723: Axe Man

What legacy are we leaving? If we all get our 15 minutes of fame, maybe all that will be left of each of us is just 15 minutes of legacy

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Source: Signs of the Times

Wed, 20 May 2015 20:04

No wonder Washington never changes - 79 members of Congress have been there since Bill Clinton's first term in the White House. This list includes names such as Reid, Feinstein, McConnell, McCain, Pelosi, Boehner, Rangel and Boxer.In this article, I am going to share with you a complete list of the members of Congress that have been "serving" us for at least 20 years. They believe that they are "serving" us well, but without a doubt most Americans very much wish that true "change" would come to Washington. In fact, right now Congress has a 15 percent approval rating with the American people, and that approval rating has been consistently below 20 percent since mid-2011. So of course we took advantage of the 2014 mid-term election to dump as many of those Congress critters out of office as we possibly could, right? Wrong. Sadly, incumbents were re-elected at a 95 percent rate in 2014. This just shows how broken and how corrupt our system has become. The American people absolutely hate the job that Congress is doing, and yet the same clowns just keep getting sent back to Washington again and again.

Our founders never intended for service in Congress to become a career, but that is precisely what it has become for many of our "public servants". As of this moment, there are 79 members of Congress that have been in office for at least 20 years, and there are 16 members of Congress that have been in office for at least 30 years.

No wonder so many Americans are advocating term limits these days. When there are dozens of members of Congress that know that they are going to be sent back to Washington over and over again no matter how the American people feel about things, that can cause them to become extremely callous toward the will of the people. Instead, often these politicians become increasingly responsive to the needs of their big donors, because it takes big money to win campaign after campaign. I am sure that if George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were running around today, they would be absolutely disgusted by how our system has evolved.

The following is a list from rollcall.com of the Republicans in the U.S. Senate that have served for at least 20 years and the dates when they first took office...

Orrin G. Hatch, Utah Jan. 4, 1977Thad Cochran, Miss. Dec. 27, 1978Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Jan. 5, 1981Mitch McConnell, Ky. Jan. 3, 1985Richard C. Shelby, Ala. Jan. 6, 1987John McCain, Ariz. Jan. 6, 1987James M. Inhofe, Okla. Nov. 30, 1994

The following is a list from rollcall.com of the Democrats in the U.S. Senate that have served for at least 20 years and the dates when they first took office...

Patrick J. Leahy, Vt. Jan. 14, 1975Barbara A. Mikulski, Md. Jan. 6, 1987Harry Reid, Nev. Jan. 6, 1987Dianne Feinstein, Calif. Nov. 4, 1992Barbara Boxer, Calif. Jan. 5, 1993Patty Murray, Wash. Jan. 5, 1993

The following is a list from rollcall.com of the Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives that have served for at least 20 years and the dates when they first took office...

Don Young, Alaska March 6, 1973Jim Sensenbrenner, Wis. Jan. 15, 1979Harold Rogers, Ky. Jan. 5, 1981Christopher H. Smith, N.J. Jan. 5, 1981Joe L. Barton, Texas Jan. 3, 1985Lamar Smith, Texas Jan. 6, 1987Fred Upton, Mich. Jan. 6, 1987John J. Duncan Jr., Tenn. Nov. 8, 1988Dana Rohrabacher, Calif. Jan. 3, 1989Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Fla. Aug. 29, 1989John A. Boehner, Ohio Jan. 3, 1991Sam Johnson, Texas May 18, 1991Ken Calvert, Calif. Jan. 5, 1993Robert W. Goodlatte, Va. Jan. 5, 1993Peter T. King, N.Y. Jan. 5, 1993John L. Mica, Fla. Jan. 5, 1993Ed Royce, Calif. Jan. 5, 1993Frank D. Lucas, Okla. May 10, 1994Rodney Frelinghuysen, N.J. Jan. 4, 1995Walter B. Jones, N.C. Jan. 4, 1995Frank A. LoBiondo, N.J. Jan. 4, 1995Mac Thornberry, Texas Jan. 4, 1995Edward Whitfield, Ky. Jan. 4, 1995

The following is a list from rollcall.com of the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives that have served for at least 20 years and the dates when they first took office...

John Conyers Jr., Mich. Jan. 4, 1965Charles B. Rangel, N.Y. Jan. 21, 1971Steny H. Hoyer, Md. May 19, 1981Marcy Kaptur, Ohio Jan. 3, 1983Sander M. Levin, Mich. Jan. 3, 1983Peter J. Visclosky, Ind. Jan. 3, 1985Peter A. DeFazio, Ore. Jan. 6, 1987John Lewis, Ga. Jan. 6, 1987Louise M. Slaughter, N.Y. Jan. 6, 1987Nancy Pelosi, Calif. June 2, 1987Frank Pallone Jr., N.J. Nov. 8, 1988Eliot L. Engel, N.Y. Jan. 3, 1989Nita M. Lowey, N.Y. Jan. 3, 1989Jim McDermott, Wash. Jan. 3, 1989Richard E. Neal, Mass. Jan. 3, 1989Jos(C) E. Serrano, N.Y. March 20, 1990David E. Price, N.C. Jan. 7, 1997 Also served 1987-95Rosa DeLauro, Conn. Jan. 3, 1991Collin C. Peterson, Minn. Jan. 3, 1991Maxine Waters, Calif. Jan. 3, 1991Jerrold Nadler, N.Y. Nov. 3, 1992Jim Cooper, Tenn. Jan. 7, 2003 Also served 1983-95Xavier Becerra, Calif. Jan. 5, 1993Sanford D. Bishop Jr., Ga. Jan. 5, 1993Corrine Brown, Fla. Jan. 5, 1993James E. Clyburn, S.C. Jan. 5, 1993Anna G. Eshoo, Calif. Jan. 5, 1993Gene Green, Texas Jan. 5, 1993Luis V. Gutierrez, Ill. Jan. 5, 1993Alcee L. Hastings, Fla. Jan. 5, 1993Eddie Bernice Johnson, Texas Jan. 5, 1993Carolyn B. Maloney, N.Y. Jan. 5, 1993Lucille Roybal-Allard, Calif. Jan. 5, 1993Bobby L. Rush, Ill. Jan. 5, 1993Robert C. Scott, Va. Jan. 5, 1993Nydia M. Velzquez, N.Y. Jan. 5, 1993Bennie Thompson, Miss. April 13, 1993Sam Farr, Calif. June 8, 1993Lloyd Doggett, Texas Jan. 4, 1995Mike Doyle, Pa. Jan. 4, 1995Chaka Fattah, Pa. Jan. 4, 1995Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas Jan. 4, 1995Zoe Lofgren, Calif. Jan. 4, 1995

As you looked over those lists, you probably noticed that they contain many of the members of Congress that Americans complain about the most.

Unfortunately, because the vast majority of these individuals come from states or congressional districts that are basically a lock to vote a certain way, there is very little hope of ever removing them. That means that most of these Congress critters are going to get to keep coming back for as long as they want.

No matter which political party you prefer, this should greatly disturb you.

Our founders certainly never intended for a permanent class of elitists to rule over us.

But that is what we have.

We are supposed to have a government of the people, by the people and for the people, but instead we have a government of the elite, by the elite and for the elite. Most people do not realize this, but today most members of Congress are actually millionaires. The disconnect between members of Congress and average Americans has never been greater than it is right now, and I think that is a very troubling sign for the future of this nation.

So is there a solution to this problem?

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Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed

Wed, 20 May 2015 19:55

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

May 18, 2015

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HEAD START

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Supporting our children in their earliest years with high-quality care and education is one of the best investments we can make as a Nation -- and for 50 years, Head Start has helped to lift up millions of America's children and their families in communities across our country. The oldest and largest Federal program to deliver high-quality early learning opportunities to low-income children, Head Start was founded on the idea that every child -- no matter who they are, what they look like, or where they grow up -- deserves the chance to reach their full potential. Since 1965, it has given meaning to the simple truth that in America, where you start should not determine how far you can go.

In the last half-century, Head Start has served 32 million children, supporting them in every aspect of their development -- from early learning and health and nutrition to social and emotional well-being. Designed to cultivate original ideas and innovative approaches to preparing children for success later in school and in life, Head Start has pioneered new solutions to fight the harmful effects of poverty and build ladders of opportunity into the middle class. In small towns and large cities -- in America's immigrant communities and with migrant and seasonal families, faith-based communities, and tribal leaders -- Head Start programs and providers empower children and their families to foster positive parent-child relationships, to reach for economic and family stability, and to make important connections to their peers and their communities.

During a critical period in a child's life, Head Start sets our Nation's young people on the path to success. We know that investments in early childhood education boost graduation rates, increase earnings, and reduce violent crime. And 3- and 4-year-olds who attend high-quality preschool -- including Head Start -- are less likely to repeat a grade, less likely to need special education, and more likely to graduate from high school. This head start in life leaves a lasting impact on our students and fuels their curiosity, helping them to grow up with a passion for learning, a fair shot at good-paying jobs, and a more secure future.

This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Early Head Start, created to enhance the impact of Head Start by serving children from birth to age 3, as well as expectant mothers -- ensuring all children receive the best care possible. This expansion has made a real difference for thousands of infants, toddlers, and their families. As President, I have endeavored to strengthen Head Start and build on its legacy. My Administration has expanded the program to reach tens of thousands of additional children and families in the depth of the economic recession. We have instituted reforms to raise the standards and focus on improving outcomes across Head Start programs and classrooms, so that children and families can rely on the highest quality of services. And we have launched new ways to build connections between Early Head Start and America's child care subsidy system to reach additional infants and toddlers in need of high-quality early care and education. We will continue to invest in Head Start and strive to expand its reach to additional children and families throughout America. Our children deserve nothing less.

Despite five decades of tremendous success, too many young people still grow up without access to a world-class education. Instead of receiving a head start in life, they start out a step behind. As a Nation, we must continue our work to ensure the promise of education is within reach for all our daughters and sons. That is why I have proposed a series of new investments that will establish a continuum of high-quality early learning for every child, beginning at birth and continuing to age 5. This year, I unveiled a plan that would make quality child care available to every middle-class and low-income family with young children under the age of 3. I have also called on the Congress to expand access to high-quality preschool and full-day kindergarten for every child in America. And I am calling on all Americans -- including leaders of private and philanthropic organizations, communities, and governments at every level -- to make their own commitments to our children, an effort that has already led to an investment of more than $1 billion to support our next generation of thinkers, dreamers, and doers.

The history of Head Start has taught us that if our Nation invests in the future of all our children, we can strengthen our economy, bolster our communities, and give every young person the chance to build a better life. As we mark the 50th anniversary of Head Start, let us rededicate ourselves to building an education system worthy of our daughters' and sons' enormous potential, and to providing a strong, healthy, and safe head start in life for all of America's children.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 18, 2015, as the 50th Anniversary of Head Start. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities that recognize the importance of this vital program and support high-quality education for all Americans.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.

BARACK OBAMA

NDAA and Overturning of Smith-Mundt Act

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA) allows for materials produced by the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) to be released within U.S. borders and strikes down a long-time ban on the dissemination of such material in the country.[14][15][16]

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Sun, 21 Sep 2014 15:00

Propaganda in the United States is propaganda spread by government and media entities within the United States. Propaganda is information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to influence opinions. Propaganda is not only in advertising; it is also in radio, newspaper, posters, books, and anything else that might be sent out to the widespread public.

Domestic[edit]World War I[edit]The first large-scale use of propaganda by the U.S. government came during World War I. The government enlisted the help of citizens and children to help promote war bonds and stamps to help stimulate the economy. To keep the prices of war supplies down, the U.S. government produced posters that encouraged people to reduce waste and grow their own vegetables in "victory gardens." The public skepticism that was generated by the heavy-handed tactics of the Committee on Public Information would lead the postwar government to officially abandon the use of propaganda.[1]

World War II[edit]During World War II the U.S. officially had no propaganda, but the Roosevelt government used means to circumvent this official line. One such propaganda tool was the publicly owned but government funded Writers' War Board (WWB). The activities of the WWB were so extensive that it has been called the "greatest propaganda machine in history".[1]Why We Fight is a famous series of US government propaganda films made to justify US involvement in World War II.

In 1944 (lasting until 1948) prominent US policy makers launched a domestic propaganda campaign aimed at convincing the U.S. public to agree to a harsh peace for the German people, for example by removing the common view of the German people and the Nazi party as separate entities.[2] The core in this campaign was the Writers' War Board which was closely associated with the Roosevelt administration.[2]

Another means was the United States Office of War Information that Roosevelt established in June 1942, whose mandate was to promote understanding of the war policies under the director Elmer Davies. It dealt with posters, press, movies, exhibitions, and produced often slanted material conforming to US wartime purposes. Other large and influential non-governmental organizations during the war and immediate post war period were the Society for the Prevention of World War III and the Council on Books in Wartime.

Cold War[edit]During the Cold War, the U.S. government produced vast amounts of propaganda against communism and the Soviet bloc. Much of this propaganda was directed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under J. Edgar Hoover, who himself wrote the anti-communist tract Masters of Deceit. The FBI's COINTELPRO arm solicited journalists to produce fake news items discrediting communists and affiliated groups, such as H. Bruce Franklin and the Venceremos Organization.

War on Drugs[edit]The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, originally established by the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988,[3][4] but now conducted by the Office of National Drug Control Policy under the Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1998,[5] is a domestic propaganda campaign designed to "influence the attitudes of the public and the news media with respect to drug abuse" and for "reducing and preventing drug abuse among young people in the United States".[6][7] The Media Campaign cooperates with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and other government and non-government organizations.[8]

Iraq War[edit]In early 2002, the U.S. Department of Defense launched an information operation, colloquially referred to as the Pentagon military analyst program.[9] The goal of the operation is "to spread the administrations's talking points on Iraq by briefing ... retired commanders for network and cable television appearances," where they have been presented as independent analysts.[10] On 22 May 2008, after this program was revealed in the New York Times, the House passed an amendment that would make permanent a domestic propaganda ban that until now has been enacted annually in the military authorization bill.[11]

The Shared values initiative was a public relations campaign that was intended to sell a "new" America to Muslims around the world by showing that American Muslims were living happily and freely, without persecution, in post-9/11 America.[12] Funded by the United States Department of State, the campaign created a public relations front group known as Council of American Muslims for Understanding (CAMU). The campaign was divided in phases; the first of which consisted of five mini-documentaries for television, radio, and print with shared values messages for key Muslim countries.[13]

NDAA and Overturning of Smith-Mundt Act[edit]The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA) allows for materials produced by the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) to be released within U.S. borders and strikes down a long-time ban on the dissemination of such material in the country.[14][15][16]

Ad Council[edit]The Ad Council, an American non-profit organization that distributes public service announcements on behalf of various private and federal government agency sponsors, has been labeled as "little more than a domestic propaganda arm of the federal government" given the Ad Council's historically close collaboration with the President of the United States and the federal government.[17]

International[edit]Through several international broadcasting operations, the US disseminates American cultural information, official positions on international affairs, and daily summaries of international news. These operations fall under the International Broadcasting Bureau, the successor of the United States Information Agency, established in 1953. IBB's operations include Voice of America, Radio Liberty, Alhurra and other programs. They broadcast mainly to countries where the United States finds that information about international events is limited, either due to poor infrastructure or government censorship. The Smith-Mundt Act prohibits the Voice of America from disseminating information to US citizens that was produced specifically for a foreign audience.

During the Cold War the US ran covert propaganda campaigns in countries that appeared likely to become Soviet satellites, such as Italy, Afghanistan, and Chile.

Recently The Pentagon announced the creation of a new unit aimed at spreading propaganda about supposedly "inaccurate" stories being spread about the Iraq War. These "inaccuracies" have been blamed on the enemy trying to decrease support for the war. Donald Rumsfeld has been quoted as saying these stories are something that keeps him up at night.[18]

Psychological operations[edit]The US military defines psychological operations, or PSYOP, as:

planned operations to convey selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence the emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals.[19]

The Smith-Mundt Act, adopted in 1948, explicitly forbids information and psychological operations aimed at the US public.[20][21][22] Nevertheless, the current easy access to news and information from around the globe, makes it difficult to guarantee PSYOP programs do not reach the US public. Or, in the words of Army Col. James A. Treadwell, who commanded the U.S. military psyops unit in Iraq in 2003, in the Washington Post:

There's always going to be a certain amount of bleed-over with the global information environment.[23]

Agence France Presse reported on U.S. propaganda campaigns that:

The Pentagon acknowledged in a newly declassified document that the US public is increasingly exposed to propaganda disseminated overseas in psychological operations.[24]

Former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved the document referred to, which is titled "Information Operations Roadmap." [22][24] The document acknowledges the Smith-Mundt Act, but fails to offer any way of limiting the effect PSYOP programs have on domestic audiences.[20][21][25]

Several incidents in 2003 were documented by Sam Gardiner, a retired Air Force colonel, which he saw as information-warfare campaigns that were intended for "foreign populations and the American public." Truth from These Podia,[26] as the treatise was called, reported that the way the Iraq war was fought resembled a political campaign, stressing the message instead of the truth.[22]

See also[edit]References[edit]^ abThomas Howell, The Writers' War Board: U.S. Domestic Propaganda in World War II, Historian, Volume 59 Issue 4, Pages 795 - 813^ abSteven Casey, (2005), The Campaign to sell a harsh peace for Germany to the American public, 1944 - 1948, [online]. London: LSE Research Online. [Available online at http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/archive/00000736] Originally published in History, 90 (297). pp. 62-92 (2005) Blackwell Publishing^National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 of the Anti''Drug Abuse Act of 1988, Pub.L. 100''723, 102 Stat. 4181, enacted November 18, 1988^Gamboa, Anthony H. (January 4, 2005), B-303495, Office of National Drug Control Policy '-- Video News Release, Government Accountability Office, footnote 6, page 3 ^Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1998 (Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999), Pub.L. 105''277, 112 Stat. 268, enacted October 21, 1998^Gamboa, Anthony H. (January 4, 2005), B-303495, Office of National Drug Control Policy '-- Video News Release, Government Accountability Office, pp. 9''10 ^Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1998 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, Pub.L. 105''277, 112 Stat. 268, enacted October 21, 1998^Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006, Pub.L. 109''469, 120 Stat. 3501, enacted December 29, 2006, codified at 21 U.S.C. § 1723^Barstow, David (2008-04-20). "Message Machine: Behind Analysts, the Pentagon's Hidden Hand". New York Times. ^Sessions, David (2008-04-20). "Onward T.V. Soldiers: The New York Times exposes a multi-armed Pentagon message machine". Slate. ^Barstow, David (2008-05-24). "2 Inquiries Set on Pentagon Publicity Effort". New York Times. ^Rampton, Sheldon (October 17, 2007). "Shared Values Revisited". Center for Media and Democracy. ^"U.S. Reaches Out to Muslim World with Shared Values Initiative". America.gov. January 16, 2003.

Hail Apple!

I just put up this week's episode of No Agenda 2016 and I'm moving on to a new No Agenda CD. I have had many requests for CDs and haven't gotten back to everyone yet. I was hoping you could mention that if anyone requested discs, I'll get them out when the new discs are produced and burned.

