NO LIES RADIO » War Crimes

Americans talk about an Israeli strike on Iran, but prepare own offensive

noliesradio — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:49:00 +0000

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report February 4, 2012, 11:16 AM (GMT+02:00)

1,000 Israeli paratroops jump in big drill

US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has been outspoken about a possible Israeli offensive against Iran taking place as of April and one American TV channel theorized simplistically Friday, Feb. 3, about Israel’s tactics. At the same time, no US source is leveling on the far more extensive American, Saudi, British, French and Gulf states’ preparations going forward for an offensive against the Islamic Republic.

Tehran too is gearing up for conflict: The Iranian Guards Ground Forces chief Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour Saturday, Feb. 4 announced the start of a three-week exercise in southern Iran and the Strait of Hormuz under conditions of war. debkafile: The “exercise” is in fact an Iranian military buildup ahead of a possible American or Israel attack.

debkafile’s military sources report a steady flow of many thousands of US troops for some weeks to two strategic islands within reach of Iran, Oman’s Masirah just south of the Strait of Hormuz and Socotra, between Yemen and the Horn of Africa. (DEBKA-Net-Weekly 526 of Jan. 27 was the first world publication to reveal the massive concentration of American might on the two islands.)
This concentration was held by the White House as sufficiently urgent to relent on its refusal to admit the ousted Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Salah to America for medical treatment. He won permission in exchange for his consent to the Socotra military buildup.

There are now two potential triggers for a Middle East confrontation with Iran. They are closely interrelated: The urgent need for action this year to preempt Iran’s nuclear bomb program before it is too late and the Syrian army’s appalling and escalating butchery of civilians.
Even as world powers haggled over a bogged-down UN Security Council motion for ending the loss of life, a continuous Syrian bombardment beginning early Saturday, Feb. 4, is estimated to have left a record 350 dead and up to 1,300 wounded in the Homs district of Khaldiyeh. The casualty figures continued to climb Saturday as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov threatened a “scandal” if the Western-Arab text were put to the vote.
Bashar Assad was clearly determined to wipe out every family and home in the defiant Homs suburb in case the world body agreed on a ceasefire resolution.

Our military sources report that the Saudis this week wound up their own intensive preparations for war. Large forces are now deployed around Saudi oil fields, pipelines and export facilities in the eastern provinces opposite the Persian Gulf, backed by anti-missile Patriot PAC-3 batteries. American, British and French fighter-bombers have been landing at Saudi air bases to safeguard the capital, Riyadh.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Russia vetoes anti-Assad UN motion after preparing Special Forces for Syria

noliesradio — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:45:21 +0000

DEBKAfile Special Report February 4, 2012, 7:51 PM (GMT+02:00)

Syrian shelling leaves hundreds dead in Homs

The West and Russia had a major showdown Saturday Feb. 5 over the Arab League resolution calling on Bashar Assad to step down and allow the formation of a national unity government. US President Barack Obama demanded a UN stand against the Syrian president’s “relentless brutality” and a vote before the end of the day. It was put to the vote and defeated by Russian and China vetoes.

Moscow sources charged that the motion had been intended to pave the way for war in Iran and a bid to overthrow the Tehran regime.
debkafile’s military sources report that the Russians backed their hard line against the West by putting Rapid Reaction Force (aka Spetsnaz) units in Black Sea bases on the ready to set out for Syria and defend Damascus. A Cold War dimension has been injected into the Syrian crisis, which is fast descending into a sectarian war between Syria’s ruling Alawites (Shiites) and the majority Sunnis. The regional dimension is provided by pitting Iran and Syria against Turkey and the Gulf Arabs.

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s earlier announcement that he would visit Damascus next Tuesday, Feb 7, with Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Mikhail Fradkov was meant to buy Bashar Assad another three days’ grace to polish off the opposition before a possible UN-ordered ceasefire.
However, the US and Western powers refused to wait for further Syrian excesses to take place after various sources reported earlier Saturday that Syrian troops had shelled the Homs district of Khaldiyeh, killing an estimated 350 people there and injuring some 1,500, in the worst military bombardment of nearly 11-month-old uprising,.

Syrian government officials denied the charge accusing “gunmen” of killing civilians.

debkafile’s intelligence sources note that Moscow’s gesture to send the Russian foreign intelligence chief to Damascus alongside the foreign minister is supported additionally by the presence in the Syrian port of Tartus of Russia’s only aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov with two destroyers and a marine force.

READ FULL STORY HERE

NATO Versus Syria: NATO Clandestinely Engaged in Syrian Conflict

noliesradio — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:32:50 +0000

CIA Analysts Skeptical Regarding March to War

by Philip Giraldi

Global Research, February 4, 2012
The American Conservative – 2011-12-19

Americans should be concerned about what is happening in Syria, if only because it threatens to become another undeclared war like Libya but much, much worse. Calls for regime change have come from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who several weeks ago predicted a civil war.

That is indeed likely if the largely secular and nationalist regime of Bashar al-Assad falls, pitting Sunni against Shia against Alawite. Indigenous Christians will be caught in the meat grinder. Ironically, many of the Christians in Damascus are Iraqis who experienced the last round of liberation in their own country and had to flee for their lives.

NATO is already clandestinely engaged in the Syrian conflict, with Turkey taking the lead as U.S. proxy. Ankara’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davitoglu, has openly admitted that his country is prepared to invade as soon as there is agreement among the Western allies to do so. The intervention would be based on humanitarian principles, to defend the civilian population based on the “responsibility to protect” doctrine that was invoked to justify Libya. Turkish sources suggest that intervention would start with creation of a buffer zone along the Turkish-Syrian border and then be expanded. Aleppo, Syria’s largest and most cosmopolitan city, would be the crown jewel targeted by liberation forces.

Unmarked NATO warplanes are arriving at Turkish military bases close to Iskenderum on the Syrian border, delivering weapons from the late Muammar Gaddafi’s arsenals as well as volunteers from the Libyan Transitional National Council who are experienced in pitting local volunteers against trained soldiers, a skill they acquired confronting Gaddafi’s army. Iskenderum is also the seat of the Free Syrian Army, the armed wing of the Syrian National Council. French and British special forces trainers are on the ground, assisting the Syrian rebels while the CIA and U.S. Spec Ops are providing communications equipment and intelligence to assist the rebel cause, enabling the fighters to avoid concentrations of Syrian soldiers.

CIA analysts are skeptical regarding the march to war. The frequently cited United Nations report that more than 3,500 civilians have been killed by Assad’s soldiers is based largely on rebel sources and is uncorroborated. The Agency has refused to sign off on the claims. Likewise, accounts of mass defections from the Syrian Army and pitched battles between deserters and loyal soldiers appear to be a fabrication, with few defections being confirmed independently. Syrian government claims that it is being assaulted by rebels who are armed, trained, and financed by foreign governments are more true than false.

In the United States, many friends of Israel are on the Assad regime-change bandwagon, believing that a weakened Syria, divided by civil war, will present no threat to Tel Aviv. But they should think again, as these developments have a way of turning on their head. The best organized and funded opposition political movement in Syria is the Muslim Brotherhood.

Philip Giraldi, a former CIA officer, is executive director of the Council for the National Interest.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Russia: “Should Anything Happen to Iran … This Will Be a Direct Threat to Our National Security”

noliesradio — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:12:02 +0000

Russia and China Would Consider An Attack On Iran – Or Syria – As An Attack On Their National Security

washingtonsblog.com 1-14-2012
RT notes:

The escalating conflict around Iran should be contained by common effort, otherwise the promising Arab Spring will grow into a “scorching Arab Summer,” says Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s deputy prime minister and former envoy to NATO.

“Iran is our close neighbor, just south of the Caucasus. Should anything happen to Iran, should Iran get drawn into any political or military hardships, this will be a direct threat to our national security,” stressed Rogozin.

Here’s what Rogozin is talking about (notice how close the Southern tip of Russia is to Northern Iran):

A Chinese general has also allegedly said that China would launch World War III if Iran is attacked. And see this.

While many Americans still believe that our government would not be crazy enough to attack Iran,economic – not national security – considerations may be driving the warmongers.

In addition, Iran and Syria have had a mutual defense pact for years. And China and Russia might also defend Syria if it is attacked. So an attack on Syria could draw Iran into the war … followed by China and Russia.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Exposed: The Arab agenda in Syria

noliesradio — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:50:33 +0000

THE ROVING EYE
Exposed: The Arab agenda in Syria
By Pepe Escobar
atimes.com

Here’s a crash course on the “democratic” machinations of the Arab League – rather the GCC League, as real power in this pan-Arab organization is wielded by two of the six Persian Gulf monarchies composing the Gulf Cooperation Council, also known as Gulf Counter-revolution Club; Qatar and the House of Saud.

Essentially, the GCC created an Arab League group to monitor what’s going on in Syria. The Syrian National Council – based in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries Turkey and France – enthusiastically supported it. It’s telling that Syria’s neighbor Lebanon did not.

When the over 160 monitors, after one month of enquiries, issued their report … surprise! The report did not follow the official GCC line – which is that the “evil” Bashar al-Assad government is indiscriminately, and unilaterally, killing its own people, and so regime change is in order.

The Arab League’s Ministerial Committee had approved the report, with four votes in favor (Algeria, Egypt, Sudan and GCC member Oman) and only one against; guess who, Qatar – which is now presiding the Arab League because the emirate bought their (rotating) turn from the Palestinian Authority.

So the report was either ignored (by Western corporate media) or mercilessly destroyed – by Arab media, virtually all of it financed by either the House of Saud or Qatar. It was not even discussed – because it was prevented by the GCC from being translated from Arabic into English and published in the Arab League’s website.

Until it was leaked. Here it is, in full.

The report is adamant. There was no organized, lethal repression by the Syrian government against peaceful protesters. Instead, the report points to shady armed gangs as responsible for hundreds of deaths among Syrian civilians, and over one thousand among the Syrian army, using lethal tactics such as bombing of civilian buses, bombing of trains carrying diesel oil, bombing of police buses and bombing of bridges and pipelines.

Once again, the official NATOGCC version of Syria is of a popular uprising smashed by bullets and tanks. Instead, BRICS members Russia and China, and large swathes of the developing world see it as the Syrian government fighting heavily armed foreign mercenaries. The report largely confirms these suspicions.

The Syrian National Council is essentially a Muslim Brotherhood outfit affiliated with both the House of Saud and Qatar – with an uneasy Israel quietly supporting it in the background. Legitimacy is not exactly its cup of green tea. As for the Free Syrian Army, it does have its defectors, and well-meaning opponents of the Assad regime, but most of all is infested with these foreign mercenaries weaponized by the GCC, especially Salafist gangs.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Military Industrial Complex at 50, David Swanson _ on Anti-War Progressive Teach-in

noliesradio — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:04:16 +0000

This show was broadcast February 4, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Every Saturday – Anti-War – Progressive Truth Teach-in
Coming up at 9:00am Pacific * 12 noon Eastern * 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Monday.

Military Industrial Complex at 50, David Swanson
As he discusses co-authoring his new book MIC50, David Swanson provides context with recent US Military and foreign policy history in wars abroad. Iran, Congress, Corporate Power, and new energy to OWS movement, with dates for general strikes and protests. From a Talk Nation Radio Presentation.

The Anti-war Progressive Teach-in broaches upon some of the most highly charged subjects of our day—War & Peace, national healthcare, women’s rights, human rights, civil rights, torture, vets against the war, freedom, democracy, protest, demonstrations, etc. We scour the world to find and gather debates and presentations that are extremely informative and educational. Related subjects are also discussed. It provides key information for the uninitiated and the initiated alike.

Rosanne Barr and Cindy Hickey_on Soapbox

noliesradio — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:28:51 +0000

This show was broadcast February 4, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific – 04:00 pm Eastern – 20:00 GMT

Rosanne Barr and Cindy Hickey
Cindy presents two guests: 1) up is actress, comedian and political commentator Rosanne Barr, and then on to 2) Cindy Hickey, mother of incarcerated hiker (in Iran?) Shane Bauer. Roseanne presents her own web site, roseanneworld.com, and then moves on to discusses her new book: Roseannearchy, also known as “Dispatches from the Nut Farm.” It’s really her personal Journal on leaving ‘Babylon’ (Hollywood), for a real life in Hawaii. Golly gee, she sounds like “gasp” a real person here, boyz and grrls! Awesome, indeed – especially in this day and age! What I expected was a semi-comedic tour of “Roseanne’s World,” perhaps a distant cousin to “Wayne’s World.” What I got was a carefully reasoned and well thought-out semi-comedic presentation of a serious plan to save the world we already have. She’s done a marvelous job analyzing/structuring her “Roseanearchy” here, folks! Next up is Cindy Hiickey for her son, Shane Bauer. In July 2009, Josh Fatal and Shane Bauer, along with his fiancée Sarah Shourd were detained by Iranian forces while they were were enjoying a recreational hike in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. There are conflicting news reports about whether Iranian forces entered Iraq to arrest the three young Americans or they strayed across the poorly marked border by mistake. Supposedly, these three crossed the border into Iran illegally. Even Sarah says there were absolutely no border markings anywhere. Sarah, 32, was released on September 14, 2010, on humanitarian grounds after spending 410 days in solitary confinement and immediately vowed to work for the freedom of Shane and Josh, both 28. All three were charged shortly before Sarah’s release with illegal entry and espionage at a hearing in Evin Prison in Tehran where they were finally allowed to meet their lawyer for only the first time. Shane, Sarah and Josh are innocent of any crime. You can sign the International petition to free them at Freethehikers.org.This interview is from June 5, 2011.
Cindy’s website is here.

The Original 99% Movement

noliesradio — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:19:57 +0000

January 28, 2012 by WashingtonsBlog

Top Military Man Invokes the Occupy Movement in 1933

Smedley Butler was one of the most highly-decorated military men of all time. He is also the guy who – literally – stopped a coup against FDR. See this, this and this.

General Butler addressed the Bonus Army in Washington D.C. in 1933, as they “occupied” D.C. to demand compensation for their service to the country:

Smedley Butler from Louis Proyect on Vimeo.

General Butler invoked the 99% movement, telling the veterans:
We are divided, in America, into two classes: The Tories on one side, a class of citizens who were raised to believe that the whole of this country was created for their sole benefit, and on the other side, the other 99 per cent of us, the soldier class, the class from which all of you soldiers came. That class hasn’t any privileges except to die when the Tories tell them. Every war that we have ever had was gotten, up by that class. They do all the beating of the drums. Away the rest of us go. When we leave, you know what happens. We march down the street with all the Sears-Roebuck soldiers standing on the sidewalk, all the dollar-a-year men with spurs, all the patriots who call themselves patriots, square-legged women in uniforms making Liberty Loan speeches. They promise you. You go down the street and they ring all the church bells. Promise you the sun, the moon, the stars and the earth,–anything to save them. Off you go. Then the looting commences while you are doing the fighting. This last war made over 6,000 millionaires. Today those fellows won’t help pay the bill.
Indeed, veterans today support the 99% movement. They understand … just as General Butler understood.

As Butler wrote:

WAR is a racket. It always has been.

It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small “inside” group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.

In the World War [i.e. WWI] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows.

How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?

Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few — the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill.
(Watch an actor read Butler’s dramatic speech.)

No wonder the 1% persecute pacifists: they threaten the world’s most profitable game.

No wonder – as Nazi leader Hermann Goering noted – the war profiteers are always trying to trick the people into supporting war:
>Why of course the people don’t want war … But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship … Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.

READ FULL STORY HERE

NATO Airlifting Libyan Terrorists and Weapons for Salvadoran Death Squad Option vs. Syria

noliesradio — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 06:05:35 +0000

Uploaded by PressTVGlobalNews on Jan 7, 2012

The topic of this edition of the show is the unrest in Syria.

The lecturer and author, Webster Griffin Tarpley sees the US behind today’s bombings. Omar Nashabe from Beirut’s Al-Akhbar newspaper talks about the big fear of the US wanting to destroy Syria just as it destroyed Iraq.

Political analyst and filmmaker, Sukant Chandan says NATO and the American empire are after toppling the Syrian regime. He says their next goals are Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran.
—————————————————————————-
“Free Syrian Army” Unleashes Suicide Bombing in Damascus; Madrid 2004 Bomber Belhadj of Al Qaeda Now Commands “FSA” from Iskanderun, Turkey; NATO Airlifting Libyan Terrorists and Weapons for Salvadoran Death Squad Option vs. Syria
READ MORE HERE

Michael Parenti: The Pathology of Wealth_on Economic Collapse Teach-in

noliesradio — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:16:08 +0000

This show was broadcast January 28, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Don’t Miss our Saturday – Economic Collapse Truth Teach-in Marathon
11am Pacific – 2pm Eastern – 18:00 GMT – Saturday
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Monday.

Coming up Saturday –
ONE KEY ECONOMIC COLLAPSE TRUTH Revelation
Key information for the uninitiated and the initiated alike.

Michael Parenti: The Pathology of Wealth

The first talk of 2012 by the social critic and noted author Michael Parenti fits perfectly into the debates of the time, that of the 1% versus the 99% and the finally no longer taboo question: What exactly is CAPITALISM? Parenti is debunking some of the myths of capitalism: That it creates jobs, peace, democracy and wealth. After debunking some of the myths of capitalism, that it creates jobs, peace, democracy and wealth for all, Parenti describes the pathologies of the system by its inability to respond to climate change. Quoting a businessman in a New Yorker cartoon he reads: “While the end of the world scenario will be rife with unimaginable horrors, ..the pre-end period will be filled with unprecedented opportunities.” Also in this segment arguments for the benefits of socialism in areas of our lives that should not be managed under the profit system. He lists health care, energy, and transportation.

Michael Parenti spoke on January 6, 2012, at the La Pe a Cultural Center in Berkeley, CA. He is one of the nation’s leading progressive political analysts. Raised in a working class district of New York City, Parenti went on to earn a Ph.D. in political science from Yale. He lost his chance at an academic career when he was beaten and arrested during one of the many rallies against the war on Vietnam that he attended. Parenti is the author of over 20 books, among them: Democracy For the Few, History as Mystery, and, most recently, The Face of Imperialism. From A TUC Radio Presentation.

The Economic Collapse Teach-in encompasses upon some of the most highly controversial an crucial subjects of our day—the collapsing economy, the Federal Reserve, the Banks, Wall Street, financial fraud, foreclosures, homelessness, unemployment, workers rights, unions, trade agreements, etc. We scour the world to find and gather debates and presentations that are extremely informative and educational. Related subjects are also discussed. It provides key information for the uninitiated and the initiated alike.

Iran and the Globalization of War — Michel Chossudovsky _on Anti-War Progressive Teach-in

noliesradio — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:56:39 +0000

This show was broadcast January 28, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Every Saturday – Anti-War – Progressive Truth Teach-in
Coming up at 9:00am Pacific * 12 noon Eastern * 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Monday.

Iran and the Globalization of War — Michel Chossudovsky
Recent developments in the Middle East including the wider implications of the destabilization of the entire area; the current global war as a different kind of conquest than that of World War I and II; US military deployment in the area; the role of Israel; Iranian Defenses; US war planning and war scenarios since 2003 concerning the nation of Iran, including Austere Challenge 12, Theatre Iran Near Term, Global Strike 2003, Concept Plan 8022, and Vigilant Shield; the effect of sanctions; and The Responsibility To Protect. From a Guns & Butter Presentation.

Assange TV on RT: Exclusive interview show coming soon

teri — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:00:19 +0000

Uploaded by RussiaToday on Jan 25, 2012

RT’s getting a new talk show – and world media’s already in a spin over its host. It’s the man who’s exposed wrongs at the highest levels of government and military – the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Source www.youtube.com

LIVE FROM CAPITOL HILL–President Obama’s State of the Union Speech

noliesradio — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:48:25 +0000

This show was broadcast on January 24, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Players To Listen

Speech Only Here

Expert Commentary Here

Coming Today at 6:00 pm Pacific – 9:00 pm Eastern – 01:00 GMT (Thur)
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Wednesday.

LIVE RADIO BROADCAST on No Lies Radio:

The State Of The Union Speech

LIVE FROM CAPITOL HILL — President Barack Obama

The 2012 State of the Union Address will be given by United States President Barack Obama to a joint session of Congress. It will be Obama’s third State of the Union Address. The speech will be delivered on the floor of the United States House of Representatives in the United States Capitol.

Hosted by Askia Muhammad, WPFW-Pacifica in Washington DC, Mitch Jeserich, KPFA-Pacifica in Berkeley, and with Davey D, Sonali Kolhatkar and Robert Knight. There will be a brief pre-show until the Obama speech begins. Afterwards, there will a post show with a panel discussion on the state of the Occupy Movement with participants from New York, Washington DC, Houston, LA and Oakland. This is a 2 hour live broadcast.

A Pacifica Radio Network Live Broadcast brought to you by No Lies Radio News.

Jerry Stevens of 3 Shoes Posse (Austin, TX truth/justice/freedom band) _on The Kevin Barrett Show

noliesradio — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:00:53 +0000

This show was broadcast January 24, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up Tuesday at 9am Pacific – 12 Noon Eastern – 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Tuesday evening.

“THE KEVIN BARRETT SHOW”

EXCLUSIVE –Tuesday on KB Show:
Jerry Stevens of 3 Shoes Posse (Austin, TX truth/justice/freedom band)

Email your questions or comments now.

Guest: Jerry Stevens of 3 Shoes Posse, “The A-Team of Activist Music.” Jerry Stevens is founder, lead singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer of five successful Root 1 albums after years of performing with other internationally known bands Pressure and the Killer Bees. They’ve got a new CD out, “Foot by Foot.”

Meanwhile, here are a couple of classics:

Check out Kevin’s new book: Questioning the War on Terror: A Primer for Obama Voters.

