Sibel Edmonds' Boiling Frogs

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- June 18, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:00:07 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” – Thomas Jefferson

International Newsworthy

The Muslim Brotherhood, Syria and the Nile

Gore and Fatwas Show Syria’s Descent

Kurds Fight for Place in Syrian Civil War

Former French Foreign Minister Confirms Preparations for Syrian War Underway Since 2010

Obama Fails to Sway Putin on Syria

West Rebukes Putin over Syria at G8 Summit

Russian, U.S. Presidents Agree to Push for Syria Talks in Geneva

Russia Blocks Mention of Assad’s Fate in G8 Syria Declaration

Russia Tries Not to Let Syria Conflict Go Beyond Borders: FM

US Envoy to NATO Says Syria No-Fly Zone Not on NATO Agenda

Saudi Arabia Supplying Missiles to Syria Rebels

*** * * ***

Turkish Violence Raises Questions over EU Talks

‘Hateful’ Speech in Istanbul: Erdogan Throws Fuel on Flames

Turkey: Erdoğan is all in on Repression

Erdogan’s Hubris Syndrome

Erdogan Escalates the Crisis

Turkish Government Announces New Plans for Regulations on Social Media

Turkish Police Start Fresh Crackdown on Protesters in Istanbul

Riot Police Target Pockets of Istanbul Protesters

‘Police Conduct Raids across Turkey’

Scores Detained in Turkey Police Swoop

#Duranadam: ‘Standing Man’ Protest Goes Viral as Turkey Eyes Law to Restrict Social Media

*** * * ***

Iran Ready to Halt 20% Uranium Enrichment, West Must Reciprocate – Lavrov

Iran’s Predictable Elections

Washington Split on Rouhani Victory in Iran

Ahmadinejad Summoned on ‘Legal Basis’

*** * * ***

Taliban to Open Doha Office on Tuesday

Urgent: U.S., Taliban to Meet in Doha

Afghanistan to Kick Off Taliban Peace Talks in Qatar: Karzai

Afghan Forces Take over Security Operations from US-Led Coalition

Deadly Blast Marks Afghan Security Handover

Pakistan: Senators Want Civilian Control over Agencies

Pakistan Shuts University after Attacks

India’s Energy Ties with Iran Unsettle Washington

*** * * ***

Political Alliances Shift in Baghdad

Shi’ite Iraq Militia Claims It Attacked Iran Group

‘US Deploys 1,500 Marines to Yemen’

Hamas Cools Tension with Hezbollah

*** * * ***

The Terror Diaspora: The U.S. Military and Obama’s Scramble for Africa

Libya: Precarious Calm in Benghazi as Special Forces Deployed

Libya: Chaos Is Taking a Toll on Freedom of Press, Speech

Canada Pledges $100m in Aid to Jordan

Sudan Agrees to End Tension with South

Boko Haram Insurgents kill 7 Students, 2 Teachers in Nigerian City of Damaturu

*** * * ***

$30bn in Russian Money Sent to Cyprus in 2 Decades – Study

Russia Starts Delivering $1 Billion Arms Package to Azerbaijan

Arms Caches Allegedly Connected to Georgian President’s Party

Georgia’s XXX Files

CIS – Commonwealth of Surveillance States

CNPC, Partners Sign Tajikistan Oil & Gas Deal

The Southern Gas Corridor: Who Stands Where?

A Diminished SCO Exercises in Kazakhstan

Nazarbayev Retreats on Pension Reforms

*** * * ***

New Sykes-Picot: NATO Maneuvers and Countries of Clay

Nabucco Gets A Boost In Romania

Judge Who Acquitted War Criminals at Hague Had ‘Close & Confidential Relations’ with U.S. Government

MoD Serves News Outlets with D Notice over Surveillance Leaks

National Newsworthy

21 Facts About NSA Snooping That Every American Should Know

Why Are Thousands of Companies Handing Over Your Personal Data To The NSA?

China Asks U.S. to Explain Internet Surveillance

House Lawmakers Offer Bill to Curb NSA’s Phone Data Collection

Apple Claims It Encrypts iMessages and Facetime So That Even It Can’t Decipher Them

How to Block the NSA From Your Friends List

DHS Hopes to Get Same Cyber-Spying Powers as NSA

*** * * ***

Surveillance Programs Create Chasm among Dems

Obama Doubles Down on NSA Defense as Poll Numbers Slip

Multiple Polls Show Americans Reject NSA Domestic Spying

NSA Whistleblower Snowden Says More’s Coming

Snowden Vows Details on NSA Access to Servers

Iceland Received “Informal” Approach over Snowden Seeking Asylum

Beijing: Edward Snowden ‘Not a Chinese Spy’