Really appreciate it,

Sir Ramsey Cain

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Wed, 20 May 2015 18:14

The 9/11 Commission Report: The Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (2004)Affidavit of U.S. Citizenship (Form)''African Command: The Newest Combatant Command,'' Paul Cale and the U.S. Army War College Graduating Class of 2005, U.S. Army Strategic Studies Institute (2005)''Al-Qaeda: The Many Faces of an Islamist Extremist Threat,'' Report of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (June 2006)Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Conduct of Joint OperationsChairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Vision 2020 ReportChairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Instruction on Aircraft Piracy (Hijacking) and Destruction of Derelict Airborne Objects (1 June 2001)''Conserving the Force, Adapting Guard Mobilization Policies for Homeland Defense to Enhance Retention,'' by Major George F. Minde, Indiana Army National Guard, School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KansasCongressional Research Service Report for Congress, ''Al-Qaeda after the Iraq Conflict'' (2003)Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, ''Al-Qaeda Profile and Threat Assessment (2005)Congressional Research Service, ''Al-Qaeda: Statements and Evolving Ideology'' (2007)Congressional Research Service, ''The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations since 9/11''Congressional Research Service, ''Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom U.S. Casualty Statistics'' 6 Dec 2006Speech by CIA Director Michael Hayden (17 September 2008)Guide to Popular U.S. Government Documents 2000-2002House Armed Services Committee Hearing on Combating Terrorism (opening statement only)International Atomic Energy Agency, ''Implementation of NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic''International Atomic Energy Agency, ''Implementation of NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran''Iraq Study Group Executive SummaryIraq Study Group Fact SheetIraq Study Group ReportIRC Alert Jan 2005IRC Alert Feb-March 2005IRC Alert Apr-May 2005IRC Alert Jun-Jul 2005IRC Alert Aug-Sept 2005IRC Alert Oct-Nov 2005IRC Alert Jan-Feb 2006IRC Alert March-Apr 2006IRC Alert May-Jun 2006IRC Alert Jul-Aug 2006''List of Detainees Who Went Through Complete CSRT Process''''List of Taliban Members''National Security Council, National Strategy for Victory in Iraq (2005)Reassessing the Evolving Al-Qaeda Threat to the Homeland,'' Hearing before the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment of the Committee on Homeland Security, United States House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, First Session, Nov. 19, 2009, Serial No. 111-45Strategic Studies Institute, ''Iraqi Security Forces and Lessons from Korea'' by Dr. Sheila Miyoshi Jager''A Turkish al-Qaeda: The Islamic Jihad Union and the Internationalization of Uzbek Jihadism,'' by Guido Steinberg, Strategic Insights, Naval Postgraduate School, vol. 7 issue 3 (July 2008)U.N. Pakistan Daily News HighlightsU.N. Security Council Report of the Monitoring Group on SomaliaU.S. Army War College Guide to StrategyU.S. Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated termsU.S. Department of Defense Selected Manpower Statistics 2003U.S. Department of Justice Complaint against Abdur Rehman Hashim-SyedU.S. Department of Justice Complaint against David HeadleyU.S. Department of Justice Complaint against Tahwwur Hussain RanaU.S. Department of Justice Indictment against Ahmed Omar Abu AliU.S. Department of Justice Indictment against Jihad JaneU.S. Department of Justice Indictment of David Coleman HeadleyU.S. Department of Justice Motion to Detain Tahwwur Hussain RanaU.S. House Bill to Establish the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)U.S. Special Operations Command Capstone Concept for Special OperationsU.S. State Department, Supporting Human Rights and Democracy (Report of US Actions 2005-2006)U.S. State Department, Country Reports on Terrorism 2005U.S. State Department Form, Application for Additional Visa PagesU.S. State Department Form, Application for PassportU.S. State Department Form, Application for Passport by MailU.S. State Department Form, Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a US CitizenU.S. State Department Form, Issuance of Passport to a MinorU.S. State Department Form, Lost or Stolen PassportU.S. State Department Form, Re-Application for PassportU.S. State Department Magazine (July-Aug 2006)U.S. Embassy Islamabad, ''US Relief Efforts in Pakistan''U.S. Embassy Pakistan Toys for Tots Program (2005)U.S. Institute for Peace, Role of Women in Stability and ReconstructionU.S. Institute for Peace Special Report 159, ''Diversity of Muslims in the US''U.S. Institute for Peace Special Report 160, ''Who Are Iraq's New Leaders? ''U.S. Institute for Peace Special Report 163, ''Afghanistan and Its Neighbors''U.S. Institute for Peace Special Report 164, ''American Foreign Policy and Islamic Renewal''U.S. Institute for Peace Special Report 171, ''Rise of Islamist Militancy in Bangladesh''U.S. Institute for Peace Special Report 174, ''Scenarios for Insurgency in Iraq''U.S. Institute for Peace Stabilization and Reconstruction Series 4, ''Managing Natural Resource Wealth''U.S. Institute for Peace Working Group, ''Role of Women in Reconstruction and Stability Operations'' (Companion Article)U.S. Marine Corps, ''The Guerilla and How to Fight Him'' (1990)''Violent Extremism, the Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat,'' US Senate Committee on Homeland SecurityWesley Clark 2004 Presidential Campaign Document, ''Strategy for Addressing Threat Posed by Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda''| HIDE SECTION |

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Thu, 21 May 2015 01:52

Newly released government documents claim numerous books were found in Bin Laden's compound when it was raided by U.S. Navy Seals. They include: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins, The Best Enemy Money Can Buy by Anthony Sutton, Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance by Noam Chomsky, Imperial Hubris by Michael Scheuer, New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11 by David Ray Griffin, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul KennedyHere's the full list put out by the U.S. government:

The 2030 Spike by Colin MasonA Brief Guide to Understanding Islam by I. A. IbrahimAmerica's Strategic Blunders by Willard MatthiasAmerica's ''War on Terrorism'' by Michel ChossudovskyAl-Qaeda's Online Media Strategies: From Abu Reuter to Irhabi 007 by Hanna RoganThe Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg PalastThe Best Enemy Money Can Buy by Anthony SuttonBlack Box Voting, Ballot Tampering in the 21st Century by Bev HarrisBloodlines of the Illuminati by Fritz SpringmeierBounding the Global War on Terror by Jeffrey RecordChecking Iran's Nuclear Ambitions by Henry Sokolski and Patrick ClawsonChristianity and Islam in Spain 756-1031 A.D. by C. R. HainesCivil Democratic Islam: Partners, Resources, and Strategies by Cheryl BenardConfessions of an Economic Hit Man by John PerkinsConspirators' Hierarchy: The Committee of 300 by John ColemanCrossing the Rubicon by Michael RuppertFortifying Pakistan: The Role of U.S. Internal Security Assistance (only the book's introduction) by C. Christine Fair and Peter ChalkGuerilla Air Defense: Antiaircraft Weapons and Techniques for Guerilla Forces by James CrabtreeHandbook of International Law by Anthony AustHegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance by Noam ChomskyImperial Hubris by Michael ScheuerIn Pursuit of Allah's Pleasure by Asim Abdul Maajid, Esaam-ud-Deen and Dr. Naahah IbrahimInternational Relations Theory and the Asia-Pacific by John Ikenberry and Michael MastandanoKilling Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions since World War II by William BlumMilitary Intelligence Blunders by John Hughes-WilsonProject MKULTRA, the CIA's program of research in behavioral modification. Joint hearing before the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research of the Committee on Human Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, first session, August 3, 1977. United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Intelligence.Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies by Noam ChomskyNew Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11 by David Ray GriffinNew Political Religions, or Analysis of Modern Terrorism by Barry CooperObama's Wars by Bob WoodwardOxford History of Modern War by Charles TownsendThe Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul KennedyRogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William BlumThe Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly Hall (1928)Secrets of the Federal Reserve by Eustace MullinsThe Taking of America 1-2-3 by Richard SpragueUnfinished Business, U.S. Overseas Military Presence in the 21st Century by Michael O'HanlonThe U.S. and Vietnam 1787-1941 by Robert Hopkins Miller''Website Claims Steve Jackson Games Foretold 9/11,'' article posted on ICV2.com (this file contained only a single saved web page)

-RW

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Source: newest submissions : inthemorning

Thu, 21 May 2015 01:52

Newly released government documents claim numerous books were found in Bin Laden's compound when it was raided by U.S. Navy Seals. They include: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins, The Best Enemy Money Can Buy by Anthony Sutton, Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance by Noam Chomsky, Imperial Hubris by Michael Scheuer, New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11 by David Ray Griffin, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul KennedyHere's the full list put out by the U.S. government:

The 2030 Spike by Colin MasonA Brief Guide to Understanding Islam by I. A. IbrahimAmerica's Strategic Blunders by Willard MatthiasAmerica's ''War on Terrorism'' by Michel ChossudovskyAl-Qaeda's Online Media Strategies: From Abu Reuter to Irhabi 007 by Hanna RoganThe Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg PalastThe Best Enemy Money Can Buy by Anthony SuttonBlack Box Voting, Ballot Tampering in the 21st Century by Bev HarrisBloodlines of the Illuminati by Fritz SpringmeierBounding the Global War on Terror by Jeffrey RecordChecking Iran's Nuclear Ambitions by Henry Sokolski and Patrick ClawsonChristianity and Islam in Spain 756-1031 A.D. by C. R. HainesCivil Democratic Islam: Partners, Resources, and Strategies by Cheryl BenardConfessions of an Economic Hit Man by John PerkinsConspirators' Hierarchy: The Committee of 300 by John ColemanCrossing the Rubicon by Michael RuppertFortifying Pakistan: The Role of U.S. Internal Security Assistance (only the book's introduction) by C. Christine Fair and Peter ChalkGuerilla Air Defense: Antiaircraft Weapons and Techniques for Guerilla Forces by James CrabtreeHandbook of International Law by Anthony AustHegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance by Noam ChomskyImperial Hubris by Michael ScheuerIn Pursuit of Allah's Pleasure by Asim Abdul Maajid, Esaam-ud-Deen and Dr. Naahah IbrahimInternational Relations Theory and the Asia-Pacific by John Ikenberry and Michael MastandanoKilling Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions since World War II by William BlumMilitary Intelligence Blunders by John Hughes-WilsonProject MKULTRA, the CIA's program of research in behavioral modification. Joint hearing before the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research of the Committee on Human Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, first session, August 3, 1977. United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Intelligence.Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies by Noam ChomskyNew Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11 by David Ray GriffinNew Political Religions, or Analysis of Modern Terrorism by Barry CooperObama's Wars by Bob WoodwardOxford History of Modern War by Charles TownsendThe Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul KennedyRogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William BlumThe Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly Hall (1928)Secrets of the Federal Reserve by Eustace MullinsThe Taking of America 1-2-3 by Richard SpragueUnfinished Business, U.S. Overseas Military Presence in the 21st Century by Michael O'HanlonThe U.S. and Vietnam 1787-1941 by Robert Hopkins Miller''Website Claims Steve Jackson Games Foretold 9/11,'' article posted on ICV2.com (this file contained only a single saved web page)

-RW

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Thu, 21 May 2015 01:49

May 20, 2015

Today the ODNI released a sizeable tranche of documents recovered during the raid on the compound used to hide Usama bin Ladin. The release, which followed a rigorous interagency review, aligns with the President's call for increased transparency''consistent with national security prerogatives''and the 2014 Intelligence Authorization Act, which required the ODNI to conduct a review of the documents for release.

The release contains two sections. The first is a list of non-classified, English-language material found in and around the compound. The second is a selection of now-declassified documents.

The Intelligence Community will be reviewing hundreds more documents in the near future for possible declassification and release. An interagency taskforce under the auspices of the White House and with the agreement of the DNI is reviewing all documents which supported disseminated intelligence cables, as well as other relevant material found around the compound. All documents whose publication will not hurt ongoing operations against al-Qa'ida or their affiliates will be released.

Jeffrey AnchukaitisDeputy Director, Public Affairs

Via DNI.gov

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Thu, 21 May 2015 01:47

by Scott Creighton

''Conspiracy theorists'' have been providing aid and comfort to al Qaeda by simply asking questions? investigating beyond the BS that the MSM reports from their ''official sources''? That seems to be the implication.

The U.S. government is releasing this week the list of English language texts that were recovered from Osama bin Laden's Pakistan compound after the U.S. raid that killed the al Qaeda leader in 2011'...

''In terms of the materials that are there, some of the things that we've found to be of note were that Bin Laden was probably an avid conspiracy theorist,'' Buzz Feed

It was bound to happen.

The propagandists who brought us the ''death of bin Laden story'' 1.0 and 2.0 (with Sy Hersh) have decided to finally go for broke by associating some of the biggest names in investigative journalism, critics of our imperial wars overseas and ''conspiracy theorists'' to the dreaded Osama bin Laden.

Basically anyone who writes or says anything bad about the glorious Big Brother party that is developing here and in Britain are on bin Laden's ''DIGITAL'' reading list. His ''digital'' bookshelf.

What does that mean?

That means the powers that be have decided to exploit the new Sy Hersh bullshit story about ''the truth'' of the raid on the bin Laden compound (or maybe that's why Sy's stupid story came out in the first place) by releasing what they claim they found on disk drives or memory sticks. The fact that they are digital means they wont be able to find bin Laden's actual fingerprints on an actual book of any kind.

Of course if you notice that, you're a ''conspiracy theorist''

In short, they can put any book or writing they want on that list. Anything they wish to be viewed in a certain light.

The English language list is republished below the fold and on it you will find a number of critics of our Global War of Terrorism along with folks like Bev Harris (exposed electronic voting machine rigging), John Perkins (economic hit-man), Michael Ruppert (great work in Crossing the Rubicon), David Ray Griffin (outstanding work on 9/11), Michel Chossudovsky (anti-globalization), Eustace Mullins (exposing the Federal Reserve) and the usual slate of unpopular investigative journalists and activists like Greg Palast, William Blum and Noam Chomsky.

These apparently are today's leading thought criminals.

It really is the beginning of a modern day book banning movement I suppose.

I can see Fox News ranting about how the ''conspiracy theorists'' are providing aid and comfort to the likes of bin Laden and how he was probably using their work to further radicalize new al CIAdah members across the Middle East.

As obvious as this bit of disinformation is with regard to a new effort to demonize real investigative journalism, what might be more telling is who is NOT on the list.

There is nothing from Di$info Jone$ on that list and I thought he was King of All Conspiracy Theorists. I guess he's just a shill.

There is nothing from Seymour Hersh either. I guess his latest story bought him a reprieve of sorts.

Our friend Jeremy Scahill (I call him Scaghill) is absent from that ''to be banned'' list as well and he chimed in real early on this story'...

Nothing from Matt Taibbi, Amy Goodman, Glenn Beck, Steven Jones (nanothermite), Judy Wood (ray beams from space), Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ron Paul, Glenn Greenwald, ''Edward Snowden'' or Hillary Clinton for that matter.

The list is below the fold. It's pretty obvious why they made it. Of course ''truth tellers'' like Scaghill seem oblivious to that obvious reality. It pays to be obtuse in 'Merika these days.

''Bin Laden's (Digital) Bookshelf''

English-Language Books

The 2030 Spike by Colin MasonA Brief Guide to Understanding Islam by I. A. IbrahimAmerica's Strategic Blunders by Willard MatthiasAmerica's ''War on Terrorism'' by Michel ChossudovskyAl- Qaeda's Online Media Strategies: From Abu Reuter to Irhabi 007 by Hanna RoganThe Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg PalastThe Best Enemy Money Can Buy by Anthony SuttonBlack Box Voting, Ballot Tampering in the 21 st Century by Bev HarrisBloodlines of the Illuminati by Fritz SpringmeierBounding the Global War on Terror by Jeffrey RecordChecking Iran's Nuclear Ambitions by Henry Sokolski and Patrick ClawsonChristianity and Islam in Spain 756-1031 A.D. by C. R. HainesCivil Democratic Islam: Partners, Resources, and Strategies by Cheryl BenardConfessions of an Economic Hit Man by John PerkinsConspirators' Hierarchy: The Committee of 300 by John ColemanCrossing the Rubicon by Michael RuppertFortifying Pakistan: The Role of U.S. Internal Security Assistance (only the book's introduction) by C. Christine Fair and Peter ChalkGuerilla Air Defense: Antiaircraft Weapons and Techniques for Guerilla Forces by James CrabtreeHandbook of International Law by Anthony AustHegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance by Noam ChomskyImperial Hubris by Michael ScheuerIn Pursuit of Allah's Pleasure by Asim Abdul Maajid, Esaam-ud-Deen and Dr. Naahah IbrahimInternational Relations Theory and the Asia-Pacific by John Ikenberry and Michael MastandanoKilling Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions since World War II by William BlumMilitary Intelligence Blunders by John Hughes-Wilson ProjectMKULTRA , the CIA's program of research in behavioral modification. Joint hearing before the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research of the Committee on Human Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, first session, August 3, 1977. United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Intelligence.Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies by Noam ChomskyNew Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11 by David Ray GriffinNew Political Religions, or Analysis of Modern Terrorism by Barry CooperObama's Wars by Bob WoodwardOxford History of Modern War by Charles TownsendThe Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul KennedyRogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William BlumThe Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly Hall (1928)Secrets of the Federal Reserve by Eustace MullinsThe Taking of America 1-2-3 by Richard SpragueUnfinished Business, U.S. Overseas Military Presence in the 21 st Century by Michael O'HanlonThe U.S. and Vietnam 1787-1941 by Robert Hopkins Miller''Website Claims Steve Jackson Games Foretold 9/11, '' article posted on ICV2.com (this file contained only a single saved web pageadf

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Wed, 20 May 2015 14:05

(This post is from our new blog: Unofficial Sources.)

Mike Allen's obsequious, pay-to-play Playbook newsletter was once hailed by The New York Times as a must-read for Washington's ''elite set of political and news-media thrivers and strivers.'' For me, it's most useful as a shameless chronicle of what that elite group cares about '-- and how it lives.

In particular, Allen frequently documents how intimately and seamlessly connected the members of the media aristocracy are with other members of Washington's ruling elite, whether they come from the intelligence community, the super-wealthy, big banks, the lobbying community, or top levels of government.

To the elite media itself, all this is just background noise. But I'm increasingly thinking the noise is the signal.

Allen had a canonical example in in Sunday's edition:

CHARLIE ROSE'S WASHINGTON: Charlie Rose, the man who's always working, got to just enjoy himself last night '' tieless, and rocking sneakers. D.C. friends walked down a red carpet to the elegant terrace of the rarely seen estate of Franco Nuschese, owner of Caf(C) Milano, who was honoring Charlie with a dinner celebration and garden party after he delivered the Georgetown commencement address and received an honorary doctorate of humane letters.

Franco's three and a half acres, in the Northwest D.C. neighborhood of Forest Hills, include a view down the same hill as the Italian ambassador's residence. In a toast, Charlie said Franco is the best traveling companion in Italy '' aside from two of the evening's guests, CIA Director John Brennan and former deputy CIA director Michael Morell.

''SPOTTED: Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, Don Baer and Nancy Bard, Bret and Amy Baier, CIA Director John Brennan and Kathy Pokluda Brennan, Charlie Cook, Jan Crawford, Henry Davis, E.J. Dionne, Tom Donilon, Jim and Deb Fallows, Tom and Ann Friedman, Georgetown College Dean Chester Gillis, Tammy Haddad, Al Hunt and Judy Woodruff, Walter and Cathy Isaacson, Chris and Jennifer Isham, Vernon and Ann Jordan, Tommy Kaplan, Jonathan Karl, Katty Kay, Samantha Kulok, Jennifer Lawson of Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Margot McGinness, Frank Milwee, Michael Morell, Norah O'Donnell and Geoff Tracy, Roxanne Roberts, John F.W. Rogers, Sally Quinn, Hilary Rosen and Campbell Spencer, Chelsea Royal, David Sanger, Bob and Pat Schieffer, Justin Smith, Ellen Tauscher, George Tenet and Stephanie Glakas-Tenet, Yvette Vega, Chitra Wadhwani and more.

''WHAT FRANCO SERVES AT HOME: hand-carved prosciutto; eggplant parmesan; roasted sea scallops, eggplant and basil; buffalo mozzarella; pecorino cheeses; roasted veal in tuna sauce; assorted cold cuts; calamarata pasta, fresh oregano, tomatoes and zucchini; oysters; steamed shellfish with vegetables; mixed greens salad; octopus, peaches, green beans and mint salad; tuna, salmon and amberjack tartar; plus a bar and desserts.

A lot of those names are widely recognizable from your TVs, being prominent media figures, political fixers, and national security advisers: Brett Baier of Fox News, E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post, Tom Friedman and David Sanger of The New York Times, Al Hunt of Bloomberg, Judy Woodruff of PBS, Jonathan Karl of ABC, Norah O'Donnell of NBC, Bob Schieffer of CBS, Walter Isaacson of the Aspen Institute, Tom Donilon the national security adviser, etc.

But some are possibly only familiar to readers of Playbook. Consider: that Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba is from the United Arab Emirates; Don Baer is worldwide chair and chief executive officer of the strategic communications firm Burson-Marsteller and chair of the research firm Penn Schoen Berland; Tom Kaplan, I'm gonna guess, is thisbillionaire mining investor (UPDATE: This may be poor guesswork on my part, in part due to bad spelling on Mike Allen's, as I'm now informed by email that there was a Tommy Caplan at the party, a non-billionaire area novelist. Of course maybe they were both there); John F.W. Rogers ''might be one of the most important people at Goldman Sachs''; and, as Allen put it, more.

I have to wonder: Was there any tension between members of the media who were there, and other guests?

Did people talk politics? Were there any visible or audible signs of discomfort or disagreement? Did the powerful political players spend one second worried that the media figures might ask them an uncomfortable question? Or did everyone just mingle and share friendly chatter?