The Kevin Barrett Show is independently produced and hosted by Kevin Barrett and these shows are externally produced content. All externally produced content broadcast on No Lies Radio is the sole responsibility of the program-content producer and is not the responsibility of NoLiesRadio.org. Any questions or concerns should be directed to the content producer.

Iran and the Globalization of War — Michel Chossudovsky _ on Guns & Butter

noliesradio — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:52:27 +0000

This show was broadcast January 23, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up today and every Monday at 7:00 pm Pacific – 10:00 pm Eastern – 02:00 GMT

GUNS AND BUTTER with Bonnie Faulkner
Iran and the Globalization of War — Michel Chossudovsky
Recent developments in the Middle East including the wider implications of the destabilization of the entire area; the current global war as a different kind of conquest than that of World War I and II; US military deployment in the area; the role of Israel; Iranian Defenses; US war planning and war scenarios since 2003 concerning the nation of Iran, including Austere Challenge 12, Theatre Iran Near Term, Global Strike 2003, Concept Plan 8022, and Vigilant Shield; the effect of sanctions; and The Responsibility To Protect.

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez_on Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox

noliesradio — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:53:40 +0000

This show was broadcast January 21, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player
Idea: Start the player above then click here to follow along with the transcript below.

Coming up every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific – 04:00 pm Eastern – 20:00 GMT

Cindy interviews Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez.

TODOS SOMOS AMERICANOS - – Those words mean “We are ALL Americans.” Today is the day! Cindy says a warm “hello” to Pacifica Radio, starting with this interview with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, in honor of exactly that sentiment! Cindy’s request to interview President Hugo Chavez Frias of Venezuela was finally granted on March 2nd, when Cindy and two photographers were down in Montevideo, Uruguay with President Chavez for the inauguration of the new left-ish president and freedom fighter, Jose Mujica. Eva Golinger (Venezuelan-American attorney and author) was the translator.

As Cindy explains: “We are not anti-American, we are anti-Imperialism”. She just plain got tired of all the misinformation spread here in the USA about President Chavez and the people’s Bolivarian Revolution. For only one example, the National Endowment for Democracy (an Orwellian named agency receiving federal money to subvert real democracy) spends millions of dollars every year in Venezuela trying to destabilize Chavez’s democratically elected government. Meanwhile, back at home in “the freest nation on earth,” we enjoy a President who keeps us safe by killing American citizens (anywhere in the world) who are only suspects – without trials! Somehow, I doubt this interview (or this observation) will be noticed or covered by the Mainstream Media. Anyway, please listen to Cindy, so she can tell you “the rest of the story.” Listen in, and listen well! This interview as conducted on March 2, 2010.

Cindy’s website and archives are here.

Idea: Follow along with the transcript below.

Transcript of Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox Interview with President Hugo Chavez

Transcribed by Regina Freitag

Original Translation by Eva Golinger

Interviewer: Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan: Welcome to this video and audio audition of Cindy Sheehan’s SoapBox.

Presidente Chavez, thank you for being on the show, thank you for this interview and thank you for allowing me to bring the truth about Venezuela and about you and about your revolution to the people of the United States.

Before the revolution, Venezuela was a nation that was ruled and used up by the oligarchy, the elite. How did your revolution begin, how did it manage to remain relatively peaceful?

Hugo Chavez: Thank you Cindy, for this interview, for your efforts, that are so honorable and notable, to try to find out our truth and to contribute to its diffusion. And we wish you much luck in your struggles, which are ours as well, against war, for peace, for freedom and equality and against imperialism. We accompany you in your struggles. You and the people of the United States. We love them the same. The bourgeoisie of Venezuela has always dominated the country, for more than a hundred years. And they dominated it with force, using violence, persecution, assassination and disappearances. Unfortunately, the Venezuelan history is a history full of a lot of violence, violence from the strong against the weak. In the 20th century, Venezuela, which was dominated by the oligarchy and the bourgeois state, the rich, the wealthy, produced a reversed type of miracle, we could say. Venezuela was the first exporter of oil from the beginning of the 1920s until the 1970s. One of the largest producers of petroleum in the world throughout all the 20th century. And when the 20th century ended, with the domination of the bourgeoisie, despite all the wealth, Venezuela had more than 70% poverty and 40% extreme poverty, misery, misery, misery. So that generated an explosion, a violent one. All explosions are violent. An explosion of the poor, to liberate themselves. We were remembering just 2 days ago in Caracas. You were there with us, with our people. 21 years ago, the people woke, arose in a big explosion. And as military we were used by the bourgeoisie to massacre the people, children, women, and older people. And then that awoke something in the young military folks, a consciousness of pain and then we joined with the people. We had two rebellions, military rebellions, popular (inaudible ). A revolution isn’t exactly peaceful. As you said it was relatively peaceful.

Cindy Sheehan: Yes, relatively, yeah

Hugo Chavez: Just like all true revolutions.

Cindy Sheehan: But doesn’t the violence of revolutions sometimes come from the counter-revolution? And the Bolivarian revolution that has transferred power and wealth to the people is an inspiration and has remained relatively peaceful.

Hugo Chavez: Yes, we got the power in a peaceful way.

Cindy Sheehan: Right.

Hugo Chavez: Exactly, and we have been able to maintain it relatively peaceful. We’ve never used violence. They’ve used it against us. The counter-revolution. So the central strategy of our peaceful and socialist revolution is to transfer the power to the people. I’m sure you have been able to see some of it with your own eyes, in the neighborhoods of Caracas.

Cindy Sheehan: Yes I have.

Hugo Chavez: We have made efforts were to help the people to be sovereign. When we talk about power, what are we talking about, Cindy? The first power that we all have is knowledge. So we’ve made efforts first in education, against illiteracy, for the development of thinking, studying, analysis. In a way, that has never happened before. Today, Venezuela is a giant school, it’s all a school. From children of one year old until old age, all of us are studying and learning.

And then political power, the capacity to make decisions, the community councils, communes, the people’s power, the popular assemblies.

And then there is the economic power. Transferring economic power to the people, the wealth of the people distributed throughout the nation. I believe that is the principal force that precisely guarantees that the Bolivarian revolution continues to be peaceful.

Cindy Sheehan: Wonderful. In a speech the other day, you said that the United States demonizes you, demonizes Venezuela and the revolution. I of course have seen it with my own eyes and have been a defender of you and Venezuela and the revolution. Why do you think the Empire makes such a concerted effort to demonize you?

Hugo Chavez: I think for different reasons. But I came to the conclusion there is one particular strong reason, a big reason. They are afraid, the Empire is afraid. The Empire is afraid that the people of the United States might find out about the truth, they are afraid that something like that could erupt on their own territory. A Bolivarian movement. Or a Lincoln movement. A movement of citizens, conscious citizens with the goal to transform the system. Imperial fear killed Martin Luther King. The only way to stop him was to kill him and repressing the people of the United States. So, why do they demonize us? They know – those who direct the Empire – they know the truth. But they fear the truth. They fear the contagious effect. They fear a revolution in the United States. They fear an awakening of the people in the United States. And so that’s why they do everything they can. And they achieve it, relatively, that a lot of sectors in the United States see us as devils. No one wants to copy the devil.

Cindy Sheehan: Right.

Hugo Chavez: Unless they are devils too. And the people aren’t devils. The people are the voice of God.

Cindy Sheehan: Well, one of the biggest names they call you in the United States is dictator. Can you explain to my listeners and the people, for the benefit of this documentary why you are not a dictator?

Hugo Chavez: In the first place, personally, I am against dictatorships. I’m an anti-dictator. We are here in Uruguay, in Montevideo. You know how many dictatorships were in this country. The Guerilla army. I’m an anti-Guerilla. In addition to that, from a political point of view, I’ve been elected one, two, three, four times, by popular vote. In Venezuela, we have elections all the time. Every year, we have elections in Venezuela. One time, Lula, the president of Brazil… when he was in Europe, someone asked him “Why are you friends with that dictator Chavez?” And Lula said a big truth: “In Venezuela, there is an excess of democracy. Every year there are elections. And if there aren’t any, Chavez invents them. Referendums, popular consultations, elections for governors, mayors. Right now, soon we are starting national assembly elections, this year. In 2012 there is going to be a presidential election again. What dictator is elected so many times? What dictator convenes referendums? I’m an anti-dictator. I am a revolutionary. A democratic revolutionary.

Cindy Sheehan: Well, I have witnessed this revolution. I’ve witnessed the empowerment of the people of Venezuela, which is very inspiring, because the people in the United States don’t feel this empowerment. I even rode the Metrocable, and I’m afraid of heights. But I went out to San Augustin and then walked down the steps and saw how that so-called dictatorship has made the life of the people much better here in Venezuela. Also in the commemoration of the Caracazo you announced that you will again going to run for president in 2012. You’ve come a long way, but there is still a long way to go. What do you still think needs to be accomplished as far as infrastructure and the needs of the people in Venezuela?

Hugo Chavez: To tell you in a mathematical way, despite everything we’ve done in education, healthcare, infrastructure, housing, employment, social security, etc., mathematically, I believe, of everything we’ve done and we have to achieve for the people, we have achieved about 10%. It’s been 200 years of abandonment. The people have been abandoned. All the wealth of the country was in the hands of the elite. We talk about the bicentennial cycle, 2010 to 2030, we have to work really hard. In every aspect, infrastructure etc. I hope that you, in a few years, won’t just go up in the metrocable in San Augustin, but all of Caracas is going to have metrocables, and everywhere, every place, housing, reconstruction in poor neighborhoods, the construction of new cities for the people and dignified housing, there is still a lot to do, to achieve what Simon Bolivar said. Bolivar taught us…

(Pres. Evo Morales comes in)

Hugo Chavez: Oh look! Evo is here. Evo, come and sit down! Bolivar taught us that the best government is the one that gives the people the best amount of happiness. That’s our goal. The best, the largest amount of happiness.

My friend Evo, the president of Bolivia, who just got here, he is an indigenous leader! Brother how are you?

Evo Morales: Good, good.

Cindy Sheehan: Presidente Morales. Mucho gusto. So nice to meet you.

Hugo Chavez (introduces Cindy): Cindy Sheehan. She is a fighter for peace, against the war. She is a US citizen. One of her sons died in Iraq. So, she’s interviewing us. And maybe you want to answer a question.

Evo Morales: (gives Indian blessing)

Hugo Chavez: To live well. It’s a Mala Indian philosophy. To live well, a good live. To live well, spiritually, intellectually, physically, that’s what it’s about.

Cindy Sheehan: Thank you, that’s what it should be about. I have one final question.

Thank you for your generosity. This has been really wonderful. Maybe Presidente Morales could have some input about this too. We see your rise to power in Venezuela as kind of a grassroots movement that has been spreading and has helped President Morales in Bolivia, and we see people all over South America taking back the power. Because the power belongs in the hands of the people. A couple of weeks ago in the United States, a man flew his airplane into the tax building in Austin, Texas. Did you hear about that?

Evo Morales/ Hugo Chavez: Yes.

Cindy Sheehan: There is much frustration with the system. And there is a lot of that frustration in the United States. But instead of flying planes into buildings we should find each other and organize. In the United States of course, we are now a system that is also for the elite, ruled by the elite, it’s a “corporatocracy”, it’s for the corporate elite. Of course, in my opinion, I believe the United States need the same grassroots revolution, power back to the people, that you’ve all had here in South America. Can you give us some words of inspiration to encourage us, to give us the courage and heart for a true revolutionary change?

Hugo Chavez: We were the same, dominated, persecuted, and also there was a lot of desperation, just like that man who flew the plane into the building. There is a lot of that, of lot of those impulses, suicidal tendencies. Now, that’s NOT the path. The path is consciousness, a conscious awakening. Evo was persecuted, from very young, I met him when he was an Assembly member, and they threw him out of Congress, and they persecuted him, they jailed him, a lot of his fellow strugglers died. And us too, we had our own experiences. A lot of our brothers died as well, a lot of us went to prison. But consciousness. That’s why you’re doing the right thing. The path is not to fly a plane into a building. It’s to create consciousness. And then the rest will come on its own. I’d like to take this moment to say hello to people of the United States. And us here in the South, we have a lot of faith. And the people in the North are going to wake up. Just like you have woken. Just like many have had an awakening. You can do great changes in the United States, and in a peaceful way, I hope. Because, what happens in the United States, those changes in the United States depend a lot…the future of the world depends on that a lot.

(Pres. Chavez addresses Pres. Morales) Evo, would you like to say something?

Cindy Sheehan: Please!

Evo Morales: I just finished a meeting with Eduardo Galliano.

Cindy Sheehan: Oh, I know him.

Evo Morales: He’s so inspirational with the people, about nature. Galliano is also going to the inauguration of Pepe Mujica. (Pres. Morales and Pres. Chavez talk to each other.) And he’s going to bring some strategies, proposals, and we’re going to have a meeting with Galliano and the cocoa workers …

Cindy Sheehan: Oh. Very wonderful.

Evo Morales: To talk about equality and our experiences. The difficult things, how to unite us and to raise our consciousness. What you’re talking about. The power resides with the people. I was just with Commandante Borhez, Thomas Borhez from Nicaragua. We were talking about issues of consciousness in Peru, in Colombia, on how to build a big political movement. But the issue is unity. In my experience, first the (inaudible), the marginalized, we united first, the farmers and the indigenous. And from that it went on. Just like that unity, we need to do that with the political parties on the left and then the workers unite. Those are the forces that we have, the power that the people have. To get there is hard, you have to raise consciousness.

Cindy Sheehan: My documentary is called “We are all Americans”. It comes from when I was being interviewed on Fox News and Sean Hannity told me how could I meet with the anti-American dictator Hugo Chavez. And I said: ”But Sean, he is an American”. We are all Americans and that’s where the consciousness has to be raised and the unity has to come from in realizing that.

And so, it’s been my highest honor to sit with you, Presidente, thank you for your hospitality and that of Venezuela and to finally meet you. I was invited to Bolivia to help to support you for your recall, but I was running for Congress against Nazi policy in the United States. It was a bad time. I lost. (laughs) I didn’t win.

Hugo Chavez: But we will prevail.

Cindy Sheehan: We will be victorious. Thank you so much.

Hugo Chavez: We have to end, but I want to say something to you. Just about 5 days ago, we were in Cancun. We were on our way out from the hotel and the press was there, and there were some tourists – from California. So I went up to them and I said hi to a woman and her child and another woman. A lot of affection. It was spontaneous. And then I told my friends. I found tourists. I found US tourists. Older adults, young women, men, adolescents. I’ve met with them in Japan, Moscow, Beijing, in the Caribbean, everywhere in the world, in Buenos Aires. I’ve never felt one look of hate, but rather affection, so I think that despite everything, I believe the people of the United States in the depths of their hearts, they know how to appreciate where lies are and where the truth is. That’s why we have such hope. And here is my heart for those people of the United States. They call us anti-US-leaders, anti-American leaders, but we are not. We are anti-imperialist. But we love the people of the United States. We love humanity.

Cindy Sheehan: Muchas Gracias!

Uproar after Jewish American newspaper publisher suggests Israel assassinate Barack Obama

noliesradio — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:44:22 +0000

Op-ed in Atlanta Jewish Times says the slaying of the president may be an effective way to thwart Iran’s nuclear program.

By Chemi Shalev haaretz.com 1-21-2012

NEW YORK – The owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, Andrew Adler, has suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu consider ordering a Mossad hit team to assassinate U.S. President Barack Obama so that his successor will defend Israel against Iran.

Adler, who has since apologized for his article, listed three options for Israel to counter Iran’s nuclear weapons in an article published in his newspaper last Friday. The first is to launch a pre-emptive strike against Hamas and Hezbollah, the second is to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and the third is to “give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place and forcefully dictate that the United States’ policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies.

Adler goes on to write: “Yes, you read “three correctly.” Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel’s existence. Think about it. If have thought of this Tom-Clancy-type scenario, don’t you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel’s most inner circles?”

Adler apologized yesterday for the article, saying “I very much regret it; I wish I hadn’t made reference to it at all,” Adler told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

READ FULL STORY HERE

SEE THE ORIGINAL OP-ED from the Atlanta Jewish Times HERE

Musical Artist-911 Truther Dave VonKleist _on Backstage

noliesradio — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:32:51 +0000

This show was broadcast January 21, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up Saturday & Sunday at 3pm Pacific – 6pm Eastern – 22:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcasts.
On BackStage: Teri Perticone of No Lies Radio interviews
9/11 video producer & musical artist Dave vonKleist

“Music is one of the most powerful forces in this world…and the powers that be are scared to death of that power…” Dave VonKleist.
Dave has produced two 9/11 video documentaries, 9/11 In Plane Site and 9/11 Ripple Effect, both achieving world recognition. He has also written and produced five music albums with politically incorrect lyrics and was the co-host of The Power Hour for the past ten years. Dave talks to Teri about the value of music and humor in today’s world and his hit songs Addicted To War, Blow Smoke In Your Eyes, Imagine Revisited, It Has To Be Blue, It’s My Party, My Base, Skull and Bones, This Land Is Our Land, Till There Was You, We’ll Be Watching You, Save The USA, We’re Depression Bound, Everlasting War, Barak Obama, Poor Little Fools and Still The Same all now playing on No Lies Radio. Dave is now an expatriate living in Argentina.

Israel calls for embargo on Iranian oil and the intensification of sanctions against Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program

teri — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:45:11 +0000

Uploaded by RussiaToday on Jan 20, 2012

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling for the intensification of sanctions against Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program, saying an embargo on Iranian oil must be put in place. But Caleb Maupin of the International Action Center, an anti-war group, say such measures “are just part of a continued repression of the Iranian people.”

Source www.youtube.com

Martin Luther King Jr. Special Broadcast

noliesradio — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:17:49 +0000

This show was broadcast January 17, 2012.
It is now audio archived here

Coming up today and every Monday at 7:00 pm Pacific – 10:00 pm Eastern – 02:00 GMT

BEST OF FLASHPOINTS
Martin Luther King Jr. Special Broadcast
MLK Flashpoints special..this broadcast is based on original speeches recorded by an amateur recordist, (never aired anywhere before i found them) who ended up at the poor people march, as a body guard for King, who was under threat of death….the story of how these recording were made is amazing….after i nearthed them, and initially broadcast some of them, i contributed them to the King Archive at Stanford, where the were grateful, gobbled them up and made them apart of their special MLK sound archive. From a Flashpoints Presentation.

Hostage To False Flag Terror: The Link Between The October Surprise And The September Surprise

noliesradio — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:58:40 +0000

1-16-2012 disquietreservations.blogspot.com
BY SAMAN MOHAMMADI

Former CIA counter-terrorism specialist Philip Giraldi gives a picture of “What War With Iran Might Look Like,” concluding that, “A minor engagement between American and Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf,” will ignite World War III.

We must ask ourselves: how did we get here? Is World War III a product of destiny, or is it by design? Establishing the truth of history is essential if we want to avert World War III that could be triggered at any moment in the Persian Gulf if Iran is attacked.

The history of the U.S.-Iranian crisis seems complicated and challenging, but it is really easy to understand. It is a relationship based on secret power and conspiracy, not truth and transparency. There are treacherous and fascist elements in the American and Iranian governments who desire mass ignorance and war as opposed to friendship and peace.

They do not want America and Iran to restore diplomatic and trade ties because peace and friendship harms a variety of private interests in both countries. Peace is a threat to the military-industrial complexes and the anti-democratic ruling elites in both America and Iran.

In the alternative media community, we all agree with the basic premise that modern wars are politically constructed by a few men and that false flag terrorism are at the heart of them because they generate immediate public support for what otherwise would be unpopular wars.

The war between America and Iran is no different. Two false flag operations have been engineered to bring about this war of Armageddon: the October crisis (November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981) and the September 11 state terror attacks.

Both events created a false narrative of a clash of civilizations – the West vs. Islam – the resolution of which is a world war that will ultimately end with the use of nuclear weapons by the United States against Iran to force it into submission.

The first event was conceived from inside the dark heart of the CIA and shadow U.S. intelligence community in 1976. For the second event the services of the Israeli state were used, as indicated by the numerous eyewitness accounts of dancing Israeli spies on the streets of New York City on 9/11.

II. The False Flag Origins of The U.S.-Iranian Conflict

The false flag operation that is the Iran-U.S. hostage crisis was overseen by the George H. W. Bush faction in the CIA and the Ronald Reagan campaign in collaboration with elements in Iran’s SAVAK and top Iranian Islamic fundamentalists, who were, and still are, CIA assets.

Bush and Reagan, who represented the interests of the private banksters and new world order, and Khomeini, who represented the same interests, propped up each other into the seat of power at the expense of the security, liberty, and prosperity of their countries.

Thus, the Reagan revolution and the Khomeini revolution were revolutions that attacked the basic laws, freedoms, and traditions of their countries. The Bush-Reagan coup and the Khomeini revolution were evil and totalitarian in nature. And these evil twins came into being through the same political birth canal: the U.S.-Iran hostage crisis.

The private cliques who hijacked America and Iran for the past 30+ years have created a nonsensical political and diplomatic separation between the two governments, which benefits their private interests but harms the national security interests of both countries.

According to Iranian researcher Fara Mansoor, the U.S.-Iran hostage crisis was not a spontaneous act by Iranian mobs or a senseless act devised solely by the Khomeini regime. Rather, it was a politically manufactured event by the Bush-led CIA and top Iranian Islamic fundamentalists that was intended to promote the political goals of the Bush-Reagan coalition and Khomeini’s regime simultaneously.

