Sex abuse rife in other religions, says Vatican

The Vatican has lashed out at criticism over its handling of its paedophilia crisis by saying the Catholic church was "busy cleaning its own house" and that the problems with clerical sex abuse in other churches were as big, if not bigger.

In a defiant and provocative statement, issued following a meeting of the UN human rights council in Geneva, the Holy See said the majority of Catholic clergy who committed such acts were not paedophiles but homosexuals attracted to sex with adolescent males.

The statement, read out by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's permanent observer to the UN, defended its record by claiming that "available research" showed that only 1.5%-5% of Catholic clergy were involved in child sex abuse.

He also quoted statistics from the Christian Scientist Monitor newspaper to show that most US churches being hit by child sex abuse allegations were Protestant and that sexual abuse within Jewish communities was common.

The Guardian

Blackmail by spooks exposed

An unprecedented public meeting in Camden on Wednesday will condemn the role of the British secret service in the blackmail and intimidation of British citizens and asylum-seekers in a bid to turn them into informers.

For decades, MI5 has blackmailed and threatened individuals it believes may be in a position to spy on their communities, but the practice, although well-known in certain communities, has not been widely reported.

The meeting follows the brave step taken by five British Muslim community workers from London to blow the whistle on MI5's attempts to recruit them through coercion and intimidation.

Now, a number of community and campaign groups have joined together to expose the spooks and urge others who have suffered similar experiences to come forward.

Les Levidow of CAMPACC told the Star: "We had known about systematic blackmailing by MI5 going back decades through our work with the Kurdish community, who continue to be targeted in this way, especially in the case of refugees. Our only surprise was that anyone had gone public about it."

Morning Star

Honduras restricts liberties to prevent rebellion

Interim government leaders have suspended constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties in a pre-emptive strike against widespread rebellion Monday, three months to the day since they ousted President Manuel Zelaya in a military-backed coup.

Zelaya supporters said they would ignore the decree issued late Sunday and march in the streets as planned. Some already had arrived in the capital, Tegucigalpa, from outlying provinces.

"Hondurans, do not let them (succeed in the coup)."

The measures – announced just hours after Zelaya called on his backers to stage mass protest marches in what he called a “final offensive” against the government – are likely to draw harsh criticism from the international community, which has condemned the June 28 coup and urged that Zelaya be reinstated to the presidency and allowed to serve out his term, which ends in January.

Officials also issued an ultimatum to Brazil on Sunday, giving the South American country 10 days to decide whether to turn Zelaya over for arrest or grant him asylum and, presumably, take him out of Honduras. They did not specify what they would do after the 10 days were up.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva responded, saying that his government “doesn’t accept ultimatums from coup-plotters.”

More at the Mike Chambers Live Website

Also see Honduras Coup Leaders Suspend Civil Rights on CBS

G20: Epic Undercover Police Fail

Three undercover officers attempt to infiltrate a March Against Police Brutality at the University of Pittsburgh, but fail miserably due to their horrendous disguise attempts.

Girl, 14, Dies After Having Cervical Cancer Vaccination At UK School

A 14-year-old girl has died shortly after she was given a cervical cancer vaccine at school. An "urgent" investigation is now under way by a health authority following the tragedy in Coventry.

The teenager became ill at Blue Coat Church of England School after having the HPV (human papillomavirus) jab and was then taken to the city's University Hospital where she later died.

She had had the vaccine as part of the national immunisation programme to protect women against the disease. A small number of other girls at the school also reported mild symptoms, such as dizziness and nausea, but were not admitted to hospital.

Sky News

Berlusconi is the only one who won’t have Michelle Obama’s hugs!

A dinner was organized for the G20 leaders in Pittsburgh and Michelle Obama received the guests by kissing and hugging except for one…

Gordon Brown (Prime Minister of the UK) got his hug and kiss, the same for Angela Merkel (German Chancellor) and Stephen Harper (Canadian Prime Minister); Nicolas Sarkozy (French President) and even Dimitry Medvedev (Russian President) got it too but Silvio Berlusconi (Italian Prime Minister) only got a formal handshake!