Sitting there, eating hand-carved prosciutto and octopus salad, was there a palpable sense of a common bond?

If it were me, I'd go right up to Brennan and call him a goddamned liar, ask him why he won't own up to the CIA's role in torture, what he's got on Obama, and why he doesn't resign immediately in shame. Of course, that's probably one of the many reasons why I'm not invited in the first place.

Sometimes people ask me: Why do smart, elite journalists quote people who they know are lying, or being moronically stupid, but not call what they say lies and stupidities? Why do they engage in split-the-difference false equivalence in political coverage that leaves readers terribly uninformed about what's really going on?

And I say: One big reason is the cocktail parties.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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Mon, 18 May 2015 12:55

by Scott Creighton

The key to this story is the FBI (once again) and Chris Roberts' intimate relationship with them.

For those of you who know me, you know I don't do ''Henny Penny'' stories very often. I don't huff and puff and screech about Russian nukes flying over the North Pole and I don't publish bullshit about the New Black Panthers (Cointelpro) promising to kill cops in Ferguson or Baltimore.

However, with that said, this latest story that's running amok in the MSM about how a cyber intel expert claims to have been able to hack into a plane's on-board ''infotainment'' system and from there cause the plane to ''fly sideways'' is something that needs to be addressed quickly I would imagine.

According to the FBI affidavit, however, when he mentioned this to agents last February he told them that he also had briefly commandeered a plane during one of those flights'...

The affidavit, however, does not indicate exactly which flight he allegedly caused to turn to fly to the side. WIRED

Let me first explain the basics of the story. According to the official version, last month Chris Roberts boarded a United Airlines flight from Denver to Chicago (keep Denver in mind, it's important later)

During that flight, Chris sent out a Tweet:

Chris was taken off his connecting flight at his final destination and interviewed for several hours. They wanted to know if he intended to take control of the flight. Chris said ''no' he didn't in a widely circulated WIRED magazine interview which just came out.

The cyber security expert claims he was making a joke'... on Twitter'... about taking over the controls of a plane'... on Twitter'... the cyber security expert did.

The tweet was meant as a sarcastic joke; a reference to how he had tried for years to get Boeing and Airbus to heed warnings about security issues with their passenger communications systems. His tweet about the Engine Indicator Crew Alert System, or EICAS, was a reference to research he'd done years ago on vulnerabilities in inflight infotainment networks, vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker to access cabin controls and deploy a plane's oxygen masks. WIRED

Then he claimed he was surprised when they slapped the cuffs on him after his connecting flight and took his laptops.

Upon landing in Syracuse, two FBI agents and two local police officers escorted him from the plane and interrogated him for several hours. They also seized two laptop computers and several hard drives and USB sticks. WIRED

I'm not a cyber security expert like good old Chris here is, but I have enough common sense to know if I sat my butt in coach seat on some SouthWest Airlines flight and Tweeted ''hey, wouldn't it be funny :) if I set off a bomb on this flight and killed everyone in a fiery ball of screaming Jihad?'' I might just expect a gaggle of about 50 Redbull drinking overly testosteroned guys to storm the plane in a few minutes to shoot me, beat me, tase me, cuff me, shoot me again and then drag what's left of my fat lifeless body to the nearest exit.

I mean I do know such things as Twitter are monitored and I don't even have to get a paycheck from a cyber intel company to know that. So it's a reasonable assumption that Chris knew it as well.

According to Chris, some unscrupulous characters might just be able to reach under the passenger seats of ''some planes'' and bust open a control panel box (Chris says he did this himself on an earlier flight by ''squeezing'' it) and then, without anyone noticing, attach a CAT6 cable with a ''modified connector'' to the inner workings of said box and with a few ''standard'' user IDs and ''standard'' passwords, gain access to the inflight movie selection or some other such valuable intel such as fuel intact systems.

He then claims that from there it's ''just a matter of getting past a few firewalls'' and presto, he's essentially at the controls of the plane.

When this incident happened back in April, the Washington Post covered the story and posted this ludicrous graphic attempting to show just how easy it was for ''the terrorists'' to take control of your flight.

As you can see from the image, the implication is that some ''ISIS'' guy with a CAT5 cable on-board can fly your plane for you or some al-CIAdah dude with an Iphone in Jersey could as well.

''The SKY IS FALLING!'' the SKY IS FALLING!

Well, not really.

Last February, the FBI in Denver, where Roberts is based, requested a meeting. They discussed his research for an hour, and returned a couple weeks later for a discussion that lasted several more hours. They wanted to know what was possible and what exactly he and his colleague had done. WIRED

So, the FBI decided to chat with this cyber security expert a short time before the guy posted his attention getting Tweet while sitting on a flight out of Denver, where he had been meeting with the FBI in the first place.

Ok, that could just be a coincidence and Chris Roberts could just be an idiot, right?

Well, as I mentioned before, Chris' connections to the FBI go a bit further back than February. This is where this stupid story gets interesting and a bit scary.

Essentially, they were trying to help the FBI build it's case against their patsy.

Kevin Knierim is a co-founder and Managing Director of Human Intelligence for investigative service provider Cyopsis. As an FBI Agent for 15 years, Mr. Knierim had lead investigative responsibility for many complex financial crimes and schemes to defraud, including securities fraud, bank fraud, commodities fraud, health care fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, and false claims against the United States. The views expressed here are those of the individual author and are not necessarily those of the ABA or the Task Force. American Bar Association

Kevin got a little public attention when he did an interview for CNBC talking about how the SWAT were justified when they clamped down on the people of Boston looking for one unarmed teenager who was on the loose.

What other large scale incidents has Kevin been involved with? Well'...

Kevin Knierim spent 15 years with the FBI and responded to both to Columbine and Waco. He talked to 9Wants to Know Monday on the bombing investigation. 9News 2013

And that's not all. According to his biopage, he was an FBI sniper'... at Waco.

While with the FBI, Mr. Knierim was a senior member of a FBI SWAT team for 13 years as an observer/sniper and assaulter, where he participated in local and national operations such as the Waco siege, the Eric Rudolph manhunt, the Columbine tragedy, the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah, and the Texas Seven capture, among others. Kevin's biopage

Now let's see'... this guy Chris is connected with a former boss and possible friend who is connected either intimately or tangentially with:

the Aurora massacrethe Boston BombingColumbineWacoOlympic Park BomberYou might say, well, that's all well and good but that doesn't mean Kevin is still connected with the FBI. After all, he went into private business back in 2006. I can understand that reasoning'... however'....

Mr. Knierim has an inactive CPA license in Colorado and is a member of a variety of organizations, such as the Energy Security Counsel, KPMG Audit Committee Roundtable, InfraGard, Institute of Internal Auditors and is the current Treasurer of the Society of Former FBI Agents in Denver. Kevin's biopage

So yeah, Kevin Knierim is still involved with the FBI in Denver.

Getting back to Chris Roberts.

So, Roberts had a long-standing connection to the FBI in Denver who apparently contacted him just before his little stunt on that flight from Denver to Chicago.

According to the FBI, Roberts had in his possession at the time they stopped him after his connecting flight, all the materials he would have needed to hack that plane and take control of it. The FBI says he had the materials and the stated willingness to do it. So what did they do?

'... the FBI believed that Roberts ''had the ability and the willingness to use the equipment then with him to access or attempt to access the IFE and possibly the flight control systems on any aircraft equipped with an IFE systems, and that it would endanger public safety to allow him to leave the Syracuse airport that evening with that equipment.'' WIRED

Here's what the FBI did to Chris Roberts:

Roberts has not been arrested, nor charged with a crime. ARSThat's right. With far more evidence than the FBI has had against any number of the patsies they've set up over the years, they decide to let Chris Roberts skate, free as a bird, with all the knowledge in his little head of how to hack into a plane and alter it's flight in whatever manner he chooses.

He even flew home.

Back to his friend with the FBI.

The friend connected to:

the Aurora massacrethe Boston BombingColumbineWacoOlympic Park BomberConclusionYes, Chris Roberts knew full well what the result of his Tweet would be. And yes, he was probably asked to do it by the FBI themselves through his former boss Kevin Knierim. There is no other explanation as to why he would be so stupid as to Tweet something like that and no other explanation as to why he is a free man today. He was simply doing what he does: contracting for domestic law enforcement.

Of course the scary question is ''why?'' and that is up for debate.

Perhaps some company wants to make some money on a mandatory retooling of on-board ''infotainment'' systems.

Perhaps it's just more fear-mongering from our friends at the FBI.

Or perhaps this is the pretext for something much worse which will require a history being fabricated of ''terrorists'' being able to hack commercial airliners and cause them to crash unexpectedly.

Maybe it's all of the above. Maybe none.

Whatever the case may be, Chris Roberts' connection to the FBI in this case is impossible to overlook due to a number of rather odd decisions being made by all parties involved. It has the stink of a hastily cobbled together FBI psyop not unlike the many that have come before it.

Notice the name of the company he and Kevin worked for? ''Cyopsis''? As in cy-op?

I don't know what to make of this but I'm staying off commercial flights for a while. You might think of doing the same. Now that's not a ''the Ruskies sent Nukes over the North Pole!'' story'... that's just common sense.

'--'--

Thank you very much.

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In the morning Adam,

Im not sure if this is the correct way to get info to you as Im quite new to No Agenda and in fact was hit in the mouth indirectly by John via TWiT.

But I feel it is my duty as a well informed slave to pass on my knowledge to the No Agenda nation. This story about hacking the ECU from the in flight entertainment system is BULLSHIT!

What makes me qualified to comment?

In my career I've designed and build cockpit display systems for many aircraft including the Future Lynx US Presidential helicopter. I've designed test equipment for the ARINC bus, and also written the firmware for the Remote Data Concentrators (RDC) which provide the interconnects for the different buses on the aircraft.

The ECU is controlled via the ARINC429 bus. and although it uses the same number of wires and a similar protocol to ethernet, it requires a time triggered ethernet card to issue commands over this bus... OH YEAH.. I almost forgot ITS NOT IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO IN FLIGHT FUCKING ENERTAINEMENT SYSTEM! The Airspeed, Altitude and gps provided to the passengers is NOT A FUCKING FEED FROM THE COCKPIT NAV SYSTEM!!!

The fact that he claims to have gained access to the in flight entertainment system (standard ethernet) is not a huge surprise or a concern as they are TWO SEPARATE SYSTEMS!

The FAA and other flight regulatory committees would never allow the connection of a DO-178B (or these days) DO-178C LEVEL A safety critical (10^-9 failure rate) be connected to a non safety critical system.

These sytems are written on bare metal with no operating system or third party libraries as every single line of code and all branches are tested via MCDC (Modified Code decision Converage) to ensure that they are safe for flight. So the fact that he would know the exact commands to issue to the Flight Management system is firstly highly dubious as there is no "get me a list of commands that are available commands" method and secondly is ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE USING A STANDARD LAPTOP FROM THE IN FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT!

Im Calling a massive Bullshit on this, and this is just another scare tactic to lead us towards trains good planes bad.

Love the show, keep up the great new dissection.

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Wed, 20 May 2015 19:58

PISCATAWAY '-- Graduation day at Rutgers University is a chance for students to relax after four years of college and celebrate with family and friends before entering the real world.

Or, when Bill Nye is the keynote speaker, it's a reminder that the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere is rising and its future may be a "no-way-out overheated globe."

Nye, the bow-tied host of "Bill Nye The Science Guy," used his speech at Rutgers' commencement Sunday as a platform to tell students they must find a way to stop climate change.

Though it wasn't the message some graduates were expecting, several said they were happy to get another lesson from the scientist they grew up watching.

"It's a heavy topic, but it's something that was necessary to address," said Jesse Bagley, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in science and biomedical engineering. "He's right. We all have an opportunity to make a choice as far as that goes, so it was something that we needed to hear."

Nye urged students to challenge those who dismiss climate change. The scientific consensus on climate change is as strong as the consensus that smoking causes cancer, he said.

"Climate change is a real deal," he said. "So, hey deniers '-- cut it out, and let's get to work."

Students chanted "Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill Bill!" before Nye's speech, a nod to his show's theme song, and said his speech was "awesome" afterward.

It's to be expected that any graduation speaker will plug their own politics, said Michael Bruchert, who earned a degree in journalism and media studies.

"I learned from Bill Nye probably more than any other science class because he is so awesome, and I was was so excited to see him speak today," Bruchert said.

That excitement was lacking among some students last year when Rutgers named former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice its graduation speaker.

Students and faculty briefly staged a sit-in outside the university president's office and objected to giving Rice an honorary degree, citing her involvement in the Iraq War, the use of waterboarding on prisoners and other Bush administration policies.

Rice backed out and was replaced by former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean.

Nye's selection came after a small group of students started a twitter campaign, though the university did not say whether that had any influence on its selection. Rutgers paid him a $35,000 speaker fee, according to the university.

Along with talking about climate change, Nye encouraged students to vote and briefly mentioned racial conflict, saying skin color is a consequence of ultraviolet light, latitude and climate.

"There really is no such thing as race," Nye said. "We all came from Africa. We are all of the same stardust. We are all going to live and die on the same planet, a Pale Blue Dot in the vastness of space. We have to work together."

He also offered some lighter advice.

"If you smell fresh paint, don't walk under the ladder, somebody is up there with a wet pain brush," he said. "Wear good shoes in a thumbtack factory and don't try to smoke in the rain. In fact, don't smoke at all, ever."

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Wed, 20 May 2015 18:53

A hotel restaurant in Anambra, Nigeria has been shuttered by authorities for serving human flesh. According to the BBC, suspicious residents told police of rumors that the restaurant was cooking human meat for customers. Police then raided the restaurant, where they discovered fresh human heads that were still bleeding. The blood was in the process of being drained into a plastic bag.

In addition to the illegal meat, authorities discovered automatic weapons, grenades, and cell phones. Ten people were arrested in conjunction with the crimes. One resident said, ''Every time I went to the market, I observed strange activities going on in the hotel. People who were never cleanly dressed and who looked a bit strange made their way in and out of the hotel, making me very suspicious of their activities. I am not surprised at the shocking revelation.''

A priest who ate at the restaurant was alarmed when presented with a bill of 700 Naira, or roughly $3.50 (Tens of millions of people in Nigeria subsist on less than $1 a day). ''The attendant noticed my reaction and told me it was the small piece of meat I had eaten that made the bill scale that high,'' he said. ''I did not know I had been served with human meat, and that it was that expensive.''

Read more at: http://www.eater.com/2015/5/15/8613497/nigerian-restaurant-shut-down-for-serving-human-flesh

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Source: Signs of the Times

Wed, 20 May 2015 20:00

(C) Worldpropertyjournal.com

Despite the government's 'advice' to young debt-laden students, the tragedy of the American farmer continues with worryingly pessimistic views on the future of the industry. With farmland prices falling for the first time in almost 30 years, credit conditions are weakening dramatically and the Kansas City Fed warns that persistently low crop prices and high input costs reduced profit margins and increased concerns about future loan repayment capacity, and JPMorgan concludes, the industry is currently in dire straits with the potential for a liquidity crunch for farmers into 2016.Not so long ago, U.S. farmland - whose prices were until recently rising exponentially - was considered by many to be the next asset bubble. Then, almost overnight, the fairytale ended, and as reported in February, U.S. farmland saw its first pricedrop since 1986.

(C) Zerohedge

Looking ahead, very few bankers expect price appreciation and more than a quarter of survey respondents expect cropland values to decline further in the next three months.(C) Zerohedge

And now, The Kansas City Fed warns that Agricultural credit conditions are worsening rapidly...Credit conditions in the Federal Reserve's Tenth District weakened as farm income declined further in the first quarter of 2015. Persistently low crop prices and high input costs reduced profit margins and increased concerns about future loan repayment capacity. Funds were available to meet historically high loan demand, but loan repayment rates dropped considerably.Although profit margins in the livestock industry have remained stable, most bankers do not expect farm income or credit conditions to improve in the next three months.

On a more regional level, farm income declined in all District states except Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, farm income has steadily improved over the last three years due to revenue from mineral rights and cattle production but remained unchanged in the first quarter of 2015 .

(C) Zerohedge

Strains on the farm economy have begun to affect the overall economic outlook in some states. Through 2014, growth in per capita personal income was notably smaller in states most heavily concentrated in crop production.Ninety-four percent of survey respondents expect farm income to remain the same or decline further in the next three months. Additional declines in farm income could continue to create economic challenges in states heavily dependent on crops.

Loan Demand is surging... (to replace income's collapse or roll old debt)The continued decline in farm income boosted demand for new loans as well as renewals and extensions on existing loans. During years of historically high farm income, some farmers were able to self-finance. However, as working capital has declined due to high production costs and lower crop revenues, more producers have needed external financing to pay for operating expenses and capital purchases. Loan demand was also supported by livestock loans on feeder cattle, which still command historically high prices. In fact, demand for non-real estate farm loans increased across all District states in the first quarter and is expected to remain elevated over the next three months.

If expectations are met, the survey measure of loan demand would be the highest since the survey began in 1980.

(C) Zerohedge

And paying back loans is slumping...Alongside reduced farm income and higher loan demand, loan repayment rates have declined significantly.

Bankers also expressed concerns over increased debt-to-asset ratios, especially for younger farmers with high borrowing needs.

As The Kansas City Fed concludes...Low crop prices placed added stress on net farm incomes and contributed to weaker credit conditions in the first quarter. As farm incomes fell, cropland values moderated and more producers depended on financing to cover operating expenses.

Sufficient funds were available to meet increases in loan demand, but declines in repayment rates as well as slight increases in carry-over debt, collateral requirements and loan renewals and extensions suggest that credit quality may become more of a concern moving forward.

All of which is summed up ominously by JPMorgan, writing in a downgrade not for Deere, that...We recently spent some time in the Midwest meeting various agriculture industry participants including dealers, farmers and industry experts. We believe it was clear from what we heard that the industry is currently in dire straits with the potential for a liquidity crunch for farmers into 2016.

So that is why the government is pushing the young debt-laden student serfs into farming... to 'create' some demand...Sources: JPMorgan, Kansas City Fed, Bloomberg

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Archived Version

Source: Signs of the Times

Wed, 20 May 2015 20:00

(C) Neil Longmuir/Global News

Environment Canada says a couple of cold temperature records were established on the May long weekend in Saskatchewan. It released a weather summary early Monday morning.An arctic high pressure ridge settled over southern areas of the province last night producing clear conditions and widespread frost.

A new record low temperature was set in North Battleford at -4.5°C. The previous mark was set in 1895 at -3.3°C.

Swift Current also broke a record at -5.9°C, beating out -5.6°C, which was set in 1923.

The federal agency says these figures may be preliminary and do not constitute a final report.

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Archived Version

Source: Signs of the Times

Thu, 21 May 2015 01:53

Unsettled weather caused havoc to cricket's County Championship programme yesterday. Storm clouds had gathered during the LV County Championship match between Nottinghamshire and Somerset at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, England

Britain was been battered by hail, thunder, lightning, heavy rain, high winds and even sleet yesterday in what has been an unusually cold and wet May.The Met Office reported that the UK has already suffered more than it's average full month rainfall inside the first 17 days of the month.

Children from local schools in Scarborough had their cricket tournament cut short after a massive hail storm hit Wykeham, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire. Giant hail stones rained down on the match, covering the field in ice as pupils ran for cover.

And they weren't the only ones to have their game affected as the unsettled weather caused havoc to cricket's County Championship programme.

Among the games interrupted was Leicestershire's match against Lancashire at Grace Road, Leicester.

Spectator Phil Long said: 'There were definitely one or two snowflakes amongst the rain, sleet, hail and heaven knows what else.'

Flights were also affected at airports including Heathrow where strong winds and thunderstorms cancelled more than 50 flights.

In some parts of the country, the temperature fell as low as minus 1 degrees Celsius - making it colder than Reykjavik, Iceland which was a comparatively balmy 4 degrees.

But the forecast for the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend isn't all doom and gloom with temperatures nudging towards 21 70F on Saturday.

Last night, passengers were still being warned to check with their airlines before travelling as flights could still be delayed.

A spokesman for Heathrow said yesterday: 'We are experiencing some delays and cancellations today due to strong high-altitude wind and thunderstorms. Passengers are advised to check with their airline before travelling to the airport. We are sorry for the disruption to those affected.'

The airport had 55 cancellations throughout the day, out of a total of around 1,290 scheduled flights.