List of the three political goals:

1. Sabotage and destabilize the Carter administration, and get Bush-Reagan into the White House.

2. Prop up the Khomeini regime and destroy all political opposition to the Islamic Republic.

3. Establish Iran as a permanent enemy of the United States and vice versa, in order to bring about a future conflict and justify the existence of anti-democratic political and legal structures within the two nations. There were definitely other motives for keeping Iran and America isolated from each other, but those are two big ones.

Clearly, the plan worked. Carter’s presidency was weakened by the hostage crisis and allowed Bush and Reagan to seize the White House in a dishonest and undemocratic fashion. And Khomeini’s loyalists consolidated power by dominating the narrative in Iran and violently exterminating opposition voices in Iranian society.

The left in Iran and America was basically destroyed by Bush and Khomeini. The Iranian left was impotent in the face of the regime’s propaganda line: “If you are not for the Islamic Republic, then you are for the Great Satan and against Iran.”

In essence, the American Deep State gave birth to the Iranian Deep State by instigating the U.S.-Iran hostage crisis for selfish private interests and domestic political reasons. And the repercussions of this politically manufactured crisis are felt to this day, with the United States and Iran on the verge of war in the Persian Gulf.

The fake U.S.-Iran hostage crisis is one of the best historical examples of what former Canadian diplomat, and professor Peter Dale Scott calls “deep events,” which he says are used by the secret National Security State to “build up repressive power in America at the expense of democracy.” (Scott, ‘The Doomsday Project and Deep Events: JFK, Watergate, Iran-Contra, and 9/11,‘ Global Research, November 22, 2011).

Mansoor discussed his groundbreaking and penetrating research into this deep event and the secret relationship between the U.S. intelligence community and Iran’s Islamic fundamentalist regime on January 24, 1993, on the radio show of American talk show host Dave Emory. The YouTube channel “johndcqr”has archived Emory’s interview with Mansoor. Type in the search box “An Interview With Fara Mansoor.” Also, you can download the historic interview as a MP3 file on Emory’s website.

Regarding his interview with Mansoor and his research into the connections between the Bush-led CIA and the Khomeini regime, Emory wrote:
Of particular interest is the landmark research of Fara Mansoor, a member of the Iranian resistance whose historic research on the rise of the Khomeini regime documents the decisive role of the United States in developing Islamic fundamentalist forces in that country as the anti-communist successors to the Shah’s government. Fara has documented that U.S. Ambassador to Iran, Richard Helms, learned that the Shah had cancer in 1974. Former Director of Central Intelligence Helms promptly informed the CIA and Department of State with the result that, by 1976, George Bush’s CIA was actively supporting and grooming the Khomeini forces.The subsequent takeover of the U.S. embassy in Teheran, the withholding of the U.S. hostages until after President Carter’s defeat was assured, the Khomeini government itself and the Iran-Contra scandal proper were all outgrowths of this profound and long-standing relationship.

It should be noted that parts of this relationship have been misunderstood as what has become known as “the October Surprise.” Although there was, massive collusion between the Reagan-Bush campaign and the Khomeini forces during the 1980 election campaign, there was no “deal” cut during the campaign. Rather, the “deal” was part of a covert operation begun years before and the collusion during the campaign was an outgrowth of it.”
Here are the key quotes by Mansoor in his interview with Emory:
“In 1975, Richard Helms learned of the Shah’s cancer, contrary to what generally is believed, that the Carter administration did not know about the Shah’s cancer until very late in 1978, 79′. George Bush, through Richard Helms, learned of the cancer at least by 1976, when he was a Director of the CIA.

And this knowledge was used by the pro-Bush loyalists at the CIA and intelligence community in the United States to quietly prepare for the Shah’s departure. And Carter actually did not know this and blindly was following his policy of respect for human rights, and while that policy was going on, the pro-Bush faction of the intelligence community were pursuing their own private foreign policy to keep Iran intact and Communist-free. And to that end we have talked that they privately allied themselves with Islamic fundamentalists of Khomeini. And that alliance promoted the Islamic Republic of Iran and engineered the hostage crisis.

The hostage crisis was used as a political management tool to achieve their objectives. So that so-called crisis was a created crisis by them to consolidate Khomeini’s control of Iran and that paved the way for George Bush and Ronald Reagan to get into the White House by destabilizing President Carter.”
The research by Mansoor into the roots of the Iran-U.S. hostage crisis is significant because it helps to discredit the current historical narrative of the U.S.-Iranian conflict which is contributing to massive misunderstanding and resentment on both sides.

It appears that both the American people and the Iranian people are victims of a long political charade that is being coordinated from the very top by treacherous elements in the deep states of America and Iran who care only about money and power.

Mansoor’s research suggests that the death of freedom and democracy in Iran is deeply connected to the death of freedom and democracy in America and the West. What has taken the place of national democratic systems is a global military-industrial complex that has links to the deep states in America, Iran, Israel, England, Pakistan, Turkey, and other nations.

Under the secret reign of the global military-industrial complex, war and profits come before the security of states and the prosperity of the people. Crooked thieves run the show in Tehran, Washington, London, and Tel Aviv, who target political dissent by labeling it treason and terrorism.

There are rats and snakes in charge in Tehran, Washington, and Tel Aviv. They have tried to kill the lion spirit of man and the lion spirit of their nations. The rat-like ruling elites of America, Israel, and Iran hate the noble and compassionate qualities of civilization. Such qualities create peace and friendship between nations, and this is against their interests.

What threatens the universal rights of man and life on earth in this century is not a fake and manufactured clash of civilizations between the West and radical Islam, but a very real destruction of all civilizations by an international banking elite who are fascists at the core.

Through acts of false flag terrorism and manufactured global crises, they are cold-bloodedly murdering humanity and democracy in order to establish a despotic and anti-human world civilization upon the ruins of this demonic and dead age.

READ FULL STORY HERE

What War With Iran Might Look Like

noliesradio — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:46:14 +0000

original.antiwar.com 1-12-2012 by Philip Giraldi

Editor’s note: Philip Giraldi is a former CIA counter-terrorism specialist.

Back in September 2007 I wrote an article for Antiwar.com called “What World War III May Look Like.” The article, which presumed that an incident involving U.S. troops on the border between Iraq and Iran could easily escalate into what would eventually become a global conflict, was widely replayed in the alternative media and even in the mainstream. Well, I am pleased to report that no such war has yet started, though there has been a disturbing expansion of U.S. military activity through the deployment of drones to hit targets in assorted countries without having to worry about American casualties or niceties like declarations of war. Other geopolitical elements that figured in my 2007 analysis have also changed, so I believe that the time has come for an update.

Iran is clearly the target of choice, just as it was in 2007. Despite President Barack Obama’s assertion that he would open up avenues to talk to the Iranians, he has failed to do so, he has rejected Iranian initiatives to start a dialogue, and he is showing every sign of unwillingness to negotiate on any level. Congress has even moved to block any contactbetween American and Iranian diplomats. The sanctions that recently took effect against the Iranian banking system can be construed as an act of war, particularly as Iran has not provided any casus belli. Further sanctions that will restrict energy imports are impending and will bring the country’s economy to a halt. There are already signs that the Iranian government feels itself compelled to demonstrate to its people that it is doing something about the situation. That “something” might well be a confrontation with the U.S. Navy that will have unfortunate results. In light of all that, it might be useful to imagine just how war with Iran could play out if the Iranians don’t roll over and surrender at the first whiff of grapeshot.

It might start with a minor incident, possibly involving an Iranian armed small craft manned by the Revolutionary Guard. Though the Strait of Hormuz is generally considered an international waterway, the Iranians claim that half of the strait is within their territorial waters. Tehran, in response to intensified sanctions, declares that it can determine who can use the strait and says that it will take steps to keep American warships from entering. The frigate USS Ingraham, patrolling off of Bushehr, is confronted by the small craft and ordered to heave to, an order it rejects. The Iranian commander, ignoring instructions to back off when confronted directly by the U.S. Navy, opens fire with rocket-propelled grenades. The frigate’s Phalanx rapid-fire battery immediately responds by blasting the Iranian boat, killing the entire Revolutionary Guard crew, but two American sailors are also killed in the exchange and four are wounded.

Fighters from the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis are immediately launched under standing orders, and they devastate the naval base that the Iranian boat departed from. President Obama holds a press conference and calls the incident an act of war and vows to do everything necessary to support U.S. forces in the region, but he stops short of a commitment to stage a full-scale attack on Iran. A hastily called meeting of the U.N. Security Council results in a 17–1 vote urging the United States to exercise restraint, with only Washington voting “no.” In the General Assembly, only the United States, Israel, Micronesia, and Costa Rica support possible military action.

The United States is effectively alone, but Israel takes advantage of the growing war fervor in the United States to launch an attack against Iranian nuclear facilities. The recently completed nuclear reactor at Bushehr is destroyed, killing 13 Russian technicians working on the site, and the aboveground buildings at the Natanz nuclear research facility are leveled. Russian-supplied Iranian air defenses shoot down six Israeli aircraft. Washington receives no prior warning of the Israeli attack, though it does pick up the signal traffic that precedes it and knows something is coming. It makes no effort to stop the Israelis as they fly over undefended Iraqi airspace.

Congress and the media rally behind the Israelis and demand war. A bill in the House of Representatives calling on the White House to take military action in support of Israel passes 431–4. A similar bill in the Senate receives only two nays. President Obama hesitates but then approves a limited offensive, directed against Iran’s military, its nuclear sites, and, most particularly, its Revolutionary Guard installations. In the first few days, overwhelming American air and naval superiority destroys Iran’s principal air, naval, and army bases. Iranian Revolutionary Guard facilities are obliterated, as are the known Iranian nuclear research and development sites. The limited offensive soon becomes anything but that, with strategic bombers dropping 30,000-pound Big BLU bunker-buster bombs to strike underground labs and processing centers. Population centers are avoided, though smart weapons are used to destroy communications centers and command and control facilities. There are nevertheless large numbers of civilian casualties as many of the targeted nuclear sites are close to or within cities and large towns. Infrastructure is also hit, particularly bridges, roads, and power-generation stations close to known nuclear research centers and military sites.

There is a pause in the attacks, and Iran strikes back. With nearly 10 years to prepare, Tehran has successfully hidden and hardened many of its military and nuclear facilities, a large percentage of which are undamaged. The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennisoperating in the Gulf of Oman is hit by a lucky strike by a Chinese Silkworm cruise missile that comes in low and successfully evades countermeasures. The Stennis retires to port in Bahrain. Three other support vessels are also hit and severely damaged when they are attacked by waves of small craft manned by suicidal Revolutionary Guards, not unlike the kamikaze attacks in the Second World War. The Iranian attackers are annihilated, but the Pentagon refuses to say how many American sailors have been killed in the exchange.

Pro-Iranian riots break out in Beirut. In the south of Lebanon, Hezbollah fires salvos of rockets into Israel, striking Tel Aviv and killing several hundred Israelis. Israel responds by bombing Lebanon and Syria, which it blames for supporting the attacks. Upgraded Iranian Shahab-3 missiles also strike Israel, killing more civilians. The Israeli Defense Forces are fully mobilized, and troops are sent to the northern border. Syria and Lebanon also mobilize their forces. Rioters in Baghdad attack the American embassy, which demands that the Iraqi government “do something” to protect it, but Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shrugs and says that the situation is out of his control. Large public demonstrations demand that Iraq support Iran in a fraternal struggle against the United States.

Shi’ites sympathetic to Iran sabotage Saudi Arabian eastern oil fields. Hundreds of alleged saboteurs are shot dead by Saudi security forces. An oil tanker out of Kuwait is hit by a Silkworm and runs aground to keep from sinking. Another hits a mine. Insurers at Lloyd’s of London refuse to cover any tankers transiting the Persian Gulf, claiming that damage incurred during a state of war is not covered by the policies. Oil shipments from the region, one quarter of the world’s supply, stop completely, and oil goes up to $300 a barrel. Wall Street suffers its biggest loss in 20 years, with the Dow Jones index plummeting more than 900 points.

The United States offers Iran a cease-fire, which Tehran rejects. Two days later, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan is assassinated by a Shi’ite bodyguard under orders from Tehran. Pakistan declares that it is neutral in the conflict and orders the U.S. embassy to reduce its staff by 50%, including the CIA station chief and his deputy. Order breaks down in both countries, and the Pakistani army declares a state of emergency, closing the border with Afghanistan. NATO calls an emergency meeting and decides to begin the evacuation by air of the multinational force trapped in Afghanistan, leaving many weapons and heavy equipment behind.

In the power vacuum, NATO troops withdraw to their bases while Taliban-backed militias take over much of Kabul and Kandahar. Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif, which is largely Shi’ite, declares itself a part of Iran. The government resigns in Beirut, and Hezbollah forms a new one. A salvo of Iranian Silkworm missiles sets the Saudi Arabian eastern oil fields ablaze. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates send an urgent diplomatic message to Tehran declaring that they will be “neutral” in the fighting and will not assist the United States in any way. Kuwait sends the same message, while Egyptian volunteers gather along the border with Israel in Sinai, demanding that Cairo take steps in support of their Arab brothers in Lebanon. Kuwait refuses to allow the United States to use its men and supplies at Camp Doha against Iran. In Bahrain, rampaging Shi’ite crowds depose Sheikh Khalifa al-Khalifa and set up an Islamic Republic, forcing the U.S. Fifth Fleet to abandon its only secure base in the region. The Dow Jones index loses another 1,000 points.

The United States attempts to get China and Russia to mediate with Iran to end the fighting, but they refuse to do Washington any favors, noting that they had opposed the attack in the first place and also citing their countrymen killed in the U.S. attacks. Suicide bombers attack in London, Washington, New York, and Los Angeles. The attacks are poorly planned and inflict only a few casualties, but panic sets in and the public demands that the respective governments do something. The United States tells the Iranian government that unless resistance ceases, nuclear weapons will be used on select targets. India and Pakistan are alarmed by the U.S. threat and put their own nuclear forces on high alert, as does Israel. Russia and China also increase their readiness levels to respond to the crisis.

Iran refuses to concede defeat, and the Iranian people rally around the government. The U.S. public is clamoring for action. Oil prices continue to surge, and the long-term viability of petroleum supplies is in question as the Strait of Hormuz continues to be closed. Another U.S. ship is badly damaged by suicide attackers in the Persian Gulf. American embassies throughout the region are attacked. Anti-American rioting takes place in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Mindanao, and in Dhaka. The United States consulate general in Karachi, Pakistan, is sacked and burned. Forty Americans die along with scores of Pakistanis when the Marine guards open fire.

There are frequent terrorism scares in a number of American cities, which are under red-alert security lockdown, though there are no new attacks. Domestic air travel declines by more than 50%. As a preventive measure, there are mass arrests of American Muslim leaders. Some antiwar activists are detained at military prisons, including Guantanamo, under the provisions of the Military Commissions Act and the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012. Israel continues to be bombarded from inside Lebanon. Its air attacks inflict massive damage on civilians but are unsuccessful in stopping the rockets. Its government falls and is replaced by a hard-right regime headed by former Foreign Secretary Avigdor Lieberman. Rioting rocks the West Bank and Gaza, forcing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to resign and flee to Paris. Hamas forms a provisional government. India threatens to attack Pakistan if there is any question about the security of Islamabad’s nuclear arsenal.

The United States uses a neutron-type bomb against the main Iranian nuclear research center at Natanz, which both Washington and Israel had already bombed conventionally and destroyed. It vows to bomb again if Iran continues to resist. Iran is defiant and fires another wave of Silkworms at U.S. ships, hitting one. Russia and China place their nuclear forces on high alert. Pakistani militants assume control of the government, aided by radical elements in the army and the intelligence service. India launches a preemptive strike against the main Pakistani nuclear centers at Wah and Multan, where the country’s arsenal is believed to be concentrated. Pakistan has some of its nukes moving around on trucks to avoid such a scenario, however, and is able to strike back by bombing New Delhi.

A minor engagement between American and Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf has ignited World War III.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Gordon Duff: Is comparing neocons to nazis an insult to nazis?_on The Kevin Barrett Show

noliesradio — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:12:36 +0000

This show was broadcast January 17, 2012.
It is now audio archived here

Coming up Tuesday at 9am Pacific – 12 Noon Eastern – 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Tuesday evening.

“THE KEVIN BARRETT SHOW”
EXCLUSIVE –Tuesday on KB Show:
Gordon Duff: Is comparing neocons to nazis an insult to nazis?!

Guest: Gordon Duff, Senior Editor, Veterans Today. A few years ago, I made national news by telling an AP reporter that comparing Bush to Hitler would be an insult to Hitler. After all, Hitler was tragic, while Bush is farcical.

Now Gordon Duff is upping the ante. “Remember the stories about Gaddafi and how well he ran Libya? Well, this is how Hitler actually ran Germany, health care, social security, paid vacations, no unemployment, no illiteracy…” Gordon says that the title of my upcoming talk at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, which asks “Are Neocons the New Nazis?” is an insult to the nazis.

His latest article begins:

“Let’s alienate as many people as possible right away. Nazi Germany was more ‘democratic’ than America is today.”

Has America fallen that far, that fast, since the neocon coup d’état of 9/11? Tune in and find out!

Check out Kevin’s new book: Questioning the War on Terror: A Primer for Obama Voters.

The 9/11 Hijackers That Weren’t — Jay Kolar_on Anti-War Progressive Teach-in

noliesradio — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:15:52 +0000

This show was broadcast January 14, 2012.
It is now audio archived here

Every Saturday – Anti-War – Progressive Truth Teach-in
Coming up at 9:00am Pacific * 12 noon Eastern * 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Monday.

The 9/11 Hijackers That Weren’t — Jay Kolar
Airline passenger manifests; examination of the Portland Jetport and Dullas Airport Videos, missing imprinted security data, faces smudged out, cover-up of evidence; FDIC evidence of hijacker alive after 9/11; analysis of passport photographs; the covert intelligence use of doubles to frame Ziad Jarrah. From a Guns & Butter Presentation. See transcript here.

‘Israeli Mossad agents posed as CIA spies to recruit terrorists to fight against Iran’

noliesradio — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 04:34:19 +0000

Foreign Policy magazine cites CIA memos from 2007-2008 that the Mossad recruited members of Jundallah terror group to fight against Tehran; U.S. was reportedly furious with Israel and moved to limit joint intelligence programs.

haaretz.com By Barak Ravid 1-13-2012
Israeli Mossad agents posed as CIA officers in order to recruit members of a Pakistani terror group to carry out assassinations and attacks against the regime in Iran, Foreign Policy revealed on Friday, quoting U.S. intelligence memos.

Foreign Policy’s Mark Perry reported that the Mossad operation was carried out in 2007-2008, behind the back of the U.S. government, and infuriated then U.S. President George W. Bush.

Perry quotes a number of American intelligence officials and claims that the Mossad agents used American dollars and U.S. passports to pose as CIA spies to try to recruit members of Jundallah, a Pakistan-based Sunni extremist organization that has carried out a series of attacks in Iran and assassinations of government officials.

According to the report, Israel’s recruitment attempts took place mostly in London, right under the nose of U.S. intelligence officials.

“It’s amazing what the Israelis thought they could get away with,” Foreign Policy quoted an intelligence officer as saying. “Their recruitment activities were nearly in the open. They apparently didn’t give a damn what we thought.”

According to a currently serving U.S. intelligence officer, Perry reports, when Bush was briefed on the information he “went absolutely ballistic.”

“The report sparked White House concerns that Israel’s program was putting Americans at risk,” the intelligence officer told Perry. “There’s no question that the U.S. has cooperated with Israel in intelligence-gathering operations against the Iranians, but this was different. No matter what anyone thinks, we’re not in the business of assassinating Iranian officials or killing Iranian civilians.”

The intelligence officer said that the Bush administration continued to deal with the affair until the end of his term. He noted that Israel’s operation jeopardized the U.S. administration’s fragile relationship with Pakistan, which was under immense pressure from Iran to crack down on Jundallah.

According to the intelligence officer, a senior administration official vowed to “take the gloves off” with Israel, but ultimately the U.S. did nothing.

“In the end it was just easier to do nothing than to, you know, rock the boat,” the intelligence officer said.

Apparently, the Mossad operation caused a fiery debate among Bush’s national security team and it was only resolved when U.S. President Barack Obama drastically scaled back joint U.S.-Israel intelligence programs targeting Iran, Perry quotes several serving and retired officers as saying.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Mark Perry speaks about allegations of Israeli spies posing as CIA agents

noliesradio — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 04:28:42 +0000

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Jan 13, 2012
Agents with Israel’s spy agency have posed as CIA agents in operations to recruit members of the Pakistani group Jundallah, according to a report in Foreign Policy magazine.

Using US dollars and passports, the agents passed themselves off as members of the US’ Central Intelligence Agency in the operations, according to memos from 2007 and 2008, said the report which was published on Friday.

Al Jazeera speaks with author, historian and journalist Mark Perry authored the Foreign Policy report.

Who Really Killed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr (AND RFK)? William Pepper Speaks Out and Ray McGovern arrested_on Soapbox

noliesradio — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:01:00 +0000

This show was broadcast January 14, 2012.
It is now audio archived here

Coming up every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific * 04:00 pm Eastern * 21:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Monday.

Who Really Killed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr (AND RFK)? William Pepper speaks out and Ray McGovern arrested

Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox continues its quest for truth, peace, and accountability with this offering! Cindy starts with Dr. William Pepper, who talks about his personal associations with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr during the last year of his life, and then the legal battles Dr. Pepper undertook on behalf of Dr. King’s family and the patsy: James Earl Ray.

Dr. Pepper offers an unpublicized retrospective view of the passing of one of our nation’s most revered and inspirational leaders.

