Friday, 29 January 2016

Obama: Serial Killer

January 29th, 2016  

Stephen Lendman



On Wednesday, a banner was displayed on the top floor of a building across from Washington’s Moscow embassy - the word “KILLER” prominently displayed on Obama’s image in blood red.

The previous evening, a laser display projected the accusation “Obama Killer #1” on the embassy itself. Moscow-based Glavplakat art society took credit, calling its action a response to Washington’s “plans to invade the territory of yet another sovereign state.”

“The word ‘killer’ defines the 44th US president, and is given to him because of his decision to send the infamous 101st Airborne Division into the Syrian conflict,” it said.“Let’s keep in mind that this division (notoriously called “The Screaming Eagles”) carried out practically every US military invasion in the last decade.”

Ahead of peace talks beginning in Geneva on Friday, Sergey Lavrov said “there will be no business as usual between Russia and the West.”

Obama’s sordid record in office exceeds the worst of his predecessors, including endless wars of aggression.
He terror-bombed or remains complicit in naked aggression against seven countries.

They include Afghanistan and Pakistan (AfPak), Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen - along with orchestrating US-installed putschists’ war on its own Donbass people, Israel’s slow-motion genocide against Palestinians, and US special forces operating overtly and covertly in over two-thirds of world nations, destabilizing them.

Like his predecessors, Obama is addicted to endless wars of aggression, raping one country after another, responsible for millions of deaths, the severest refugee crisis since WW II, and unspeakable human misery.
Advancing America’s imperium matters most, fundamental rule of law principles discarded, democratic values ignored.

America is a pariah state, the world’s most hated and feared country, wanting unchallenged world dominance, willing to risk destroying planet earth to own it.

Its nuclear arsenal is humanity’s greatest threat, on hair-trigger alert. Never before in world history has one nation threatened humanity’s survival like America.

Lunatics in charge risk the unthinkable. All US wars are illegal, violating international, constitutional and US statute laws.

Reports indicate Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is fast-tracking a measure introduced by lunatic fringe Republican Senator Lindsey Graham - authorizing unlimited war, supporting Obama’s intention to keep waging them, likely against new targeted nations.

The measure places no restrictions on naked aggression, deployments of US combat troops anywhere at Obama’s discretion.

McConnell’s spokesman Don Stewart said the new Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) won’t “tie the president’s hands.”

It’s a prescription for possible global war - all sovereign independent nations vulnerable, targeted by Washington for regime change, wanting them transformed into US vassal states, perhaps willing to wage nuclear war to achieve its objectives - risking ending life on earth.

Today’s thermonuclear weapons are a 1,000 times more powerful than ones used against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Large cities and surrounding areas can be turned to smoldering rubble, countless millions incinerated.
Lunatics run the Washington asylum, a bipartisan criminal class, Obama their nominal head.

Militarism is a national addiction. The business of America is war - multiple ones, endless ones, an ideologically over-the-top agenda able to kill us all.
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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.htmlRadio Network.
It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.

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Declassified Memo Proves The Pentagon Had ZERO Evidence Of WMDs In Iraq

Thirteen years after the invasion and occupation of Iraq, it is common knowledge that this war of choice was based on fabrications and slick propaganda. There were no weapons of mass destruction, the country posed no real threat to the U.S., and it was not a hotbed of terrorism until after Saddam was deposed.
Now, a bombshell has dropped in the form of a leaked classified report—a “smoking gun” if you will—that confirms the utter deception carried out on the American people to support the invasion. It demonstrates just how far the cabal under George W. Bush, making up a group known as the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), would go to prey upon fear in pursuit of global hegemony.
While Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and others were proclaiming their certainty about the imminent threats posed to the U.S. by Saddam’s Iraq, the leaked documents reveal that they knew almost nothing about any actual weapons or capabilities.