Chinese State Media Warns Against Extradition of Edward Snowden

Gulf Airlines Told Not to Carry US Whistleblower

*** * * ***

Federal Government Accused of Adding an Average of One New Crime a Week

Supreme Court: Pre-Miranda Silence Can Be Used as Evidence of Guilt

Congress at Work: The House Votes to Uphold the Indefinite Detention of Americans

A Look at Who Is Still Held at Guantanamo

Obama Cans Regulator Who Crossed Wall Street

*** * * ***

Bitcoin Transactions Taxable, Says GAO

Former Employees Say Bank of America Regularly Lied to Homeowners Seeking Loan Modifications

Tax Havens Database Released

Colleges the Next Burst Bubble

Housing Starts, Permits, CPI All Miss

Good New York Fed Manufacturing News Not as Good as it Looks

Noteworthy Editorials

Sibel Edmonds: Time to Raise Political Asylum Quota for Americans

James Petras: The Deeper Meaning of Mass Spying in America

Pepe Escobar: Obama’s Weapons-for-Peace Program

Norman Solomon: David Brooks, Tom Friedman & Bill Keller Wish Snowden Had Just Followed Orders

Peter Dale Scott: Washington’s Battle over Syrian Foreign Policy: Will Hawks or Doves Prevail?

Tom Engelhardt: You Are Our Secret

John Stanton: Barack Obama’s Legacy of Ashes

Paul Pillar: The Iranian People Challenge the West

Doug Bandow: Wasting Time in Belfast

9/11 & the Military-Intelligence-Security Machine

BFP Select Videos & Podcast

BFP EyeOpener Video Report-“Secrets of the Dirty Wars: What Jeremy Scahill Doesn’t Tell You”

BFP EyeOpener Preview Clip: ‘Secrets of the Dirty Wars: What Jeremy Scahill Doesn’t Tell You’

Video 1: RT- Truth is Coming, US Draconian Responses Build Better Whistleblowers

Video 2: Charlie McGrath- Death, Destruction, Corruption & Lies

BFP Podcast Show – Cryptome.Org’s John Young: “Why is Edward Snowden Censored by Craven Media?”

Podcast 1: Traces of Reality- Booth on his Latest Film American Drug War 2

Podcast 2: Radio Liberty: Bond Bubble Set to Burst

Podcast 3: Peter B. Collins Show- Obama in G20 Hot Seat Over Syria, Surveillance

Turkey and the Paradox of Democracy

Guest — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:32:59 +0000

“After the party rallies of last weekend ‘civil war’ was written on many walls in Istanbul…”

By Peter Edel

Over the last few weeks Turkey has seen lots of protests against the ruling Justice- and Development Party (AKP). It all started last month when environmentalists occupied the Gezi Park near Istanbul’s Taksim Square. The activists resisted the planned deconstruction of this last green area in the center of the city, which had to destroyed to make place for a shopping mall. The government answered with excessive police force, causing four protesters to die and thousands to be wounded. Many others were arrested. Not only active participants in the protests, but also lawyers who defended them and doctors who were treating injuries caused by the police.

The police violence triggered a nationwide protest that went way beyond the Gezi park situation. PM Erdogan was blamed for undemocratic practices, such as the imprisonment of students, journalists and politicians, as well as the introduction of laws which many feel limited their freedom.

While rights of minorities are irrelevant to him, Erdogan hides behind the domination of the majority. The fact that his party received 50% of the votes during the last general elections suffices for him to defend his ruling as entirely democratic.

This 50 % percentage is a clear indication of the polarization in Turkey. Conservative and religious Turks, who are more than willing to forgive Erdogan for negligence of democratic values, worship him like a sultan. Western oriented secular Turks who make up the other 50%, hate him as a devil in disguise.

Paradox

The recent developments in Turkey confirm that the country is stuck in the paradox of democracy, meaning the situation that occurs when a majority of voters democratically chooses a leader who brings an end to democracy, or at least to democratic principles.

This is not a theory, history offers ample evidence. The most infamous and extreme example of a democratically chosen dictator I will not mention here. It wouldn’t be fair to put Erdogan in the gallery of the worst dictators mankind has known. For after all, there are still elections in Turkey. Still, only by curtailing the freedom of expression, Erdogan has already done much harm to an important pillar of democracy. Moreover, he frequently expresses opinions suggesting more disdain of democracy. He even made remarks about a discontinuation of the trias politica.

The paradox is hidden in the fact that his voters did make such undemocratic tendencies possible in a democratic way. Sometimes voters are inclined to accept undemocratic extravagances of leaders. Often because of the virtues attributed to them. Impressive highways and architecture, a growing economy, a strong currency, an assertive foreign policy, dictators have been glorified for such achievements.