Cindy’s dear friend and good Soapbox buddy, Ray McGovern was brutalized at an event where Sec. of State, Hillary Clinton, was speaking, condemning foreign governments for treating protesters harshly. Ray stood in silent and dignified protest, turning his back on her – when he was blindsided, manhandled and arrested – for peacefully protesting. (Fine job Hillary: Show everyone how we respect our own protesters, here at home!) Cindy chats with Ray about that awful experience.

This interview is from February 20, 2011.
Cindy’s website is here.

TheAlexJonesChannel | Feb 17, 2011 | YouTube.com

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave her speech at George Washington University yesterday condemning governments that arrest protestors and do not allow free expression, 71-year-old Ray McGovern was grabbed from the audience in plain view of her by police and an unidentified official in plain clothes, brutalized and left bleeding in jail. She never paused speaking. When Secretary Clinton began her speech, Mr. McGovern remained standing silently in the audience and turned his back. Mr. McGovern, a veteran Army officer who also worked as a CIA analyst for 27 years, was wearing a Veterans for Peace t-shirt.

Blind-sided by security officers who pounced upon him, Mr. McGovern remarked, as he was hauled out the door, “So this is America?” Mr. McGovern is covered with bruises, lacerations and contusions inflicted in the assault.

William Pepper – An Act of State, The Execution of MLK
2:17:39 – 4 years ago
William Pepper -An Act of State The Execution of MLK Video.Google.com

Strategy for Occupy_on Project Censored

noliesradio — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:41:12 +0000

This show was broadcast January 12, 2012.
It is now audio archived here

Coming up every Thursday at 7:00 pm Pacific * 10:00 pm Eastern * 02:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast.

Broadcast From Berkeley, California

PROJECT CENSORED RADIO:

Strategy for Occupy

Today Peter Phillips, Andy Roth, and Abby Martin from Media Roots will address the questions of Strategy for Occupy: Can a non-violent social movement be effective and remain non-violent in the face of a repressive empire? We will be joined by Dr. Cynthia Boaz political Science professor in nonviolent struggles at Sonoma State University and rapper and activist Boots Riley with the Occupy Oakland Movement, with in studio music by singer songwriter Vic Sadot. We will also hear from Steve Zeltzer with Work Week Radio Labor News and round out the hour with Ted Rall author of the Anti-American Manifesto and Michael Nagler former Chairperson of UC Berkeley’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program. Show Hosts: Mickey Huff and Peter Phillips, with Abby Martin of Media Roots.

Broadcast from Berkeley–Hard hitting News and Public Affairs with hosts Mickey Huff and Peter Phillips of Project Censored on KPFA’s morning show. The mission of Project Censored is to teach students and the public about the role of a free press in a free society – and to tell the News That Didn’t Make the News and Why. Originally broadcast on KPFA on January 6, 2012.

William Engdahl: WARNING: Nuclear war coming soon (if we let it) _on The Kevin Barrett Show

noliesradio — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:49:38 +0000

This show was broadcast January 10, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up Tuesday at 9am Pacific – 12 Noon Eastern – 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Tuesday evening.

“THE KEVIN BARRETT SHOW”
EXCLUSIVE –Tuesday on KB Show:
William Engdahl: WARNING: Nuclear war coming soon (if we let it)

Guest: William Engdahl, who warns in a new article:
“Most in the civilized world are blissfully unaware that we are marching ineluctably towards an increasingly likely pre-emptive nuclear war. No, it’s not at all about Iran and Israel. It’s about the decision of Washington and the Pentagon to push Moscow up against the wall with what is euphemistically called Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD).”

William Engdahl is the author of Full Spectrum Dominance
Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order (which covers the material discussed on today’s show) as well as Seeds of Destruction: The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation and A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order.

Check out Kevin’s new book: Questioning the War on Terror: A Primer for Obama Voters.

Evidence of Insider Trading Before 9/11 — Paul Zarembka _on Guns & Butter

noliesradio — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:57:36 +0000

This show was broadcast January 9, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up today and every Monday at 7:00 pm Pacific – 10:00 pm Eastern – 02:00 GMT

GUNS AND BUTTER with Bonnie Faulkner
Evidence of Insider Trading Before 9/11 — Paul Zarembka
Informed Trading; Insider Trading; Put Options; The Journal of Business; The 9/11 Commission Report; three scientific studies on insider trading; Professor Potasman Study from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Open Interest; Exercising Put Options; Quintile; Hedging; University of Wisconsin, Madison Study; Chesney Study; Conclusion.

Year of Global Uprisings, from the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street: A Special Look Back at 2011

noliesradio — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:48:49 +0000

This show was broadcast January 7, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Every Saturday – Anti-War – Progressive Truth Teach-in
Coming up at 9:00am Pacific * 12 noon Eastern * 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Monday.

Year of Global Uprisings, from the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street: A Special Look Back at 2011
Today we look back at 2011, a year that saw the U.S. killing of Osama Bin Laden, the ouster of a dictator in Egypt and the death of one in Libya, the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, and the expansion of the secret U.S. drone war in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula. As U.S. troops leave Iraq, thousands of private security contractors remain to guard the U.S. embassy—the largest in the world. The Horn of Africa was hit by the region’s worst drought in decades as the devastating impact of extreme weather was felt across the globe, while the world’s most powerful countries continue to refuse to join in a pact to address climate change. However, 2011 may be most remembered as a year of global uprisings. From the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street, millions of people took to the streets to oppose repressive regimes and an unjust economic system. We spend the hour today looking back at the protest movements that shaped 2011.From a Democracy Now Presentation. See transcript here.

Hell Boyles Over: (Not really.) Francis Boyle _ on Soapbox

noliesradio — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:00:59 +0000

This show was broadcast January 7, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific * 04:00 pm Eastern * 21:00 GMT

Hell Boyles Over: (Not really.) Francis Boyle
Cindy presents one hellaciously illuminating show, featuring popularly demanded Professor Francis Boyle, who refuses to buy the common brown, squishy and stinky “party line” proffered by our ruling class, or corporatocracy. (See his Faculty profile here.) He wants WORLD PEACE! The man speaks good sense. He PREFERS logic and truth – a very serious “character defect,” which can cost an adherent profoundly in terms of popular acceptability. (Non-”official” viewpoints completely disqualify one from being a “serious” and relevant pundit.) No; the real truth about this show is that Professor Boyle’s Integrity boils over. He and Cindy discuss the Democratic Party’s immense skills at co-opting social movements that might be effective. Both agree that today our Peace Movements are mostly front organizations for the Democratic party. Dr. Boyle totally endorses the honesty & sincerity of people at the grassroots level in these organizations – but he does have grave doubts about the National leadership of such groups. concurring with Cindy, he explicitly cites “Uniting for Peace and Justice” and “MoveOn.org” as working to keep the Peace Movement inactive and ineffective. One real gem of wisdom is their parallel observations that “Obama is a “gift to the ruling class,” in that they can further their objectives quicker with him than they could with Bush, who lost so much popular support in the country. (One could regard Obama as the black “velvet glove” on the “iron fist” of the U.S. Empire.) This interview is from April 17, 2011. Cindy’s website is here.

History of U.S. Intervention in Iran – 1953 Until Present

teri — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:57:48 +0000

This video is a basic overview of U.S. imperialism toward Iran that began at the behest of the British Government and big oil interests including British Petroleum also recently known as BP.

The United States’ own CIA led it’s first coup to overthrow a foreign leader against Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953, The U.S. has suffered “Blowback: ever since, all the while the supposed leaders in Washington continue to demonize Iran’s leaders on flimsy grounds as more pretense to continued Middle East war and occupation by the U.S.

Source www.youtube.com

Protest singer/songwriter David Rovics_on Backstage

noliesradio — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:07:05 +0000

This show was broadcast January 7, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up Saturday & Sunday at 3pm Pacific – 6pm Eastern – 22:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcasts.
On Backstage: Teri Perticone interviews protest singer/songwriter David Rovics

David Rovics has the hit songs After We Torture Our Prisoners, Operation Iraqi Liberation O-I-L, Reichstag Fire, Occupation, Welcome To The European Union, Berlin, When Johnny Came Marching Home, Four Blank Slates and Cannabis Café all now playing on No Lies Radio. Teri talks to David about the writing of his songs, his travels including his recent trip to Mayo County, Ireland where Shell Oil is planning on constructing a gas pipeline despite the protests of the locals. See his website here.

US-Israel vs Iran: War Games Prelude to War?

teri — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:19:18 +0000

Common Dreams

Published on Thursday, January 5, 2012

Iran Rails Against West’s ‘Economic War’

The drumbeats of war are on the rise this week as the United States and Israel exchanged threats with Iran and prepared for joint ‘wargames’ – used to simulate future wars.

Iranian submarines participate in naval parade war game on Sea of Oman near Strait of Hormuz (Reuters) UPDATE: At 12:53 PM ET the Associated Press filed a new story reporting on the major joint US-Israel missile defense exercise:

The drill is called “Austere Challenge 12” and is designed to improve defense systems and cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli forces. It follows a 10-day Iranian naval exercise near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The Israeli military spokesman did not give a date for the drill Thursday, but a senior military official said it would be in the next few weeks. He said it would be the biggest missile defense drill ever held. He was speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

The Israeli official said thousands of American and Israeli soldiers from different units would take part. He said the drill would test multiple Israeli and U.S. air defense systems against incoming missiles and rockets. Israel has deployed the “Arrow” system, jointly developed and funded with the U.S., designed to intercept Iranian missiles in the stratosphere, far from Israel.

* * *

UPDATE: Adrian Hamilton writing in The Independent this afternoon cuts to the chase:

The really frightening thing about the situation is not so much the military preparations but that so many are ready to discuss war as if it was a perfectly rational, and indeed likely, possibility. The pressures for war are there and growing. The right-wing governing coalition in Israel is publicly in favor of it. The military are advising that now is the time, before Iran progresses any further with its nuclear enrichment facilities. At the same time, the US administration of President Obama – which had been acting as a restraint on Israel – now appears weaker and weaker against the voices demanding confrontation with Iran.

* * *

The Jerusalem Post reported on December 20 that Washington and Tel Aviv have planned to hold what they call the largest-ever joint military exercise in Israel in the coming months, a development the US media have failed to cover.

Iran’s PressTV headlines today:

‘US Deploys Troops in Israel for Iran War’

The US military is preparing a massive military campaign against Iran, sending thousands of American troops, warships and weaponry to Israel. An unnamed source said the military deployment of US anti-missile ships and accompanying support personnel will occur in January and later this spring…

* * *

And just day’s after President Obama signed into law tough new sanctions targeting Iran’s central bank and financial sector Agence France-Presse’s Farhad Pouladi is now reporting:

Iran Rails Against West’s ‘Economic War’

Iran’s currency market was in turmoil Wednesday as the central bank imposed draconian measures to try to shore up its beleaguered rial in the face of existing and looming Western sanctions.Iran on Thursday said the West was waging “an economic war” through sanctions, after European diplomats said there was a preliminary agreement for an EU ban of oil from the Islamic republic.

“The enemies of the Islamic republic’s regime, with all their tricks, have not been able to chain the nation and now they want to chain the economy,” Economy Minister Shamseddin Hosseini said, in comments carried by the official IRNA news agency.

“These sanctions are an economic war against us,” he said, urging Iranians to defeat them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Agence France-Presse also reports today that US neocons are actively promoting a US attack on Iran:

WASHINGTON — Fed by diplomatic tensions and election-year politics, talk about a coming conflict with Iran has reached a fever pitch in the US capital.

Speculation of a possible war with Iran ebbs and flows, but a confluence of events has served to fuel dire predictions among politicians and pundits that war may be on the horizon — either by necessity or by accident.

Some of the same hawkish voices that portrayed Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq as a dire threat requiring urgent military action are now warning that the United States must be prepared for war with Iran, while accusing President Barack Obama of lacking backbone.

John Yoo, a former Justice Department official under ex-president George W. Bush, has called on Republican presidential candidates to “begin preparing the case for a military strike to destroy Iran’s nuclear program.”

Calling it an “unavoidable challenge,” Yoo wrote last week in the National Review that the United States would have legal grounds to strike at Iran’s nuclear sites — similar to the arguments made before the invasion of Iraq.

Read entire article here

Occupy 2012-Wall Street-War on Iran_on Project Censored

noliesradio — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:22:47 +0000

This show was broadcast January 5, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up every Thursday at 7:00 pm Pacific * 10:00 pm Eastern * 02:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast.

Broadcast From Berkeley, California

PROJECT CENSORED RADIO:

Occupy 2012-Wall Street-War on Iran

Today’s show we speak with Code Pink’s Dana Balicki and Media Roots’ Abby Martin about the Occupy Movement for 2012; we hear from Steve Zeltzer of Work Week Radio; for the last part of this week’s program we are joined by independent journalist and analyst Stephen Lendman, author of How Wall St. Fleeces America, on how we might stop the march to war on Iran. Show Hosts: Mickey Huff and Peter Phillips, with Abby Martin of Media Roots.

Greg Felton explodes “Middle East Myths” !_on The Kevin Barrett Show

noliesradio — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:32:43 +0000

This show was broadcast January 3, 2012.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up Tuesday at 9am Pacific – 12 Noon Eastern – 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Tuesday evening.

“THE KEVIN BARRETT SHOW”
EXCLUSIVE –Tuesday on KB Show:
Greg Felton explodes “Middle East Myths” !

Greg Felton, a mainstream journalist from Vancouver, was forced to nibble at the red pill when asked to cover Middle East issues. As he began to realize that the pro-Zionist propaganda churned out by the mainstream media is a tissue of lies, he dove deeper and deeper into skepticism. The result is his new book Exploding Middle East Myths.

On this show, Greg will take potshots at what he calls the myth of Zionism, the myth of 9/11, the mythical nature of the Abrahamic faiths, and even (gasp!) the myth of the holocaust! (I disagree with him about the latter two issues; for while I agree that these are myths, or sacred stories, I am not convinced that their basis in fact is as puny as Greg seems to think.)

Check out Kevin’s new book: Questioning the War on Terror: A Primer for Obama Voters.

Mossad vs Assad? ‘CIA death squads behind Syria bloodbath’

noliesradio — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:43:38 +0000

Uploaded by RussiaToday on Nov 21, 2011
Moscow has accused the west of stirring up tensions in the Arab world by calling for the overthrow of the Syrian regime. Russia says calls from certain states for the Syrian opposition to avoid dialogue with the government, are only provoking further violence. Author and journalist Webster Tarpley, who’s in Damascus, says, it’s very simple, western powers are behind the violence in Syria.

Faking It: How the Media Manipulates the World into War

noliesradio — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:02:24 +0000

Faking It: How the Media Manipulates the World into War
by grtv James Corbett 1-2-2012
tv.globalresearch.ca

As the US and Iranian governments escalate tensions in the already volatile Straits of Hormuz, and China and Russia begin openly questioning Washington’s interference in their internal politics, the world remains on a knife-edge of military tension. Far from being a dispassionate observer of these developments, however, the media has in fact been central to increasing those tensions and preparing the public to expect a military confrontation. But as the online media rises to displace the traditional forms by which the public forms its understanding of the world, many are now beginning to see first hand how the media lies the public into war.

Learn more about the media manipulations behind the beginning of war in this week’s GRTV backgrounder.

SOURCES AND TRANSCRIPT: http://www.corbettreport.com/?p=3588

As the drums of war begin to beat once again in Iran, Syria, the South China Sea, and other potential hotspots and flashpoints around the globe, concerned citizens are asking how a world so sick of bloodshed and a population so tired of conflict could be led to this spot once again.

To understand this seeming paradox, we must first understand the centuries-long history of how media has been used to whip the nation into wartime frenzy, dehumanize the supposed enemies, and even to manipulate the public into believing in causes for war that, decades later, were admitted to be completely fictitious.

The term “yellow journalism” was coined to describe the type of sensationalistic, scandal-driven, and often erroneous style of reporting popularized by newspapers like William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal. In one of the most egregious examples of this phenomenon, Hearst’s papers widely trumpeted the sinking of the Maine as the work of the Spanish. Whipped into an anti-Spanish frenzy by a daily torrent of stories depicting Spanish forces’ alleged torture and rape of Cubans, and pushed over the edge by the Maine incident, the public welcomed the beginning of the US-Spanish war. Although it is now widely believed that the explosion on the Maine was due to a fire in one of its coal bunkers, the initial lurid reports of Spanish involvement stuck and the nation was led into war.

In many ways, the phrase infamously attributed to Hearst in reply to his illustrator “You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war,” apocryphal as the story may be, nevertheless perfectly encodes the method by which the public would be led to war time and again through the decades.

The US was drawn into World War I by the sinking of the Lusitania, a British ocean liner carrying American passengers that was torpedoed by German U-boats off the coast of Ireland, killing over 1,000 of its passengers. What the public was not informed about at the time, of course, was that just one week before the incident, then-First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill had written to the President of the Board of Trade that it was “most important to attract neutral shipping to our shores, in the hopes especially of embroiling the United States with Germany.” Nor did reports of the attack announce that the ship was carrying rifle ammunition and other military supplies. Instead, reports once again emphasized that the attack was an out-of-the-blue strike by a maniacal enemy, and the public was led into the war.

The US involvement in World War II was likewise the result of deliberate disinformation. Although the Honolulu Advertiser had even predicted the attack on Pearl Harbor days in advance, the Japanese Naval codes had already been deciphered by that time, and that even Henry Stimson, the US Secretary of War, had noted in his diary the week before that he had discussed in a meeting with Roosevelt “how we should maneuver them [the Japanese] into the position of firing the first shot without allowing too much danger to ourselves,” the public were still led to believe that the Pearl Harbor attack had been completely unforeseen. Just last month, a newly-declassified memo emerged showing that FDR had been warned of an impending Japanese attack on Hawaii just three days before the events at Pearl Harbor, yet the history books still portray Pearl Harbor as an example of a surprise attack.

In August 1964, the public was told that the North Vietnamese had attacked a US Destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin on two separate occasions. The attacks were portrayed as a clear example of “communist aggression” and a resolution was soon passed in Congress authorizing President Johnson to begin deploying US forces in Vietnam. In 2005, an internal NSA study was released concluding that the second attack in fact never took place. In effect, 60000 American servicemen and as many as three million Vietnamese, let alone as many as 500,000 Cambodians and Laotians, lost their lives because of an incident that did not occur anywhere but in the imagination of the Johnson administration and the pages of the American media.

In 1991, the world was introduced to the emotional story of Nayirah, a Kuwaiti girl who testified about the atrocities committed by Iraqi forces in Kuwait.

What the world was never told was that the incident had in fact been the work of a public relations firm, Hill and Knowltown, and the girl had actually been the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador. Once again, the public was whipped into a frenzy of hatred for the Hussein regime, not for the documented atrocities that it had actually committed on segments of its own population with weapons supplied to them by the United States itself, but on the basis of an imaginary story told to the public via their televisions, orchestrated by a pr firm.

In the lead-up to the war on Iraq, the American media infamously took the lead in framing the debate about the Iraqi government’s weapons of mass destruction NOT as a question of whether or not they even existed, but as a question of where they had been hidden and what should be done to disarm them. The New York Times led the way with Judith Miller‘s now infamous reporting on the Iraqi WMD story, now known to have been based on false information from untrustworthy sources, but the rest of the media fell into line with the NBC Nightly News asking “what precise threat Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction pose to America”, and Time debating whether Hussein was “making a good-faith effort to disarm Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.” Reports about chemical weapons stashes were reported on before they were confirmed, although headlines boldly asserted their existence as indisputable fact. We now know that in fact the stockpiles did not exist, and the administration premeditatedly lied the country into yet another war, but the most intense opposition the Bush administration ever received over this documented war crime was some polite correction on the Sunday political talk show circuit.

Remarkably, the public at large has seemingly learned nothing from all of these documented historical manipulations. If anything, the media has become even bolder in its attempts to manipulate the public’s perceptions, perhaps emboldened by the fact that so few in the audience seem willing to question the picture that is being painted for them on the evening news.

Later that year, CNN aired footage of a bombed out Tskhinvali in South Ossetia, falsely labeling it as footage of Gori, which they said had been attacked by the Russians.

In 2009, the BBC showed a cropped image of a rally in Iran which they claimed was a crowd of protesters who assembled to show their opposition to the Iranian government. An uncropped version of the same photograph displayed on the LA Times’ website, however, revealed that the photo in fact came from a rally in support of Ahmedinejad.

In August of 2011, the BBC ran footage of what they claimed was a celebration in Tripoli’s Green Square. When sharp-eyed viewers noticed that the flags in the footage were in fact Indian flags, the BBC was forced to admit that they had “accidentally” broadcast footage from India instead of Tripoli.

Also that month, CNN reported on a story from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claiming that eight infants in incubators had died in a hospital in Hama when Syrian authorities cut off power in the area. Some news sites even carried pictures of the infants. The images were later admitted to have been taken in Egypt and no evidence has ever emerged to back up the accusations.

As breathtaking as all of these lies, manipulations and so-called “mistakes” are, they in and of themselves don’t represent the only functions of the media for the war machine. Now, the US government is taking the lead in becoming more and more directly involved with the shaping of the media message on war propaganda, and the general public is becoming even more ensnared in a false picture of the world through the Pentagon’s own lens.

In 2005, the Bush White House admitted to producing videos that were designed to look like news reports from legitimate independent journalists, and then feeding those reports to media outlets as prepackaged material ready to air on the evening news. When the Government Accountability Office ruled that these fake news reports in fact constituted illegal covert propaganda, the White House simply issued a memo declaring the practice to be legal.

In April 2008, the New York Times revealed a secret US Department of Defense program that was launched in 2002 and involved using retired military officers to implant Pentagon talking points in the media. The officers were presented as “independent analysts” on talk shows and news programs, although they had been specially briefed beforehand by the Pentagon. In December of 2011, the DoD’s own Inspector General released a report concluding that the program was in perfect compliance with government policies and regulations.