On August 16, 2002, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asked Air Force Maj. Gen. Glen Shaffer, head of the Joint Staff’s intelligence directorate, for a report on “what we don’t know (in a percentage) about the Iraqi WMD program.”
The findings, titled Iraq: Status of WMD Programs, were underscored by this statement:
Our assessments rely heavily on analytic assumptions and judgment rather than hard evidence. The evidentiary base is particularly sparse for Iraqi nuclear programs.
Regarding the actual programs, it says:
We’ve struggled to estimate the unknowns. … We range from 0% to about 75% knowledge on various aspects of their program…
Our knowledge of the Iraqi (nuclear) weapons program is based largely—perhaps 90%—on analysis of imprecise intelligence.
When forwarding the report, Air Force Maj. Gen. Glen Shaffer answered Rumsfeld’s original question by noting, “We don’t know with any precision how much we don’t know.”
Rumsfeld apparently believed the report had some significance when he sent it to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying, “Please take a look at this material as to what we don’t know about WMD. It is big.”
Considering that this was a summary of all that the U.S. intelligence apparatus knew about Iraq’s WMD capabilities (or lack thereof), how could any responsible leader try and sell the invasion to the American people?
Yet that is what happened, perhaps no more fervently than Vice President Dick Cheney. There are countless examples of Cheney stating in no uncertain terms the nuclear, chemical, biological and ballistic missile threats that Saddam’s Iraq posed to the U.S.
Cheney asserted that Iraq was secretly reconstituting its biological and chemical weapons programs, but the report stated:
We cannot confirm the identity of any Iraqi facilities that produce, test, fill, or store biological weapons.
We do not know if all the processes required to produce a weapon are in place. [The Iraqis] lack the precursors for sustained nerve agent production…we cannot confirm the identity of any Iraqi sites that produce final chemical agent.
While Cheney and the gang issued repeated fear-mongering about “mushroom clouds,” the report stated:
We do not know the status of enrichment capabilities. We do not know with confidence the location of any nuclear-weapon-related facilities.

Hoarding these items is better than having money in the bank (Ad)

Days before Bush claimed that Iraq was developing ballistic missiles that could hit Israel with WMD, the report had found:
We doubt all processes are in place to produce longer range missiles.
The secret report was kept from the view of key players in the propaganda campaign, including Colin Powell who was made to look the fool. Just before the invasion, Powell said before the U.N. General Assembly:
My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. These are not assertions. What we’re giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence.
With this lack of factual evidence for their yearning to invade Iraq—a goal of PNAC since 1998—the war-mongering officials with deep ties to the defense industry proceeded to fabricate their own tales to justify the propaganda campaign.
They turned to a parallel intelligence apparatus that they created, which relied on a network of Iraqi defectors and exiles, most notably the late Ahmed Chalabi who admitted he provided wrong information.
Back home, Cheney and Rumsfeld had set up something called theOffice of Special Plans, run by Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith. This Pentagon office sent raw intelligence from Chalabi and other nefarious sources directly to the president, unvetted by intelligence analysts and uncorroborated.
If there was ever a smoking gun, this is it. If there was ever enough reason to bring charges of war crimes and other abuses of power against George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, this report provides it.
Justin Gardner writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com
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Canada Halts Intelligence Sharing with International Partners

Local Editor

Canada put a hold on sharing top secret spy data with the Five Eyes countries, including the US, after it was discovered that its NSA counterpart had shared info containing the personal details of Canadians, senior government officials said Thursday.

Canada Halts Intelligence Sharing with International Partners

Authorities said they made the decision after learning that the Communications Security Establishment [CSE] agency had not properly hidden the metadata of Canadian citizens before sharing it with its international allies. Metadata includes the numbers and time stamps of phone calls, but excludes content.

"We want to make sure that software updates actually do what they're supposed to do. And that's why we have stopped that portion of metadata sharing. It's very important that...we do protect the privacy of Canadians," Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan told the media.

"CSE will not resume sharing this information with our partners until I am fully satisfied the effective systems and measures are in place."

The CSE is the equivalent of America's National Security Agency [NSA], which monitors electronic communication. Sajjan, who oversees the agency, did not specify when the information sharing was stopped.