Claire Austin, senior forecaster with MeteoGroup, said there had been gusts of around 30mph in the Heathrow area.

'Heavy showers and thunderstorms can cause the winds to be squally, and big gusts are associated with them,' she said.

'Further to the south west, winds were gusting at 40mph, especially in coastal areas.'

A spokeswoman for Gatwick Airport said last night: 'It would be wise for people to check with their airline before travelling to the airport. We are having some delays inbound and outbound because of the weather conditions but no cancellations yet.'

Parts of central and north London - including Bloomsbury and Shoreditch - were battered by hail storms, and there was also reports of thunder and lightning around the capital.

Huge hail stones fell on a school in North Yorkshire on Tuesday as storms battered the country in an unusually cold and wet month of May

In south London, shoppers in Clapham ran for cover as heavy rain lashed down catching many by surprise.Met Office forecaster Dan Williams said: 'There was sleet on high ground in the early hours.

'There have been some heavy showers around, with strong gusts and squally winds. There have also been reports of hail as well as thunder and lightning.'

However, he added: 'It's not looking too bad for the Bank Holiday weekend.

'It will be settled weather over much of the country on Saturday.

'Things won't be looking too bad temperature-wise, and we could even see highs of 20C or 21C.

Children had to run for cover of the pavilion after thunder and lightning hit the area followed by the most amazing hail storm

'A front will be moving across the country on Sunday bringing some showers at some point, starting in the North West in the early hours and heading south where there could be showers in the afternoon or early evening.'It should be fairly settled in the southern half of the country on Monday.'

Early Met Office figures up to May 17 revealed that the UK has had 74.1mm of rain - just over the full-month May average of 70mm.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have all had more than their full month average, while England is just under. Much of this rain fell in the first 10 days of the month.

Mr Williams said it was 'far too early' to say where the month's rainfall will end up, but at this stage it looks unlikely that we'll see any records.

It has also been colder than average so far this month with a UK mean temperature of 9.2C, which is 1.2C below the full-month average.

Mr Williams said that as May is a transition month to warmer weather, you'd normally expect the first half of the month to be slightly below the full-month average - but even so, it has been cooler than normal.

However, sunshine has been very close to average so far this month.

On the South West coast, a glorious double rainbow links the opposite sides of the river Dart, Dartmouth and Kingswear in Devon siganlled a respite to the rain yesterday

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Archived Version

Thu, 21 May 2015 12:14

AFP/The Local | 21 May 2015, 07:52

Behind the kitsch, glitz and smoke machines of the Eurovision Song Contest - hosted on Saturday by Vienna - hide more serious international geopolitical tensions, says the creator of the world's first university course on the popular music competition.

Historian Dean Vuletic leads a EU-funded research project at the University of Vienna, focusing on the annual Eurovision sing-off as a vehicle for diplomacy and socio-political messages.

"It is an effective tool to approach history because it prompts people to talk about political issues through cultural references," Vuletic told AFP in an interview.

For instance, it served as "a great mirror" for the complex relationship between the West and Soviet states during the Cold War.

Communist Yugoslavia's entry into Eurovision in 1961 -- barely six years after the contest was first launched -- helped demonstrate that it was the Eastern European nation most open to Western cultural influences back then, Vuletic argued.

"It was the only communist country that participated in it throughout the Cold War," he said.

Meanwhile, Austria sent a "highly symbolic message" in 1968, when Soviet tanks crushed the Prague Spring, by sending Czech singer Karel Gott as its representative.

"From the Austrian perspective, it was an expression of support for the reforms that were taking place and desire for closer ties with its eastern neighbours," said Vuletic.

The following year Austria boycotted the contest because it was being held in Spain, then under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Eurovision gained even greater political significance as countries of the former Eastern bloc began joining the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the song contest.

Accession was easy because the group had no political or economic entry requirements -- all a country needed was a public television service.

"From the early 1990s, it was really the first Western European organisation that former communist nations could enter," said Vuletic.

"They used it as a forum, in which they could express and affirm their aspirations for European integration."

Once these countries became members of NATO and eventually the European Union, however, Eurovision lost its lustre: "You can see that many of them stopped putting so much effort into the contest after their political aims were accomplished."

A scene from the dress rehearsal for the second Semi Final. Photo: Thomas Hanses (EBU)

'We Don't Wanna Put In'

In more recent times, tensions between the West and Russia have flared up again, notably over Ukraine, and this too is being played out on the Eurovision stage.

At the 2014 competition in Copenhagen, just two months after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in March, Russia's Tolmachevy Sisters were booed by the audience in the final.

In contrast, Austria's bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst was wildly cheered and went on to win the contest.

Conchita "profited from the tensions between Russia and the West by presenting herself as a symbol of Western liberal values" -- especially in light of Russia's strong anti-gay stance -- said Vuletic.

Russia appears to fare better this year with singer Polina Gagarina, whose peace song "A Million Voices" was voted into Saturday's final in Vienna to loud applause.

While the EBU welcomes entries dealing with positive political themes, overtly critical or nationalist content is strictly forbidden.

Lyrics often tread a fine line here, such as the 2015 entry by finalist Armenia.

Many perceived the song, originally called "Don't Deny," to be a direct reference to the 100th anniversary of the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces, which Turkey refuses to recognise as genocide.

In the end, Armenia changed the title to "Face the Shadow" to remove any suggestion of political intent.

Other nations have tried to find more creative ways of getting around the "no politics" rule.

Georgia attempted to join the 2009 edition in Moscow with the song "We Don't Wanna Put In". The EBU rejected the entry on the basis it was an obvious wordplay on Putin.

For Vuletic, the ideal Eurovision song carries a "strong universal message at the right historical time".

"Nationalist messages don't do well because they're not something that other Europeans can necessarily relate to."

By Nina Lamparski/AFP

We will be reporting live and blogging from the Eurovision Song Contest final on Saturday - check in at 8.50pm!

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Archived Version

Thu, 21 May 2015 12:10

What's This?

Organisers of this year's Eurovision Song Contest are trialling 'anti-booing' technology after Russia's entry was heckled last year.Image: Julian Stratenschulte/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images/Associated Press

By Tim ChesterUK2015-05-21 11:44:19 UTC

Organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest have installed special 'anti-booing' technology at this year's event, to muffle any potential dissent during Russia's performance.

In an effort to avoid a repeat of last year, when the country's Tolmachevy Sisters were booed during their performance of "Shine" in protest at Russia's actions in Ukraine and stance on gay rights, the production team have installed "sound reducers" to mask audience noise, the Moscow Timesreports.

Polina Gagarina is representing the country in the final in Vienna on Saturday (May 23) with "A Million Voices."

"It was very embarrassing for us last year when this happened, as it is not in the spirit of the contest," Jarmo Siim, Communications Coordinator for Eurovision told the paper. "We are here to build bridges, as the motto [of the contest] says."

While few technical details of the anti-booing technology has been revealed, Siim said there were several options to reduce unwelcome sounds from the crowd. However, he said that "Plan A is to use regular audience sound."

Gagarina herself insisted she wouldn't hear any booing either way, thanks to her earphones. "Normally I just have one earphone in when I perform so that I can hear the audience and feel the energy of the arena," she said, adding that Eurovision requires artists to use two.

She recently posted a video of herself with last year's winner, Austria's Conchita Wurst.

This year, the Eurovision Song Contest will be presented for deaf people in the International Sign Language for the first time.

The 60th edition of the contest kicks off in Vienna at 8 p.m. local time (CEST).

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Topics: Entertainment, eurovision, Eurovision Song Contest, gagarina, Music, russia, Television, vienna

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Archived Version

Wed, 20 May 2015 18:29

E Vanwijk, di 19 mei 2015 07:43 Reageer op EAls we nou eens die eventuele claim wegstrepen tegen alles wat Griekenland al heeft gekregen. Met name van Duitsland. Zijn we er nu al weer klaar mee.

Peter Heerens, ma 18 mei 2015 15:11 Reageer op PeterOKƒ(C),

Destijds een lening van 475 miljoen RM, en dat is nu 10 miljard 'š¬.Dat is een heel bedrag, maar ten opzichte van de schuld van Griekenland ook niet zoveel.

Bovendien loop je ook nog het risico dat Duitsland - als ze al willen betalen - het geld direct aan de schuldeisers (Duitse banken b.v.) zal storten. Ik denk dat de kans dat Grieken dat geld ooit nog in handen zullen krijgen niet zo heel groot is.

Ze zullen er hooguit een iets minder hoge schuld aan overhouden.

John Ezem, ma 18 mei 2015 10:15 Reageer op JohnGB & USA moeten nog 30 miljard betalen vw het ontketenen van de burgeroorlog.

Willem de Onttovernaar, ma 18 mei 2015 08:01 Reageer op WillemDat claimen is natuurlijk een heilloze weg. Maar het lijkt me wel goed dat Duitsland zich realiseert dat er nog ergens een minstens morele schuld zit.

Aan de andere kant: ik denk dat het Duitse bedrijfsleven het helemaal niet zo leuk vindt als de kwestie Griekenland wordt opgelost. Hoe meer rotzooi daar, hoe lager de euro en dus hoe meer Audi's, Mercedessen en BMW's er in China verkocht worden. Die lage euro doet echt wonderen. Las in NRC dat zelfs de Franse wapenindustrie weer als herboren is. De Rafale gevechtsvliegtuigen zijn plotseling niet aan te slepen.

Anders gezegd: we mogen als economisch sterkere landen van de EU dat Griekenland wel een beetje dankbaarder zijn dat ze de Euro laag houden ;)). Dus vooral niet oplossen dat probleem....

Ook hier geldt m.i. weer: follow the money!

Nick Ros, ma 18 mei 2015 00:12 Reageer op NickInternationaal Gerechtshof ? Dat wordt nog ingewikkeld.Nederland en Indiƒ. Belgiƒ en Kongo. Frankrijk met o.a. Algerije.Engeland met o.a. '‚¬...'‚¬...'‚¬... Dan nog Italiƒ en Ethiopiƒ.Spanje met Nederland (Alva) en Zuid-Amerika. Portugal met '‚¬....Verder nog Indochina. Vietnam. Wordt nog een hele klus daar in Den Haag.

Olav Meijer, zo 17 mei 2015 23:55 Reageer op OlavDe opvatting van deze rechter bij het Bundesverwaltungsgericht is geheel gerechtvaardigd en verbaast mij niets. De gedwongen '‚¬Å'lening'‚¬½ van de Griekse staat aan Duitsland(475 miljoen Reichsmark in 1942) is nooit (geheel) terugbetaald. De Grieken betaalden ook nog losgeld aan de nazi's om Joden vrij te krijgen van dwangarbeid. (In 1942 werden b.v. duizenden Griekse Joden uit de stad Thessaloniki tewerkgesteld bij bouwprojecten).De Grieken hebben ook nog recht op reƒle herstelbetalingen, maar dat is een ander verhaal.

Kees Apollo, zo 17 mei 2015 23:15 Reageer op KeesAlle Griekenhaters: het gaat hier om een lening, geen herstelbetaling oid.

Pepijn Nostrinite, zo 17 mei 2015 20:28 Reageer op PepijnMoreel verval aan Griekse zijde kent geen grenzen. Al hebben ze 100 x gelijk, om het zo te spelen getuigt van totaal gebrek aan fatsoen. Eruit die Grieken!! Zo snel mogelijk weg.

Haas Tig, zo 17 mei 2015 21:51 in reactie op Pepijn Nostrinite Reageer op HaasHoezo? Als er een terechte claim ligt, ligt er een terechte claim.En voor 10 miljard doe je echt aan financieel wanbeleid als je ten tijde van financiƒle nood een claim/"lening" kwijtscheld.

Linke Loetje, zo 17 mei 2015 23:48 in reactie op Pepijn Nostrinite Reageer op LinkeKlinkt logisch, verontwaardiging doet het altijd goed.

Cali Mero, zo 17 mei 2015 19:10 Reageer op Cali>>> Doordenkertje...

>>> Het begint er sterk op te lijken, dat nu ook Duitsland en Griekenland beiden in de "piepzak" gaan zitten...

>>> Oorzaak en gevolg van onrecht en werkelijke onrecht ervaren... en bijkomende halsstarrigheid...

>>> Het democratisch principe, ideaal en hoop....een werkelijk onafhankelijke rechtelijke uitspraak, op basis van Trias Politica...op naar het Internationale Gerechtshof voor de rechten van de mens, persoonlijk ben ik van mening, dat diepe menselijk onrecht in principe nooit kan verjaren...!!

Marius Menkveld, zo 17 mei 2015 18:25 Reageer op Mariuslijkt me dat de vlag ( kop van dit artikel ) de lading niet dekt.Er is geen hoge duitse rechter die zegt dat " Griekenland gelijk heeft met WO II schulden "

Er is een duitse meneer, die de positie van rechter bij net Bundesverwaltungsgericht vervuld, die a titre personel dit van mening is. Er is geen zaak ,er is geen uitspraak etc.

En wannneer dit zou leiden tot een echte uitspraak van het Bundesverwaltungsgericht, heb je het spel echt op de wagen; allerlei landen kunnen dit soort claims op Duitsland leggen, en duitsland kan weer claims leggen op het leegroven van duitsland door de Russen .

Ev vervolgens : waarom je beperken tot de WO II ? De Spanjaarden hebben de Lage landen leeggeroofd

De grieken hebben ten tijde van het grote griekse overheersing van grote delen van het Midden Oosten en Europa die landen ook leeggeroofd.Met een kleine disconteringsvoet van bijv 4% kom je dan op enorme bedragen die vervolgens dan weer op griekenland verhaald kunnen worden.

En vervolgens gaan we achter de Romeinen aan.....

Wake up : this is the real world.!

Jan Willem de Boer, ma 18 mei 2015 15:34 in reactie op Marius Menkveld Reageer op Jan WillemDe eerste volwassen duiding.

Bas Ooms, zo 17 mei 2015 17:31 Reageer op BasMijn vader (sergeant) werd, tijdens zijn gevangenschap in Duitsland, gedwongen lijken te ruimen. Hoeveel kan ik als nabestaande nog vangen ?

Co Stuifbergen, zo 17 mei 2015 22:23 in reactie op Bas Ooms Reageer op CoBas,

Bij mijn weten heeft de Nederlandse regering in de jaren '60 met de Bondsrepubliek afgesproken dat de Bondsrepubliek een schadevergoeding betaalt aan NL, en dat daarmee alle andere Nederlandse vorderingen komen te vervallen.

De NL overheid zou volgens mij daarmee NL getroffenen moeten kunnen compenseren.

Overigens zijn ook in Duitsland slachtoffers van de nazi's gevallen.

Printsessa Romashka, zo 17 mei 2015 17:17 Reageer op PrintsessaMooie foto van de strijders van ELAS.

Mike Peeters, zo 17 mei 2015 17:04 Reageer op MikeDan zou Zwitserland ook ons goud eens moeten teruggeven...

Bert Vlierman, zo 17 mei 2015 19:55 in reactie op Mike Peeters Reageer op BertMike, dan zou de Nederlandse regering die teruggave moeten eisen van Zwitserland. Los daarvan hebben de Grieken, terecht, geen boodschap aan wat Nederland de Zwitsers vraagt. Nederland vraagt maar of niet, en als het vraagt blijkt wel wat rechtmatig is. Gelukkig oordeelt de massa daar niet over.

m vdb, ma 18 mei 2015 09:25 in reactie op Mike Peeters Reageer op mzwitserland hoeft niks, zij hebben destijds gewoon voor het goud betaald aan de aanbieder ( duitsers)

willem vandelden, zo 17 mei 2015 16:48 Reageer op willemJa, Jopio, prima rechter, nu wij nog met een claim, vervolgens Frankrijk met een claim, daarna Polen met een claim, en Engeland, en Spanje, en Italie enzovoorts....en wij zitten dan met zijn alletjes met een totaal failliet Duitsland, dat wij dus met zijn alletjes weer op de benen moeten zien te krijgen................want ander zijn wij zelf totaal de lul.Jongen toch.

casparus dankers, ma 18 mei 2015 00:23 in reactie op willem vandelden Reageer op casparusMis.Het gaat hier over een LENING.Heel wat anders dan de wiedergutmachung.Griekenland heeft recht op die centen.

Piet Maneo, zo 17 mei 2015 15:52 Reageer op PietDoe het niet Griekenland. Als jullie naar de rechter stappen zullen anderen dat ook doen. Zo is er bijvoorbeeld een haircut op Griekse schuld geweest ter waarde van 100 miljard. Die kan gemakkelijk via de rechter ongedaan worden gemaakt. Dan komen jullie nog verder in de problemen.

Bas Grootel, zo 17 mei 2015 15:43 Reageer op BasIs de tweede wereldoorlog nog een feit voor de generatie duitsers en grieken. Nee. Maar om de grieken nu zo uit te roken met armoede lijkt me ook niet de oplossing. Duitsers. En vooral Merkel. Is steeds meer een toonbeeld van onmenselijkheid. Lijkt me niet leuk voor een politicus.

Frits Jansen, zo 17 mei 2015 15:42 Reageer op FritsHet Bundesverwaltungsgericht in Leipzig is de hoogste *bestuursrechter* in Duitsland. Hoewel het Bundesverfassungsgericht niet "hoger" is kan daar nog wel worden geklaagd over ongrondwettelijkheid.

Enfin, ik denk dat het al bijna tijd is om de Grieken te feliciteren met hun creativiteit. Helaas vrees ik dat de Duitse schuld niet uitreikt (ausreicht) om Griekenland meteen uit alle zorgen te helpen.

Dirk Jan, zo 17 mei 2015 15:27 Reageer op Dirk"Ook particuliere schadeclaims uit de Tweede Wereldoorlog maken volgens de rechter nog kans. "

Aha, nou laat ik dan die afgezaagde grap maar maken:Mijn opa heeft ook nog een 'uitgeleende' fiets te goed.

Joop Schouten, zo 17 mei 2015 14:47 Reageer op JoopGoeie rechter.

Camilla Rasmussen, zo 17 mei 2015 16:41 in reactie op Joop Schouten Reageer op CamillaJa maar hij kan zich vergissen.Zo heeft Duitsland ophouden te bestaan vanaf 45 voor een aantal jaren.In het Oosten hebben de Russen bovendien alles geroofd, waar de Grieken nu opeens zo een goede vriendjes mij aan het worden zijn.

Joop Schouten, ma 18 mei 2015 17:59 in reactie op Camilla Rasmussen Reageer op JoopDeze rechter vergist zich niet. Bekijk deze geschiedenis maar eens.

willem vandelden, zo 17 mei 2015 16:51 in reactie op Joop Schouten Reageer op willemZo is dat, Joop, jij gaat er vast vol overtuiging mee akkoord dat niet alleen jouw uitkering, maar ook de kinderbijslag voor jouw kids, de AOW voor je ouders en de bijstand voor gehandicapten wordt gehalveerd zo niet geschapt.Leg me even uit wat hier zo rechtvaardig of goed aan is.

Raven 63, zo 17 mei 2015 19:29 in reactie op willem vandelden Reageer op RavenWillem, hoe kƒ"m je daarbij?? Leg eens uit?

Dehnus NĦrder, zo 17 mei 2015 18:45 in reactie op Joop Schouten Reageer op DehnusEn de onteigende huisen van Duitsers met een vakantiehuisje dan? Kijk je kunt nog zo'n hekel hebben aan Duitsers maar dat gaat wel twee kanten op natuurlijk.

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Archived Version

Thu, 21 May 2015 01:32

(C) Reuters

Whenever secret or confidential information or documents are leaked to the press, the first question should always be who leaked it and why. That's often more important than the contents of what has been leaked. And since there's been a lot of hullabaloo about a leaked document the past two days, here's a closer look. Spoiler alert: the document(s) don't reveal much of anything new, despite the hullabaloo.On Saturday, Paul Mason at Channel 4 in Britain posted an IMF document(s) that according to him says, among other things, that the IMF expects a June 5 Grexit - in one form or another - if there is no agreement before that date between Athens and its creditors, 'the institutions' (of which the IMF itself is one).

The leaking is simply what it is as long as we don't know the how and why. But the question will remain why somebody takes the risk to leak something only a small and select group of people are privy to. Is it leaked because it's politically important, does Paul Mason pay a lot of money for leaks? Or is it perhaps an intentional leak, in this case ordered by IMF higher-ups? And if so, for what reason? A veiled threat?