Earlier this year, it was revealed the the US government had contracted with HBGary Federal to develop software that create fake social media accounts in order to steer public opinion and promote propaganda on popular websites. The federal contract for the software sourced back to the MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.

As the vehicle through which information from the outside world is captured, sorted, edited and transmitted into our homes, the mass media has the huge responsibility of shaping and informing our understanding of events to which we don’t have first-hand access. This is an awesome responsibility in even the most ideal conditions, with diligent reporters guided by trustworthy editors doing their level best to report the most important news in the most straightforward way.

But in a media landscape where a handful of companies own virtually all of the print, radio and television media in each nation, the only recourse the public has is to turn away from the mainstream media altogether. And that is precisely what is happening.

As study after study and report after report has shown, the death of the old media has accelerated in recent years, with more and more people abandoning newspapers and now even television as their main source of news. Instead, the public is increasingly turning toward online sources for their news and information, something that is necessarily worrying for the war machine itself, a system that can only truly flourish when the propaganda arm is held under monopolistic control.

But as citizens turn away from the New York Times and toward independent websites, many run and maintained by citizen journalists and amateur editors, the system that has consolidated its control over the minds of the public for generations seems to finally be showing signs that it may not be invincible.

Surely this is not to say that online media is impervious to the defects that have made the traditional media so unreliable. Quite the contrary. But the difference is that online, there is still for the time being relative freedom of choice at the individual level. While internet freedom exists, individual readers and viewers don’t have to take the word of any website or pundit or commentator on any issue. They can check the source documentation themselves, except, perhaps not coincidentally, on the websites of the traditional media bastions, which tend not to link source material and documentation in their articles.

Hence the SOPA Act, Protect IP, the US government’s attempts to seize websites at the domain name level, and all of the other concerted attacks we have seen on internet freedoms in recent years.

Because ultimately, an informed and engaged public is far less likely to go along with wars waged for power and profit. And as the public becomes better informed about the very issues that the media has tried to lie to them about for so long, they realize that the answer to all of the mainstream media’s war cheerleading and blatant manipulation is perhaps simpler than we ever suspected: All we have to do is turn them off.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Syria: Some foreign journalists confirm that armed Extremists are fighting on the ground…

noliesradio — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:27:59 +0000

Uploaded by NeedToAwaken on Dec 27, 2011
From: Russia Today
Published: 27 December, 2011, 15:05
Claims that armed extremists are fighting in Syria are backed by some foreign journalists working on the ground. Independent journalist Thierry Meyssan tells RT how efforts by some forces to turn the conflict into a full-scale civil war are failing.

“It began with some armed groups entering the country, making troubles, trying to create Islamic emirates on the border with Jordan. These people recruit others to form bigger fighting groups and now they are entering in co-ordination with political opposition. And you know, in this country, there is a long history of opposition between the Baas Party and the Muslim Brotherhood. So, now there is an alliance between the Muslim Brothers and these armed groups coming from abroad,” he explained. “These groups can go everywhere, because now they have some support inside the population.”

The question is why are these groups typically able to find this support? Is it because people are now ready to use any means to reverse the government, or are the reasons more ideological in nature?

Thierry Meyssan points out that the reason the Muslim Brotherhood wants to topple the Assad regime is not because they want democracy — that is according to their own words — but because President Bashar Assad is Alawi.

“It could be the beginning of religious war inside the country,” he told RT.

On the other hand, the journalist does not believe that isolated conflicts in Syria, like the one in Homs, will spread into a full-scale civil war.

“External pressure against Syria will [go on], and all these people entering [the country] will continue [to do so], but I have no reasons now to think that this will extend to all the country,” he said.

NATO, however, is trying to act in exactly the same manner in its approach to Syria as it did with Libya, Meyssan continued.

“They do exactly the same to create a file on the United Nations — first, with the Geneva council of human rights, and after — in the Secondly Council. They try to manipulate the Arab League exactly in the same way,” he explained. “In the Libyan case they organized a big story in front of the Geneva Council for Human Rights — they said 5,000 people were killed by the security forces. Of course, it’s absolutely wrong. A lot of people were killed, but very few by the security forces. Most of them were killed by these armed groups they [had] put inside the country.

“The same armed groups are used [by NATO] in [Syria],” Meyssan added.

“In Libya, the support on the streets was only in Cyrenaica, because there was an old contention between Cyrenaica and Tripolitana — this country was created artificially very late. So, you don’t have such thing in Syria,” he went on to explain. “In Syria, the only way to divide the people is to use the confessional war. They are trying to do this now.”

At the same time, the journalist insists that all the attempts by outside forces to destabilize the country by means of military are not working.

“We see a lot of people killed, but this is not a civil war they tried to organize. If they want to enter with foreign troops inside, like they did in Libya, or using the proxy from the Gulf council, they will have a very big problem because this country is ready for battle,” he said. “Syria is able to resist the pressure for a very long time.

“People who try to destabilize Assad will have a stronger Assad after that,” Thierry Meyssan concluded.

http://rt.com/news/war-syria-religion-people-727/

……………………………….

Free Syrian Army commanded by Military Governor of Tripoli

noliesradio — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:08:07 +0000

by Thierry Meyssan

In the wake of the “Arab Spring” and NATO interventions, both official and secret, Qatar seeks to impose Islamist leaders wherever possible. This strategy has led it not only to fund the Muslim Brotherhood and to hand Al-Jazeera over to them, but also to support Al Qaeda mercenaries, who will henceforth oversee the Free Syrian Army. However, this new scenario raises serious concerns in Israel and among the supporters of the “clash of civilizations.”

VOLTAIRE NETWORK | 19 DECEMBER 2011

FRANÇAIS ESPAÑOL ITALIANO DEUTSCH


Aldel Hakim Belhaj, historic leader of Al Qaeda in Libya, Military Governor of Tripoli, chief of the Free Syrian Army.

The UN Security Council members are at loggerheads over the interpretation of the events that are rocking Syria. On one hand, France, the United Kingdom and the United States claim that a revolution has swept the country, in the aftermath of the “Arab Spring”, and suffering a bloody crackdown. On the other hand, Russia’s and China’s take is that Syria is having to cope with armed gangs from abroad, which it is fighting awkwardly thereby causing collateral victims among the civilian population it seeks to protect.

The on-the-spot investigation undertaken by Voltaire Network validated the latter interpretation [1]. We have collected eyewitness testimonies from those who survived an armed attack by a foreign gangs. They describe them as being Iraqis, Jordanians or Libyans, recognizable by their accent, as well as Pashtun.

In recent months, a certain number of Arab newspapers, favorable to the Al-Assad administration, discussed the infiltration into Syria of 600 to 1,500 fighters from the Islamic Fighting Group in Libya (IFGL), rebranded Al Qaeda in Libyasince November 2007. In late November 2011, the Libyan press reported the attempt by the Zintan militia to detain Abdel Hakim Belhaj, companion of Osama Bin Laden [2] and historic leader of Al Qaeda in Libya, who became military governor of Tripoli by the grace of NATO [3]. The scene took place at Tripoli airport, as he was leaving for Turkey. Finally, Turkish newspapers mentioned Mr. Belhaj’s presence at the Turkish-Syrian.

Such reports have been met with disbelief on the part of all those who regard Al Qaeda and NATO are irreconcilable enemies between whom no cooperation is possible. Instead, they reinforce the thesis which I have defended since the attacks of September 11, 2001, that Al Qaeda fighters are mercenaries of the service of the CIA [4].

Who is telling the truth?

For the past week, the Spanish royalist newspaper ABC has published a daily report by photographer Daniel Iriarte. This journalist is with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the north of the country, right on the Turkish border. Iriarte champions the cause of the “revolution” and can never find words harsh enough against “Al-Assad regime.”

The Free Syrian Army is made up of more than 20 00 people, according to its political chief Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad, but of only a few hundred when listening to the Syrian authorities [5].

However, in the Saturday edition dated 17 December 2011, Daniel Iriarte describes an encounter that shocked him. While his FSA friends were taking him to a new hideout, he came across some foreign insurgents: three Libyans [6].


Mahdi al-Harati, commander of the Tripoli Brigade, resigned from his functions as deputy chief of the Military Council in Tripoli to oversee the Free Syrian Army.

The first one among them was al-Mahdi Hatari, a Libyan who lived in Ireland before joining Al Qaeda. At the end of the Libyan war, he was named commander of the Tripoli Brigade, then number 2 of the Tripoli Military Council headed by Abdel Hakim Belhaj. He resigned from this function, according to some because of a dispute with the Transitional National Council, according to others because he wanted to go back to Ireland to join his Irish wife [7] The truth is that he headed for Syria.

Even stranger: a member of Al Qaeda was among the pro-Palestinian activists, in June of last year, on board the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara. Numerous secret service agents, especially US, had infiltrated the “Freedom Flotilla“ [8]. He was wounded and held prisoner for nine days in Israel.

Finally, during the Battle of Tripoli, al-Mahdi Harati commanded the Al Qaeda group that besieged and attacked the Rixos hotel, where I was staying with my Voltaire Networkcompanions and the international press, and whose basement served as a shelter for the leaders of the Jamahiriya under the protection of the custody of Khamis Gaddafi [9]. According to the latter, Mahdi al-Harati was being briefed by the French officers on the ground.

The second Libyan that the Spanish photographer in the Syrian army is none other than Kikli Adem, a lieutenant of Abdel Hakim Belhaj. As for the third Libyan, nicknamed Fouad, Daniel Iriarte was not in a position to identify him.

Iriarte’s testimony dovetails with what the Arab anti-Syrian press has been claiming for weeks: the Free Syrian Army is overseen by at least 600 “volunteers” from Al Qaeda in Libya [10]. The entire operation is run by Abdel Hakim Belhaj in person with the help of the Erdogan government.

How can it be explained that a daily newspaper as anti-Assad as ABC has decided to publish the testimony of its special envoy, who sheds light on the nauseating methods employed by NATO and confirms the Syrian government’s thesis of armed destabilization? The fact is that for a week, certain advocates of the clash of civilizations have been riling against a set-up which includes Islamic extremists in a “free world” strategy.

Writing on CNBC Guest Blog [11], former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar revealed on 9 December 2011 that Abdel Hakim Belhaj was suspected of complicity in the attacks of 11 March 2004 in Madrid [12], an event that put an end to Aznar’s political career.


Sheik Ali Salabi, spiritual guide of Al Qaeda in Lybia, Abdel Hakim Belhaj’s mentor, and strong man of the “new Libya.”

Mr. Aznar’s outing goes hand in hand with the intervention made by his friends from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, the think tank headed by former Israeli ambassador to the UN Dore Gold [13]. They publicly voice their doubts about the validity of the current CIA strategy to place Islamists in power throughout North Africa. Their criticism is aimed against the secret society of the Muslim Brotherhood, but also against two Libyan figures: Abel Hakim Belhadj and his friend Sheikh Ali Al-Salibi. The latter is regarded as the new leader of Libya [14]. The two men are deemed to be the pawns of Qatar in the new Libya [15]. It was also Sheikh Salabi who distributed $ 2 billion of Qatari funds to help Al-Qaeda in Libya [16].

Thus the contradiction that was desperately kept hidden for the past decade returns to the surface: the mercenaries, formerly paid by Osama Bin Laden, have never stopped working in the service of US strategic interests since the first war in Afghanistan, including the period of the September 11 attacks. Yet they are portrayed ??by Western leaders as implacable enemies.

It is likely that the objections of Mr. Aznar and the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs will be overridden by NATO, as were those raised by AFRICOM commander General Carter Ham. At the beginning of the war Libya, he was incensed at having to protect jihadists who had gone to slaughter GIs in Iraq.

Detached from reality, the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee (aka “Committee pursuant to resolution 1267″) and the US Department of State still have on their black list the organization of Abdel Hakim Belhaj and Sheik Salabi under its former label of Islamic Fighting Group in Libya. It would appear that is it the duty of every State to arrest these individuals if they enter their territory.

Thierry Meyssan

[1] “Lies and truths about Syria”, by Thierry Meyssan, Voltaire Network, 28 November 2011.

[2] “Libya’s Powerful Islamist Leader,” by Babak Dehghanpisheh, The Daily Beast, 2 September 2011.

[3] “How Al Qaeda men came to power in Libya”, by Thierry Meyssan,Voltaire Network, 7 September 2011.

[4] “Once NATO enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan, now NATO allies in Libya,” by Webster G. Tarpley, Voltaire Network, 24 May 2011.

[5] “Syria’s opposition, rebels hold talks in Turkey,” by Safak Timur, AFP, 1 December 2011.

[6] “Islamistas libios se desplazan a Siria para “ayudar” a la revolución,” by Daniel Iriarte, ABC (Spain), 17 December 2011. English translation: “Libyan Islamists go to Syria to “help” the revolution,” by Daniel Iriarte,Voltaire Network, 22 December 2011.

[7] “Libyan-Irish commander resigns as deputy head of Tripoli military council,” by Mary Fitzgerald, The Irish Times, 11 October 2011.

[8] “Freedom Flotilla: The detail that escaped Netanyahu”, by Thierry Meyssan, Voltaire Network, 8 June 2010.

[9] “Thierry Meyssan and Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya under death threat in Tripoli”, Voltaire Network, 22 August 2011.

[10] “Libyan fighters join “free Syrian army” forces,” Al Bawaba, 29 November 2011.

[11] “Spain’s Former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar on the Arab Awakening and How the West Should React,” CNBC.com., 9 December 2011.

[12] “March 11, 2004 in Madrid: Was it really an Islamist attack?”, by Mathieu Miquel, Voltaire Network, 28 November 2009.

[13] “Diplomacy after the Arab uprisings,” by Dore Gold, The Jerusalem Post, 15 December 2011.

[14] “Meet the likely architect of the new Libya,” by Marc Fisher, The Washington Post, 9 December 2011.

[15] “Libyans wary over support from Qatar,” by John Thorne, The National (United Arab Emirates), 13 December 2011.

[16] John Thorne, op. cit.

READ FULL STORY HERE

The 13 Ruling Families According to Alex Jones and the Staged Earthquake in Haiti

teri — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:04:46 +0000

Alex Jones breaks down the controllers that supposedly run the planet..later he covers the staged earthquake in Haiti.

Some of the 13 families that run/have run the Council of 13 according to Alex Jones: Rockerfellers, Rothschilds, Henry Kissinger, Gordon Brown, George Shultz, Richard Nixon, LBJ, Tony Blair, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Rahm Emanuel…later he covers the staged earthquake in Haiti.

Source www.youtube.com

What happened to JFK–and why it matters today

noliesradio — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 06:46:28 +0000

James Fetzer Exposes The Kennedy Assassination.
An extensive, thorough and detailed explanation of what happened to JFK, how it was covered up, who was responsible and how it changed the course of American history. Presented on 22 November 2011, the occasion of the 48th observance of the death of our 35th President at the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the sponsorship of the Sifting and Winnowing Club. The speaker, Jim Fetzer, a former Marine Corps officer and McKnight Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota Duluth, has chaired or co-chaired four national conferences on JFK and edited three books on the subject as well as giving hundreds of interviews, including three on JFK on “Coast to Coast AM”.

Zapruder film FRAME BY FRAME (HIGH QUALITY)

Uploaded by ert94464isback on Dec 29, 2011
The Zapruder film slowed down frame by frame.
Film in action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzHKAzvO4tY&feature=related
Just the headshot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCdTkYSiVaE&feature=related

JFK Zapruder Headshot FRAME BY FRAME (HIGH QUALITY)

Uploaded by ert94464isback on Nov 26, 2011
Full zapruder film frame by frame here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1Lyv4wrJQU

Zapruder Film (Very Clear With Sprocket Holes Filled)

Uploaded by EwanMcRobert on Jun 18, 2011
A very clear copy of the JFK assassination, (a.k.a. Zapruder Film).
This copy is good for studying the film frame for frame (by downloading it and using the space bar while playing)
My first YouTube upload
Enjoy

THE INAUGURATION OF POLICE STATE USA 2012. Obama Signs the “National Defense Authorization Act “

noliesradio — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:40:25 +0000

by Michel Chossudovsky Global Research, January 1, 2012

With minimal media debate, at a time when Americans were celebrating the New Year with their loved ones, the “National Defense Authorization Act ” H.R. 1540 was signed into law by President Barack Obama. The actual signing took place in Hawaii on the 31st of December.

According to Obama’s “signing statement”, the threat of Al Qaeda to the Security of the Homeland constitutes a justification for repealing fundamental rights and freedoms, with a stroke of the pen.

The controversial signing statement (see transcript below) is a smokscreen. Obama says he disagrees with the NDAA but he signs it into law.

“[I have] serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists.”

Obama implements “Police State USA”, while acknowledging that certain provisions of the NDAA are unacceptable. If such is the case, he could have either vetoed the NDAA (H.R. 1540) or sent it back to Congress with his objections.

The “National Defense Authorization Act ” (H.R. 1540) is Obama’s New Year’s “Gift” to the American People.

He justifies the signing of the NDAA as a means to combating terrorism, as part of a “counter-terrorism” agenda. But in substance, any American opposed to the policies of the US government can –under the provisions of the NDAA– be labelled a “suspected terrorist” and arrested under military detention.

“Moreover, I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation. My Administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the Constitution, the laws of war, and all other applicable law.”

Barack Obama is a lawyer (a graduate from Harvard Law School). He knows fair well that his signing statement –which parrots his commitment to democracy– is purely cosmetic. It has no force of law.

His adminstration “will not authorize” what? The implementaiton of a Law signed by the US president?

Section 1021 is crystal clear. The Executive cannot refuse to implement it. The signing statement does not in any way invalidate or modify the actual signing by President Obama of NDAA (H.R. 1540) into law.

“Democratic Dictatorship” in America

The “National Defense Authorization Act ” (H.R. 1540) repeals the US Constitution. While the facade of democracy prevails, supported by media propaganda, the American republic is fractured. The tendency is towards the establishment of a totalitarian State, a military government dressed in civilian clothes.

The passage of NDAA is intimately related to Washington’s global military agenda. The military pursuit of Worldwide hegemony also requires the “Militarization of the Homeland”, namely the demise of the American Republic.

In substance, the signing statement is intended to mislead Americans and provide a “democratic face” to the President as well as to the unfolding post-911 Military Police State apparatus.

The “most important traditions and values” in derogation of The Bill of Rights and the US Constitution have indeed been repealed, effective on New Year’s Day, January 1st 2012.

The NDAA authorises the arbitrary and indefinite military detention of American citizens.

The Lessons of History

This New Year’s Eve December 31, 2011 signing of the NDAA will indelibly go down as a landmark in American history.

If we are to put this in a comparative historical context, the relevant provisions of the NDAA HR 1540 are, in many regards, comparable to those contained in the “Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State”, commonly known as the “Reichstag Fire Decree” (Reichstagsbrandverordnung) enacted in Germany under the Weimar Republic on 27 February 1933 by President (Field Marshal) Paul von Hindenburg.

Implemented in the immediate wake of the Reichstag Fire (which served as a pretext), this February 1933 decree was used to repeal civil liberties including the right of Habeas Corpus.

Article 1 of the February 1933 “Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State” suspended civil liberties under the pretext of “protecting” democracy: “Thus, restrictions on personal liberty, on the right of free expression of opinion, including freedom of the press, on the right of association and assembly, and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic, and telephonic communications, and warrants for house-searches, orders for confiscations, as well as restrictions on property rights are permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed.” (Art. 1, emphasis added)

Constitutional democracy was nullified in Germany through the signing of a presidential decree.

The Reichstag Fire decree was followed in March 1933 by “The Enabling Act” ( Ermächtigungsgesetz) which allowed (or enabled) the Nazi government of Chancellor Adolf Hitler to invoke de facto dictatorial powers. These two decrees enabled the Nazi regime to introduce legislation which was in overt contradiction with the 1919 Weimar Constitution.

The following year, upon the death of president Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler “declared the office of President vacant” and took over as Fuerer, the combined function’s of Chancellor and Head of State.

The Reichstag Fire, Berlin, February 1933

Germany’s President (Field Marshal) Paul von Hindenburg

Obama’s New Year’s Gift to the American People

To say that January 1st 2012 is “A Sad Day for America” is a gross understatement.

The signing of NDAA (HR 1540) into law is tantamount to the militarization of law enforcement, the repeal of the Posse Comitatus Act and the Inauguration in 2012 of Police State USA.

As in Weimar Germany, fundamental rights and freedoms are repealed under the pretext that democracy is threatened and must be protected.

The NDAA is “Obama’s New Year’s Gift” to the American People. …

Michel Chossudovsky, Montreal, Canada, January, 1st 2012

Today, January 1st, 2012, our thoughts are with the American people.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Israel Warmongering

noliesradio — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 03:25:30 +0000

Uploaded by PressTVGlobalNews on Dec 29, 2011
In this edition of News Analysis we will examine the possibility of another war on the Gaza strip by Israel and whether this latest threat underlies deeper worries by Israel due to changes in the regional landscape from the Arab Spring in which parliamentary results from different Arab countries show a break from the past with Israel.

Iran, Israel and the US: who’s threatening who?

noliesradio — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 07:54:48 +0000

by David J. Franco and Shirin Shafaie (source: InPEC)campaigniran.org

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

InPEC has conducted this interview with Shirin Shafaie at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Shirin Shafaie is an Iranian researcher and PhD candidate at SOAS. She was educated in Iran (BA in Philosophy and MA in Philosophy of Art) and in the UK (MSc in Middle East Politics). The core of her research is critical war studies in general and the Iran-Iraq War in particular. The links in the answers are added by Shafaie.