Canada is a member of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence sharing network. Other members include the US, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

Sajjan stressed that Canada's allies were not upset about the halt in information sharing. "Our allies are actually very supportive of the work that CSE does on a daily basis. They also value the same type of protection as we do, and that's why this agreement, this very important agreement within our Five Eyes community is in place."

It is against the law to snoop on Canadians specifically, but sometimes Canadians do get caught in the spy web when the CSE investigates other targets.

Sajjan estimated that adding that the information
 that had been shared did not contain enough detail to identify individual Canadians.
The Defense Minister made the announcement along with Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale. It came shortly after the CSE revealed the problem, stating that not enough was being done to hide the sensitive information of Canadian citizens.

Former CIA employee and NSA computer analyst Edward Snowden was the first to blow the whistle on the top secret NSA program. His leaks revealed that the US intelligence agencies collect information about US citizens along with a trove of other top secret data. The highly disturbing revelations painted a picture of a massive blanket data collection program being carried out on a scale previously unheard of and allegedly without the need for specific court orders.

Meanwhile, Canada-related leaks exposed by Snowden revealed that the CSE shares some of its tactics with the NSA, and even allegedly uses the US agency's cyber warfare software for some tasks.

The Snowden leaks also showed that the CSE targets cellphones using highly sophisticated malware called WARRIORPRIDE, and also maintains a botnet - a whole network of infected private computers - to attack targets without giving itself away.

Back in 2013, NSA leaks implied that Canadians were also allegedly involved in spying on devices connected to the Brazilian mining and energy ministry - which was part of what prompted accusations of industrial espionage and a diplomatic row between Brasilia and Washington.

Other Snowden leaks established that the NSA is not just interested in collecting metadata from global communications, but also their content, including images, even if it affects people not under direct suspicion.

The Five Eyes states routinely share private data of global citizens which they harness through mass surveillance operations, according to Snowden. However, critical information relating to this opaque interstate arrangement remains obscured from public knowledge.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
29-01-2016 | 09:03
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60% of refugees heading to Europe are economic migrants – top EU official




© Ognen Teofilovski
A majority of people coming to Europe from the Middle East and Africa are economic migrants using asylum-seeker status as a cover, according to a top EU official. The EU may reinstate internal border controls if the crisis isn’t resolved in two months.
“More than half of the people now coming to Europe come from countries where you can assume they have no reason whatsoever to ask for refugee status… more than half, 60 percent,” said Frans Timmerman, vice-president of the European Commission, citing what he said were new, unpublished figures from the EU border agency Frontex.
Speaking on Tuesday with Dutch national broadcaster NOS, he added that these false refugees are mostly aspiring settlers from Morocco and Tunisia and are infiltrating Europe through porous Turkish borders in pursuit of better economic prospects.
Timmerman urged EU countries to accelerate the deportation procedure for those who pretend to be fleeing war or persecution. In this way, Europe would be able to provide support for those who need protection, he said.


Bavarian allies threaten Merkel with lawsuit over migrants’ policy http://on.rt.com/72tc 
Since last year Germany, Austria, France, Sweden, Denmark and Norway have reintroduced border controls for a maximum six-month term in a bid to curb the inflow of asylum seekers. On Monday, the European Commission said it could expand the temporary border checks for a period of two years, which is only possible if the existence of the Schengen zone is perceived to be in danger.
In January, Denmark imposed identity checks on its borders with Germany after Sweden introduced the same measure on its border with Denmark, causing transport delays of up to an hour.
Last year, Hungary built razor-wire fences on its borders with Serbia and Croatia in an unprecedented move to stem the migrant influx as more than 1,500 people a day entered the country. Last week, the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, called for fences to be built on the Macedonian and Bulgarian borders with Greece.
Hungary’s example has been followed by Austria, which constructed a 2.5-mile fence on its border with Slovenia, and by Slovenia itself – which built a fence along its border with Hungary.  