More pictures on Izismile.com

Norman G. Finkelstein: The Holocaust Industry

"I sometimes think," writes Norman G. Finkelstein, whose parents survived the Warsaw ghetto and the concentration camps, "that American Jewry 'discovering' the Nazi Holocaust was worse than its having been forgotten. True, my parents brooded in private; the suffering they endured was not publicly validated. But wasn't that better than the current crass exploitation of Jewish martyrdom?"

That is the first bombshell in Finkelstein's acrimonious new book, in which he declares the recent successful pursuit of multibillion-dollar reparations from German industrial giants and Swiss bankers "an outright extortion racket." Finkelstein's downright pugilistic book delivers a wallop — mostly because few authors have had the courage or nerve to say, as he does, that the Nazi genocide has been distorted and robbed of its true moral lessons and instead has been put to use as "an indispensable ideological weapon." It's a provocative thesis that makes you want to reject it even as you are compelled to keep reading by the strength of his case and the bravura of his assertions. What Finkelstein calls "The Holocaust" — the packaged story as distinguished from the actual historical events — has become a "prize alibi" for Israeli war crimes, a cudgel for money-hungry Jewish organizations and profiteering lawyers, and a spark plug for the recrudescent ranks of anti-Semites in Europe.

More on Norman G. Finkelsteins website

G20 in Pittsburgh USA

Prince Charles urges people to abandon car in favour of walking and public transport

The Prince, who has two Jaguars, two Audis, a Range Rover and still drives an Aston Martin given to him by the Queen on his 21st birthday, said developers had a duty to put public transport and the pedestrian at the heart of their housing schemes.

Speaking about the “domination of the car over the pedestrian”, the future King said: “We must surely be able to organise ourselves... in ways in which we are not dependent on it to such a great extent for our daily needs."

The Prince said the principle of “elevating the pedestrian above the car” was one of the guiding factors of Poundbury – his model development in Dorset. The importance of “pedestrian friendly public space” is central to the Poundbury ethos.

This kind of public transport-oriented development is fundamental to achieving the ultimate goal of a low carbon community, and it is very likely that such communities, far from being austere, will actually become the sought-after places where people will choose to live and spend their time.”

Telegraph

David Icke talks to Freedom Central in Amsterdam

Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8; Part 9; Part 10; Part 11; Part 12; Part 13

David Icke Website

Military Attacks American Citizens With Sound Weapons & Tear Gas At G20

National Guard, police, and other military units attacked American citizens with tear gas and deployed sound cannons today in response to an “unpermitted protest” as bedlam hit the streets on the first day of the G20 summit in downtown Pittsburgh.

The First Amendment is officially dead in the United States. If this isn’t martial law then we don’t know what is. Associated Press photographs show National Guard troops in full fatigues with active duty military running checkpoints that make the roadblocks in Iraq positively friendly. Like Iraq, America is now a conquered nation occupied by troops whose primary function is to oppress anyone who tries to express the freedoms that they once enjoyed.

Infowars.com

More UK veterans in justice system than soldiers serving in Afghanistan

The number of former servicemen in prison or on probation or parole is now more than double the total British deployment in Afghanistan, according to a new survey. An estimated 20,000 veterans are in the criminal justice system, with 8,500 behind bars, almost one in 10 of the prison population.

The proportion of those in prison who are veterans has risen by more than 30% in the last five years.

The study by the probation officers' union Napo uncovers the hidden cost of recent conflicts. The snapshot survey of 90 probation case histories of convicted veterans shows a majority with chronic alcohol or drug problems, and nearly half suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression as a result of their wartime experiences on active service.

Those involved had served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. They are most likely to have been convicted of a violent offence, particularly domestic violence.

The Guardian

Gazprom Wins Final Approval to Build Disputed Petersburg Tower

OAO Gazprom, Russia’s natural-gas exporter, won final approval from the city of St. Petersburg to build what may become Europe’s tallest skyscraper, overcoming objections from local residents and UNESCO.

St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko awarded Gazprom exemptions to the former czarist capital’s zoning laws that allow for the 400-meter (1,300-foot) Okhta Center project to proceed, the city government said in a statement today.

St. Petersburg’s 306-year-old historic city center may be removed from the World Heritage Site list if the skyscraper is built, UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, warned last month. Designed by U.K.-based RMJM Architects, the Okhta Center will serve as the headquarters for state-run Gazprom’s oil unit, OAO Gazprom Neft, and include a concert hall, art museum, hotel and a business center.