Franco: Good morning Miss Shafaie and welcome to a conversation with InPEC. In an interview conceded to Iranicum [1] in August 2011 you stated that ‘the IAEA has confirmed time and again that Iran is enriching uranium only to the levels it has stated and more importantly that no declared nuclear material has ever been diverted to military use in Iran’. The latest report released by the IAEA on 8 November 2011 seems to challenge this statement (we will call this the November Report). What is your position following the release of the November Report?

Shafaie: The IAEA has issued 35 reports on Iran since June 2003. What remains well-founded, credible and accurate in all of these reports, including the November Report, is the fact that “the Agency continues to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material at the nuclear facilities and LOFs [Locations Outside Facilities, meaning in hospitals] declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement”.[2]

This is the most decisive and accurate finding of hundreds of hours of inspection by IAEA inspectors and 24/7 surveillance by IAEA cameras. The allegation remains as always that “the Agency is unable to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran”; while Iran continues to categorically deny any undeclared nuclear sites on its soil. There has never been any evidence of such sites until today.

There are some other, old and new, allegations in the November Report which have become worthy of attention thanks to the media hype, for example the allegations of Research & Development for nuclear weapons based on data from a mystery laptop. Gareth Porter, the investigative journalist, has best dealt with this issue and discounted the intelligence documents that have been used to indict Iran as plotting to build nuclear weapons as fabrications by a self-interested party, namely Israel’s Mossad. Others have also argued that the US has once again used fake intelligence to build a justification to wage war. Muhammad Sahimi, an Iranian professor and commentator, has also provided a critical analysis of the issue which you can listen to here. Or you can read Iran’s own assessment of the so-called alleged studies here. With regard to the nuclear facilities in Iran near Qom, Daniel Joyner writing for the Jurist has explained in legal terms why Iran was not obliged under its Safeguards Agreement to declare a facility which was not yet introduced to nuclear material. Perhaps the newest and most exciting allegation in the November Report is that of the involvement of a former-Soviet “nuclear scientist” in Iran’s nuclear program. The Ukrainianscientist in nanotechnology, Danilenko, has rebuffed the manipulation of his identity and expertise in the November Report. Porter has also provided a sober analysis of the new allegationshere.

Moreover, Iran submitted a 117-page clarification document to the IAEA in May 2008 clarifying most of the above allegations in full detail. Although the November Report does not add anything new in terms of substance and concern to the issue, Iran has provided the 118 Members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) with answers to twenty key questions regarding its nuclear program. Moreover the NAM has issued a statement criticising the biased and unprofessional behaviour of the IAEA against Iran.

In a nutshell, there is still no shred of evidence indicating that Iran has an intention for developing nuclear weapons, let alone having a military nuclear program already.

Franco: The IAEA claims to have verified most of the evidence provided by member states but some claim that the UN nuclear watchdog is as a much a technical organisation as it is a political body. Is the IAEA as independent as it purports to be? What should we make of their November Report?

Shafaie: The November Report does not contain any evidence of nuclear weaponisation in Iran, only some allegations, both old and new. The corresponding data to these allegations has been fed to the IAEA mainly by one unnamed “Member State”. Experts of all sides agree that the concerned Member State is in fact Israel: a member state to the IAEA (along with 150 other countries), but not a signatory to the NPT (along with only 3 other countries). Therefore, legally speaking, the whole report lacks credibility and legitimacy.

To use a court case analogy, this is what has happened: Iran has been accused of having an intention to develop nuclear weapons (guilty until proven innocent), the Agency (prosecutor and the jury) cannot guarantee that Iran does not have a military nuclear agenda (double negative case), the enemy of Iran, Israel, itself very much guilty of having actually committed the same crime (nuclear weaponisation) provides the jury with the so-called evidence. Important documents and information were withheldfrom the jury (former IAEA head, ElBaradei) and the defendant (Iran). Meanwhile the new head of the jury (current IAEA head, Amano) is himself under the influence of another arch enemy of Iran and best friends of Israel, namely the US. The US is itself guilty of not only having the largest number of nuclear arsenal in the world throughout the history, but also guilty of being the only country which has actually used nuclear bombs against civilian population, not once but twice. When the jury-prosecutor receives these readymade allegations and fabricated evidence supporting those allegations, it sends Iran’s nuclear file to the Supreme Court which is the Security Council here. There again you find the US sitting comfortably along with its European allies and opportunist powers to decide if Iran should be punished for a crime it has not committed. It won’t be hard to guess what such a verdict would be, without even having seen or verified the evidence.

Franco: Talking of Israel, the Economist published on November 12th that ‘The Israelis’ anxiety is understandable. They fear a theocratic regime that embraces the Shia tradition of martyrdom may not be deterred by a nuclear balance of terror’. Is this what the West truly fears or is there something else at stake?

Shafaie: I don’t fully understand why Israel fears Iran so much, yet I don’t think that their fear is unreal. Israel has been active in acts of sabotage and terror against Iran ranging from cyber attacks and most notoriously assassination of Iranian scientists. So it may be the case that Israel really thinks that Iran wants to make nuclear bombs. But the Israeli fear is not proof for an Iranian crime. There is a Persian expression which says that master thieves always have many locks on their own doors.

Some argue that the source of Israeli paranoia against Iran is the antagonistic language of Iranian leaders, most notably the current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and also the late leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini. They both said that Zionism will disappear from the page of time and I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t. The Apartheid regime vanished from the page of time without South Africa being wiped off the map. The problem may be that Israeli leaders see the existence of their political party and particular ideology as identical with the existence of the Jewish people and their country. This is a false portrayal of reality. Israel and the Jewish people do not need Zionism but the other way round. Moreover, Iran’s military doctrine is fundamentally defensive and it has been like that for more than two centuries. Unlike Israel or the US, Iran does not follow its political aspirations through aggressive military means. With regard to Israel, Iran insists that it is up to the people of the Occupied Territories to decide their own future.

I agree with Avner Cohen, an expert on Israeli nuclear arsenal and a professor at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, who said that “Ultimately this is a fight over the Israeli nuclear monopoly in the region”; meaning that Israel, but also the US and the IAEA, are not really concerned with the nature of Iranian nuclear program, but more so with Israel’s status as the sole nuclear-armed state in the region. Keeping the Israeli nuclear weapons monopoly has become the most important issue on the IAEA and Security Council agenda, whereas it should be really the issue of creating a WMD-Free Zone in the Middle East.

Franco: Let’s now move to the issue of sanctions. In yourinterview with Iranicum you stated that sanctions are counter-productive and a direct attack on Iran’s population. You also claimed that diplomacy and negotiation are the only way forward. On the other hand, many believe Iran is just buying time to develop a break-out capability and the US and the EU have strengthened sanctions against Tehran. Against this background, how can diplomacy continue to serve international and regional peace and security?

Shafaie: Sanctions are confrontational and destructive. The question is what have they achieved anywhere in the world at any point in time? What did a decade of sanctions against Iraqachieve? Did it help the oppressed people of Iraq? No, more than 500,000 Iraqi children died as a direct result of sanctions. What did sanctions achieve in Libya? Did they bring about democracy, prosperity or a bright future? What about Syria? Why should anyone think that Iran is or will be any different? Sanctions are not just a prelude to war, but in fact they are an act of war because like wars they destroy economies and lead to death and destruction. Sanctions are proving to be detrimental not only for the enemy’s economy (or the receiving people) but also for the sending countries. Moreover such sanctions in the case of Iran also “impact companies from third countries cooperating with Iran in the oil and oil-refining industry, and in the banking sector”, a fact reiterated by Russia which “views such extra-territorial measures as unacceptable and against international law” and as “a tool for regime change”.

The current system imposed on international relations by the West creates lose-lose situations. Even lose-win situations should be considered obsolete in our globalised world. The West should drop its extra-legal demand for suspension of nuclear enrichment in Iran. Negotiations should instead take place in order to expand cooperation in the field of nuclear energy production and research. An interesting option would be the revival of the nuclear deal involving Russia, Iran, France and the IAEA (originally devised in October 2009). Based on this deal Iran would ship most of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia for further enrichment and then to France for processing into fuel rods which are needed for medical purposes in Tehran Research Reactor. There is also the Iran-Brazil-Turkey deal which was concluded with initial support from the Obama Administration but later dismissed by the US in the Security Council.

I think that the revival of the Russian deal is a better option at the moment because Turkey seems to have slightly tilted towards the West, especially through its NATO membership. Turkey’s decision to host American anti-missile shields has bothered Iranand Russia alike, while pleasing Israel. Now it may be time that Iran reconsiders the Russian proposal of 2009. This will be a win-win situation for all the parties who choose to be involved.

Franco: Let’s talk a bit more about nuclear deals. In a September 2011 interview with the Washington Post (later reproduced in similar terms with the New York Times) President Ahmadinejad reiterated his offer to stop enriching Uranium to 20% level in exchange for fuel rods. Why has the offer fallen on deaf ears and do you think the November Report is having any influence in the US decision not to consider Ahmadinejad’s offer seriously?

Shafaie: The reason President Ahmadinejad is offering to halt uranium enrichment up to 20% is that Iran urgently needs the nuclear fuel rods for its Tehran Research Reactor (TRR). More than 800,000 patients of cancer and other complicated diseases are dependent on medical radioisotopes produced by the TRR for diagnosis and treatment. Unfortunately the significant humanitarian aspect of Iran’s nuclear program has been wilfully neglected by the US and the IAEA. Iran’s nuclear program is politicised by the West at the expense of these patients who are turned away from hospitals on a daily basis because the TRR has almost ran out of fuel.

The recent proposal by President Ahmadinejad is not unique in kind. Iran had previously agreed to other deals, such as the Iran-Brazil-Turkey deal that I just mentioned to solve this diplomatic and humanitarian deadlock. In 2008 Iran proposed to establish an international consortium to enrich uranium on its soil as a way of defusing tensions over its nuclear program. The proposal was again dismissed by the West because the US and its European allies want Iran to completely abandon its nuclear enrichment program or in other words give up some of its national sovereignty. President Ahmadinejad’s offer to halt uranium enrichment up to 20% indicates efforts towards reaching a win-win solution. Iran refuses to be put in such an immoral position where it has to choose between its national sovereignty and the well-being of its hundreds of thousands of patients. Moreover, there is no guarantee from the West to safeguard either side should Iran choose to pick one.

I think that the West is using the issue of Iranian urgent humanitarian need for nuclear fuel as a bargaining chip and that is why Iran’s continuous offers for suspension of uranium enrichment to 20% seem to be falling upon deaf ears in the West.

Franco: One last question, Miss Shafaie. Recent developments seem to have elevated tensions to levels similar to those experienced in the prelude to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Speaking of Iran’s nuclear program, President Obama’s National Security Adviser Thomas E. Donilon reiterated recently that ‘the United States would take no options off the table in dealing with Tehran’. Is this mere rhetoric or is it reflective of views in the Obama administration that see war with Iran inevitable?

Shafaie: There is a horrific fact about the now cliché American phrase “All options are on the table” against Iran. All options here include the following measures: extra-legal economic and diplomatic sanctions for example against Iran’s civilian aviation industry, various acts of sabotage including cyber attacks, espionage operations involving anti-Iranian terrorist groups and unmanned drones, assassination of Iranian scientists inside Iran, and most recently sanctions against Iran’s Central Bank and talks of an oil embargo against Iran; but most notoriously this phrase implies the possibility of an unprovoked nuclear attack by the US against Iran. President Obama spelled out this possibility in his 2010 Nuclear Posture Review. The gravity of such horrific threat by the US against non-nuclear-armed Iran is reflected in the text of Iran’s complaint to the Security Council. However, Iran’s complaint was rather in vain because the aggressor, namely the US is itself dominating the Security Council.

So does this mean that the US will use its nuclear weapons again, this time against Iran? I’m not so sure. Because the Western military-industrial complex is currently benefitting from the status quo that the US and Israel have created in the region through Iranophobia. The American arms sales to the region amount to billions of dollars. Moreover, the US military-industrial complex is benefiting from its European missile shield deals. However, there is always the risk of saturation of the arms market in the region and by extension the risk of an all-out war. Yet, there are a number of actors which would by no means benefit from such a scenario and it is possible that they would prevent such a war.

The biggest loser of such a war with Iran would be the people of the world. The anti-war movement has become much stronger in the West than it was in the run-up to the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. Moreover, the global economic crisis has made people rethink the trust and power that they have invested in their regimes. The other actors who would not benefit from yet another American-made war in the Middle East are China and Russia. Unlike the US, Chinese economy is not based on arms sales and China has a lot to lose from rising oil prices. The Russian situation is quite similar, so is the situation of Brazil, India, and South Africa (i.e. BRICS countries). In fact the deputy foreign ministers of theBRICS countries stated their deep concerns in a meeting in November 2011 “about security and stability in the Gulf region” and called “for political dialogue in resolving differences” and “rejected the use and threat of force”. In their Joint Communiqué“the Participants stressed the necessity to build a system of relations in the Gulf region that would guarantee equal and reliable security for all States of the sub-region.” This is Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreeing on an urgent matter, all currently members of the Security Council.

There is a lot of tension and horrific threats of war, but there is also hope that at least some in the international community have maintained their sanity and are increasingly calling for diplomacy and negotiations in place of wars and confrontation.

Franco: Miss Shafaie, thank you very much for finding the time to answer our questions.

[1] Published originally by Iranicum in German and translated into English by online magazine Iran Review.

[2] (See IAEA reports dated: 08Nov11, 27Feb06, 14Nov06,22Feb07, 23May07, 30Aug07, 15Nov07, 22Feb08, 26May08,15Sep08, 19Nov08, 19Feb09, 05Jun09, 28Aug09, 16Nov09,18Feb10, 31Mar10, 06Sep10, 23Nov10, 25Feb11, 24May11,02Sep11 and Iran’s explanatory note 14Sep11, 08Nov11 and Iran’s response titled 20 simple questions and answers also dated 08Nov11.)

READ FULL STORY HERE

Iranian missile spin closes Hormuz for five hours

noliesradio — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:57:47 +0000

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report December 31, 2011, 12:16 PM (GMT+02:00)

USS Stennis cruises Persian Gulf waters

By a media trick, Tehran proved its claim that closing the Strait of Hormuz is as “easy as drinking water,” DEBKAfile reports. First thing Saturday morning, Saturday, Dec. 31, Iran’s state agencies “reported” long-range and other missiles had been test-fired as part of its ongoing naval drill around the Strait of Hormuz. Ahead of the test, Tehran closed its territorial waters. For five hours Saturday, not a single warship,

Instead, around 0900 local time, a senior Iranian navy commander Mahmoud Moussavi informed Iran’s English language Press TV that no missiles had been fired after all. “The exercise of launching missiles will be carried out in the coming days,” he said.
For five hours therefore, world shipping obeyed Tehran’s warning and gave the narrow waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes, a wide berth. They stayed out of range of a test which, DEBKAfile’s military sources report, aimed to demonstrate for the first time that Shahab-3 ballistic missiles which have a range of 1,600 kilometers and other missiles, such as the Nasr1cruise marine missile, are capable of reaching Hormuz from central Iran.

The Moussavi statement was not aired on Iran’s Farsi-language media. It was not necessary; Tehran had demonstrated by this ruse that it could close the vital waterway for hours or days at any moment.

Friday night, shortly after Tehran reported the missile-firing test was to take place the next morning, Washington announced the $3.48 billion sale to the United Arab Emirates of 94 advanced THAAD missiles with supporting technology.

Like the $30 billion sale of 84 F-15 fighter jets to the Saudi Arabia announced this week, delivery dates were not specified. The first F-15s for Saudi Arabia are due some time in 2015. It must therefore be said that the announced sophisticated US arms sales to the Persian Gulf nations bear only tangentially on the current state of tension in the region around Iranian threats.
The Hormuz missile stratagem has given Tehran three advantages in its face-off with Washington and the Gulf Arab governments:
1. It gave credibility to the threats issued by Iranian military chiefs last week regarding free passage in the Strait of Hormuz and Western sanctions:
On Dec. 29, Navy commander Adm. Habibollah Sayari said it was “really easy” for Iran’s armed forces to shut the strait, adding “But today, we don’t need [to shut] the strait because we have the Sea of Oman under control and can control the transit.”

The next day, Deputy Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Gen. Hossein Salami said the United States was not in a position to tell Tehran “what to do in the Strait of Hormuz. Any threat will be responded to by threat… We will not relinquish our strategic moves if Iran’s vital interests are undermined by any means.”

2. For Tehran, closing the vital waterway to international traffic without firing a shot – even for a few hours – served to rebut the warning given by US Fifth Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Rebecca Rebarich on Dec. 29. She said: “Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations: any disruption will not be tolerated.”

READ FULL STORY HERE

Earth at Risk Conference — Arundhati Roy _ on Anti-War Progressive Teach-in

noliesradio — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:01:58 +0000

This show was originally broadcast live on November 13, 2011. It was rebroadcasted on December 31, 2011.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Every Saturday – Anti-War – Progressive Truth Teach-in
Coming up at 9:00am Pacific * 12 noon Eastern * 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Monday.

Earth at Risk Conference — Arundhati Roy
Presentation from the Earth-At-Risk Conference, recently held at the University of California, Berkeley on November 13, 2011 with Featured Speaker Arundhati Roy. From a Flashpoints Presentation.

Hola Eva! Eva Golinger _ on Soapbox

noliesradio — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:22:01 +0000

This show was broadcast December 31, 2011.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific * 04:00 pm Eastern * 20:00 GMT

Hola Eva!
Cindy sez: “We will be hosting Venezuelan / American Attorney and author Eva Golinger to talk about some recent South American events.” Ms. Golinger is the author of The Chavez Code, which illuminates (using US documentation) the US’s profound part in the attempted overthrow of President Hugo Chavez in 2002. We chat about the importance and the implications of Venezuela’s recent parliamentary elections, and last week’s coup attempt in Ecuador. We also try to answer the age old question of why does the Huffington Post hate Hugo Chavez and Venezuela so? I doubt you will find an hour on radio or tv that is packed with more relevant info than on today’s Soapbox.This interview is from October 10, 2010.
Cindy’s website is here.

Ron Paul slams Barack Obama on drone strikes

noliesradio — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 07:44:02 +0000

politico.com

He accuses Obama of offering terror suspects fewer protections than Nazi war criminals. | AP Photo

By JAMES HOHMANN | 12/30/11 1:58 AM EST

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Ron Paul accused President Barack Obama on Thursday of offering suspected terrorists fewer legal protections than Nazi war criminals were given.

The Republican presidential candidate laced into Obama for authorizing the CIA-led drone strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an Al Qaeda leader, in Yemen this September. He reiterated his previously stated position that al-Awlaki’s American citizenship entitled him to due process.

“As bad as they were, you know even Adolf Eichmann finally when he was captured he was taken to Israel. Israel gave him a trial! What did we do with the Nazis – war criminals! – after World War II? They got trials! Yeah, and they got what was deserving: they got hung,” Paul told more than 700 voters during a campaign speech at a convention center in western Iowa.“This year has not been good for the cause of personal liberty because about a year ago the president announced because there are so many bad people around that he has to really go after them to protect us.

“There are some dangerous people out there. There’s a lot of ‘em. Most of them get a trial, but he changed the rules. He says now it is proper for the president to decide to assassinate an American citizen without a trial, without charges, because he thinks they’re that dangerous,” he said.

Many in the crowd booed the Democratic president as Paul raised the issue with no prompting. It’s a signal that he’s unapologetic about his views and unwilling to blur his pacifist foreign policy vision with political expediency. Tellingly, the crowd of loyalists roared with approval.

That more than 700 people showed up on a rainy night offered a powerful visual reminder five days before the caucuses that no Republican candidate has as devoted a following as the 76-year-old Texas congressman.

Promising to “bring our troops home” got the rowdiest applause of the night from an audience with a lot of college-aged faces – the standard at Paul events – but also many middle-aged voters. His 52-minute stem-winder touched almost every erogenous zone of the libertarian-minded coalition of Republicans, independents and disaffected Democrats that the campaign is counting on.

READ FULL STORY HERE

War on Venezuela: Washington’s False Accusations Against The Chavez Government

noliesradio — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 07:33:38 +0000

by Eva Golinger

Global Research, December 29, 2011
chavezcode.c

Ever since the US-supported coup attempt against President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela failed in April 2002, Washington has been pursuing a variety of strategies to remove the overwhelmingly popular South American head of state from power. Multimillion-dollar funding to anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela through US government agencies, such as the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has increased exponentially over the past ten years, as has direct political support through advisors, strategists and consultants- all aiming to help an unpopular and outdated opposition rise to power.

US government agencies, including the State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, National Directorate of Intelligence and the Pentagon, have pumped up their hostile language towards the Venezuelan government in recent years. The major oil-producing nation has been placed on the countless, and baseless “lists” produced annually by Washington, including “failure to cooperate with counter-narcotics efforts”, “failure to aid in the war on terror”, “trafficking in persons”, and others, that are based on political decisions instead of concrete, substantial evidence to support their accusations. These classifications have enabled Washington to justify not only the millions of US taxpayer dollars channeled to anti-Chavez groups fronting as NGOs, but also to increase military presence in the region and convince public opinion that Hugo Chavez is an enemy.

Despite “promises” of respectful relations and non-intervention, the Obama government’s hostile language and actions towards Venezuela have led to a freezing of diplomatic relations between both nations coupled with expanding plans within Washington to include the South American nation in the “terrorist axis of evil”. The build-up against Venezuela that began during the George W. Bush administration has been rapidly excelerated by Obama. With the House Foreign Relations Committee in the hands of Florida Republicans Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Connie Mack – both rabid Chavez-haters – Congress has been pushing hard for direct actions against Venezuela to provoke Chavez’s ouster and place a “US-friendly” government in power.