However, in the long run the call for democracy can’t be silenced. So, what to do when a democratically elected government abandons democratic principles? In that case there’s the option of protecting democracy. Unfortunately the appropriate instruments to protect democracy leave much to be desired from a democratic point of view. For they violate the wishes of the majority, which is not done in a democracy. Yes, a true paradox. Turkey knows it inside out. Both sides of Turkish society do. For many decades secular powers in the state took the right to protect democracy. Later on Erdogan did essentially the same when he got even with the secular establishment he felt threatened by. To put it bluntly, in the name of democracy Turkey has an intense problem with democracy.

The religious headscarf

The paradox of democracy is also recognizable in the interpretation of freedom. Take the freedom for religious women to wear a headscarf in public buildings. It was a tricky matter for ages. The AKP took care of it so that religious girls are free to hide their hair in universities nowadays. Splendid. Reasoning from my liberal and tolerant Dutch background I fully endorse the concept. I simply don’t feel entitled to say what someone can or cannot put on his or her head. Neither do I think that governments should have a say in that.

There’s a catch though. For a liberal headscarf policy also implies the right for husbands, fathers and brothers to force their wives, daughters and sisters to cover their heads. It goes without saying that freedom is compromised this way – at least individual freedom. Instead, freedom is reduced to the right of putting pressure on the individual based on the standards of the collective.

The conservative grassroots of the AKP don’t consider this a limitation of freedom. In this section of society the individual is often secondary to the community anyway. Here Erdogan’s headscarf policy proves how democratic and free Turkey has become under his administration- which shows once again how flexible such notions are.

By the way, it was the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who banned the headscarf from public buildings. Not to limit women in their freedom, but to liberate them from social pressure on religious grounds. Turkish suffragettes celebrated him for it.

Party Rallies

Last weekend many ladies adorned with a headscarf attended party rallies of the AKP. Cheering Erdogan with little AKP-flags in their hands. The high representative for Foreign Affairs of the European union, Catherine Ashton, considered it a bad idea with so much tension in the country. And it has to be said that it’s questionable why the contrast in this polarized country had to be emphasized at this crucial moment.

Erdogan did not care for Ashton’s remark and persisted in his position. One of his ministers called the party rallies the ‘will of the nation’, although of course he referred to not more than 50% of the nation (and for those who believe the latest poles even less).

Erdogan was out to show the world that his policy is supported by a majority and thus answers to the criteria of democracy. This claim is undermined by the paradox of democracy. For it is highly debatable whether a majority that neglects to be vigilant against undemocratic leanings can be a legitimate argument for democracy. In other words, by accepting Erdogan’s undemocratic tendencies the majority disqualifies itself as a base for democratic governance.

During three general elections the AKP received votes for several reasons. Ironically some hoped Erdogan’s party would bring democratization. Others expected economic stability, or voted for him because he performed so well as a mayor of Istanbul. However, most voters were impressed by his religious conservatism, as well as his aversion to western oriented and secular inhabitants of the country.

Last weekend they cheered him, like the dictatorial Sultan Abdülhamit was cheered in the nineteenth century. But the massive crowd did not gather specifically to show appreciation for his plans concerning Gezi Park. For much more than the details of his policy, these massive meetings were about the man himself.

Erdogan’s arrogance is easily taken as charisma by his supporters. They adore his harsh words directed at European politicians, as they cherish his irrational rants about an international conspiracy against Turkey. With such statements he compensates for the lack of self-confidence, which followed on the loss of the Ottoman magnificence. That happened more than a hundred years ago, but the emotions are still quite present. Erdogan makes advantage of it with his neo-Ottoman rhetoric. This underlines his preferred status as an undisputed and worshipped leader whose will is law. In every way Abdülhamit’s true successor.

Because of the unquestioning and meek uniformity of Erdogan’s followers, the highly coordinated party rallies last weekend were standing in sharp contrast to the spontaneous, multilayered and leaderless protests Turkey has seen over the last few weeks among secular Turks. But in any case, two segments of society are opposing each other. This fact is at the core of the turmoil in Turkey. After the party rallies of last weekend ‘civil war’ was written on many walls in Istanbul…

# # # #

Peter Edel is an analyst and investigative journalist based in the Netherlands. He is a regular contributor to Boiling Frogs Post.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

The EyeOpener Report- Secrets of the Dirty Wars: What Jeremy Scahill Doesn’t Tell You

Sibel Edmonds — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:39:36 +0000

Dirty Wars is the title of a new fluff documentary film released earlier this month, claiming to document the covert US actions in Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, and elsewhere in the name of the phoney “War on Terror.”