Fact is that when you look through the documents Mason published, you notice that he adds his own interpretation to them. Mason, to whom documents seem to be leaked on a regular basis - he wrote about 2 more leaked documents 3 months ago - for instance suggests quite strongly in his write up at Channel 4 that June 5th is the date for a possible default.

However, the documents don't mention that date. They only talk about June, not June 5. Mason writes about IMF 'staff': "They point to the '‚¬1.5 billion due to the IMF in June as the first vulnerable payment."

The '‚¬1.5 billion is not one payment, though. The first June payment, at least according to a Bloomberg overview , which is indeed scheduled for June 5, is 'only' '‚¬310 million. There are then subsequent payments to the IMF scheduled on June 12 ('‚¬348 million), June 16 ('‚¬581 million), and June 19 (another '‚¬348 million). These are rough numbers, there are slightly different ones doing the rounds; still, they'll do.

But June 5 is by no means carved in stone as a default date ('‚¬310 million might be feasible for Athens), though Mason does make it seem like that. Every single day counts now in the negotiations. And a '‚¬310 million payment on June 5 would buy Greece at least another week. Which may prove crucial. For both sides of the negotiating table. Greece might even miss one or two payments; the consequences of such a move would be mainly a political decision, meaning there's some room to move.

We noticed, by the way, another example of 'Masonic' interpretation in the video that accompanies the article. In it, Mason claims (at about 1:10) that "..the writer of this document thinks Greek pensions are too generous even now." While it's possible that he talked to the writer, or received additional information that he doesn't mention, fact is that the document doesn't corroborate his statement in the video. There's no mention of this claim. Maybe it's Paul Mason's own opinion?!

The main sticking points with the 'institutions' now seem to be 'labor reform' (i.e. down with the unions -how IMF can you get?) and pensions. Syriza has once again said this morning that it refuses to cave in on either. And there's also the case of the 4000 or so re-hired cleaning ladies and school guards. The well-paid negotiators from Brussels and Washington want them out of their poorly paid jobs again. Not going to happen on Tsipras' watch.

Yanis Varoufakis has already made clear what Syriza thinks should be done with the debt it owes to Europe: it should be swapped for paper with a repayment schedule that stretches way into the future. Looking at (re)payment schedules, it becomes clear this is not just a hollow idea. If Europe would allow for such a swap, Greece's debt picture would change radically overnight. It would take away a large part of the burden this year:

And when this year is over, everything looks a lot sunnier:The biggest speedbump in Greece's repayment schedule is summer 2015. Take that away and things look completely different. All the institutions need to do is to provide Greece with some leeway. It's very possible to do so. If the EC, ECB and IMF decide not to allow for that leeway, there can -again- be only one conclusion, as I said before: Greece Is Now Just A Political Issue.The 'big kahuna' issue for Syriza has been, ever since it won the elections in late January, that its voters want something seemingly impossible: an end to austerity combined with continued membership of the eurozone. 'The institutions' won't let Greece have both. Which has a lot to do with the fact that polls show continued support for euro membership in Greece; it's one big hammer that Tsipras can be banged over the head with, day after day.

'The institutions', and indeed the international media, expect Greece to cave in to their demands for more austerity at the 'final moment', because the alternative would not only be horrific - at least presumably - it would go against the wishes of the Greek people. What not a lot of people seem to understand is that Syriza can't give in, because it would mean the end of Syriza.

However, if the institutions force a Greece default, that would bring a potential disintegration of the eurozone much closer than it is today. And whoever says they're confident it can be contained are delusional liars. The risks for all three, EC, ECB and IMF, would far outstrip the few billion euros on which they may receive repayment a few years later. And they should not want these risks. Not if they have functioning neurons left.

But the biggest threat to the negotiations may not come from the institutions after all. It may well come from inside Syriza. As the Greek Analyst site reported this morning:

Call For "Rupture Now" By The Political Secretariat & Central Committee Of Syriza

Prominent members of the Central Committee and the Political Secretariat of Syriza are preparing an event for tomorrow, Tuesday May 19. Quoting from the event description, as well as the title of the invitation-pamphlet, the message of the event seems quite clear: "the only way out [of the impasse] is the choice of rupture with the lenders." :

The Moment of Truth For Syriza: "Rupture now with the lenders."

The moment of truth has arrived. The lenders are pressuring the government to sign a Memorandum agreement of neoliberal strategy (privatizations, demolition of the insurance-pension system and of the labour rights, ENFIA, VAT tax, etc.)

It turns out that the agreement of the 20th of February facilitated, objectively, this attack and "creative ambiguity" favored the powerful. The assumption that a radical program of anti-austerity can be build with the tolerance of the neoliberal steering wheels of the Eurozone proved wrong. Now, we are moving to the critical hour of decisions for the government, the party of SYRIZA, and the social majority.

We need to choose between the signing of the looming austerity agreement and the rupture with the lenders. SYRIZA cannot be turned into a party of austerity; neither can the government implement the Memorandum. This is the reason why, both domestically and abroad, proposals for the internal "cleansing" of SYRIZA and governmental solutions for "national unity" are put on the table.

For all those reasons, the only way out is the choice of rupture with the lenders. With a suspension of repayments [of the debt], measures that restrict the "freedom" of capital flight, governmental control over the banks, taxation of capital and of the rich for the financing of pro-people measures, support of this policy with any and all possible means, and with the possible break from the EMU.

For all of the above, we invite you to discuss in the open event of Rproject on Tuesday 19/5 in 7:00pm at ESIEA. Today, the future of workers, unemployed, pensioners, young people is judged. And at the same time, the future of the Radical Left in Greece, but also internationally.

Anatole Kaletsky thinks Syriza will blink. I saw that a few days ago with all of its assumptions and I thought: whatever. I don't even think Kaletsky knows what Syriza is. There are too many opinions and too many assumptions out there that see the negotiations as just that: negotiations (that will end badly for Tsipras and Varoufakis). But Syriza is not just another thirteen in a dozen political party. It comes with principles that it will not and cannot sell to the highest bidder. That, more than anything else, makes this a political issue.

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Mon, 18 May 2015 22:36

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Wed, 20 May 2015 14:10

All over the world, the heavy heads of opium poppies are nodding gracefully in the wind '-- long stalks dressed in orange or white petals topped by a fright wig of stamens. They fill millions of acres in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Laos and elsewhere. Their payload '-- the milky opium juice carefully scraped off the seed pods '-- yields morphine, an excellent painkiller easily refined into heroin.

But very soon, perhaps within a year, the poppy will no longer be the only way to produce heroin's raw ingredient. It will be possible for drug companies, or drug traffickers, to brew it in yeast genetically modified to turn sugar into morphine.

Almost all the essential steps had been worked out in the last seven years; a final missing one was published Monday in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

''All the elements are in place, but the whole pathway needs to be integrated before a one-pot glucose-to-morphine stream is ready to roll,'' said Kenneth A. Oye, a professor of engineering and political science at M.I.T.

This rapid progress in synthetic biology has set off a debate about how '-- and whether '-- to regulate it. Dr. Oye and other experts said this week in a commentary in the journal Nature that drug-regulatory authorities were ill prepared to control a process that would benefit the heroin trade much more than the prescription painkiller industry. The world should take steps to head that off, they argue, by locking up the bioengineered yeast strains and restricting access to the DNA that would let drug cartels reproduce them.

Other biotech experts counter that raising the specter of fermenting heroin like beer, jokingly known among insiders as ''Brewing Bad,'' is alarmist and that Dr. Oye's proposed solutions are overkill. Although making small amounts of morphine will soon be feasible, they say, the yeasts are so fragile and the fermentation process so delicate that it is not close to producing salable quantities of heroin. Restricting DNA stifles all research, they argue, and is destined to fail just as restrictions on precursor chemicals have failed to curb America's crystal meth epidemic.

A spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration said his agency ''does not perceive an imminent threat'' because no modified yeast strain is commonly available yet. If that happens, he said, D.E.A. laboratories would be able to identify heroin made from it.

An F.B.I. agent who has been following the yeast strains since 2009 said he was glad that the debate was beginning before the technology was ready and before lawmakers moved to restrict it.

''We've learned that the top-down approach doesn't work,'' said Supervisory Special Agent Edward You, who said he coined the ''Brewing Bad'' term and had held workshops for biotech students and companies. ''We want the people in the field to be the sentinels, to recognize when someone is trying to abuse or exploit their work and call the F.B.I.''

No scientific team has yet admitted having one strain capable of the entire sugar-to-morphine pathway, but several are trying, and the Stanford lab of Christina D. Smolke is a leader. She said she expected one to be published by next year.

No one in the field thought there should be no regulation, she said, but suggestions that home brewers would soon make heroin were ''inflammatory'' because fermenting manipulated yeasts ''is a really special skill.'' Implications of research like hers should be calmly discussed by experts, she said, and Dr. Oye's commentary ''was getting people to react in a very freaked-out way.''

Robert H. Carlson, the author of ''Biology Is Technology,'' said restrictions were doomed to fail just as Prohibition failed to stop the home brewing of alcohol.

''DNA synthesis is already a democratic, low-cost technology,'' he said. ''If you restrict access, you create a black market.''

What is considered one of the last important missing steps, a way to efficiently grow a morphine precursor, (S)-reticuline, in brewer's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was published in Nature Chemical Biology on Monday by scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, and Canada's Concordia University.

The leader of the Berkeley team, John E. Dueber, said it was not trying to make morphine but 2,500 other alkaloids for which reticuline is a precursor, some of which might become antibiotics or cancer drugs.

Nonetheless, he said, since he realized his research has implications for the making of morphine, he sent his draft paper to Dr. Oye, suggesting the debate become more public.

One crucial question is whether the technology is of more use to the pharmaceutical industry or drug cartels. Dr. Oye argues it is the latter.

Companies are always seeking painkillers that create less addictive euphorias or do not paralyze breathing muscles, and having a predictable process they could tweak would be useful, but they already have a cheap, steady supply of opium from India, Turkey and Australia, where poppies are grown legally by licensed farmers.

That chain will be hard to disrupt. Since the 1960s, when it was created to convince Turkey to crack down on heroin, the International Narcotics Control Board has set quotas. Thousands of small farmers, their bankers and equipment suppliers depend on the sales, and they have local political clout just as American corn farmers do.

Also, pharmaceutical companies can already synthesize opiates in their labs. Fentanyl, a painkiller 100 times as powerful as morphine, is synthetic, as is loperamide (Imodium), an antidiarrheal opiate.

Heroin sellers, by contrast, must smuggle raw materials out of lawless Afghanistan, Laos, Myanmar and Mexico. Their supply lines are disrupted when any local power '-- from the Taliban to the United States Army '-- cracks down. Brewing near their customers would save them many costs: farmers, guards, guns, planes, bribes and so on.

One frightening prospect Dr. Oye raised was how viciously drug cartels might react if Americans with bioengineering know-how started competing with them. Gunmen from Mexican drug gangs have taken control of many secret marijuana fields in American forests.

His commentary suggested several possible steps to prevent misuse of the technology. The yeasts could be locked in secure laboratories, worked on by screened employees. Sharing them with other scientists without government permission could be outlawed.

Their DNA could be put on a watch list, as sequences for anthrax and smallpox are, so any attempt to buy them from DNA supply houses would raise flags. Chemically silent DNA ''watermarks'' could be inserted so stolen yeasts could be traced. Or the strains could be made ''wimpier and harder to grow,'' Dr. Oye said, perhaps by making them require nutrients that were kept secret.

Agent You said he did not want to comment on Dr. Oye's suggestions, but was glad a threat had been identified by scientists before it was a reality, adding, ''If this occurred across the board, it would make the F.B.I.'s life a heck of a lot easier.''

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Source: Signs of the Times

Mon, 18 May 2015 13:01

(C) Flickr/ Pieter van Marion

Iran has reportedly signaled its readiness to start supplying crude oil to Europe after sanctions are lifted against it.Tehran said on Sunday that it is ready to start exports of crude oil to Europe as soon as the economic sanctions against Iran are lifted, sources said.

In an interview with the Iranian news agency IRNA, Mohsen Qamsari, the director for international affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company, said that Iran can ship almost half of the supplies of crude previously consumed by the European market.

"The contracts will be clinched on the basis of spot deals until the European clients finish their existing annual import contracts and are ready for new contracts," Qamsari said.

He added that the Europeans have already voiced interest in resuming oil imports from Iran and that Tehran can increase oil supplies to pre-sanctions levels, "provided that the Europeans are ready for it."

At the same time, Qamsari said that even though Iran is trying to sell its oil in all markets, Asia will continue to be the country's top priority.

Iran's current oil production is estimated to stand at about 2.7 million barrels per day.

Tehran and the six world powers are still trying to reach a final nuclear deal that stipulates the lifting of a barrage of economic sanctions against Iran; in exchange, Tehran must restrict some of its uranium-enrichment activities.

The sides have until the end of June 2015 to finalize and ink the deal. A key area of anti-Iranian sanctions envisages a ban on purchase of crude oil from the Islamic Republic.

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Thu, 21 May 2015 12:11

The Federal Trade Commission's civil complaint against a group of four cancer philanthropies alleging that they bilked donors out of $187 million sent a chill through the nonprofit community. The government alleged that the scheme was run by a single family through charities known as the Cancer Fund of America, the Children's Cancer Fund of America, Cancer Support Services, the Breast Cancer Research Society. For many industry insiders, the fact that the scheme was able to go on for so long -- for four years from 2008 to 2012 -- was more alarming than the misdeeds themselves.

Here are five reasons why the perpetrators were able to evade notice by the federal government for so long:

1. The government is overwhelmed. The number of public charities has soared in recent years thanks to easy access to technology. In 2000, there were 643,000 charities registered in the United States. As of April 2015, there were 1,050,318. The Internal Revenue Service made it even easier to set one up last year by introducing a three-page electronic version, 1023-EZ, of the registration form. It approved 94,365 applications in 2014 -- more than double the previous two years. "It's easier to get set up and get going than ever before. Everybody seems to have a pet project these days and a charity to go with it," said Sandra Miniutti, chief financial officer for Charity Navigator, an independent group that rates nonprofits.

2. The names of cancer charities, even legitimate ones, are confusingly similar to one another. One of the sham charities was known as the Breast Cancer Society. One of the most respected breast cancer charities in the country is the New York-based Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Others nonprofits raising money for the cause include the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Breastcancer.org, the Breast Cancer Alliance and the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation on Tuesday sought to disassociate itself from others in the space, pointing out that it is ''the only breast cancer organization in the U.S. rated A+ by CharityWatch and holding Charity Navigator's highest rating of 4-stars 13 times since 2002.'' BCRF president Myra Biblowit said in a statement that ''it is vitally important that donors utilize established charity watchdog organizations to vet non-profits for transparency and efficiency.''

It's prudent to check out any charity before donating money. Here are five tips to remember before you decide to give. (The Washington Post)

3. The IRS is disincentivized from pursuing cases against charities. When the government puts its resources into investigating corporations or individuals, the potential payoff is often significant: revenue from unpaid taxes or interest and penalties from guilty parties that can be worth millions, said Patrick Rooney, a professor at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthrophy. But if they find fraud in nonprofits, it's often unclear where they money will go. Ethically, experts say, those funds should be given back to donors or another charity with a similar cause.

4. They used aggressive telemarketers. The four charities targeted by the FTC used contractors that made multiple calls to the same households. The use of professional fundraising companies by charities has been controversial in the nonprofit world for many years. In many cases, they pocket 85 cents to every dollar they raise. In a case before the Supreme Court in 1988, these telemarketing companies challenged a state law that required them to tell people they were calling how much of the money they were raising actually went to the charities. The companies argued that this was a free speech issue and that the requirement was tantamount to censorship. The high court sided with the companies '-- opening the doors for a lucrative industry that has become a key part of how charities, especially start-ups, operate these days.

5. A cause that tugs at the heart strings. Approximately 40 percent of Americans will get some type of cancer in their lifetime, so it's likely that a person who received a call was either suffering from cancer him or herself, or has a family member or friend with the disease. ''Let's face it. If you're giving a small gift you're not going do a lot of due diligence. They were milking the goodwill of donors," Rooney said.

Full story here: Cancer charities bilked donors out of $187 million, government says

Ariana Eunjung Cha is a national reporter for the Post. She has previously served as the newspaper's bureau chief in Beijing, Shanghai and San Francisco, a correspondent in Baghdad and as a tech reporter based in Washington.

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Wed, 20 May 2015 19:35

''Not far from the walls of Enna, there is a deep pool,'' begins Ovid's version of the rape of Persephone. ''While [Persephone] was playing in this glade, and gathering violets or radiant lilies, while with girlish fondness she filled the folds of her gown, and her basket, trying to outdo her companions in her picking, [Pluto], almost in a moment, saw her, prized her, took her: so swift as this, is love.''

The Greek myth has been recounted for thousands of years in hundreds of languages, scores of countries and countless works of art. It's considered a cultural touchstone for Western civilization: a parable about power, lust and grief.

Now, however, it could be getting a treatment it's never had before: a trigger warning.

In an op-ed in the student newspaper, four Columbia University undergrads have called on the school to implement trigger warnings '-- alerts about potentially distressing material '-- even for classics like Greek mythology or Roman poetry.

''Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' is a fixture of Lit Hum, but like so many texts in the Western canon, it contains triggering and offensive material that marginalizes student identities in the classroom,'' wrote the four students, who are members of Columbia's Multicultural Affairs Advisory Board. ''These texts, wrought with histories and narratives of exclusion and oppression, can be difficult to read and discuss as a survivor, a person of color, or a student from a low-income background.''

The April 30 op-ed has stirred debate on campus and online.

''Grow up, open up, care less about your identity and more about your passions,'' wrote one of hundreds of commenters. ''Such an insufferable breed of self-centered Care Bears.''

The op-ed comes at a time of intense debate about trigger warnings, a term that is 20 years old but only recently has become a proxy for broader issues such as political correctness, identity politics, liberal arts education and sexual assault.

The phrase can be traced back to the treatment of Vietnam War veterans in the 1980s, according to BuzzFeed's Alison Vingiano. Psychologists started identifying ''triggers'' that sent vets spiraling into flashbacks of past traumas. With the rise of the Internet in the late '90s, feminist message boards began using ''trigger warnings'' to warn readers of content that could stir up painful or paralyzing memories of sexual assault.

Trigger warnings quickly spread to include discussions of everything from eating disorders to self injury to suicide. In 2010, sex blogger Susannah Breslin wrote that feminists were using the term ''like a Southern cook applies Pam cooking spray to an overused nonstick frying pan.'' Breslin argued that trigger warnings were pointless or, even worse, self-defeating. A trigger warning is ''like a flashing neon sign, attracting *more* attention to a particularly explicit post, even as it purports to deflect the attention of those to whom it might actually be relevant.''

By 2012, The Awl's Choire Sicha argued that the phrase had ''lost all its meaning.''

''Alerts have been applied to topics as diverse as sex, pregnancy, addiction, bullying, suicide, sizeism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, slut shaming, victim-blaming, alcohol, blood, insects, small holes, and animals in wigs,'' Jenny Jarvie wrote last year in the New Republic. ''Certain people, from rapper Chris Brown to sex columnist Dan Savage, have been dubbed 'triggering.' Some have called for trigger warnings for television shows such as 'Scandal' and 'Downton Abbey.'''

But the Internet debate over trigger warnings is nothing compared to the controversy over their use on American university campuses. Last year, students at the University of California at Santa Barbara passed a resolution asking professors to put trigger warnings on class syllabuses and allow students to skip classes containing ''content that may trigger the onset of symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.''

''Oberlin College has published an official document on triggers, advising faculty members to 'be aware of racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, cissexism, ableism, and other issues of privilege and oppression,' to remove triggering material when it doesn't 'directly' contribute to learning goals and 'strongly consider' developing a policy to make 'triggering material' optional,'' Jarvie wrote. ''Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart,' it states, is a novel that may 'trigger readers who have experienced racism, colonialism, religious persecution, violence, suicide and more.' Warnings have been proposed even for books long considered suitable material for high-schoolers: Last month, a Rutgers University sophomore suggested that an alert for F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby say, 'TW: suicide, domestic abuse and graphic violence.'''

Critics on both the left and the right have expressed concern that these trigger warnings are impinging upon free speech and undermining the meaning of a liberal arts education, where students from all walks of life are exposed to new and often disturbing ideas.

''What began as a way of moderating Internet forums for the vulnerable and mentally ill now threatens to define public discussion both online and off,'' Jarvie wrote. ''The trigger warning signals not only the growing precautionary approach to words and ideas in the university, but a wider cultural hypersensitivity to harm and a paranoia about giving offense.''