“This is a monstrous, barbaric decision,” said David Sarkisyan, director of the Moscow Museum of Architecture. “This tower is a symbol of political ego and people will always resent it,” Sarkisyan said by phone from the Russian capital.

Bloomberg.com

Military Checkpoints in the US

WeAreChange Ohio traveled to Newport, Kentucky to investigate the military checkpoints that appeared around the downtown area on September 6, 2009. Officially, this was done for traffic control purposes during the annual Riverfest celebration that is held on both sides of the Ohio River.
Military Police from the U.S. Army National Guard performed a series of tasks throughout the day, which included aiding the local police to close bridges across the river, and to reverse traffic along Monmouth Street in Newport.

We Are Change Ohio

Qaddafi Hijacks Spotlight at U.N.

In his first appearance at the United Nations, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi railed against the Security Council, saying it should be called the "Terrorism Council."

After briefly congratulating President Barack Obama on his first U.N. appearance as president, Qaddafi launched into an attack of the U.N. charter and the makeup of the Security Council, saying the institutions are outdated and unfair. The Libyan president said the U.N.'s General Assembly was "like a décor" for the permanent members of the Security Council.

The five permanent members of the Security Council are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. All five hold veto powers. There are an additional 10 rotating members, including Libya, whose membership ends this year. "This is terrorism," Qaddafi said through a translator. "Anyone who says 'I am higher than the General Assembly' should leave and be alone."
The Libyan leader's speech ran 1 hour and 36 minutes, no threat to the record set by Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1960, at 4 1/2 hours. Speakers are supposed to limit themselves to 15 minutes.

CBS News

Al Gore Talks about Global Governace and the NWO

Calais Immigrant 'Jungle' Evacuation: French Police Begin Dismantling Camp

French police have begun an operation to clear a notorious immigrant squatter camp on the outskirts of Calais.

Police public order teams gathered at local barracks in the French port, ahead of an operation to detain illegal immigrants and demolish the make-shift camp, known as 'the Jungle'.

As the first dozen officers entered the camp a small group of rights activists formed a human chain trying to bar access to the migrants, shouting "no border, no nation, stop deportation".

Police started leading out the migrants one by one who followed without resistance amid the angry shouts of the protesters and with dozens of journalists looking on.

A dozen immigrants who were refusing to move were dragged and carried out of the camp by police.

Some migrants were still eating their breakfast in tents when police descended on the site.
The main focus is on an area about half a mile south-east of the main port, known as the 'Pashtun jungle' due to the fact it is largely populated by Afghan migrants.
It is estimated there are currently around 300 migrants living in the Pashtun jungle, which is significantly fewer than in previous months.

Sky News

Swine Flu Internment Camp Documents Revealed

See the documents here... , here... and here...

David Icke Website

Anger at Iranian Holocaust denial

The Iranian president's latest denial of the Nazi Holocaust has drawn strong condemnation from Western powers.

Speaking in the capital, Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Holocaust was a "a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim".

Germany said the comments were a "disgrace to his country" while the US said they would "isolate Iran further". Mr Ahmadinejad made the remarks at an annual rally where opposition supporters clashed with police.  BBC NEWS

Colombia scraps scandal-hit agency

Colombia's state intelligence agency is to be dismantled following a series of scandals involving it agents, the Bogota government has said.  
More than 40 agents have been accused of illegally tapping the telephones of judges, journalists, human rights workers and opposition politicians.

"The DAS will be dissolved in order to make way for a new civilian intelligence agency," Felipe Munoz, the intelligence agency chief, said in a statement posted on Colombia's presidential website on Friday.
"A definitive change is needed."

A bill will be presented to congress next week proposing the end of the DAS and outlining the structure of the new intelligence agency, according to the statement. Munoz said that the majority of the current agency's 6,000 employees would be transferred to the criminal investigative unit of the police and other investigative bodies.  More on Al Jazeera

Poles, Czechs: US missile defense shift a betrayal

Poles and Czechs voiced deep concern Friday at President Barack Obama's decision to scrap a Bush-era missile defense shield planned for their countries.

"Betrayal! The U.S. sold us to Russia and stabbed us in the back," the Polish tabloid Fakt declared on its front page.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski said he was concerned that Obama's new strategy leaves Poland in a dangerous "gray zone" between Western Europe and the old Soviet sphere.