approves confiscation of ’ valuables, delay of family reunifications http://on.rt.com/72sy 
The first deputy prime minister of Croatia, Tomislav Karamarko, announced last week that his country might follow the lead of Slovenia and other European countries.
"We will not allow Croatia to become a hotspot for refugees. How are we going to do that remains to be decided. I do not know the technical details of how that would be implemented, if it ever is. It all depends on what we agree with our allies," he said, as cited by Total Croatia News.
European Council President Donald Tusk warned that Europe has “no more than two months to get things under control.” If it failed to tackle the migration crisis before the EU summit in March, the bloc could “face grave consequences, such as the collapse of Schengen.” 
The possible ending of the Schengen agreement may not alleviate the pressure to the extent its proponents are hoping for. Instead, it will surely inflict substantial damage on transportation and the European economy.
“There is no proof that bringing back border controls will help to ease the situation in terms of reducing the number of refugees,” Timmerman told NOS. He said it would be a “huge risk” which may result in “enormous economic consequences”and yet will not produce any positive outcome.
In the meantime, the Netherlands has decided to deploy police units on city streets and public locations such as railway stations and shopping malls. It is presumed that the officers will carry submachine guns, according to Dutch police reports.
The measure is seen as a response to the growing concerns that not only economic migrants but also Islamic terrorists could have entered Europe, posing as refugees.
“People may be shocked to see these officers, but the aim is to make the country safer for everyone,” a police spokesman said.


Invasion of Europe: The ship is going down (Op-Edge by Sam Gerrans) http://on.rt.com/72ll 
Last week reports emerged that a former Islamic State jihadist fighter might be living in Frankfurt along with the victims of the terror.  “I was very scared that this terrorist is in a democratic state like Germany just living here,” said a refugee from Syria, who said he saw a man in Frankfurt resembling a member of the terrorist group he encountered in Syria. The police have launched an investigation into the case, but due to a complete lack of evidence are unable to charge the individual with any crime.
Europe has been experiencing the worst migrant crisis since the end of WWII. The number of asylum seekers passed 1 million by the end of November, according to Eurostat. However, the actual number of applicants will likely be much higher, as Finland was the only country to submit data up to November.
According to the Eurostat asylum quarterly report, released December 9, the number of applicants increased by more than 150 percent in the third quarter of 2015 in comparison with the same quarter of the previous year. The next report with updated figures is set to be published in March. Germany Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere announced recently that his country alone has taken in nearly 1.1 million refugees.
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Iran’s Velayat-4 Naval Drills Kicked Off in Hormuz Strait


Local Editor

Iran: Velayat-4 drillsThe Iranian Navy forces started on Wednesday the first military drill after the nuclear deal with the P5+1 group, in what considered the main phase of massive war games along the east of Hormuz Strait over 10 degree-latitude north of the Indian Ocean, Al-Manar TV reporter said.

"Naval forces are of strategic significance and above sea and subsea divisions must be ready, along with the air support" Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said.

Different Navy surface and subsurface units, including destroyers, logistic warships, missile-launching warships and Qadir and Tareq class submarines are taking part of the Velayat 4 exercises that will cover an area of 3 million km2.

Iran: Habibollah SayyariVessels widely deployed in the area, spotted potential enemy movements and identified attack axes in preparation to launch a counter-attack with the help of military destroyers, submarines and support from the Air Force.

"All vessels will be effectively involved in this maneuver, as well as Navy destroyers and Ghadeer and Tariq submarines to implement the tasks entrusted to them and stay alerted," Brigadier Mahmoud Mousawi, Velayat-4 spokesman, said.
Al-Manar TV reporter stated that Iranian naval ships gave warnings to the commercial and other military vessels to avoid the traffic in the area, and forced a US vessel approaching the band to leave the region after sending warning messages to stay outside the boundaries of the exercises.

Velayat-4 navy defense drills include deployment of Navy units, running tactics, firing missiles and torpedoes, as well as Special Marines parade.

The Iranian Navy had also held massive war games in the Eastern waters of the Strait of Hormuz on December 22-23. The drills were aimed at evaluating the military capabilities and testing the equipment of the Iranian Navy.

Source: Al Manar TV
28-01-2016 - 09:57 Last updated 28-01-2016 - 10:03

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