The Cult of the Dead Fish

14 Mar 2011

Clinton's spokesman quits after questioning treatment of WikiLeaks suspect

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief spokesman resigned Sunday, three days after he publicly criticized the treatment in confinement of WikiLeaks suspect Army Pfc. Bradley Manning as "counterproductive and stupid." In a prepared statement, P.J. Crowley said his remarks about Manning's treatment, made at an appearance Thursday in Cambridge, Mass., were meant to highlight the effect of actions by U.S. security agencies "on our global standing and leadership."

Bradley Manning before and after torture in 'free America' and his alleged part in the release of the Wikileaks documents that exposed the lies and corruption of world governments, most notably that of the US. (David Icke Website)

Lawyers for Manning, who is charged with unauthorized sharing of classified information, allege that he has been mistreated, including being forced to sleep naked, while in confinement at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va. A Pentagon spokesman has said the conditions of Manning's confinement comply with U.S. laws, and suggested that officials are concerned that Manning might try to hurt himself.

At a news conference Friday, President Barack Obama was asked about Crowley's remarks and said that the Pentagon had assured him that the conditions of Manning's confinement were appropriate. "I can't go into details about some of their concerns, but some of this has to do with Private Manning's safety as well," Obama said.

In a prepared statement, Clinton said she had accepted Crowley's resignation "with regret." It was unclear whether Crowley offered his resignation first or whether Clinton - or the White House - had demanded it.

MiamiHerald.com

We need a national dna data base says Dutch police chief

Every Dutch national should hand over a sample of their dna for inclusion in a national data bank to help solve crime, Rotterdam police chief Frank Pauw says in Monday’s Telegraaf.

At the moment, only people suspected of crimes with a jail sentence of at least four years have to hand over dna. The Dutch forensic institute data bank now contains the dna of 11,000 people.

‘If you want to make the world safer, there is a price to pay,’ Pauw is quoted as saying.

DutchNews.nl

Radiation fears rise as explosions rips through Japanese nuclear plants

Fears of a nuclear disaster in Japan were heightened today after a second explosion at the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi number one plant.

A hydrogen explosion rocked Unit three of the plant sending a plume of smoke into the air - as engineers frantically tried to reduce pressure in the overheating reactor.

The blast follows a similar explosion at Unit one of the facility on Saturday and another reactor at the plant has also lost its cooling capacity, raising the risk of another explosion. Eleven people, seven plant workers and four army personnel were injured in today's explosion, one of them seriously.

Mail Online

Libyan rebels flee Gaddafi advance

Libyan armed forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi have cleared "armed gangs" from the oil-rich town of Brega in the east, an army source told state television on Sunday.

"Brega has been cleansed of armed gangs," the military source was quoted as saying. The report could not immediately be verified. State television has in the past issued false reports claiming territory.

But the claim comes amid a string of setbacks for the rebels who have lost several cities in the east to pro-Gaddafi forces. Brega's fall into the hands of Gaddafi loyalists would deal a further blow to the opposition's morale and momentum.

Pro-Gaddafi forces have been swiftly advancing on the poorly equipped and loosely organised rebels who had seized much of the eastern parts of the country since the uprising against Gaddafi's decades-long rule began last month.

On Saturday, pro-Gaddafi forces pushed the frontline deeper into rebel territory to just 40km outside Brega, the site of a major oil terminal.

Al Jazeera

13 Mar 2011

Quake moved Japan coast 8 feet, shifted Earth's axis

The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.

"At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass," said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Reports from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy estimated the 8.9-magnitude quake shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4 inches (10 centimeters).

CNN.com

Japan's nuclear crisis

Problems began when Friday's massive earthquake knocked out electricity at the Fukushima No 1 power station. Back-up generators kicked in to pump coolant around the reactor cores to prevent the fuel rods from overheating. The generators worked for a short time, but were damaged by the ensuing tsunami, forcing a scramble by engineers to fit mobile battery power units. These were insufficient to cool all of the reactors properly.

The strategy of pumping sea water into nuclear reactors is untested. It could take several days to bring the temperature and pressure of the reactor cores down to within safe limits.

If the cooling fails, the reactors could overheat and cause a total meltdown of the radioactive fuel rods in the core. This would only lead to a major release of radiation if the reactor's containment vessel was breached.

The Japanese authorities have classified the situation as a level 4 "accident with local consequences" on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). The scale runs from zero for a deviation in normal operations to seven for a major accident. The Three Mile Island incident in 1979 was a five and Chernobyl in 1986 was a seven on the scale.