Recent events have rattled nerves throughout central and eastern Europe, a region controlled by Moscow during the Cold War, including the war last summer between Russia and Georgia and ongoing efforts by Russia to regain influence in Ukraine. A Russian cutoff of gas to Ukraine last winter left many Europeans without heat.

"Russia is testing us. It is testing how much we are afraid of it. It's pity that we won't be able to complete the test," said former Czech President Vaclav Havel.

The Associated Press

Former CIA Chiefs Ask Obama to Stop CIA Probe

Seven former CIA directors sent a letter to President Obama on Friday urging him to use his authority to reverse Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to re-open and pursue cases of prisoner abuse within the CIA in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

In August, Holder appointed a U.S. prosecutor to begin a criminal probe of CIA questioning of terror suspects during the Bush administration, reversing the course set by the Bush administration. The investigation potentially exposes CIA employees and agency contractors to criminal prosecution.
"Attorney General Holder's decision to re-open the criminal investigation creates an atmosphere of continuous jeopardy for those whose cases the Department of Justice had previously declined to prosecute," the former officials wrote. "Moreover, there is no reason to expect that the re-opened criminal investigation will remain narrowly focused."

CBS News

Almost 4 million Kenyans on food aid as drought deepens

The devastating drought sweeping across Kenya is causing widespread hunger, thirst and, in the case of cattle, death. Pictures of hundreds of cow carcasses being tipped into a mass grave near Nairobi highlight the scale of the natural disaster – and the clumsy or even negligent efforts of the government to deal with it.

Aware that the drought was likely to cause pastoralists to lose significant parts of their herds, the government announced a 500m shilling (£4.1m) plan last month to buy weak animals from farmers for 8,000 shillings (£65) each. The plan provided for the animals to be transported by truck to the Kenya meat commission depot in Athi River, a town near Nairobi, where they would be held, fed, and slaughtered, with the meat sold to recoup costs.

But many of the trucks transporting the cows hundreds of miles from as far away as north-eastern province, had insufficient water and food on board, causing large numbers of animals to die along the way. Of those that arrived alive, many soon perished owing to a lack of pasture in the holding bay.

The botched operation has caused anger and embarrassment among MPs, especially given that the government has been asking donors for urgent financial help in feeding the nearly 10 million Kenyans who are food insecure.

The Guardian

Has Osama Bin Laden been dead for seven years - and are the U.S. and Britain covering it up to continue war on terror?

Written by political analyst and philosopher Professor David Ray Griffin, former emeritus professor at California's Claremont School of Theology, it is provoking shock waves - for it goes into far more detail about his supposed death and suggests there has been a cover-up by the West.

The book claims that Bin Laden died of kidney failure, or a linked complaint, on December 13, 2001, while living in Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountains close to the border with Waziristan.

His burial took place within 24 hours, in line with Muslim religious rules, and in an unmarked grave, which is a Wahhabi custom.

The author insists that the many Bin Laden tapes made since that date have been concocted by the West to make the world believe Bin Laden is alive. The purpose? To stoke up waning support for the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To understand Griffin's thesis, we must remember the West's reaction to 9/11, that fateful sunny September day in 2001. Within a month, on Sunday, October 7, the U.S. and Britain launched massive retaliatory air strikes in the Tora Bora region where they said 'prime suspect' Bin Laden was living 'as a guest of Afghanistan'.

This military offensive ignored the fact that Bin Laden had already insisted four times in official Al Qaeda statements made to the Arab press that he played no role in 9/11.

More on Mail Online

US to Pump Thousands of ‘Combat Enablers’ Into Afghanistan

Top US defense officials say that roughly 3,000 additional troops, which are classified not as combat troops but rather “combat enablers,” will be deployed to Afghanistan in the coming days.

Officials say the decision was made roughly two weeks ago, which puts it at about the same time that the Pentagon was publicly announcing that it was pulling 14,000 support troops from the nation to add 14,000 more “trigger pullers” to the conflict.

Rather, it now seems that the non-combat troops are being replaced by the combat troops, and then new non-combat troops are being added as well, effectively an escalation of the number of troops involved in the conflict under the guise of adding “non-combat” troops. This escalation comes in addition to the expected request of another 20,000 troops from Gen. McChrystal.

Antiwar.com