The documentary has already won raves, predictably enough, from Scahill’s colleagues at the Nation and Democracy Now, as well as other sympathetic mainstream “progressive” outlets. It has even brought Scahill himself a certain level of celebrity in mainstream circles. His mainstream pop culture icon status was cemented during his recent appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

But is Scahill’s documentary worthy of the endless praise that is being heaped on it? Is mainstream media’s new favorite, Scahill, deliberately dumbing down the movie? What is Scahill aiming at by focusing on interminable close-ups of himself and using emotional manipulation to “grip” the audience, pretending to not know about the existence of JSOC? Why does the CIA—the organization that has been the lynchpin of all such operations in the past and has a documented history of military assets for plausible deniability in denying involvement in such actions—get off scot-free in this 90 minute “exposé” of the war on terror?

Join us for this revelatory examination of the mainstream-backed pseudo-documentary titled ‘Dirty Wars’ at Boiling Frogs Post EyeOpener Video Report.

Watch the Preview Here:

Watch the Full Video Report Here (Subscribers Only):

This Podcast is available to BFP subscription members only. If you are a member, log in to listen. If you are not a member, you can subscribe by clicking on ‘Subscribe' below.

SUBSCRIBE

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

The Deeper Meaning of Mass Spying in America

Dr James Petras — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:49:18 +0000

The Politics Behind the Police State

The exposure of the Obama regime’s use of the National Security Agency to secretly spy on the communications of hundreds of millions of US and overseas citizens has provoked world-wide denunciations.

In the United States, despite widespread mass media coverage and the opposition of civil liberties organizations, there has not been any mass protest. Congressional leaders from both the Republican and Democratic Parties, as well as top judges, approved of the unprecedented domestic spy program.. Even worse, when the pervasive spy operations were revealed, top Senate and Congressional leaders repeated their endorsement of each and every intrusion into all electronic and written communication involving American citizens. President Obama and his Attorney General Holder openly and forcefully defended the NSA’s the universal spy operations.

The issues raised by this vast secret police apparatus and its penetration into and control over civil society, infringing on the citizens freedom of expression, go far beyond mere ‘violations of privacy’, as raised by many legal experts.

Most civil libertarians focus on the violations of individual rights, constitutional guarantees and the citizen’s privacy rights. These are important legal issues and the critics are right in raising them. However, these constitutional–legal critiques do not go far enough; they fail to raise even more fundamental issues; they avoid basic political questions.

Why has such a massive police-state apparatus and universal spying become so central to the ruling regime? Why has the entire executive, legislative and judicial leadership come out in public for such a blatant repudiation of all constitutional guarantees? Why do elected leaders defend universal political espionage against the citizenry? What kind of politics requires a police state? What kind of long-term, large scale domestic and foreign policies are illegal and unconstitutional as to require the building of a vast network of domestic spies and a hundred billion dollar corporate-state techno-espionage infrastructure in a time of budget ‘austerity’ with the slashing of social programs?

The second set of questions arises from the use of the espionage data. So far most critics have questioned the existence of massive state espionage but have avoided the vital issue of what measures are taken by the spymasters once they target individuals, groups, movements? The essential question is: What reprisals and sanctions follow from the ‘information’ that is collected, classified and made operational by these massive domestic spy networks? Now that the ‘secret’ of all-encompassing, state political spying has entered public discussion, the next step should be to reveal the secret operations that follow against those targeted by the spymasters as a ‘risk to national security’.

The Politics behind the Police State

The fundamental reason for the conversion of the state into a gigantic spy apparatus is the nature of deeply destructive domestic and foreign policies which the government has so forcefully pursued. The vast expansion of the police state apparatus is not a response to the terror attack of 9/11. The geometrical growth of spies, secret police budgets, and the vast intrusion into all citizen communications coincides with the wars across the globe. The decisions to militarize US global policy requires vast budgetary re-allocation, slashing social spending to fund empire-building; shredding public health and social security to bailout Wall Street. These are policies which greatly enhance profits for bankers and corporations while imposing regressive taxes on wage and salaried workers

Prolonged and extended wars abroad have been funded at the expense of citizens’ welfare at home. This policy had led to declining living standards for many tens of millions of citizens and rising dissatisfaction. The potential of social resistance as evidenced by the brief “Occupy Wall Street” movement which was endorsed by over 80% of the population, .The positive response alarmed the state and led to an escalation of police state measures. Mass spying is designed to identify the citizens who oppose both imperial wars and the destruction of domestic welfare; labeling them as ‘security threats’ is a means of controlling them through the use of arbitrary police powers. The expansion of the President’s war powers has been accompanied by the growth and scope of the state spy apparatus: the more the President orders overseas drone attacks, the greater the number of his military interventions, the greater the need for the political elite surrounding the President to increase its policing of citizens in anticipation of a popular backlash. In this context, the policy of mass spying is taken as ‘pre-emptive action’. The greater the police state operations, the greater the fear and insecurity among dissident citizens and activists.