''In reality, trigger warnings are unrealistic,'' argued Breslin, the sex blogger. ''They are the dream-child of a fantasy in which the unknown can be labeled, anticipated, and controlled. What trigger warnings promise '-- protection '-- does not exist. The world is simply too chaotic, too out-of-control for every trigger to be anticipated, avoided, and defused.''

''Hypersensitivity to the trauma allegedly inflicted by listening to controversial ideas approaches a strange form of derangement '-- a disorder whose lethal spread in academia grows by the day,'' Harvey Silverglate opined in the Wall Street Journal. ''What should be the object of derision, a focus for satire, is instead the subject of serious faux academic discussion and precautionary warnings. For this disorder there is no effective quarantine. A whole generation of students soon will have imbibed the warped notions of justice and entitlement now handed down as dogma in the universities.''

And yet, it's no coincidence that trigger warnings have arisen just as sexual assault finally becomes part of the national conversation. As Katie J.M. Baker pointed out in a recent BuzzFeed article, discussing rape and sexual assault simply is different than discussing other societal ills. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1 in 5 women in America have been raped. ''As far as brutal crimes go, there won't be any murder victims sitting in class, but statistically, there will likely be survivors of sexual assault,'' Baker wrote.

''Of course I understand the import of studying rape in law school,'' one Harvard Law graduate told Baker. ''That I expect rape to be taught with the understanding that 1 in 5 women are assaulted while in college, and therefore there are very likely survivors sharing the law school classroom does not mean I am afraid. It means I care.''

In their op-ed, the Columbia undergrads '-- all women of color '-- recount the story of another female student.

''During the week spent on Ovid's 'Metamorphoses,' the class was instructed to read the myths of Persephone and Daphne, both of which include vivid depictions of rape and sexual assault,'' they write. ''As a survivor of sexual assault, the student described being triggered while reading such detailed accounts of rape throughout the work. However, the student said her professor focused on the beauty of the language and the splendor of the imagery when lecturing on the text. As a result, the student completely disengaged from the class discussion as a means of self-preservation. She did not feel safe in the class. When she approached her professor after class, the student said she was essentially dismissed, and her concerns were ignored.''

The students then call on Columbia to ''issue a letter to faculty about potential trigger warnings and suggestions for how to support triggered students'' and institute ''a mechanism for students to communicate their concerns to professors anonymously, as well as a mediation mechanism for students who have identity-based disagreements with professors.''

''Finally, the center should create a training program for all professors, including faculty and graduate instructors, which will enable them to constructively facilitate conversations that embrace all identities, share best practices, and think critically about how the Core Curriculum is framed for their students,'' the students write.

Conservative critics claim that the Columbia students want to silence class discussion of certain texts.

''The hyperbolic language of trauma that's used! Sheesh,'' wrote Elizabeth Nolan Brown in Reason. ''Apparently this discussion of Ovid was so threatening it was a matter of self-preservation to ignore it. If that's really true '-- if the mere discussion of rape causes this student to feel panicked and physically unsafe '-- than she needs help treating severe post-traumatic stress disorder, not a f'--'-- trigger warning.''

''Op-eds like this are a call for academic vandalism, defacing culture and history with the ugly graffiti of modern class, race, and sex-war politics,'' John Hayward wrote in a Breitbart blog titled ''Campus special snowflakes melt upon contact with Greek mythology.''

In the case of the Columbia students, however, they say they want more discussion, not less. A trigger warning on Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' might help a student who has suffered sexual assault stay engaged by offering her a chance to discuss the brutality in the text '-- not just its beauty.

''Our vision for this training is not to infringe upon the instructors' academic freedom in teaching the material,'' the students conclude. ''Rather, it is a means of providing them with effective strategies to engage with potential conflicts and confrontations in the classroom, whether they are between students or in response to the material itself. Given these tools, professors will be able to aid in the inclusion of student voices which presently feel silenced.''

Michael E. Miller is a foreign affairs reporter for The Washington Post. He writes for the Morning Mix news blog. Tweet him: @MikeMillerDC

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Thu, 21 May 2015 02:48

WILMINGTON, Del. May 19 The bankruptcy of Corinthian Colleges Inc, one of the biggest for-profit college chains, has set off a scramble to find a way to wipe away billions of dollars of student loans for those who attended its campuses.

More than 50 consumer and labor organizations sent a joint petition on Tuesday to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, urging him to cancel federal student loans owed by 78,000 who attended Corinthian schools.

The groups, including the National Consumer Law Center, said the Department of Education had the authority because Corinthian misrepresented its job placement rates and defrauded students by enrolling them in high-cost, low-quality classes.

Corinthian settled allegations about misrepresenting job placements with the California attorney general in 2007.

NCLC lawyer Robyn Smith said there was no precedent for the department to cancel student debt in the way the groups were urging.

"Unfortunately, they haven't used this authority before," she said.

The Department of Education said it had not decided how any debt relief would work.

"Our administration is committed to making sure students who have been defrauded or whose schools closed receive every penny of debt relief that they are entitled to," said Assistant Press Secretary Denise Horn. "We will make that as easy as possible for students, and we will hold institutions accountable."

Scott Gautier, a lawyer representing an official committee of students, said in an email that student debt "should be recognized as Corinthian's ill-gotten gains and should be recovered, if at all possible, directly by the government from Corinthian."

Corinthian entered Chapter 11 with $143 million in debt and about $19 million in assets, according to court documents.

The company operated the Heald College, Everest and WyoTech schools and offered degrees in healthcare and trades. In 2014, it sold 56 campuses to Education Credit Management Corp, a company known for fighting attempts to discharge student loans in bankruptcy.

In April, Corinthian closed the last 28 of its campuses without warning, leaving 16,000 students unable to complete their classes. Those students can apply for a loan discharge, according to the Department of Education.

Creditors could target Corinthian executives, who reaped millions in annual salaries, according to regulatory filings.

On Monday, top current and former Corinthian executives said in court papers that they were seeking liability insurance money to pay for their mounting legal costs stemming from criminal and civil actions. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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Source: Hurriyet Daily News

Tue, 19 May 2015 20:54

BRUSSELS - Reuters

Defence ministers from (L-R) France, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Germany, Ursula von der Leyen and Italy, Roberta Pinotti sign an agreement to develop a European combat drone fin a 2025 timeframe, at the European Council, in Brussels, on May 18, 2015. AFP Photo

Italy, France and Germany agreed on May 18 to develop a European drone program for reconnaissance and surveillance, seeking to inject momentum into a proposal first considered in 2013 to reduce reliance on U.S. and Israeli technology. In a joint signing ceremony, the defense ministers of the three countries pledged a two-year study to lay the basis for a European drone to be operating by 2025 and said Spain and Poland had expressed interest in joining the plan.

''It's a very important step for European cooperation, a critical cooperation which we must have at our disposal in many theatres of operation,'' French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said, alongside his German and Italian counterparts.

After false starts at the national level, the three countries appear ready to cooperate on research into drone technologies. Competing national needs, corporate rivalry and a lack of government support have undermined past efforts.

Airbus, Dassault and Alenia Aermacchi are likely to develop the drones.

Large drones operated by European armed forces are mostly based on U.S. or Israeli designs, creating a dependence on foreign technology that some European companies and officials see as bad for European industry and military capabilities.

The EU's aim is to develop a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) drone, a category that can fly at an altitude of up to 9,000 meters for 24 hours.

It wants a flexible surveillance drone that could be used for civilian purposes such as border control, fire-fighting and disaster monitoring. One EU diplomat said they could also have a military role, carrying weapons.

May/18/2015

PHOTO GALLERY

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Thu, 21 May 2015 02:25

At first, euphemisms surfaced in the workplace to help people deal with touchy subjects that were difficult to talk about. Before long, they morphed into corporate buzzwords that expanded and took over our vocabulary until our everyday conversations started sounding like they were taking place on another planet:

Listen Ray, I don't have the bandwidth for it with everything that's on my plate, but ping me anyway because at the end of the day it's on my radar and I don't want to be thrown under the bus because I didn't circle back around on this no-brainer.

I understand the temptation. These catchphrases are spicy and they make you feel clever (low-hanging fruit is a crutch of mine), but they also annoy the hell out of people.

If you think that you can use these phrases without consequence, you're kidding yourself. Just pay close attention to how other people react to your using them, and you'll see that these phrases don't cast you in a favorable light.

After all, TalentSmart has tested the emotional intelligence of more than a million people and one of the biggest need areas for most people is social awareness. Most of us are so focused on what we're saying and what we're going to say next that we lose sight of how our words affect other people.

So give this list a read, think of how often you use some of these words, and see if you can catch yourself before you use them again.

Have some fun with it, because at the end of the day if you don't hit the ground running you can always go back to the drawing board and get the ball rolling...

At the end of the dayBack to the drawing boardHit the ground runningGet the ball rollingLow-hanging fruitThrow under the busThink outside the boxLet's touch baseGet my manager's blessingIt's on my radarPing meI don't have the bandwidthNo brainerPar for the courseBang for your buckSynergyMove the goal postApples to applesWin-winCircle back aroundAll hands on deckTake this offlineDrill-downElephant in the roomOn my platePlease share them in the comments section below.

It'll also be fun to read the ridiculous sentences you can come up with using words from the list above (write them in the comments). I'll send an autographed copy of my book to whoever comes up with the phrase that makes me laugh the hardest.

Because, after all, I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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Thu, 21 May 2015 11:54

Kim Jong-un has executed people using anti-aircraft guns and wild dogsHis latest victims were senior military leaders killed for failing their troopsKim, it is claimed, wanted to have his army better fed with more rice Among his latest victims is So Hong-chan, his deputy chief of defence By Darren Boyle for MailOnline

Published: 05:59 EST, 21 May 2015 | Updated: 05:59 EST, 21 May 2015

Kim Jong-un has continued his ruthless purge of top-ranking officials with another raft of executions '' this time over their failure to give soldiers more food.

In the latest cull, the North Korean despot is said to have ordered the death of his vice armed forces minister, So Hong-chan, and several others close to him for not following his orders.

Kim recently ordered the execution of his chief of defence Hyon Yong-chol who was understood to have fallen asleep during an overly-long meeting.

Kim Jong-un, pictured, has been purging his senior military ranks over fears of disloyalty

The murderous leader had earlier ordered the execution of his uncle Jang Song-Thaek, second left

It was reported that the unfortunate general was blasted by an anti-aircraft gun from less than 100 yards for his treasonous activities.

However, now Kim has begun killing off those who were seen to be close to the former defence chief as he has concerns over their continuing loyalty.

Among those who have believed to have been executed is So Hong-chan, who was appointed to his position in November 2013.

Observers believe So has also been purged because he was not seen during Kim's visit to the Kumsusan Place of the Sun where the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather have been placed on display.

Executed: North Korea's defence minister Hyon Yong-Chol has reportedly been executed by an anti-aircraft gun in Pyongyang after falling asleep during meetings and talking back to leader Kim Jong Un

Sick: Hyon Yong-Chol (right), who was named Minister of the People's Armed Forces in 2012, had been charged with of disloyalty and disrespect towards North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un (left)

So was photographed with Kim on earlier visits to the unusual memorial. He was last seen publicly during one of Kim's 'field guidance' visits, where the dictator offers advice to his people.

It is believed that senior military officials are being punished for their failure to increase the rice allowance for the nation's soldiers.

Hyon Yong-Chol, 66, who was named head of North Korea's military in 2012, was killed in front of hundreds of bloodthirsty officials at a military camp in the capital Pyongyang on April 30.

It is not the first time a ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun has been used for executions in North Korea, with recently released satellite images showing a number of unidentified people being killed using the brutal method at the same camp last October.

Those images showed the targets just 100 feet from the guns, which have a range of 26,000 feet.

Exposed: Earlier this month satellite pictures revealed for the first time that Kim's regime were using anti-aircraft weapons to brutally execute people in front on hundreds of people

'Pulverized': A ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun is believed to have been used to brutally execute Hyon Yong-Chol

Han Ki-Beom, deputy director of South Korea's National Intelligence Agency, told a parliamentary committee that hundreds of officials watched the execution in Pyongyang on April 30.

The intelligence service told politicians that Hyon was killed by an anti-aircraft gun at Kang Kon Military Academy - a method cited in various unconfirmed reports as being reserved for senior officials who the leadership wishes to make examples of.

Hyon was apparently caught falling asleep during formal military events and is said to have also spoken back to Kim Jong-Un on several occasions.

Lawmaker Shin Kyoung-min, who attended the parliamentary briefing during which news of the execution was announced, said the NIS believed it to be true.

Hong Hyun-ik, chief researcher at the Sejong Institute, a security think tank based in Seoul, told local broadcaster YTN that the anti-artillery gun used would have left the body utterly unrecognizable.

'Because there are several guns bound together, it would be hard to find the body after firing it once. It's really gruesome. What they did would have ripped all his flesh off, done in the manner of 'let's see what sort of punishment this is.'

Kim Jong inspects maps as he observes huge military display

Hyon (right), who is in his sixties, was apparently caught dozing off during formal military events and also talked back to leader Kim Jong-Un (left) on several occasions. It is believed he was executed on April 30

FACING THE FIRING SQUAD... OR A PACK OF HUNGRY DOGS Hyon Yong-Chol is the latest in a long line of officials and aides to fall victim to North Korea's trigger-happy president.

Since he rose to power in 2011, more than 70 officials have been purged by Kim Jong-un, according to Yonhap news agency.

While Kim usually opts for firing squads using machine guns, there have been reports of officials being killed using mortar rounds and it was claimed he had his uncle eaten alive by a pack of starving dogs.

It was claimed that Kim had Jang Song-Thaek, once his political mentor, executed in late 2013 by having him stripped naked and thrown into a cage with his five closest aides before he was eaten alive by 120 dogs that had been deliberately starved - while the president watched.

Jang was detained on an array of charges, including treason and corruption.

Kim had described his 67-year-old uncle '' who was married to his father's sister '' as a traitor, a womaniser and a 'despicable human scum'.

As well as disloyal aides, Kim also reportedly had an ex-girlfriend executed over claims that she had appeared in a porn film.

South Korean newspapers said singer Hyon Song-wol and 11 other members of performing groups were accused of making videos of themselves having sex and selling the videos for distribution in China.

Other band members as well as the families of the victims were made to watch the mass execution.

Since the start of the year, 16 senior officials are thought to have been executed - included two at vice-minister level - for opposing or complaining about Kim's policies.

The execution was initially reported by South Korea's Yonhap news agency, although reports from North Korea are impossible to independently confirm.

The lawmakers said Hyon was executed at a firing range at the Kanggon Military Training Area, which is located 14 miles north of the capital Pyongyang.

The satellite pictures revealed for the first time that Kim's regime were using anti-aircraft weapons to brutally execute people in front on hundreds of people.

The images, which have been released by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and AllSource Analysis, were taken in October last year.

They appear to show six ZPU-4 anti-aircraft guns being used to shoot a line of people stood 100 yards away, with a viewing platform located nearby.

Outraged critics said the victims would have been 'pulverised' by the artillery fire, in what they described as the latest example of brutality employed by the dictator to suppress his own people.

Hyon was last known to have spoken publicly at a security conference in Moscow in April, but is said to have shown disrespect to Kim by dozing off at a subsequent military event.

He was also believed to have stood up to and publicly complained about Kim, and had not ignored official orders on multiple occasions, according to the lawmakers.

Hyon is understood to have been arrested late last month and executed three days later without legal proceedings.

Hyon is believed to have been a military general since 2010 and served on the committee for late leader Kim Jong-il's funeral in December 2011, before becoming defence minister.

In North Korea, the defence minister is mainly in charge of logistics and international exchanges.

Policy-making is handled by the powerful National Defence Commission and the party Central Military Commission.

Since taking power upon the death of his dictator father in late 2011, Kim Jong Un has orchestrated a series of purges in apparent efforts to bolster his grip on power.

Experts on North Korea said there was no sign of instability in Pyongyang, but there could be if the purges continued.

Kim ordered the execution of 15 senior officials this year as punishment for challenging his authority, according to the NIS. In all, around 70 officials have been executed since Kim took over after his father's death in 2011, Yonhap news agency cited the NIS as saying.

Analysts are split on whether the bloody power shifts indicate a young leader in firm control, or someone still struggling to establish himself.

Han Ki-Beom, the deputy director of the National Intelligence Agency (NIS), told a parliamentary committee that hundreds of officials watched the execution of minister Hyon Yong Chol (right) in Pyongyang on April 30

Hyon Yong-Chol would often be pictured in propaganda photographs released by North Korean state media

Prince of Pyongyang: Appearances of Kim Jong Un

'North Korean internal politics is very volatile these days. Internally, there does not seem to be any respect for Kim Jong Un within the core and middle levels of the North Korean leadership,' said Michael Madden, an expert on the country's leadership and contributor to the 38 North think tank.

'There is no clear or present danger to Kim Jong Un's leadership or regime stability, but if this continues to happen into next year, then we should seriously start to think about revising our scenarios on North Korea,' he added.

Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea leadership expert at Dongguk University in Seoul, said the regime could 'reach its limit' if Kim's purges continued, but added: 'it's still too early to tell.'

North Korea is one of the most insular countries in the world and its ruling power structure is highly opaque.

The current leader is the third generation of the Kim family that has ruled with near-absolute power since the country was established in 1948.

In 2013, Kim purged and executed his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, once considered the second most powerful man in Pyongyang's leadership circle, for factionalism and committing crimes damaging to the economy, along with a group of officials close to him.

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Thu, 21 May 2015 14:26

(C) CNN

The Chinese navy issued warnings eight times as a U.S. surveillance plane on Wednesday swooped over islands that Beijing is using to extend its zone of influence.The series of man-made islands and the massive Chinese military build-up on them have alarmed the Pentagon, which is carrying out the surveillance flights in order to make clear the U.S. does not recognize China's territorial claims. The militarized islands have also alarmed America's regional allies.

Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell toldCNN's Erin Burnett Wednesday night that the confrontation indicates there is "absolutely" a risk of the U.S. and China going to war sometime in the future.

A CNN team was given exclusive access to join in the surveillance flights over the contested waters, which the Pentagon allowed for the first time in order to raise awareness about the challenge posed by the islands and the growing U.S. response.CNN was aboard the P8-A Poseidon, America's most advanced surveillance and submarine-hunting aircraft, and quickly learned that the Chinese are themselves displeased by the U.S. pushback.

"This is the Chinese navy ... This is the Chinese navy ... Please go away ... to avoid misunderstanding," a voice in English crackled through the radio of the aircraft in which CNN was present.

This is the first time the Pentagon has declassified video of China's building activity and audio of Chinese challenges of a U.S. aircraft.

The aircraft flew at 15,000 feet in the air at its lowest point, but the U.S. is considering flying such surveillance missions even closer over the islands, as well as sailing U.S. warships within miles of them, as part of the new, more robust U.S. military posture in the area.

Soon after the Chinese communication was heard, its source appeared on the horizon seemingly out of nowhere: an island made by China some 600 miles from its coastline.

The South China Sea is the subject of numerous rival -- often messy -- territorial claims over an area that includes fertile fishing grounds and potentially rich reserves of undersea natural resources. China is increasingly showing that even far from its mainland, it sees itself as having jurisdiction over the body of water.

Wednesday's mission was specifically aimed at monitoring Chinese activities on three islands that months ago were reefs barely peaking above the waves. Now they are massive construction projects that the U.S. fears will soon be fully functioning military installations.

China's alarming creation of entirely new territory in the South China Sea is one part of a broader military push that some fear is intended to challenge U.S. dominance in the region. Beijing is sailing its first aircraft carrier; equipping its nuclear missiles with multiple warheads; developing missiles to destroy U.S. warships; and, now, building military bases far from its shores.

That's exactly what Morell warned may be coming if China continues down its current path. He warned on CNN that "there's a real risk, when you have this kind of confrontation, for something bad happening."

He added that China's aggressive growth hints at a broader trend as the Asian economic superpower continues to expand its influence and strength -- one that Morell said could "absolutely" lead to war between the U.S. and China.

"China is a rising power. We're a status quo power. We're the big dog on the block ... They want more influence," he said. "Are we going to move a little bit? Are they going to push? How is that dance going to work out? This is a significant issue for the next President of the United States."

War is "not in their interests, (and) it's not in our interests," Morell acknowledged."But absolutely, it's a risk," he said.