Not only does Venezuela have the largest oil reserves on the planet, with possibly over 500 billion barrels, about 300 certifiable, but the country’s geopolitical position as the port of South America, with borders on the Caribbean, Andean and Amazon, make it one of the most strategically important nations in the world. In addition to oil, Venezuela has vast mineral reserves, heavy metals, uranium and water.

President Chavez’s growing leadership and influence in the region has angered Washington for some time. Efforts to demonize, ridicule and even ignore the Venezuelan head of state have been employed by the US government and mass media over the past several years, creating a distorted perception amongst public opinion of Venezuela’s reality. Despite numerous elections, all overseen by international observers and in which Chavez has won with around 60% of the vote, international media portray the Venezuelan President as a “dictator” and the nation as a “failing state”. But Venezuela’s growing, vibrant democracy, in which a majority previously excluded and silenced by prior US-supported governments today participate freely and widely, has achieved extraordinary changes in the nation, including a 50% reduction in poverty, a guarantee of free, universal healthcare and education, a 6% unemployment rate (down from 15%) and major infrastructure development.

While President Obama has largely refrained from personally commenting on Venezuela, as did his predecessor Bush, a recent interview provided to an anti-Chavez national daily newspaper, El Universal, evidences a shift in policy. The interview, given on the heels of an alarming broadcast of an uncorroborated “report” attempting to link Venezuela, Cuba and Iran to a terrorist plot against the US, which aired on the largest Spanish-language station in the United States, Univision, reads like a page right out of the thick book of false accusations made against Venezuela since Chavez came to power in 1999.

In written responses to the Venezuelan newspaper, Obama (or his team of advisors) insinuated Venezuela was a dictatorship and expressed his “concern about the government’s actions, which have restricted the universal rights of the Venezuelan people, threatened basic democratic values, and failed to contribute to security in the region”. Obama, of course, fails to cite any real examples to substantiate his “concerns”. These are merely the types of statements that have been regurgitated by Washington’s spokespeople over the past decade, never with a shred of viable evidence to back their damning claims.

No rights have been restricted in Venezuela by the government. In fact, rights have been amplified under the new constitution that was written and ratified by the people of Venezuela in national referendum in 1999. Venezuelans have the basic rights to healthcare, education, food, housing, dignified work, a living wage, participation, expression, recreation and culture that the 300 million citizens of the United States don’t have. And it’s cynical to say that Venezuela, a country with minimal military power that has never attacked another nation, threatened or invaded a neighbor, is a “regional security threat”. The US government’s 200-year history of invasions, massacres, coups, interventions and other aggressions against almost every Latin American and Caribbean nation cannot be left “in the past” as Obama would prefer.

Obama didn’t fail to mention his “concern” about Venezuela’s relationship with Iran, regarding which he stated, “We take Iranian activities, including in Venezuela, very seriously and we will continue to monitor them closely”. It’s no coincidence that these statements follow the airing of the Hollywood-esque Univision documentary, “The Iranian Threat”, which makes dangerous defamatory claims against the Chavez administration in an attempt to include Venezuela in a bogus terrorist plot.

Despite the ridiculousness of the Univision claims, members of Congress are bantering Obama to take preemptive action against both Iran and Venezuela. Other “commentators” and “analysts” are busy writing blogs and columns warning of the growing terrorist threat south of the US border. These dangerous, unfounded accusations could easily be used to justify an attack against Venezuela, as weapons of mass destruction was used against Iraq and “protecting the population” was used against Libya.

Iran and Venezuela have a normal commercial relationship. The two countries share technology and resources to make automobiles and bicycles, build housing construction and run milk factories. Surely cars, homes and milk don’t equate to a terrorist threat. Time again, Venezuela has shown there are no “terrorist training camps” on its soil. Nor is it secretly building a bomb to attack the US. Venezuela is a nation of peace. It does not invade, attack or threaten other countries.

Obama’s reckless bandwagoning of aggression against Venezuela could lead to an unnecessary atrocity. As President Chavez said, Obama would be better off focusing on the troubles at home, rather than trying to create new ones abroad.
Eva Golinger is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by Eva Golinger
READ FULL STORY HERE

Iran raises anti-US threat level. Israel’s C-of-S warns of potential for regional war

noliesradio — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 07:19:04 +0000

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report December 29, 2011, 6:28 PM (GMT+02:00)

A naval mine

Thursday afternoon, Dec. 29, Tehran raised the pitch of its threats to the United States when Dep. Chief of the Revolutionary Guards Gen. Hossein Salami declared: “The United States is in no position to tell Tehran what to do in the Strait of Hormuz,” adding, “Any threat will be responded [to] by threat… We will not relinquish our strategic moves in Iran’s vital interests are undermined by any means.”

The Iranian general spoke after the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier and its strike group passed through the Strait of Hormuz to the Sea of Oman and into the area where the big Iranian naval war game Veleyati 90 is taking place.
At around the same time, Israel’s chief of staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz spoke of “the rising potential for a multi-arena event,” i.e. a comprehensive armed conflict. Facing in several directions as we are “between terrorist organizations and Iran’s progress toward a nuclear weapon… we can’t afford to stay on the defensive and must come up with offensive measures,” he said.

Earlier Thursday, Dec. 29, DEBKAfile reported that an Iranian plan to mine the Strait of Hormuz had put US and NATO forces in the Persian Gulf on the alert.

US and NATO task forces in the Persian Gulf have been placed on alert after US intelligence warned that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are preparing Iranian marine commandos to sow mines in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The new deployment, DEBKAfile’s military sources report, consists of USS Combined Task Force 52 (CTF 52), which is trained and equipped for dismantling marine mines and NATO Maritime Mine Counter measures Group 2 (SNMCMG2). The American group is led by the USS Arden mine countermeasures ship; NATO’s by the British HMS Pembroke minesweeper. Other vessels in the task forces are the Hunt-class destroyer HMS Middleton and the French mine warfare ships FS Croix du Sud and FS Var.
Also on the ready are several US Expeditionary Combat Readiness units of the US Fifth Fleet Bahrain command. Seventeen of these special marine units are attached to the Fifth Fleet as America’s answer to the Iranian Navy’s fast assault boats and marine units.

US military sources told DEBKAfile Wednesday, Dec. 28, that United States has the countermeasures for sweeping the waterway of mines and making it safe for marine passage after no more than a 24-48 hour interruption.

At the same time, leading military and naval officials in Washington take Tehran’s threats seriously. They don’t buy the proposition advanced by various American pundits and analysts that Iran would never close the Strait of Hormuz, though which one third of the world’s oil passes, because it would then bottle up its own energy exports. Those officials, according to our sources, believe that Tehran hopes the mines in the waterway will blow up passing oil tankers and other shipping. It doesn’t have to be sealed hermetically to endanger international shipping; just a few mines here and there and an explosion would be enough to deter shippers and crews from risking their vessels.

As Adm. Habibollah Sayari commander of the Iranian Navy put it Wednesday, Dec. 28: “Shutting the strait for Iran’s armed forces is really easy – or as we say in Iran, easier than drinking a glass of water.” He went on to say: “But today, we don’t need [to shut] the strait because we have the Sea of Oman under control and can control transit.”

DEBKAfile’s Middle East marine sources said the Iranian admiral’s boast about the Sea of Oman was just hot air. For the big Iranian Velayati 90 sea exercise which began Saturday, America has deployed in that sea two large air and sea strike groups led by the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier and the USS Bataan aircraft amphibious ship.

And they are highly visible: Thursday morning, Dec. 29, Iranian Navy’s Deputy Commander Rear Adm. Mahmoud Mousavi reported an Iranian Navy aircraft had shot footage and images of a US carrier spotted in an area where the Velayat 90 war games were being conducted – most probably the Stennis. Its presence, he said, demonstrated that Iran’s naval forces were “precisely monitoring all moves by extra-regional powers” in the region.

Clearly, the US navy is very much on the spot in the Sea of Oman and other areas of the Iranian war game.

Middle East sources warn however that the repeated threats to close the Strait of Hormuz coming from Tehran this week and the framework of its naval exercise clearly point to the manner in which Iran intends to hit back for the tough new sanctions which the West plans to approve next month. The new round is expected to shear off 80 percent of the Islamic Republic’s revenues.
The European Union’s 27 member-states meet in January to approve an embargo on Iranian oil, with effect on 25 percent of Iran’s energy exports. Next month, too, President Barack Obama plans to sign into law an amendment authorizing severe penalties for foreign banks trading with Iran’s central bank, CBI, including the loss of links with American banks and financial institutions.

Tehran is expected to strike back hard by sowing mines in Hormuz and in the waters opposite the oil fields and terminals of fellow Persian Gulf oil producers, including Saudi Arabia.

It would not be the first time. In 1987 and 1988, sea mines were sown in the Persian Gulf for which Iran never took responsibility.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Occupying Free Speech Radio_on Project Censored

noliesradio — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:28:04 +0000

This show was broadcast December 29, 2011.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up every Thursday at 7:00 pm Pacific * 10:00 pm Eastern * 02:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast.

Broadcast From Berkeley, California

PROJECT CENSORED RADIO:

Occupying Free Speech Radio!

Occupying Free Speech Radio- Our One-Year Anniversary Show covering major news stories that were under reported or ignored by the corporate media. Today’s show we celebrate one year on the air at KPFA Pacifica Free Speech Radio as part of the Morning Mix; we’ll hear an interview with Prof. Robert McChesney, a leading scholar and activist for media reform, on the state of the media in the US; we’ll hear from Steve Zeltzer of Work Week Radio; film producer Cindy Piester joins us to talk about the new film “On the Dark Side in Al Doura, A Soldier in the Shadows” that Addresses Soldier’s War Crimes Allegations & Iraq Atrocity Photos and we’ll also speak with the father of US Army Ranger John Needham (Michael Needham) to tell his son’s story; and we round out our one year anniversary show on Pacifica with a few words from interim GM at KPFA Andrew Phillips and a short conversation with Media Roots founder and PC contributor Abby Martin. Show Hosts: Mickey Huff and Peter Phillips, with Abby Martin of Media Roots.

Qatar builds Sunni intervention force of Libyan, Iraqi terrorists against Assad

noliesradio — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 07:04:05 +0000

Qatar builds Sunni intervention force of Libyan, Iraqi terrorists against Assad
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report December 27, 2011, 12:00 PM debka.com (GMT+02:00)

Libyan ex-al Qaeda’s Abdel Hakim Belhaj

The Qatar oil emirate, encouraged by its successful participation in the campaign to overthrow Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, has established a Sunni Arab intervention force to expedite the drive for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s ouster, DEBKAfile’s military sources report. The new highly mobile force boosts the anti-Assad Free Syrian Army, whose numbers have jumped to 20,000 fighters, armed and funded by Qatar and now forming into military battalions and brigades at their bases in Turkey.

When they saw the Syrian massacre continuing unabated this month, the Qatari and Saudi rulers approved a crash program for the Qatari chief of staff Maj.-Gen Hamas Ali al-Attiya to weld this mobile intervention Sunni Muslim force out of al Qaeda linked-operatives for rapid deployment on the Turkish-Syrian border.

A force of 2,500 has been recruited up until now, our sources report. The hard core is made up of 1,000 members of the Islamic Fighting Group in Libya-IFGL, which fought Qaddafi, and 1,000 operatives of the Ansar al-Sunna, the Iraqi Islamists which carried out 15 coordinated bomb attacks in Baghdad last Thursday killing 72 people and injuring 200.

Qatar has just had them airlifted from Libya and Iraq to the southern Turkish town of Antakya (Antioch) in the border province of Hatay.
It is in this town of quarter-of-a- million inhabitants that the new Sunni force has located its command center and separate camps for the two main contingents to undergo intensive training for combat missions in the embattled Syrian towns and provinces of Idlib, Homs, Jabal al-Zawiya, scenes of the fiercest clashes between Syrian troops and rebels.

DEBKAfile also reveals that the man appointed top commander of the Sunni intervention force headquartered in Antioch is none other than Abdel Hakim Belhaj, whose militia last August seized control of Tripoli after it was captured from Qaddafi by NATO and Qatari forces.

He has picked his deputies – Al-Mahdi Hatari, former head of the Tripoli Brigade and loyal crony Kikli Adem.
Qatari officers have set up communication links between the Libyan and Iraqi camps and since last week are coordinating their operations with the Free Syrian Army.

This flurry of military activity is taking place under the watchful gaze of the Turkish military and its intelligence services but they are not interfering.

DEBKAfile’s military and counter-terror analysts stress that the rise of a new Qatari-led Sunni Muslim rapid intervention force breaks fresh strategic ground with ramifications for the United and Israel as well as for the Gulf Arab countries, Syria, Libya and Iraq.
1. A year has gone by since the Arab Revolt first broke out in December 2010. Yet this is the first time a Sunni Muslim power has established an intervention force – one moreover which is composed almost entirely of fighting men drawn from the ranks of al Qaeda and its extremist Islamist affiliates and allies.

2. The new Sunni force, funded by the Persian Gulf oil states, is silently backed by the US and NATO members, with Turkey in the forefront of this support group. This means that the Sunni-Shiite divide is spiraling into overt conflict with Western support afforded to one side.
3. Despite finding itself increasingly isolated by its Arab neighbors, Tehran has so far not intervened directly in conflicts in which it owns an interest – such as Gulf Cooperation Council-GCC intervention against a Shiite-led uprising in Bahrain, and now Sunni militias and terrorists enlisted to battle the Allawite regime of Iran’s closest ally, Bashar Assad in Damascus.
4. Iran’s Lebanese proxy. Hizballah’s Hassan Nasrallah, must also be feeling an uncomfortable draft coming from a Sunni fighting force near his strongholds and carrying out raids against his closest ally, Bashar Assad. He can’t ignore the possibility of that force conducting similar excursions against his own Shiite militia.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Gordon Duff: Is Israel selling Patriot missiles to China? _ on The Kevin Barrett Show

noliesradio — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:24:16 +0000

This show was broadcast December 27, 2011.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up Tuesday at 9am Pacific – 12 Noon Eastern – 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Tuesday evening.

“THE KEVIN BARRETT SHOW”
EXCLUSIVE –Tuesday on KB Show:
Gordon Duff: Is Israel selling Patriot missiles to China?

Guest: Gordon Duff, editor, Veterans Today. Gordon Duff has experience and connections in the intelligence and defense sectors, where word on the street is that Israel regularly steals sensitive US technologies and sells them to America’s competitors and potential enemies.

Gordon will discuss his new article Patriot Missiles Seized, Sold To China by Israel which states:

“During a routine search of the MS Thor Liberty, a ship flagged by the Isle of Man, at the Finnish port of Kotka, authorities found 69 Patriot missiles of a type capable of intercepting ICBMs, the most modern available and America’s most sensitive military technology.” The cargo was apparently heading for China.

(Yes, we know a cover story emerged that these were less-advanced missiles heading for South Korea; Gordon will explain why that is highly unlikely.)

Is this just the latest example of Zionist perfidy? Why do American leaders look the other way while Israel plunders the US arsenal and hands advanced weapons technologies to the very nations that may very well defeat the US in the next world war? Is James Petras correct in his contention that in many ways the US has been reduced to the status of a de facto Israeli colony?

Tune in and find out…

PS Don’t miss Gordon’s Holiday Message and his new piece on his friend Imran Khan’s recent appearance on BBC’s Hardtalk.

Check out Kevin’s new book: Questioning the War on Terror: A Primer for Obama Voters.

Unrelenting Global Economic Crisis: A Doomsday View of 2012

noliesradio — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 05:58:43 +0000

The economic, political and social outlook for 2012 is profoundly negative by Prof. James Petras

Global Research, December 25, 2011

Introduction

The economic, political and social outlook for 2012 is profoundly negative. The almost universal consensus, even among mainstream orthodox economists is pessimistic regarding the world economy. Although, even here, their predictions understate the scope and depth of the crises, there are powerful reasons to believe that beginning in 2012, we are heading toward a steeper decline than what was experienced during the Great Recession of 2008 – 2009. With fewer resources, greater debt and increasing popular resistance to shouldering the burden of saving the capitalist system, the governments cannot bail out the system.

Many of the major institutions and economic relations which were cause and consequence of world and regional capitalist expansion over the past three decades are in the process of disintegration and disarray. The previous economic engines of global expansion, the US and the European Union, have exhausted their potentialities and are in open decline. The new centers of growth, China, India, Brazil, Russia, which for a ‘short decade’ provided a new impetus for world growth have run their course and are de-accelerating rapidly and will continue to do so throughout the new year.

The Collapse of the European Union

Specifically, the crises wracked European Union will break up and the de facto multi-tiered structure will turn into a series of bilateral/multi-lateral trade and investment agreements. Germany , France , the Low and Nordic countries will attempt to weather the downturn. England – namely the City of London, in splendid isolation, will sink into negative growth, its financiers scrambling to find new speculative opportunities among the Gulf petrol-states and other ‘niches’. Eastern and Central Europe, particularly Poland and the Czech Republic , will deepen their ties to Germany but will suffer the consequences of the general decline of world markets. Southern Europe ( Greece , Spain , Portugal and Italy ) will enter into a deep depression as the massive debt payments fueled by savage assaults on wages and social benefits will severely reduce consumer demand.

Depression level unemployment and under-employment running to one-third of the labor force will detonate year-long social conflicts, intensifying into popular uprisings. Eventually a break-up of the European Union is almost inevitable. The euro as a currency of choice will be replaced by or return to national issues accompanied by devaluations and protectionism. Nationalism will be the order of the day. Banks in Germany , France and Switzerland will suffer huge losses on their loans to the South. Major bailouts will become necessary, polarizing German and French societies, between the tax-paying majorities and the bankers. Trade union militancy and rightwing pseudo ‘populism’ (neo-fascism) will intensify the class and national struggles

A depressed, fragmented and polarized Europe will be less likely to join in any Zionist inspired US-Israeli military adventure against Iran (or even Syria ). Crises ridden Europe will oppose Washington ’s confrontationalist approach to Russia and China .

The US : The Recession Returns with a Vengeance

The US economy will suffer the consequences of its ballooning fiscal deficit and will not be able to spend its way out of the world recession of 2012. Nor can it count on ‘exporting’ its way out of negative growth by turning to previously dynamic Asia, as China, India and the rest of Asia are losing economic steam. China will grow far below its 9% moving average. India will decline from 8% to 5% or lower. Moreover, the Obama regime’s military policy of ‘encirclement’, its economic policy of exclusion and protectionism will preclude any new stimulus from China .

Militarism Exacerbates the Economic Downturn

The US and England will be the biggest losers from the Iraqi post war economic reconstruction. Of $186 billion dollars in infrastructure projects, US and UK corporations will gain less than 5% (Financial Times, 12/16/11, p 1 and 3). A similar outcome is likely in Libya and elsewhere. US imperial militarism destroys an adversary, plunging into debt to do so, and non-belligerents reap the lucrative post-war economic reconstruction contracts.

The US economy will fall into recession in 2012 and the “jobless recovery of 2011” will be replaced by a steep increase of unemployment in 2012. In fact, the entire labor force will shrink as people losing their unemployment benefits will fail to register.

Labor exploitation (“productivity”) will intensify as capitalists force workers to produce more, for less pay, thus widening the income gap between wages and profits.

The economic downturn and growth of unemployment will be accompanied by savage cuts in social programs to subsidize financially troubled banks and industries. The debates among the parties will be over how large the cuts to workers and retirees will be to secure the ‘confidence’ of the bondholders. Faced with equally limited political choices, the electorate will react by voting out incumbents, abstaining and via spontaneous and organized mass movements, such as the “occupy Wall Street” protest. Dissatisfaction, hostility and frustration will pervade the culture. Democratic Party demagogues will scapegoat China ; the Republican Party demagogues will blame the immigrants. Both will fulminate against “the Islamo-fascists” and especially against Iran .

New Wars in the Midst of Crises: Zionists Pull the Trigger

The ‘52 Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations’ and their “Israel First” followers in the US Congress, State Department, Treasury and the Pentagon will push for war with Iran . If they are successful it will result in a regional conflagration and world depression. Given the extremist Israeli regime’s success in securing blind obedience to its war policies from the US Congress and White House, any doubts about the real possibility of a major catastrophic outcome can be set aside.

China: Compensatory Mechanisms in 2012

China will face the global recession of 2012 with several possibilities of ameliorating its impact. Beijing can shift toward producing goods and services for the 700 million domestic consumers currently out of the economic loop. By increasing wages, social services and environmental safety, China can compensate for the loss of overseas markets. China ’s economic growth, which is largely dependent on real estate speculation, will be adversely affected when the bubble is burst. A sharp downturn will result, leading to job losses, municipal bankruptcies and increased social and class conflicts. This can result in either greater repression or gradual democratization. The outcome will profoundly affect China ’s market – state relations. The economic crisis will likely strengthen state control over the market.

Russia Faces the Crises

Russia ’s election of President Putin will lead to less collaboration in backing US promoted uprisings and sanctions against Russian allies and trading partners. Putin will turn toward greater ties with China and will benefit from the break-up of the EU and the weakening of NATO.

The western media backed opposition will use its financial clout to erode Putin’s image and encourage investment boycotts though they will lose the Presidential elections by a big margin. The world recession will weaken the Russian economy and will force it to choose between greater public ownership or greater dependency on state funds to bail out prominent oligarchs.