The assault on the living standards of working and middle class Americans in order to fund the endless series of wars, and not the so-called ‘war on terror’, is the reason the state has developed massive cyber warfare against the US citizenry. The issue is not only a question of a violation of individual privacy: it is fundamentally an issue of state infringement of the collective rights of organized citizens to freely engage in public opposition to regressive socio-economic policies and question the empire. The proliferation of permanent bureaucratic institutions, with over a million security ‘data collectors’, is accompanied by tens of thousands of ‘field operators’, analysts and inquisitors acting arbitrarily to designate dissident citizens as ‘security risks’ and imposing reprisals according to the political needs of their ruling political bosses. The police state apparatus has its own rules of self-protection and self-perpetuation; it has its own linkages and may occasionally compete with the Pentagon. The police state links up with and protects the masters of Wall Street and the propagandists of the mass media – even as it (must) spy on them!

The police state is an instrument of the Executive Branch acting as a vehicle for its arbitrary prerogative powers. However on administrative matters, it possesses a degree of ‘autonomy’ to target dissident behavior. What is clear is the high degree of cohesion, vertical discipline and mutual defense, up and down the hierarchy. The fact that one whistle-blower, Edward Snowden, emerged from the hundreds of thousands of citizen spies is the exception, the lone whistle blower, which proves the rule: There are fewer defectors to be found among the million-member US spy network than in all the Mafia families in Europe and North America.

The domestic spy apparatus operates with impunity because of its network of powerful domestic and overseas allies. The entire bi-partisan Congressional leadership is privy to and complicit with its operations. Related branches of government, like the Internal Revenue Service, cooperate in providing information and pursuing targeted political groups and individuals. Israel is a key overseas ally of the National Security Agency, as has been documented in the Israeli press (Haaretz, June 8, 2013). Two Israeli high tech firms (Verint and Narus) with ties to the Israeli secret police (MOSSAD), have provided the spy software for the NSA and this, of course, has opened a window for Israeli spying in the US against Americans opposed to the Zionist state. The writer and critic, Steve Lendman points out that Israeli spymasters via their software “front companies” have long had the ability to ‘steal proprietary commercial and industrial data” with impunity .

And because of the power and influence of the Presidents of the 52 Major American Jewish organizations, Justice Department officials have ordered dozens of Israeli espionage cases to be dropped. The tight Israeli ties to the US spy apparatus serves to prevent deeper scrutiny into its operation and political goals – at a very high price in terms of the security of US citizens. In recent years two incidents stand out: Israeli security ‘experts’ were contracted to advise the Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security in their investigation and ‘Stasi-like’ repression of government critics and environmental activists (compared to ‘al Queda terrorists’ by the Israelis) – the discovery of which forced the resignation of OHS Director James Powers in 2010. In 2003, New Jersey governor, Jim McGreevy appointed his lover, an Israeli government operative and former IDF officer, to head that state’s ‘Homeland Security Department and later resigned, denouncing the Israeli, Golan Cipel, for blackmail in late 2004.

These examples are a small sample illustrating the depth and scope of Israeli police state tactics intersecting in US domestic repression.

The Political and Economic Consequences of the Spy State

The denunciations of the mass spy operations are a positive step, as far as they go. But equally important is the question of what follows from the act of spying? We now know that hundreds of millions of Americans are being spied on by the state. We know that mass spying is official policy of the Executive and is approved by Congressional leaders. But we have only fragmented information on the repressive measures resulting from the investigations of “suspect individuals”. We can assume that there is a division of labor among data collectors, data analysts and field operatives following up “risky individuals and groups”, based on the internal criteria known only to the secret police.

The key spy operatives are those who devise and apply the criteria for designating someone as a “security risk”. Individuals and groups who express critical views of domestic and foreign policy are “a risk”; those who act to protest are a “higher risk”; those who travel to conflict regions are presumed to be in the “highest risk” category, even if they have violated no law. The question of the lawfulness of a citizen’s views and actions does not enter into the spymasters’ equation; nor do any questions regarding the lawfulness of the acts committed by the spies against citizens. The criteria defining a security risk supersede any constitutional considerations and safeguards.

We know from a large number of published cases that lawful critics, illegally spied upon , have subsequently been arrested, tried and jailed – their lives and those of their friends and family members shattered. We know that hundreds of homes, workplaces and offices of suspects have been raided in ‘fishing expeditions’. We know that family members, associates, neighbors, clients, and employers of “suspects” have been interrogated, pressured and intimidated. Above all, we know that tens of millions of law abiding citizens, critical of domestic economic and overseas war policies, have been censored by the very real fear of the massive operations carried out by the police state.

