – is to split Afghanistan up into eight zones based around the economic hubs of Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kunduz, Jalalabad, Khost and Bayman.
The areas would then be governed by a council representing different ethnic groups and overseen by one or more foreign countries; in the same way that Berlin was run after the Second World War.
10 Sept 2012
Israel Assassination Attempt on American General in Afghanistan
US Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of America’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the man who flew to Tel Aviv and informed Netanyahu that America wanted no part of his scheming against Iran was the subject of an assassination attempt in Afghanistan.
This wasn’t an act of terrorism or Taliban militants. It was a “mob hit” against someone who failed to kiss the feet of Netanyahu. His response was to unleash killers, not a fact for the public but a fact just the same, one the American military knows very well. Netanyahu has a problem with “hubris.”
9 Sept 2012
Smackdown!
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Check out the biggest cage match you've never heard about. It's Bishops vs. Nuns! See how the Vatican is trying to keep those uppity nuns in line.
8 Sept 2012
Europe’s bigger crisis waiting to happen
The bigger beast that threatens Europe’s solvency is the demographic and entitlements crisis. While a lot is known about Europe’s aging population, the scale of the problem and its urgency are not well understood.
The IMF predicts that Greece will have the second highest growth in pension costs as a percentage of GDP in the G20 by 2030. Spain and Belgium aren’t in great shape either. Interestingly, by 2030 Italy and Germany will actually see their pensions’ costs start to fall, but that is because their populations are aging so fast that the bulk of their pension spending will be done in the next 10-15 years.
In Germany and Italy the demographic damage is done. Research from Eurostat predicts that by 2040 there will be less than two people of working age for every retired person in Germany and Italy that compares with just over three today. In France things are slightly better as there will be just about two workers for every retired person. These statistics tell a bleak story, with this type of demographic shift it is inevitable that living standards will deteriorate in the next decade or so.
The fiscal crisis of the future could also have a domino effect. Once investors realised there was an enormous hole in Greece’s public finances they started to punish Ireland, Portugal, Spain and even Italy saw its bond yields rise. In the future investors may start to punish the credit markets of those countries with poor demographics.
6 Sept 2012
5 Sept 2012
NATO and the terrorist network Gladio
In August 1990, Giulio Andreotti, Italian Prime Minister, confirmed that during the Cold War period had existed in Italy and other Western countries, some of them attached to NATO, a clandestine army under the code name Gladio. His revelations led to a major political scandal, not only admit, but because he had denied in 1974, when he was defense minister.
The result of those investigations conducted in Italy between 1974 and 1990 came to light following information concerning the activities of the sinister Gladio, which sometimes appeared as a right-wing terrorist organization, and sometimes the extreme left, as appropriate their purposes. And what are these purposes? Destabilize certain European governments for the benefit of United States and increased their political influence in them.
As information on the organization Gladio were subsequently published, the story was becoming more ominous. Since the beginning of the Cold War, independent agencies franchised by the secret services of Britain and the United States established a vast network of hired murderers, paramilitary groups, terrorist organizations and weapons caches throughout Western Europe.
Read more at Pecan
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