Japan Earthquake: before and after

Aerial photos taken over Japan have revealed the scale of devastation across dozens of suburbs and tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

ABC News (Click here to hover over each satellite photo to view the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami.)

Best pictures at the Atlantic and more on Reuters

12 Mar 2011

Military Police raid at Czech TV

Czech Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra has suspended Vladimir Lozek over the action in the building of the Czech Television (CT) public broadcaster on Friday evening, ministry spokesman Jan Pejsek told CTK today. He said Vondra considers the action out of proportion to the situation. All three will be suspended pending the investigation.

About ten armed and masked military police stormed the CT news service building in Prague on Friday evening. Based on a court order they were looking for a Military Intelligence (VZ) file that editor Karel Rozanek had previously.

The file is connected with the case of former VZ head Miroslav Krejcik. The military police were searching for almost five hours one of the CT rooms from which they took sacks with equipment and documents of three editors before midnight.

ČeskéNoviny.cz

US Class War

This Is What Class War Looks Like - David Icke Website

Twitter must give user info in WikiLeaks probe

A US federal magistrate ruled Friday that prosecutors can demand Twitter account information of certain users in their criminal probe into the disclosure of classified documents on WikiLeaks.

Three of the five account holders targeted by the government had asked the judge to reverse an earlier order she issued requiring Twitter to turn over the information to prosecutors. The Twitter users argued that the government was on a fishing expedition and its request amounted to an unconstitutional violation of their freedom of speech and association.

The original order issued by Buchanan in December 2010 at prosecutors' request sought account information from Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is being held at Quantico Marine Corps Base amid allegations that he leaked classified documents about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to WikiLeaks.

Three other accounts belonging to American Jacob Appelbaum, Dutch citizen Rop Gonggrijp and Birgitta Jonsdottir, a member of Iceland's parliament, were also targeted. Those three challenged the court order. Assange has contended that, as an Australian citizen, he is not subject to American law.

Buchanan also rejected a request that would have required the government to disclose whether it sought similar records from other social networking sites like Facebook.

Bradley Manning being mistreated, says Hillary Clinton spokesman

Hillary Clinton's spokesman has launched a public attack on the Pentagon for the way it is treating military prisoner Bradley Manning, the US soldier suspected of handing the US embassy cables to WikiLeaks.

PJ Crowley, the assistant secretary of state for public affairs at the US state department, said Manning was being "mistreated" in the military brig at Quantico, Virginia. "What is being done to Bradley Manning is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid on the part of the department of defence," he said.

Crowley's comments signal a crack within the Obama administration over the handling of the WikiLeaks saga in which hundreds of thousands of confidential documents were handed to the website. As news of the remarks rippled through Washington, President Obama was forced to address the subject of Manning's treatment for the first time.

Asked about the controversy at a White House press conference, Obama revealed he had asked the Pentagon "whether or not the procedures that have been taken in terms of his confinement are appropriate and are meeting our basic standards. They assure me that they are."

Obama would not respond specifically to Crowley's comments, which are the first critical remarks from within the administration about the handling of Manning. The prisoner is being held for 23 hours in solitary confinement in his cell and stripped naked every night.

The Guardian - Bradley Manning Support Network

11 Mar 2011

Ghost Town

The Specials – official website – The Specials YouTube

Did supermoon spark quake? ‘Extreme supermoon’ said to set Earth up for weather chaos

Japan’s devastating earthquake comes just days after a warning that an extreme "supermoon" would spark chaos across the globe.

On March 19, the moon will loom large in our skies and be at its closest distance from the Earth in 18 years. And weather bloggers noted there was a supermoon just before the last monster tsunami in Asia on Boxing Day 2004.

Conspiracy theorists on the internet have made catastrophic predictions of tidal waves, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

Next week the moon will pass a mere 221,567 miles from our planet and some amateur scientists have been predicting extreme conditions all over the world. The event — known as a lunar perigee — happens when a full or new moon comes within 90 per cent of its closest approach possible.

The Sun

Earthquake in Japan

10 Mar 2011

I'm Alive

Popularity of the original I'm Alive track by Don Fardon has given Ashley Beedle inspiration to put his own touch to the music, along with an entertaining video.

How TV Ruined Your Life

Prince Andrew row intensifies

On Monday, as a storm of bad publicity raged around him, UK Prince Andrew lobbied an MP to help boost British business with Azerbaijan, the central Asian autocracy accused of torturing protesters, it has emerged.