In this atmosphere of intimidation, any critical conversation or word spoken in any context or relayed via the media can be interpreted by nameless, faceless spies as a “security threat” – and one’s name can enter into the ever growing secret lists of “potential terrorists”. The very presence and dimensions of the police state is intimidating. While there are citizens who would claim that the police state is necessary to protect them from terrorists – But how many others feel compelled to embrace their state terrorists just to fend off any suspicion, hoping to stay off the growing lists? How many critical-minded Americans now fear the state and will never voice in public what they whisper at home?

The bigger the secret police, the greater its operations. The more regressive domestic economic policy, the greater the fear and loathing of the political elite.

Even as President Obama and his Democratic and Republican partners boast and bluster about their police state and its effective “security function”, the vast majority of Americans are becoming aware that fear instilled at home serves the interest of waging imperial wars abroad; that cowardice in the face of police state threats only encourages further cuts in their living standards. When will they learn that exposing spying is only the beginning of a solution? When will they recognize that ending the police state is essential to dismantling the costly empire and creating a safe, secure and prosperous America?

# # # #

Professor James Petras, Boiling Frogs Post contributing analyst, is the author of more than 62 books published in 29 languages, and over 600 articles in professional journals, including the American Sociological Review, British Journal of Sociology, Social Research, and Journal of Peasant Studies. He has a long history of commitment to social justice, working in particular with the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement for 11 years. He writes a monthly column for the Mexican newspaper, La Jornada, and previously, for the Spanish daily, El Mundo. Dr. Petras received his B.A. from Boston University and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. You can visit his website here.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- June 17, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:03:51 +0000

BFP Nightly Quote

“We have the best government that money can buy.” – Mark Twain

International Newsworthy

Syrian Rebels Want Tanks, Warplanes

Saudi Arabia Wants European Missiles for Syrian Rebels: Report

Qatar, Israel Mull Arming Syria Rebels

Experts Skeptical of US Claim Syria Used Sarin

Obama Decision to Arm Syrian Rebels Has Nothing to Do with “Alleged” Chemical Weapons Use

Iraq No-Fly Zone Viewed as Symbol for One in Syria

Pentagon to Keep Patriot Missiles, F-16s in Jordan after War Games

Iran to Send 4,000 Troops to Aid Bashar al-Assad’s Forces in Syria

Syria’s Assad Stresses Determination to Continue Cooperation with Iran

Syria Rally Hits US Embassy in London

Germany Rules Out Arms for Syrian Rebels

Moscow Blasts UNHRC’s ‘Hezbollah-Focused’ Resolution on Syria

Russia Not to Allow No-Fly Zone in Syria

No-Fly Zone in Syria Would Break International Law: Russian Foreign Minister

Explosion Hits Military Airport Near Damascus

Dozens Dead’ in Aleppo Car Bomb Attack

Syrian Civil War Reopens Trade Route through Israeli Port * * * *

Turkey Threatens to Deploy Army to End Unrest

Turkey: Erdoğan Evicts Protesters, Stages His Own Rally

Turkey: As AKP Aims to Silence International Media, Police Continue to Storm Taksim; Uprising Spreads

Erdogan Places Blame for Protests on International Conspiracy

Everyone Who Enters Taksim Square Will Be Treated as a Terrorist: Turkish EU Minister

Turkish PM Defends His ‘Duty’ to End Protests

Government Targets Doctors Who Treated Injured Demonstrators

Turkish Unions Call for Nationwide Strike

Will Gezi Protests Divide Turkish Society?

Ankara Police Block Activist Funeral Cortege, Raid Memorial Protest with Tear Gas

Mother of Turkish Protester Killed in Ankara: ‘Erdogan Must Resign’

*** * * ***

Rohani Becomes Iran’s New President – Overview

Rouhani: A Consensus on the Past

Chances for Nuclear Deal Rise with Rohani

What Does Hassan Rohani Mean for the United States?