"I'm scratching my head like everyone else as to what's the (Chinese) end game here. We have seen increased activity even recently on what appears to be the building of military infrastructure," Capt. Mike Parker, commander of the fleet of P8 and P3 surveillance aircraft deployed to Asia, told CNN aboard the P8.

"We were just challenged 30 minutes ago and the challenge came from the Chinese navy, and I'm highly confident it came from ashore, this facility here," Parker said of the Chinese message for the U.S. plane to move away, as he pointed to an early warning radar station on an expanded Fiery Cross Reef.

In just two years, China has expanded these islands by 2,000 acres -- the equivalent of 1,500 football fields -- and counting, an engineering marvel in waters as deep as 300 feet.

In video filmed by the P8's surveillance cameras, we see that in addition to early warning radar, Fiery Cross Reef is now home to military barracks, a lofty lookout tower and a runway long enough to handle every aircraft in the Chinese military. Some call it China's "unsinkable aircraft carrier."

In a sign of just how valuable China views these islands to be, the new islands are already well protected.

From the cockpit, Lt. Cmdr Matt Newman told CNN, "There's obviously a lot of surface traffic down there: Chinese warships, Chinese coast guard ships. They have air search radars, so there's a pretty good bet they're tracking us."

The proof was loud and clear. The Chinese navy ordered the P8 out of the airspace eight times on this mission alone.

Each time, the American pilots told them calmly and uniformly that the P8 was flying through international airspace.

That answer sometimes frustrated the Chinese radio operator on the other end.

Once he responds with exasperation: "This is the Chinese navy ... You go!"

This is a military-to-military stand-off in the skies, but civilian aircraft can find themselves in the middle.

As was heard on the first of several Chinese warning on the radio, the pilot of a Delta flight in the area spoke on the same frequency, quickly identifying himself as commercial. The voice on the radio then identified himself as "the Chinese Navy" and the Delta flight went on its way.

The more China builds, U.S. commanders told CNN, the more frequently and aggressively the Chinese navy warns away U.S. military aircraft.

Over Fiery Cross Reef and, later, Mischief Reef, fleets of dozens of dredgers could be seen hard at work, sucking sand off the bottom of the sea and blowing it in huge plumes to create new land above the surface, while digging deep harbors below.

"We see this every day," Parker said. "I think they work weekends on this because we see it all the time."

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Thu, 21 May 2015 14:17

Personalized medicine is the way of the future, according to the billionaire and owner of the Dallas Mavericks. New data analytics will aid physicians to better understand their patients' needs and potentially begin to diagnose diseases in earlier stages than traditional methods.

Cuban has invested in companies such as Mobile OCT, which has created a mobile colposcope to help improve cervical cancer detection. He's also financed Electrozyme, which focuses on temporary tattoos that analyze the chemical compounds of sweat, and Validic, a company that makes data collection easier for health-care companies and physicians via mobile health apps and devices.

Read MoreHow to make $100 million selling optimism

"You don't live in the world you were born into," he added. Cuban expects that humanity will reach a point in the next few decades where scientists will be forced to rewrite the human genome altogether.

"There is going to be a time 25 years from now that, depending on what happens with global warming or the lack thereof, or however you want to think about it, where we are going to try and reverse engineer evolution and natural selection. We're going to say, since already screwed up or enhanced the Earth, how can we change ourselves in order to match what our environment is going to be?"

Yes, he's talking about genetically modified humans.

"It's already happening," said Cuban. "It's just who makes it work. How do we deal with it? Do we allow it? Do we not allow it? What are the ethics?"

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Thu, 21 May 2015 03:28

See more in the cross-post on the NewsBusters blog.

While Monday's editions of the CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News refused to criticize the Obama administration on ISIS after the fall of Ramadi, the pair did devote time to hyping President Obama's opening of an official Twitter account (to go along with his campaign account).

In the case of the CBS Evening News, the story received both a tease and fawning news brief as anchor Scott Pelley gushed in the tease that ''[n]o sitting president has done what this sitting president did today.''

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Thu, 21 May 2015 03:18

Milwaukee County, Wis., Sheriff David Clarke on Tuesday addressed what he called a "myth" that police kill more black males than any other race in testimony at the House Judiciary Committee's hearing titled, "Policing Strategies for the 21st Century."

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Thu, 21 May 2015 03:04

[See NewsBusters for more.] Journalists on all three networks, Wednesday, covered Hillary Clinton talking to reporters for the first time in a month, offering a slightly annoyed tone. Yet, ABC's Good Morning America managed to do the story without any Republican critics and with George Stephanopoulos returning to anchor the segment. GMA correspondent Cecilia Vega underlined, "Twenty eight days. That's how long Hillary Clinton went without taking questions from reporters and believe me, we have been asking." At the actual news conference, Vega pressed, "You're in the tip-top echelon of earners in this country. How do you expect everyday Americans to relate to you?" Stephanopoulos, who has been under a firestorm of criticism for secretly donating $75,000 to the Clinton Foundation, returned to introduce the story. On Tuesday, the co-host was noticeably absent from the Clinton segment and Robin Roberts substituted.

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Thu, 21 May 2015 02:35

In his Pakistani redoubt where he hid for years from American intelligence services, Osama bin Laden worked as a CEO-in-exile for al Qaeda, sending letters to his operatives, critiquing the current state of jihad, and offering strategic lessons on staying relevant and out of harm's way, newly released documents show.

The records, among thousands recovered in a May 1, 2011, Navy SEAL raid on the Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound in which he was killed, offer fascinating and confounding clues into his cloistered life, and al Qaeda's efforts to develop new lines of attack and recruit members. They show bin Laden as a determined terrorist but also as a detail-oriented bureaucrat and as a man who worried about his family.

Made public Wednesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence '-- all under the heading "Bin Laden's Bookshelf" '-- the documents span the terror chief's private life. They include personal letters, internal al Qaeda messages and operational analyses. They also include publicly available material '-- government reports, religious tracts, news articles and maps.

In a 2008 letter to one of his wives, bin Laden outlined his wishes in the event that he was killed, asking that their daughters be wed to mujahidin "or else to good people," and that their son be sent to do jihadist battle.

Also among bin Laden's collection was an al Qaeda job application that asked a lot of typical questions '-- past jobs, career objectives, criminal convictions '-- along with, "Do you want to execute a suicide operation?" and, "Who should we contact in case you became a martyr?"

In what is described as a "verbally released document" addressing an operative's criminal trial, bin Laden stated his broad goals for jihad. "By God, we shall not stop, God willing, except at the doorsteps of the White House, and to raise the banner of monotheism on their so-called Statue of Liberty," he said.

In an undated letter, bin Laden urged jihadists to establish "bases" outside of Afghanistan "because this country is not only one of the biggest supporters of the international infidel, but is its guide and one of its main partners."

The documents also include bin Laden's library of English-language books, which indulged his interest in conspiracy theories about the United States.

The titles included:

"Confessions of an Economic Hitman," a bestseller that examined what author John Perkins called "the secret history of events that have created the current American Empire.""The Secrets of the Federal Reserve" by Eustace Mullins, an anti-Semite who alleged that America's central banking system was created from a conspiracy involving politicians, monopolists and European and Jewish bankers.A copy of a 1977 joint Congressional hearing on Project MKULTRA, the CIA's program of research into behavioral modification."Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies" by the philosopher Noam Chomsky."Bloodlines of the Illuminati" by Fritz Springmeier, billed an expose of a secret society that control the world.AAMIR QURESHIPakistani media personnel and local residents gather outside the hideout of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden following his death by US Special Forces.

Bin Laden also read books and articles that questioned the official narrative on the 9/11 attacks, which he financed.

He kept a copy of a 2005 Los Angeles Times review of a documentary that argued that politicians, the security industry and media had over-hyped the threat of international terrorism.

And, not surprisingly, he was attracted to writers who analyzed and criticized America's foreign policy, in particular its war against terrorism. Among the books on that subject were "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror" by retired CIA agent Michael Scheuer, who ran the CIA's bin Laden department, and "Obama's Wars" by Washington Post writer and Watergate legend Bob Woodward.

Books on counter-insurgency and guerrilla operations and a handbook on international law were also found. So was part of an article from Time about AOL's declining stock.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the documents as part of an intense review of material collected in the raid as mandated by the 2014 Intelligence Authorization Act. More documents remain under consideration for release.

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., who pushed for the documents to be made public, said on Wednesday that the first batch was "a step in the right direction" toward declassifying the entire trove.

'-- with Tony Capra and Daniel Arkin

First published May 20 2015, 8:09 AM

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Thu, 21 May 2015 01:33

European negotiators have just days to conclude an agreement with Greece or a critical payment to the IMF on 5 June is likely to be missed, according to a leaked document seen by Channel 4 News.

See the full, leaked, confidential document, below.

In an memo dated 14 May, the IMF's staff state:

''There will be no possibility for the Greek authorities to repay the whole amount unless an agreement is reached with international partners.''

They point to the '‚¬1.5bn due to the IMF in June as the first vulnerable payment.

Channel 4 News understands Greek negotiators made clear last week that the '‚¬1.56bn owed to the IMF in June, beginning with a payment on 5 June, cannot be paid without a deal.

The IMF memo confirms that there has been ''some recent progress'' in negotiations between Greece and its lenders: on VAT reform, tax collection and regulations that would make it easier for Greek companies to go bust and be restructured.

But the tight timetable, and growing tension between the IMF and the Europeans, mean next week's Euro summit in Riga looks like the last chance to do a deal before Greece technically defaults on a payment to the IMF in early June.

This assessment goes further than the formal words used at the conclusion of the Eurogroup last week, and confirms there is momentum towards a deal.

'Quick and dirty'The IMF names the outstanding issues as: pension reform, deregulating the labour market, and the re-hiring of 4,000 former civil servants as the issues preventing a deal. The document acknowledges progress on labour reform ''in the past'', signalling that the rehiring and pensions issues are what stand between Greece and a deal this week.

But the document reveals critical differences between the EU, ECB and IMF that could lead to a collapse of the negotiations. Basically, the EU is looking for a deal that papers over the cracks and takes the Greek banking system off life support, while the memo confirms the IMF's own rules do not allow what it calls a ''quick and dirty'' outcome.

But the ''progress'' has triggered a major row behind the scenes between the EU and the IMF.

Debt defaultThe EU negotiators, by agreeing to drop their demands for Greece to run a 3 per cent of GDP budget surplus in the next two years, have paved the way for an interim deal that would allow them to reprieve the Greek banking system, currently on temporary life support.

But the IMF document says, ''it was made clear that no disbursement will be made until a full staff level agreement on a comprehensive review is reached''. The document concludes by reiterating that the IMF has to ''play by the rules and not obscure the fund's mandate''.

In a critical passage, albeit in coded language, the IMF staff outline major differences with the Europeans:

''While staff emphasised they are not pushing the European partners to consider debt relief, at the same time staff noted the numbers need to add up. In particular it was noted there is an inverse relationship between reforms and sustainability.''

This translates as: the more austerity the Europeans demand, the bigger the chance that Greece defaults on its debts. And the IMF '' unlike the EU '' cannot sign off on a plan where austerity provokes a debt default. Greek government sources believe the IMF could seek to offload its loans to Greece onto the European Stability Mechanism created during the debt crisis of 2010, if its own rules leave it unable to sign off a deal done this month.

Meanwhile Greek economy and public finances are deteriorating rapidly. The IMF noted that:

''non-performing loans are at very high levels and '' going forward '' the system might suffer from important stress. The staff also noted a dramatic deterioration in the payment culture in the country''.

This last refers to the near gridlock of the Greek system of inter-company payments as betwen '‚¬30 and '‚¬35bn has flowed out of the banking system '' into the cash economy and abroad '' since Syriza came to power.

Follow @paulmasonnews on Twitter.

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Thu, 21 May 2015 00:50

Milwaukee County, Wis., Sheriff David Clarke (AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) - Milwaukee County, Wis., Sheriff David Clarke on Tuesday addressed what he called a ''myth'' that police kill more black males than any other race in testimony at the House Judiciary Committee's hearing titled, ''Policing Strategies for the 21st Century.''

''It is a myth that police kill black males in greater numbers than anyone else,'' Clarke said, citing statistics provided by the University of Toledo, which contrasts, what he called ''the false narrative propagated by cop haters and the liberal mainstream media.''

Clarke referenced ''the police use of force data,'' compiled by Richard Johnson, PhD and titled, ''Examining the Prevalence of Deaths from Police Use of Force,'' which shows that between 2009 and 2012, the majority of those who died at the hands of police were white males.

Specifically, 61 percent or 915 of 1,491 people who died from police use of force were white males, while 32 percent or 481 were black males, Clarke noted.

The same report cited FBI data showing that ''of the 56,259 homicides from 2009 to 2012, 19,000 (33.8%) were killings of black males.'' In comparison, ''481 (2.5%) were the result of police use of force.''

''Private citizens killed a quarter more black males in justifiable homicides than did police use of force,'' the report said.

''Black-on-black crime is the elephant in the room that few want to talk about. We can talk about police use of force but it doesn't start with transforming the police profession,'' said Clarke. ''It starts by asking why we need so much assertive policing in the American ghetto.

''Are police officers perfect? Not by any stretch of the imagination. Are police agencies perfect? Not'... even'... close. But we are the best our communities have to offer,'' he added.

Later in the hearing, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said the percentage of whites who kill whites is 83 percent. ''Now is white-on-white violence a problem in America that we should also have a robust discussion about?'' Jeffries asked Clarke.

''Violence in America in general is problematic, but if you look at the rates, that's where it starts coming a little more into balance in terms of the data I've seen, and I've looked at a lot of it. The white-on-white crime does happen '' 80 percent figure you put out there '' but when you look at the rates of it, these two are not even close,'' Clarke said.

''Right, the rates are roughly equivalent in terms of the context of people who live next to each other and because of housing segregation patterns or just where people tend to live in America, ethnic violence tends to occur '' racial violence '' within the same group, and so elevating it beyond that fact, I think, is irresponsible,'' said Jeffries.

''We all want to deal with the black-on-black violence problem. Now it was mentioned that there's a cooperation issue in the black-on-black violence context. I don't think I've heard the phrase mentioned: blue wall of silence,'' he added.

''So if we're gonna have a conversation about cooperation, when someone crosses the line, it seems to me to make sense that we also have to deal with what may be another elephant in the room '' to use your term, Sheriff Clark '' the blue wall of silence, that the overwhelming majority of officers are good officers, but what often occurs is that when an officer crosses the line, the ethic is not to cooperate or participate or speak on what a bad apple officer has done,'' Jeffries said.

Jeffries asked Clarke whether the reaction to the Eric Garner case was ''a false narrative that people in the city of New York and the country are reacting to.''

''Now was the reaction to the Eric Garner case, who was choked to death using a procedure that had been banned by the NYPD for more than 20 years, wasn't resisting arrest, said 'I can't breathe,' 11 times on 11 different occasions. There was no response by all of the police officers who were there. Was that a false narrative that people in the city of New York and the country are reacting to, sir?'' Jeffries asked.

''Mr. Chair, Congressman, first of all, he wasn't choked to death, not from the report that I had seen out of the grand jury testimony and even from the medical examiner's report. He wasn't choked to death,'' said Clarke.

''Medical examiner ruled the death a homicide by asphyxiation. In the ghetto, that's called being choked to death, sir,'' said Jeffries.

''Well we could have this conversation later on then about the facts, because we could be here for awhile. My understanding is he died of a heart attack, okay? So, but anyway, you said that he wasn't resisting arrest,'' Clarke replied.

''He was resisting arrest. He was told that he was under arrest and put his '... hands behind his back, and he wouldn't do so, and that's why I put in my remarks here the reference from Thomas Sowell about, when law enforcement officers tell someone they're under arrest, and they can't use force to execute that arrest, we don't have the rule of law when it's merely a suggestion for them that they're going to jail or to put their hands behind their back,'' he said.

''Those are behaviors, like in the incidence of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, where some different choices by the individual could have helped the situation. In other words, Mike Brown was just simply told to get out of the street,'' Clarke added.

''Sir, my time has expired, but for you to come here and testify essentially that Eric Garner's responsible for his own death when he was targeted by police officers for allegedly selling loose cigarettes, which was an administrative violation for which he got the death penalty for is outrageous, and if we are going to have a responsible conversation, we've got to be able to at least agree on a common set of reasonable facts that all Americans can interpret, particularly in this incidence because they caught the whole thing on videotape,'' concluded Jeffries.

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Wed, 20 May 2015 19:29

Although this pair of CEOs are vegans, they're adamant about not preaching veganism or vegetarianism to the masses. Instead, they say they are part of the sustainable food movement, which includes the existing spate of soy-based meat substitutes as well as organics and free-range animals.

They're among a growing group of global leaders who are making it their business to confront the dramatic growth of the world's population, estimated to exceed 9 billion by 2050, which would require raising overall food production by at least 70 percent, the FAO reports. A huge burden on the planet's livestock, land, water and other resources.

So while Brown and Tetrick decry the global multitrillion-dollar Big Food industry for wreaking havoc on farm animals and the environment, they're also passionate about pioneering better-for-you alternatives that make great business sense'--just without proselytizing. And although they're confident that their plant-based products, bioengineered to mimic beef and eggs, will appeal to omnipresent omnivores, like-minded venture capitalists are already voracious.

Read MoreFULL LIST: 2015 DISRUPTOR 50

"I'm interested in both companies because they're disrupting the food industry, which is long overdue," said Samir Kaul, a partner at Khosla Ventures, the first among numerous VC firms and private investors to have infused $120 million into Hampton Creek and $75 million into Impossible Foods. "Both of them are providing food that is as good if not better, as cheap if not cheaper, and much healthier and more humanely made."

Similarly, socially-minded financial backers of those and other food-tech start-ups'--such as Beyond Meat, Modern Meadow, Unreal Candy, Nu-Tek Salt and Bright Farms'--include Microsoft's Bill Gates, Peter Thiel of Founders Fund, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's Horizons Ventures, and twin brothers and serial investors Ali and Hadi Partovi.

That's because the market these disruptive companies are targeting is ripe for change. "Raising meat takes a great deal of land and water and has a substantial environmental impact," Gates wrote on his personal blog, Gatesnotes.com. "Put simply, there's no way to produce enough meat for 9 billion people. Yet we can't ask everyone to become vegetarians.That's why we need more options for producing meat without depleting our resources."

Dichotomy turns out to be a major ingredient in Hampton Creek's and Impossible Foods' recipes for success. It goes beyond marketing meat replacements to unapologetic meat eaters, beginning with the formulation of the products themselves. Hampton Creek unleashed a team of data scientists and computational biologists to analyze nearly 4,000 plant molecules and build a reasonable facsimile of the chicken egg, using proteins from the Canadian yellow pea and an American variety of sorghum.

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Wed, 20 May 2015 19:22

As the fear over the threat of terrorism continues to swell around the world, New York City becomes increasingly on edge that it's time to take extra security precautions.

Although we have not experienced the caliber such as the attacks in Paris, we have a history of being a major target and ISIS has already begun to infiltrate young minds through the use of video games and social media.

Since the New Year there have been numerous arrests in Brooklyn and Queens for people attempting to assist ISIS from afar, building homemade bombs and laying out plans of attack.

On the John Catsimatidis show, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton discussed these very issues and how he wishes to combat the Islamic extremist threat, calling for the addition of at least 450 new police officers to the force.

Bratton said, ''We need to be very concerned about terrorism '... The significantly increased threat from ISIS using social media to recruit people not only to go to Syria to fight, but encouraging people '... to attack police, to attack government officials, to basically brainwash them under their screwed-up ideology. That threat has expanded significantly in the now 16 months I've been police commissioner.''

''We're treating that threat so seriously, I'm going to put another 450 police officers '' if we get the approval to increase the size of the police force '' and I need to do it very very quickly '' into our counterterrorism operations to increase the ability of our officers to protect critical sites around the city. Or, if we were to have an incident, so I'd have a lot more officers in the streets with the appropriate equipment to deal with active shooters or hostage situations.

''We are entering a new era where we cannot live in fear, but we have to live increasingly aware of our surroundings '... This crazy hijacking of the Muslim religion by these fanatics, twisting it into an ideology that's all about hate and murder and killing.'' Bratton added.

Recently New York Mayor Bill de Blasio released a budget to increase resources for the NYPD, but he did not include any funding for additional police officers. The City Council has requested 1,000 new officers from the mayor, while Bratton has settled on a modest 450. Therefore, it seems Bratton and de Blasio will have to meet somewhere in the middle.