The Transition 2011 – 2012: From Regional Stagnation and Recession to World Crises

The year 2011 laid the groundwork for the breakdown of the European Union. The crises began with the demise of the Euro, stagnation in the US and the outbreak of mass protests against the obscene inequalities on a world scale. The events of 2011 were a dress rehearsal for a new year of full scale trade wars between major powers, sharpening inter-imperialist struggles and the likelihood of popular rebellions turning into revolutions. Moreover, the escalation of Zionist orchestrated war fever against Iran in 2011 promises the biggest regional war since the US-Indo-Chinese conflict. The electoral campaigns and outcomes of Presidential elections in the US , Russia and France will deepen the global conflicts and economic crises.

During 2011 the Obama regime announced a policy of military confrontation with Russia and China and policies designed to undermine and degrade China ’s rise as a world economic power. In the face of a deepening economic recession and with the decline of overseas markets, especially in Europe , a major trade war will unfold. Washington will aggressively pursue policies limiting Chinese exports and investments. The White House will escalate its efforts to disrupt China ’s trade and investments in Asia, Africa and elsewhere. We can expect greater US efforts to exploit China ’s internal ethnic and popular conflicts and to increase its military presence off China ’s coastline. A major provocation or fabricated incident in this context is not to be excluded. The result in 2012 could lead to rabid chauvinist calls for a costly new ‘Cold War’. Obama has provided the framework and justification for a large-scale, long-term confrontation with China . This will be seen as a desperate effort to prop up US influence and strategic positions in Asia . The US military “quadrangle of power” – US-Japan-Australia-South Korea – with satellite support from the Philippines , will pit China ’s market ties against Washington ’s military build-up.

Europe: Deeper Austerity and Intensified Class Struggle

The austerity programs imposed in Europe, from England to Latvia to southern Europe will really take hold in 2012. Massive public sector firings and reduced private sector salaries and job opportunities will lead to a year of permanent class warfare and regime challenges. The ‘austerity policies’ in the South, will be accompanied by debt defaults resulting in bank failures in France and Germany . England ’s financial ruling class, isolated from Europe, but dominant in England , will insist that the Conservatives ‘repress’ labor and popular unrest. A new tough neo-Thatcherite style of autocratic rule will emerge; the Labor-trade union opposition will issue empty protests and tighten the leash on the rebellious populace. In a word, the regressive socio-economic policies put in place in 2011 have set the stage for new police-state regimes and more acute and possibly bloody confrontations with workers and unemployed youth with no future.

The Coming Wars that Ends America “As We Know It”

Within the US , Obama has laid the groundwork for a new and bigger war in the Middle East by relocating troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and concentrating them against Iran . To undermine Iran , Washington is expanding clandestine military and civilian operations against Iranian allies in Syria , Pakistan , Venezuela and China . The key to the US and Israeli bellicose strategy toward Iran is a series of wars in neighboring states, world- wide economic sanctions , cyber-attacks aimed at disabling vital industries and clandestine terrorist assassinations of scientists and military officials. The entire push, planning and execution of the US policies leading up to war with Iran can be empirically and without a doubt attributed to the Zionist power configuration occupying strategic positions in the US Administration, mass media and ‘civil society’.

A systematic analysis of American policymakers designing and implementing economic sanctions policy in Congress finds prominent roles for such mega-Zionists (Israel-Firsters) as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Howard Berman; in the White House, Dennis Ross in the White House, Jeffrey Feltman in the State Department, and Stuart Levy, and his replacement David Cohen, in the Treasury. The White House is totally beholden to Zionist fund raisers and takes its cue from the ‘52 Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organization. The Israeli-Zionist strategy is to encircle Iran , weaken it economically and attack its military. The Iraq invasion was the US ’s first war for Israel ; the Libyan war the second; the current proxy war against Syria is the third. These wars have destroyed Israel ’s adversaries or are in the process of doing so.

During 2011, economic sanctions, which were designed to create domestic discontent in Iran , were the principle weapon of choice. The global sanctions campaign engaged the entire energies of the major Jewish-Zionist lobbies. They have faced no opposition from the mass media, Congress or the White Office. The Zionist Power Configuration (ZPC) has been virtually exempt from criticism by any of the progressive, leftist and socialist journals, movements or grouplets – with a few notable exceptions. The past year’s re-positioning of US troops from Iraq to the borders of Iran , the sanctions and the rising Big Push from Israel ’s Fifth Column in the US means expanded war in the Middle East . This likely means a “surprise” aerial and maritime missile attack by US forces. This will be based on a concocted pretext of an “imminent nuclear attack” concocted by Israeli Mossad and faithfully transmitted by the ZPC to their lackeys US Congress and White House for consumption and transmission to the world. It will be a destructive, bloody, prolonged war for Israel ; the US will bear the direct military cost by itself and the rest of the world will pay a dear economic price. The Zionist-promoted US war will convert the recession of early 2012 into a major depression by the end of the year and probably provoke mass upheavals.

Conclusion

All indications point to 2012 being a turning point year of unrelenting economic crisis spreading outward from Europe and the US to Asia and its dependencies in Africa and Latin America . The crisis will be truly global. Inter-imperial confrontations and colonial wars will undermine any efforts to ameliorate this crisis. In response, mass movements will emerge moving over time from protests and rebellions, and hopefully to social revolutions and political power.
James Petras is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by James Petras

READ FULL STORY HERE

NATO’s Assault On Syria–Webster Tarpley_on Guns & Butter

noliesradio — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:00:58 +0000

This show was broadcast December 26, 2011.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up today and every Monday at 7:00 pm Pacific – 10:00 pm Eastern – 02:00 GMT

GUNS AND BUTTER with Bonnie Faulkner
NATO’s Assault On Syria — Webster Tarpley
Foreign journalists trip to Syria; religions and ethnicities; cities of Damascus, Qara, Homs and its Zahra Neighborhood and Hospital, Baniyas, Tartus, and Beirut, Lebanon; Russian Naval Base; death squads/snipers/ambushes and kidnapping; Syrian Army; foreign intervention.

UFO spotted on flatbed was actually a military drone

noliesradio — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 21:00:29 +0000

slashgear.com Shane McGlaun, Dec 22nd 2011

Residents in a small community in Cowley County, Kansas got the thrill of the year recently when a flatbed trailer came driving down main street with what appeared to be a saucer shaped craft on the trailer. According to the local sheriff’s office, the company that was transporting the craft asked for assistance since they had to move it over the ground.

The sheriff’s office stated that they helped direct traffic and had to move some signs in a particularly narrow part of the road the craft travelled. The vehicle on the semi trailer was about 30-feet across and according to the sheriff, the transport on company asked that the craft not be spoken of any more than possible.

Later a Northrop Grumman spokesperson came forward and said that the craft was no UFO recovered at a crash site, but was one of two X-47B military combat drones that Northrop built for the Navy. The carrier-based drone was being transported with its wings in the folded position.

READ FULL STORY HERE

NATO’s Assault On Syria — Webster Griffin Tarpley _on Anti-War Progressive Teach-in

noliesradio — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 15:51:54 +0000

This show was broadcast December 24, 2011.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Every Saturday – Anti-War – Progressive Truth Teach-in
Coming up at 9:00am Pacific * 12 noon Eastern * 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Monday.

NATO’s Assault On Syria — Webster Griffin Tarpley
Foreign journalists trip to Syria; religions and ethnicities; cities of Damascus, Qara, Homs and its Zahra Neighborhood and Hospital, Baniyas, Tartus, and Beirut, Lebanon; Russian Naval Base; death squads/snipers/ambushes and kidnapping; Syrian Army; foreign intervention. From a Guns & Butter Presentation.

Facebook is run by CIA !!!

noliesradio — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:17:20 +0000

Uploaded by nasirjohn on Jun 6, 2011
Most people have been thinking since beginning that facebook is run by CIA but now Onion finally nails it down.

James Petras: The empire is USING “moderate Islam” _ on The Kevin Barrett Show

noliesradio — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:27:29 +0000

This show was broadcast December 20, 2011.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up Tuesday at 9am Pacific – 12 Noon Eastern – 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Tuesday evening.

“THE KEVIN BARRETT SHOW”
EXCLUSIVE –Tuesday on KB Show:
James Petras: The empire is USING “moderate Islam”

Guest: Leading leftist sociologist and political analyst James Petras, who says the Empire is USING “moderate Islam.” He writes:

“Moderate” Islamists have become the Empire’s ‘contraceptive of choice’ against any chance the massive Arab peoples’ revolt might give birth to substantive egalitarian social changes and bring those brutal pro- western officials, responsible for so many crimes against humanity, to justice.

The West and their client officials in the military and police have agreed to a kind of “power-sharing’ with the moderate/respectable (read ‘reactionary’) Islamist parties. The Islamists would be responsible for imposing orthodox economic policies and re-establishing ‘order’ (i.e. bolstering the existing one) in partnership with pro-multinational bank economists and pro US-EU generals and security officials. In exchange the Islamists could take certain ministries, appoint their members, finance electoral clientele among the poor and push their ‘moderate’ religious, social and cultural agenda. Basically, the elected Islamists would replace the old corrupt dictatorial regimes in running the state and signing off on more free trade agreements with the EU. Their role would keep the leftists, nationalists and populists out of power and from gaining mass support. Their job would substitute spiritual solace and “inner worth” via Islam in place of redistributing land, income and power from the elite, including the foreign multi-nationals to the peasants, workers, unemployed and exploited low-paid employees.

Petras is right about the empire’s strategy. 9/11 accomplished many things for the Zionists and hard-line imperialists, and one of the most important was to demonize honest Islamic opposition. Today, any Muslim political leader who stands up against the Empire will be slandered as a “terrorist” or “extremist” and very possibly kidnapped, tortured, and/or assassinated.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Check out Kevin’s new book: Questioning the War on Terror: A Primer for Obama Voters.

U.S. Imperialism or A Just Response To Terror? — Debate: Christopher Hitchens Vs Tariq Ali _ on Anti-War Progressive Teach-in

noliesradio — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:25:08 +0000

This show was broadcast December 17, 2011.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Every Saturday – Anti-War – Progressive Truth Teach-in
Coming up at 9:00am Pacific * 12 noon Eastern * 16:00 GMT
Will be archived here after the broadcast by Monday.

U.S. Imperialism or A Just Response To Terror?
– Debate: Christopher Hitchens Vs Tariq Ali
U.S. Imperialism Or A Just Response To Terror?
– A Debate Between Christopher Hitchens And Tariq Ali. Hitchens and Ali debate whether the recent and past military actions of the U.S. around the world are just, or a meddling action of an Imperialist Power.

Recorded April 17, 2002 at the ICC Auditorium of Georgetown University, Wash. DC by Mark Torres, but still highly relevant today. Please remember to listen with historical perspective as this was recorded only a few months after the Sept 11th attacks and a few months after the Afghan war started and before the Invasion of Iraq. And it was before the 911 Truth Movement really got started. Christopher Hitchens passed away on December 15, 2011. He was was a British-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career spanned more than four decades.

The 46 Exercises and Drills of 9/11 — Webster Tarpley_on Guns & Butter

noliesradio — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:55:11 +0000

This show was broadcast December 19, 2011.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up today and every Monday at 7:00 pm Pacific – 10:00 pm Eastern – 02:00 GMT

GUNS AND BUTTER with Bonnie Faulkner
The 46 Exercises and Drills of 9/11 — Webster Tarpley
Military exercises and drills in the decade before September 11th, and on the day of; drills that then go live; MIHOP v. LIHOP; the goal of 9/11; the stand down order; lack of air defense; the Pentagon; Angel Is Next; Amalgam Virgo; Able Danger; Able Warrior; P2OG; Vigilant Guardian; Global Guardian; Amalgam Warrior; Doomsday Aircraft equipped with the Looking Glass Communication System, etc.

John Perkins, An Economic Hit Man_on Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox

noliesradio — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:00:44 +0000

This show was broadcast December 17, 2011.
It is now archived here — Use Player

Coming up every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific – 04:00 pm Eastern – 20:00 GMT
Cindy interviews John Perkins, An Economic Hit Man who spills the beans.

Cindy welcomes John Perkins, who wrote Confessions of an Economic Hit Man as well as The Secret History of the American Empire.

According to wikipedia.org, Perkins, began writing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man in the 1980s, but “threats or bribes always convinced me to stop.”

“Covertly recruited by the United States National Security Agency and on the payroll of an international consulting firm, he traveled the world—to Indonesia, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other strategically important countries…Perkins reveals the hidden mechanics of imperial control behind some of the most dramatic events in recent history, such as the fall of the Shah of Iran, the death of Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos, and the U.S. invasions of Panama and Iraq.”

According to his book, Perkins’ function was to convince the political and financial leadership of underdeveloped countries to accept enormous development loans from institutions like the World Bank and USAID. Saddled with debts they could not hope to pay, those countries were forced to acquiesce to political pressure from the United States on a variety of issues. Perkins argues in his book that developing nations were effectively neutralized politically, had their wealth gaps driven wider and economies crippled in the long run. In this capacity Perkins recounts his meetings with some prominent individuals, including Graham Greene and Omar Torrijos. Perkins describes the role of an EHM as follows:

Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly-paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign “aid” organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet’s natural resources. Their tools included fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.

This interview as conducted on April 26, 2009.
Cindy’s website is here.

Obama administration backs bill authorizing indefinite military detention of US citizens

noliesradio — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:52:58 +0000

by Joseph Kishore

Global Research, December 15, 2011
World Socialist Web Site

The Obama administration declared Wednesday afternoon that it was abandoning its nominal threat to veto a military authorization bill that explicitly authorizes the indefinite military detention of anyone the federal government declares to be a terrorist or supporter, including US citizens.

The final passage of the bill is now virtually assured by the end of the week. It marks a new stage in the collapse of the most basic democratic rights in the United States and the erection of the framework of a military-police state.

From the beginning, the administration has supported all fundamental components of the bill, while criticizing it largely from the standpoint of defending executive power. In a statement, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that a few cosmetic changes this week ensured that it “does not challenge the president’s ability to collect intelligence, incapacitate terrorists and protect the American people.”

A few hours later, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of the legislation, 286-136, with support from both big business parties. Democrats split 93-93 on the bill, while Republicans voted for it by a margin of 193-43.

The Senate is expected to vote on it Thursday, before it arrives at the president’s desk. Both houses of Congress had already passed earlier versions of the same legislation, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The bill would allow for the open-ended detention of anyone caught up in the “war on terror,” without trial or charges, including US citizens. This is the first explicit legislation to effectively abolish habeas corpus (the right to challenge unlawful detentions) and the constitutional rights to a fair trial (the Sixth Amendment) and due process (the Fifth Amendment).

Another provision requires that such individuals be taken into military custody, with an exception for US citizens. The military seizure of US citizens is left to the discretion of the executive branch. This means the effective abolition of the Posse Comitatus Act, which has restricted use of the military for domestic policing for more than a century.

The main concern of the administration was that the requirement for military custody could hamper actions of other agencies engaged in counterterrorism operations, such as the FBI and CIA. An earlier policy statement from last month outlined the White House position that the requirement on military detention was an “unnecessary, untested, and legally controversial restriction of the President’s authority to defend the Nation from terrorist threats that would tie the hands of our intelligence and law enforcement professionals.”

The White House has cited the extra-judicial assassination of Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki (a US citizen) as evidence that there should be no restraints on the form through which executive power is exercised.

In response to White House pressure, House and Senate negotiators on Monday agreed to compromise language that states that nothing in the bill will affect “existing criminal enforcement and national security authorities of the FBI or any other domestic law enforcement agency…regardless of whether such… person is held in military custody.”

Another measure would allow the president to waive requirements on the grounds of “national security.”

The administration also expressed the concern that the explicit authorization of indefinite detention was not necessary, as the White House claims that this power is already incorporated in the Authorization to Use Military Force, passed in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. Its inclusion in the bill could prompt judicial review. Carney’s statement declared, “Though this provision remains unnecessary, the changes ensure that we are merely restating our existing legal authorities and minimize the risk of unnecessary and distracting litigation.”

Commenting on the amended version, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement earlier this week: “The sponsors of the bill monkeyed around with a few minor details, but all of the core dangers remain—the bill authorizes the president to order the military to indefinitely imprison without charge or trial American citizens and others found far from any battlefield, even in the United States itself.”

This assault on fundamental democratic rights has been packaged into a $662 billion military spending bill, including funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill also includes new sanctions against Iran and the renewal of the AUMF, which was passed after the September 11 attacks and used to justify everything from aggressive war to domestic spying.

It incorporates a sweeping definition of those who are subject to the law, including anyone who “substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces” and “any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities.” This language can be stretched to include virtually anyone, including political opponents of US wars justified on the pretext of the “war on terror.”

The battlefield is defined in the legislation to encompass the entire world, including the “homeland”—that is, the United States. A person can be detained “under the law of war without trial until the end of the hostilities”—that is, forever.

The White House was particularly concerned to ensure that the legislation not restrict the ability of the executive to detain US citizens indefinitely. During the early drafting procedure, it requested that Congress strip out language that would have excluded citizens from the indefinite detention clause.

The entire “debate” within the political establishment over the NDAA testifies to the collapse of any commitment to democratic rights within the American ruling class.

Joseph Kishore is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by Joseph Kishore.

SEE FULL STORY HERE

The Indefinite Detention Bill DOES Apply to American Citizens on U.S. Soil & Proof Obama Asked for it & will Sign It!

noliesradio — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 03:19:34 +0000

Posted on December 14, 2011 by WashingtonsBlog

“Don’t Be Fooled”: The Indefinite Detention Bill DOES Apply to American Citizens

Even at this 11th hour – when all of our liberties and freedom are about to go down the drain – many people still don’t understand that the indefinite detention bill passed by Congress allows indefinite detention of Americans on American soil.

The bill is confusing. As Wired noted on December 1st:
It’s confusing, because two different sections of the bill seem to contradict each other, but in the judgment of the University of Texas’ Robert Chesney — a nonpartisan authority on military detention — “U.S. citizens are included in the grant of detention authority.”
A retired admiral, Judge Advocate General and Dean Emeritus of the University of New Hampshire School of Law also says that it applies to American citizens on American soil.

The ACLU notes:
Don’t be confused by anyone claiming that the indefinite detention legislation does not apply to American citizens. It does. There is an exemption for American citizens from the mandatory detention requirement (section 1032 of the bill), but no exemption for American citizens from the authorization to use the military to indefinitely detain people without charge or trial (section 1031 of the bill). So, the result is that, under the bill, the military has the power to indefinitely imprison American citizens, but it does not have to use its power unless ordered to do so.

But you don’t have to believe us. Instead, read what one of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Lindsey Graham said about it on the Senate floor: “1031, the statement of authority to detain, doesapply to American citizens and it designates the world as the battlefield, including the homeland.”
Another sponsor of the bill – Senator Levin – has also repeatedly said that the bill applies to American citizens on American soil, citing the Supreme Court case of Hamdi which ruled that American citizens can be treated as enemy combatants:
“The Supreme Court has recently ruled there is no bar to the United States holding one of its own citizens as an enemy combatant,” said Levin. “This is the Supreme Court speaking.“
Levin again stressed recently that the bill applies to American citizens, and said that it was president Obama who requested that it do so:

Under questioning from Rand Paul, another co-sponsor – John McCain – said that Americans suspected of terrorism could not only be indefinitely detained, but could be sent to Guantanamo:

U.S. Congressman Justin Amash states in a letter to Congress:
The Senate’s [bill] does not even distinguish between American citizens and non-citizens, or between persons caught domestically and abroad. The President’s power, in his discretion, to detain persons he determines have supported associated forces applies just as strongly to Americans seized on U.S. soil as it does to foreigners captured on a far away battlefield.
Two retired 4-star generals (Charles C. Krulak and Joseph P. Hoar) write in the New York Times:
One provision [in the bill] would authorize the military to indefinitely detain without charge people suspected of involvement with terrorism, including United States citizens apprehended on American soil. Due process would be a thing of the past.
Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson – General Colin Powell’s chief of staff – says that the bill is a big step towards tyranny at home. Congressman Ron Paul says that it will establish martial law in America..

Indeed, Amash accuses lawmakers of attempting to intentionally mislead the American people by writing a bill which appears at first glance to exclude U.S. citizens, when it actually includes us:
Pres. Obama and many Members of Congress believe the President ALREADY has the authority the bill grants him. Legally, of course, he does not. This language was inserted to keep proponents and opponents of the bill appeased, while permitting the President to assert that the improper power he has claimed all along is now in statute.

***

They will say that American citizens are specifically exempted under the following language in Sec. 1032: “The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States.” Don’t be fooled. All this says is that the President is not REQUIRED to indefinitely detain American citizens without charge or trial. It still PERMITS him to do so.

READ FULL STORY HERE

House-Senate Revise Indefinite Detention Bill in Bid to Avoid White House Veto, But Fears Remain

noliesradio — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:18:37 +0000

democracynow.org 12-14-2011

The House is expected to vote today on a massive $662 billion defense bill that could usher in a radical expansion of indefinite detention under the U.S. government. A provision in the National Defense Authorization Act would authorize the military to jail anyone it considers a terrorism suspect anywhere in the world without charge or trial. The measure would effectively extend the definition of what is considered the U.S. military’s battlefield to anywhere in the world, even the United States. The White House has issued a veto threat with backing from top officials, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and FBI Director Robert Mueller. But lawmakers are hoping several last-minute revisions will address the concerns and eliminate the veto threat, but critics warn the bill poses a major threat to basic constitutional rights. We speak to Chris Anders, the senior legislative counsel in the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington Legislative Office. “This is putting people in prison, potentially for the rest of their lives, based on nothing more than suspicion,” Anders warns.
READ FULL STORY & TRANSCRIPT HERE

If you feel so inclined, you can let Congress know how you feel about this issue here:
Senate contact list
House contact list

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The Indefinite Detention Bill DOES Apply to American Citizens on U.S. Soil & Proof Obama Asked for it & will Sign It!

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