Iran to Be More “Transparent” in Nuclear Issue: President- Elect

Iranian Kurdish Struggle Linked to Turkey, Syria

*** * * ***

Taliban ‘Set to Open Office in Qatar’

Afghan Bomb Victims Pay Price of Graft

Supply Trucks Attacked in Afghanistan

‘No End to Military Atrocities in Balochistan’

Security Tightened in Pakistan after Twin Bomb Attack

Only Two Militants Executed Quetta Attack

14 Students Die as Female Bomber Attacks University Bus in Pakistan

*** * * ***

Mortar Attack on Iranian Dissident Camp in Iraq Kills Three

Iraq: Wave of Car Bombs Kill At Least 30

Iraq Closes Anbar Crossing as Sunni Protests Continue

Allawi: Political Trust Is Almost Non-Existent

Iraqi Holy City Hit Hard by Iran Economic Woes

Family Rule Taints Kurdistan’s Rise

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Rejects Zawahiri Ruling on Nusra

Report: Gulf States ‘Unable to Protect Themselves’ Despite Military Spending

Qatar Is Funding International Terrorism

Qatar, ‘Market Maker’ in the Middle East

*** * * ***

Egypt Arrests Man for ‘Spying for Israel’

Egyptian Opposition Expects Violent Clashes on June 30

Judge Assassinated in Eastern Libya

Nigeria Detains “Suspicious” Ukrainian Cargo Plane

Niger Police ‘Attack’ May Be Guards’ Over-Reaction: Minister

LRA Rebels ‘Kill Villagers in Central Africa’

*** * * ***

The New Great Game Round-Up, June16

China & Central Asia: A Significant New Energy Nexus

Russia Says 50 Groups in U.S. Raise Funds for North Caucasus Extremists

Russia Sees Turkey through Its Own Lens

NATO Trains U.S. Troops at Georgian Mountain Training Center

Scandal Undermines Karimov Succession

Turkmenistan to Recognize Russia’s Dual Citizens

*** * * ***

Top Firms Call for Europe Drone Project

German Spies to Boost Net Surveillance

Czech PM Resigns Amid Spying and Corruption Scandal

Police State Canada: Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) Runs Massive Domestic Spying Program

National Newsworthy

Cryptome: Military-Spy-Industry-Media War Dunce 2013

On PRISM, Partisanship & Propaganda

Utah: The NSA’s Desert Home for Eavesdropping on America

NSA Spying Includes Contents of US Phone Calls

NSA Admits Listening to US Phone Calls without Warrants

DNI Denies NSA Analysts Can Tap Calls Without a Warrant
The Next NSA Spying Shoe to Drop: “Pre-Crime” Artificial Intelligence

Retired Federal Judge: Your Faith in Secret Surveillance Court Is Dramatically Misplaced

3 NSA Veterans Speak Out on Whistleblower: We Told You So

*** * * *

NSA Targeted Russian President at London G20 Summit

China Army Newspaper Hits Out at PRISM

British Security Agency (GCHQ) Spying Documents Revealed

NSA Targeted Russian President at London G20 Summit

Hong Kong to Handle Snowden’s Case According to “Laws”

* * * *

AT&T to Load iPhones With Alerts from Obama – That You Can’t Switch Off

Microsoft Said to Give Exploits to US Government Before It Patches Them

Apple Details Law Enforcement Requests for Customer Data

Left and Right Sue Obama Administration over Indiscriminate Phone Spying

* * * *

Majority of Senators Skipped Important Briefing about Classified Surveillance Program

Poll: Obama Approval Rating Drops amid Slew of Controversies

Final House Vote on Renewing NDAA

U.S. House Passes NDAA Amendment Bill to Ensure Israel Can ‘Remove Existential Threats’

House Passes Ban on Drone Strikes against US Citizens

* * * *

Now Feds Want Your Mental Health Records

Obamacare will Share Personal Health Info with Federal, State Agencies

Janet Napolitano Denies Existence of ‘Orwellian State’

Contractors Account for 22% of Defense Dept. Workforce, but 50% of Workforce Cost

* * * *

How the U.S.-EU Trade Deal would Grant Sweeping Corporate Privileges

China Cuts US Bonds

Withdrawal Syndrome Sparks Anxiety for Fed

Detroit Defaults on Debt Payments

Aetna Pulls Out Of California Individual Insurance Market in Response to Obamacare

Noteworthy Editorials

Eric Margolis: You’re Living in East Germany

James Bamford: Building America’s Secret Surveillance State

Thomas Drake: Snowden Saw What I Saw: Surveillance Criminally Subverting the Constitution

Ron Paul: Obama’s Syria Policy Looks a Lot Like Bush’s Iraq Policy

Stephen Lendman: The Chemical Weapons Hoax

Max Blumenthal: Meet the Israeli-Linked Firm that Sold Big Brother Machines to Mubarak, Qaddafi – and Washington

3 Reasons the ‘Nothing to Hide’ Crowd Should Be Worried About Government Surveillance

The Whistleblowers are the New Generation of American Patriots

The Snowden Litmus Test

The War Comes To Syria

BFP Select Videos & Podcast

Video 1: Reuters TV-Ex-NSA Official on Snowden and the U.S. Spy Leviathan

Video 2: Al Etejah TV- James Corbett on PRISM as Just the Tip of the Iceberg

Video 3: RT- Snowden’s Leaks Could Be Just Tip of Iceberg

Video 4: Planned Parenthood Exposed

BFP Podcast Show – Cryptome.Org’s John Young: “Why is Edward Snowden Censored by Craven Media?”