Despite growing concern over his willingness to establish business links with foreign dictatorships from the Middle East to central Asia, the Duke of York met Mark Field, Tory MP for Cities of London and Westminster and chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on Azerbaijan, at Buckingham Palace and asked for support in parliament and Whitehall for British investment in Azerbaijan.

Anti-labor vote shocks Wisconsin

US Republican lawmakers in the Wisconsin Senate have approved Governor Scott Walker's plan to curb the rights of public sector unions, prompting protesters to storm the state capitol.

In a hastily-arranged special conference committee, Republicans voted 18 to 1 for restrictions on collective bargaining by public employees that Walker has insisted are needed to help the state's cash-strapped municipalities deal with a projected $1.27 billion drop in state aid over the next two years, Reuters reported.
The lawmakers stripped out the parts that required the presence of their 14 absent Democratic colleagues. The measure will now go to the Republican-controlled state assembly, which is expected to vote on the matter on Thursday.
News of the vote drew angry shouts from the protesters outside the chamber. The protesters were trying to force their way inside as police pushed back from the building doors. Senators then left the chamber under police escort.

PressTV

'My People' (song for Egypt)

An exclusive song by Yusuf initially written for the Egyptian people however can be applied to all despotic regimes.

Official web site for Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)

9 Mar 2011

I'll Be Yours

Those Dancing Days

Communist Chinese Model Of Order May Become “The Envy Of The World”

Billionaire investor George Soros has once again cited China’s dictatorship as the model for the rest of the world in a speech at an elite gathering in Europe.

Soros told the exclusive Travellers Club, that “China’s model of state capitalism, in which the interests of the individual are subordinated to those of the government, poses a danger if its example becomes“the envy of the world.”

“Perfect order and global governance are not realistic expectations.” Soros was reported to have said at the elite gentleman’s meeting in Paris. “However, it is a sad fact that Western democracies provide less successful leadership than China.” he continued.

Soros is clearly imagining a world in which freedom has all but vanished, given that he believes anyone in Europe or the US could ever envy life in China.

Infowars

Matt Damon: Obama Has 'Rolled Over To Wall Street Completely'

Obama may be losing the faith of a famous and charismatic supporter ahead of the 2012 elections.

Academy Award-winning actor Matt Damon campaigned for Obama in 2008, but he recently offered some some harsh criticism of the president's economic approach. During the interview rounds promoting his latest film, "The Adjustment Bureau," Damon took aim at the White House's approach to big banks.

"I think he's rolled over to Wall Street completely. The economy has huge problems. We still have all these banks that are too big to fail. They're bigger and making more money than ever," Damon said in an interview with the U.K.'s Independent.

8 Mar 2011

New 9/11 Video Shot From NYPD Helicopter

A newly-released 17-minute video taken from an NYPD helicopter on September 11th, 2001 shows the events of that day from a new perspective.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology obtained the footage under the Freedom of Information Act as part of its investigation into the day’s harrowing events.The footage was then sent to Cryptome, a site which describes itself as a platform that welcomes “documents for publication that are prohibited by governments worldwide, in particular material on freedom of expression, privacy, cryptology, dual-use technologies, national security, intelligence, and secret governance – open, secret and classified documents – but not limited to those.”

LiveLeak.com

International Women's Day

Afghan refugee women from Helmand, arrive at World Food Program (WFP) distribution center to receive fee ration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday. In last four months WFP has provided food rations to hundreds of thousands of Afghan families mostly widows, refugees, the disabled and poor families. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

All Eyes photo blog - internationalwomensday.com

Afghanistan lets Blackwater stay despite shakeup of security contractors

Blackwater looks set to survive an Afghan government clampdown on mercenaries after Hamid Karzai was forced by his western partners to abandon a complete disbandment of private security companies.

Under plans to be announced by the Afghan government this month many security contractors, whom Karzai regards as being little better than militias, will be allowed to continue operating for another year.

As part of a complex new transition strategy the government is giving them until 21 March 2012 before most security for development projects is taken over by the Afghan Public Protection Force. The APPF is a government security service intended to assume control over the country's hugely lucrative commercial security industry, which employs around 30,000 guards.

Western and Afghan officials say the draft plans drawn up by former Karzai opponent Ashraf Ghani will actually allow companies to keep supplying private guards and security services to development projects indefinitely. According to a list seen by The Guardian 11 companies operating in Afghanistan that have a good reputation with government officials will enjoy favoured status in taking over contracts.

Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater, is included in that group despite being banned in Iraq and notorious for its activities in Afghanistan.