''I'm making a case for a very specific number of officers to support the initiatives that the mayor has indicated he wants us to focus on: counter-terrorism, improved training, improved responsiveness and trust to the various minority communities, in particular, in the city. So, we have presented to him numbers that, I think, will deliver what he is indicating he is looking for.''

''Politics is the art of negotiation. I think there's going to be common ground that we'll hopefully get most of what we're looking for to implement the mayor's plans.'' Bratton added.

When it comes to the ''Broken Windows'' policing, which can be beneficial for catching potentially dangerous criminals or simply become a nuisance for upstanding citizens, Bratton wants to find a middle ground.

Bratton said, ''I think we're going to find common ground where I get to keep the powers my officers need. We will be able to still enforce these quality-of-life laws. But the process will ensure that nobody is inappropriately jailed or significantly inconvenienced for some of these offenses.''

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Wed, 20 May 2015 19:05

In a sign of growing unease about how long Greece can continue to service its debt and meet repayments, yields on Greek benchmark 10-year bonds rose over 50 basis points on Monday, to around 11.42 percent.

The country's main stock index, meanwhile, slipped more than 1 percent, underperforming European markets. However, it then reversed losses to close 1.6 percent higher, on reports that Greece was being "more constructive" in its bailout-for-reforms talks.

"What is coming into focus is an alternative approach. Instead of forcing Greece into a Grexit (a Greek exit of the euro zone), they will simply force Greece into a default '' an inability to pay not just the IMF but also internal payments," Anatole Kaletsky, co-founder and chief economist at Gavekal Dragonomics, told CNBC.

"Literally, the Greek government is running out of money to pay its own wages, pensions, public spending," he added. "At that point they have to say: 'We either have to tighten our belts even more than we would under the austerity program or we have to do a deal with the EU'."

DRPM's Malmgren added that the one thing to watch now was the language coming from officials.

"If you look at history of defaults they are all announced in the same way '' they're announced as a success, so we just need to anticipate what words they use," she said.

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Wed, 20 May 2015 19:03

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Wed, 20 May 2015 18:55

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Wed, 20 May 2015 18:38

In New York, taxi mogul Evgeny Friedman is locked in a court battle with Citibank, to whom he owes some $31 million after some medallion loans matured.

Citibank is looking to seize 87 of Freidman's 900 medallions in New York, which has seen medallion prices drop to about $870,000 last fall from a peak of about $1.2 million last spring. Freidman, the biggest medallion owner in the USA, also owns fleets in Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.

In an April letter to creditors, New York taxi commission officials and other stakeholders, Freidman's attorney, Brett Berman, called on industry regulators and medallion lenders to restructure and extend loans for his client and reform the industry.

Read MoreThere are now more Uber cars than yellow taxis in NYC

"If you want to ensure that medallion industry nationwide continues to operate, if you want to have services available to riders that don't have iPhones, if you want to have drivers that are vetted, then there's going to have to be a major change nationwide and city-by-city in terms of how they're going about enforcing the rules," said Ronn Torossian, a spokesman for Freidman.

Even in Nevada, where the taxi industry has successfully fought off attempts by Uber to establish a beachhead in recent years, there are signs that government resistance to rideshare services is softening. Last week, the Nevada Senate approved legislation that would create regulations that would allow people to hail a ride using a smartphone.

There are other signs that medallion industry's vitality is on unsteady footing.

Earlier this month, Medallion Financial Group'--one of the country's largest creditors to medallion owners'--reported in its financial disclosures that nearly 4.1% of its loans were late 31 days or more in the first three months of 2015, up from 2.2% in the previous quarter.

Charles Goodbar, a Chicago attorney who helps secure loans for medallion owners, said that financing has all but dried up. At the same time, new regulations, as well competition from ridesharing services, has reduced how much fleet owners in Chicago and elsewhere can lease their vehicles to cabbies.

"There's zero market," said Goodbar, who also owns 59 medallions. "In my case, a buyer would have to come to the table with about $220,000 in cash per medallion, because there isn't any financing available."

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Wed, 20 May 2015 18:30

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Wed, 20 May 2015 18:26

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Wed, 20 May 2015 18:18

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Wed, 20 May 2015 18:08

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Wed, 20 May 2015 18:01

AUSTIN (KXAN) '' Austin police are investigating a violent attack at a south Austin grocery store. Police say a man cut a woman's throat while trying to rob her.

The woman left the H-E-B store at South Congress and Oltorf, just after 1:30 a.m. As she was walking to her pickup truck, which was parked beside the far back corner of the building, a man attacked her with what police describe as an ''edged weapon.'' They say he cut her throat, they struggled and he took her purse.

The woman walked back toward the store, trying to get help. A security guard heard her and used his orange security vest to put pressure on her wounds until EMS arrived.

Police report she is now out of surgery and expected to recover. Because her wounds were so severe, she was unable to give officers a detailed description of the suspect.

Detectives believe the attack was random, and they are now searching for the suspect. Police dogs picked up a scent, which led them south on South Congress. Officers found the woman's purse abandoned two blocks away. Robbery detectives are also reviewing the store's surveillance video.

If caught, the suspect will face a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

An HEB spokeswoman said the company will not be commenting on the investigation. The South Congress store will offer counseling services to its employees. The spokeswoman also said the security guard who helped the woman is shaken up, but EMS crews say he most likely saved the woman's life.

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Wed, 20 May 2015 15:40

[Editor's Note 5/20]: Hi Redditors. You can watch the full Secrets, Politics and Torture film here.

When graphic photographs of American soldiers abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq surfaced in 2004, they sparked international outrage '-- and prompted new scrutiny of how the U.S. treats its prisoners.

Even though Abu Ghraib itself wasn't a CIA-run facility, the agency was worried about the scandal's ramifications.

That's because the CIA was in possession of something that was potentially more explosive than the detainee abuse photos: hundreds of hours of videotaped ''enhanced interrogations'' of two Al Qaeda suspects in CIA detention, that included the use of techniques widely described as torture.

Secrets, Politics and Torture airs Tuesday, May 19 at 10 p.m. EST on PBS (check local listings) and will stream in full, for free, online at pbs.org/frontline.As FRONTLINE details in tonight's new documentary, Secrets, Politics and Torture, those tapes would never see the light of day. Their destruction was ordered by Jose Rodriguez, then the CIA's top operations officer.

''I was told, if those videotapes had ever been seen, the reaction around the world would not have been survivable,'' Jane Mayer of The New Yorker tells FRONTLINE.

Go inside the CIA's decision to destroy the tapes '-- and learn why CIA attorney John Rizzo was so surprised by that choice '-- in this advance excerpt from tonight's new FRONTLINE film:

The destruction of the tapes would eventually be reported byThe New York Times '' enraging the Senate Intelligence Committee, and helping to spark their decision to embark on an independent investigation of the CIA's covert interrogation program.

As Secrets, Politics and Torture explores, Senate investigators would eventually determine that one of the suspects in the tapes, Abu Zubaydah, ''was not a senior member'' of Al Qaeda. The second man in the tapes, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, ''did not provide any additional threat information during, or after these interrogations,'' according to Senate investigators.

Rodriguez was never prosecuted. As FRONTLINE reports in tonight's documentary, in 2006, President George W. Bush signed legislation granting immunity to anyone at the CIA who had worked on the program.

To get the full story on the CIA's controversial program '-- and what it accomplished '-- watch Secrets, Politics and Torture tonight at 10 p.m. EST on PBS (check local listings) and online at pbs.org/frontline.

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Wed, 20 May 2015 14:40

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Wed, 20 May 2015 14:39

Cyberspies, Nukes, and the New Cold War: Shane Smith Interviews Ashton Carter (Part 1) | VICE NewsThe VICE Channels ]]>Topics:ashton carter, shane smith, defense, us, america, russia, cybersecurity, cyberattack, pentagon, nsa, dmitry rogozin, vladimir putin, politics, vice news, vice, the americas, europe, secretary of defense

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Wed, 20 May 2015 14:36

White House press secretary Josh Earnest asserted on Tuesday that the Obama administration's ''overall'' strategy against the Islamic State has been a success, sparking surprise and relentless mockery online.

(WH.gov)

''Overall, yes,'' Earnest responded when asked if the administration's strategy to fight the Islamic State has been successful. ''That doesn't mean that there haven't been areas of setback as we saw in Ramadi.''

ABC News reporter Jonatan Karl pressed, ''Exporting terror to Libya, taking over the capital of Iraq's largest province '-- this is overall a success?''

Earnest answered by touting a ''coalition of 60 nations'' around the world that have ''joined the United States in this fight.'' Watch the exchange below:

Earnest's claim comes as many are now questioning the effectiveness of the Obama administration's approach in Iraq following the fall of Ramadi. The Associated Press describes the strategy as a ''blend of retraining and rebuilding the Iraqi army, prodding Baghdad to reconcile with the nation's Sunnis, and bombing Islamic State targets from the air without committing American ground combat troops.''

The reaction online was swift:

(H/T: Twitchy, Video via WFB)

'--

From the breaking news you need to know to the hottest trends circling the Web, TheBlaze has it all. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Periscope.

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Wed, 20 May 2015 14:08

HACKENSACK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) '-- The FBI has targeted Bergen County, New Jersey to stop Islamic State militants from getting a stronghold there '' and agents have been going to high school with a message.

Christine Sloan was there when agents visited a Bergen County school on Tuesday. An FBI intelligence analyst who did not wish to be identified spoke at the Bergen Arts and Science Charter School in Hackensack.

He warned students about a new threat '' a sophisticated recruitment video trying to lure them into joining the terrorist group ISIS.

''There's a role for everybody. Every person can contribute to the Islamic State,'' a young Canadian man tells viewers in the recruitment video. ''You can even come here and rebuild.''

''''It definitely was eye-opening,'' said high school senior Zoey Zibor. ''You know, you learn that it's in your own backyard. It's Americans citizens wanting to join these terrorist groups.''

The young Canadian who appears in the recruitment video ended up dying while fighting as a member of ISIS in Syria.

''It's definitely a bad thing,'' said senior Basik Gorkem.

The Bergen County school was one of many the FBI has come to with its alarming message '' regular American kids could be vulnerable to this kind of propaganda.

''It was videos and all social media that no one is really that aware of what's happening; how deep they go into Facebook and Twitter now,'' said senior Aaron Brunert.

''I would say I am more interested than I am scared,'' said senior Robert Harris. ''I want to know how to find terrorists; how to stop them from doing things.''

The FBI said more than 150 Americans have traveled abroad to join ISIS '' some of them teenagers.

''Our students; our young people have to understand that they have a part to play in counterterrorism operations here,'' said Leo McGuire, security director at the Bergen Arts and Science Charter School.

The FBI is planning to take its message to other schools in the Tri-State Area to reach kids at critical adolescent ages. They hope to make sure they don't fall prey to propaganda that ISIS is putting on the Internet.

In the past, the FBI community outreach program in the past focused on issues such as cyberbullying.

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Tue, 19 May 2015 20:35

Russia's richest man said international investors are coming back to the country and the impact of sanctions has peaked.

''Now it's getting clear that the situation is more politically stable or predictable,'' Vladimir Potanin, who heads Russia's biggest miner, OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday. ''Nobody wants more sanctions. I think we reached a stable level in terms of tensions.''

Europe and the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia's energy and finance industries and dozens of prominent individuals last year after the nation annexed Crimea from Ukraine. The ruble lost almost half its value as the central bank burned through currency reserves in an attempt to slow the collapse.

So far this year, there are signs the situation may be stabilizing. The ruble has rallied to become the world's best-performing currency in 2015, while President Vladimir Putin last week met U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for the first time in about two years.

Investors were expecting more sanctions and more problems for the Russian economy, Potanin said. It's now the ''right time'' for investors to come back to Russia, he said.

Most of Potanin's wealth, estimated at $16.7 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, comes from his 30 percent holding in Norilsk Nickel, which isn't subject to sanctions.

Norilsk fell 1.8 percent to 10,066 rubles at 2:05 p.m. on Tuesday, paring its gains in Moscow to 52 percent over the past 12 months. The company has a market value of 1.6 trillion rubles ($32.4 billion).

Political PowerVladimir Potanin told Bloomberg he backs President Vladimir Putin - Russia's "strong leader"

Photographer: Jason Alden

The company benefited last year from increases in the price of both nickel and palladium. It also gained from the depreciation of the ruble, which despite this year's rally is still down 30 percent against the dollar over the past year. Norilsk pays its local costs in rubles while selling its metal production for dollars.

Potanin, 54, was regarded as one of the Russian oligarchs who wielded power behind the scenes during the administration of Boris Yeltsin, the first post-Soviet president. Potanin denies he ever considered himself an oligarch. While he had influence, he said he never had the power to force someone to do something or to dictate.

Russia has changed a lot since the 1990s and ''nobody has political power in Russia except for the president and the government,'' Potanin said.

'Mentally European'Europe and the U.S. misunderstand Putin and the dynamics of their relationship with Russia by not appreciating that the nation has its own interests as well as being ''mentally'' European, according to the billionaire.

''We are friends, but we are not pupils in the class,'' Potanin said. ''Something has been broken since'' Russia rallied to support the U.S. after Sept. 11, he said.

Potanin characterizes his relationship with Putin today as that of a businessman discussing issues important to the mining industry. The billionaire shares with the president a common passion for ice hockey. In May, he played against Putin's team in Sochi in a gala match.

Off the rink, one of Putin's main challenges is to find a younger leader to succeed him, according to Potanin, who said there needs to be more competition in Russian politics.

''I believe in leadership and competition,'' he said. ''In order to find the leader, you need people to compete.''

It's not insulting to describe the nation as ''Putin's Russia,'' Potanin said.

''People love him,'' he said. ''Russia loves strong leaders.''

For more, read this QuickTake:Financial War

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Mon, 18 May 2015 18:41

AUSTIN (KXAN) '-- About 360,000 Americans will suffer cardiac arrest this year outside of a hospital, and only 10 percent of them will survive the attack. One Austin man who did survive had a chance Thursday to meet and thank the nurse who saved his life. It was his good fortune she and a defibrillator were close by when he collapsed during a workout.

Wally Scott III, 59, a local real estate developer, was doing his usual spinning workout downtown about a month ago when suddenly he wasn't dead tired, he was just dead.

''I was out. It was a split second, and I was out,'' he said. ''I was on the bike, and then you are out.''

He was clinically dead '-- no blood to the brain, no heartbeat. Fortunately, Janice Meredith, a registered nurse who graduated exactly one year ago, was exercising next to Scott, and a defibrillator was nearby. Meredith, an RN at Seton Medical Center in Kyle, had trained on a defibrillator but never used one for real.

''We shocked him and continued CPR until there was another rhythm analysis,'' said Meredith. ''There was no shock advised. We felt for a pulse, and there was a pulse. And we saved his life.''

Scott remembered regaining consciousness, adding, ''I do remember gasping for air, trying to breathe and thrashing around a lot '-- trying to live.''

He was rushed to University Medical Center Brackenridge, where a stent was implanted in his heart.

''When someone has an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, the vast majority of them don't do very well '-- mainly because they don't get their heart rhythm restored quickly,'' explained Dr. Matt Rogers, a cardiologist at UMC Brackenridge.

When Scott and Meredith met again Thursday, thank yous were exchanged. They are partners now in the gym and in life.

''I am very thankful for her having the quick reaction, having the courage and knowledge to be in charge of the defibrillator,'' he said. ''A lot of people are afraid to do that.''

''It was a blessing we had these skills, that we were able to assist him,'' Meredith added. ''I'm excited to see him and very happy he made it.''

In Texas, defibrillators are required in schools and nursing homes. Anyone operating one must be professionally trained and maintain the device in working order. Anyone with a defibrillator must notify local emergency services they have it and notify those services if it is ever used. There is a Good Samaritan provision in the law protecting anyone from a civil suit if they use one in a crisis in good faith, without willful negligence.

Scott said he intends to get a few.

''I am going to buy one for my home and buy one for the office '-- not for me but for anyone else that happens to need it.''

Because as he learned, you just never know.

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Mon, 18 May 2015 01:29

U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez was talking about the difference between Native Americans and Indian AmericansShe appeared to make a Native American 'war cry' sound by putting her hand to her mouth and making echoing noisesHer actions occurred in front of a group of Indian Americans at the California Democratic party convention on SaturdayAudience members said they were 'appalled' with Sanchez's actionsSanchez announced Thursday that she would be running for US Senate By Kelly Mclaughlin For Dailymail.com

Published: 13:44 EST, 17 May 2015 | Updated: 16:55 EST, 17 May 2015

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U.S. Rep.Loretta Sanchez's senate campaign is off to a rocky start after she made an offensive joke about the difference between Indian Americans and Native Americans.

Just two days after announcing her campaign to run for U.S. senate, Sanchez, of Santa Ana, California, was filmed on Saturday describing a pending meeting she had with a man of South Asian descent.

'I am going to his office, thinking that I am going to meet with a,' she said, placing her hand over her mouth and making an echoing noise. 'Right? Because he said Indian American.

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U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez was speaking at a gathering of Indian Americans at the California Democratic party convention in Anaheim when she made the joke about the difference between Native Americans and Indian Americans

She was describing a pending meeting she had with an Indian American man of South Asian descent, who she had originally thought was Native American when they spoke over the phone when she lifted her hand to her mouth and made an echoing noise and referenced Native Americans

Candidate's disparaging gesture about Native Americans

'And I go in there and it was great. It was just great because he said "I want to get my community involved". Involved. And that was the first time that we saw the Indian American community really come. ...'

Her comments were made at a gathering of Indian Americans at the California Democratic party convention in Anaheim, and much of the audience reacted with silence, according to KCRA.

It seemed that Sanchez, 55, who has served in Congress since 1997, was trying to use the apparent Native American 'war cry' to distinguish between Native Americans and Indian Americans.

The man who filmed the comments, Uduak-Joe Ntuke, of Long Beach, said that many people in the room found what Sanchez said to be insensitive.

'I was shocked and appalled that she'd make the disparaging comments about Native Americans that way,' he said.

Sanchez's opponent in the Senate race, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, told the Sacramento Bee that 'there is no place for that in our public discourse'.

The audience responded to Sanchez's actions with silence, and one man who filmed the event said he was 'shocked and appalled' with what the U.S. representative had done

When asked about her actions, Sanchez explained her thinking behind what she had done.

She told the Bee: What I said was that I got a call from somebody from over the phone and he said I want to talk to you about having help from the Indian community, and I thought he meant the American Indian community, in the sense of the Native American Indian community

'I think that Native Americans have an incredibly great history, and a great presence in our country, and many of them are supporting our election.'

This is not the first time Sanchez has made headlines for political incorrectness.

In 2010, while speaking on Spanish-language TV, she said that the Republican party was joining forces with the Vietnamese community to take her congressional seat.

She claimed that her opponent, Republican Van Tran was 'very anti-immigrant and very anti-Hispanic'. Tran said that Sanchez's comments were racist.

Sanchez later said 'Native Americans have an incredibly great history, and a great presence in our country, and many of them are supporting our election'

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Wed, 20 May 2015 18:50

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President Obama delivered the keynote address at the United States Coast Guard Academy commencement Wednesday in New London, Connecticut. In his commencement speech, Obama warned graduates climate change is one of the largest threats they will have to face as they defend the United States and our nation's interests abroad.

In his speech, Obama said denying climate change or refusing to deal with it is negligence and "dereliction of duty."

"If you see storm clouds gathering or dangerous shoals ahead you don't just sit back and do nothing," President Obama said Wednesday. "You take action to protect your ship, to keep your crew safe. Anything less is negligence. It is a dereliction of duty. So to with climate change."

"Denying it or refusing to deal with it endangers our national security," Obama also said. "It undermines the readiness of our forces."

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Climate change is one of those most severe threats. This is not just a problem for countries on the coasts or for certain regions of the world. Climate change will impact every country on the planet. No nation is immune. So I am here today to say that climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate risk to our national security. And make no mistake, it will impact how our military defends our country. So we need to act and we need to act now.

After all, isn't that the true hallmark of leadership? When you're on deck, standing your watch, you stay vigilant, you plan for every contingency. If you see storm clouds gathering or dangerous shoals ahead you don't just sit back and do nothing. You take action to protect your ship, to keep your crew safe. Anything less is negligence. It is a dereliction of duty. So to with climate change. Denying it or refusing to deal with it endangers our national security. It undermines the readiness of our forces.