Podcast 1: Traces of Reality- Cele Castillo: DEA Whistleblower on the ‘war on drugs’ and US government’s dirty little secrets

Podcast 2: Corbett Report- The Catcher in the Rye

Podcast 3: Peter B. Collins Show- US Gets More Involved in Syria’s War, the Dirtiest War on the Planet**

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Time to Raise Political Asylum Quotas for Americans?

Sibel Edmonds — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:59:26 +0000

Here is Where the USA Should Top the List: the International Quota for Political Refugees

I don’t know how you feel about surveys, ranking or indexes, but whether you follow them or not, you must be aware of how we’ve been falling steadily as a nation. Those of you who follow lists-surveys and global indexes, let’s admit it- as a nation we have not been going up on most global ranking lists – in fact, just the opposite.

We have been going down on the list of the World’s Least Corruption Nations-way down. We have been dropping continuously when it comes to our ranking in the education arena. We have been dropping royally when it comes to Healthcare Systems. When it comes to World Press Freedom, we are embarrassingly low, behind Cape Verde, Cyprus, and even trailing Mali, Tanzania, El Salvador, Botswana and Comoros!! We didn’t even make it onto the ridiculous list of the top ten nations’ national happiness index.

All these competitive areas aside, there is one list we should be climbing steadily and rapidly. Even if you don’t care about all those other global lists you must care about this particular one; for your own good and even your survival. I am talking about a list pertaining to a nation’s status as to its need for acceptance of its political refugees by the global community.

Please don’t laugh or shrug off this suggestion. Instead, pause and think about our whistleblowers in jail or those awaiting the results of their prosecutions. Remember the journalists and reporters being targeted and investigated by our national police. Recall our new laws recently put in place to secretly and indefinitely detain any American citizen (that is you and me)-without any warrant or even having to show any justification. Think about the still-growing national no-fly list. Remind yourself of torture as our government’s common practice; abroad and here at home. Take a look at your land line, cell, laptop, fax and I-Pad as tools used by our government to illegally-secretly-continuously spy on you.

Now you see what I am talking about.

If you still find the notion difficult to accept, then think of the dozens of Hollywood movie classics on the Stasi and KGB. Remember how people climbed the wall or crawled through tunnels to escape the constant surveillance and arbitrary detentions of their national police. Their national police cited national security and unity. Now consider how the NSA and dozens of mega-corporations have you under surveillance illegally; around the clock. Our national police have been citing national security.

How do you think our camps for our citizens to be detained under our new national law, NDAA, would be different than those set up by the Stasi, KGB and the like?

You remember how other western nations received the lucky escapees from the fascistic or communist regimes with open arms? Well, now they should be receiving us, our escapees; with open arms.

They have to. They must. Not doing it would be in violation of their laws and their international pledge:

Asylum is granted to people fleeing persecution or serious harm in their own country and therefore in need of international protection. Asylum is a fundamental right; granting it is an international obligation, first recognized in the 1951 Geneva Convention on the protection of refugees. In the EU, an area of open borders and freedom of movement, countries share the same fundamental values and States need to have a joint approach to guarantee high standards of protection for refugees. Procedures must at the same time be fair and effective throughout the EU and impervious to abuse. With this in mind, the EU States have committed to establishing a Common European Asylum System.

…

And here is the international law describing who qualifies for international protection-Based on UN Convention & Protocols[Emphasis Mine]:

Grounded in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of human rights 1948, which recognizes the right of persons to seek asylum from persecution in other countries, the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, adopted in 1951, is the centerpiece of international refugee protection today.(1)

A refugee, according to the Convention, is someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.

…

Today, we, the citizens of the United States of America, face prosecution, persecution, torture, and possible assassination for engaging in certain journalistic or even Good Samaritan reporting of illegal-criminal-unconstitutional activities by those trusted with our nation’s health, wealth, and security.

Our government has been engaged in ongoing torture and human rights violations at home and abroad. Whether it is the globally recognized USA halls-of-shame in Guantanamo, Bagram and Abu Ghraib, or, secretly carried out atrocities in our government’s black cites around the globe, or, tortures inflicted on a citizen here at home who is guilty of exposing government criminalities, our government is now recognized and acknowledged as a Supreme Torturer.

This situation now is being extended to those of us who may have read or disseminated information originally gathered and distributed by others. Today our whistleblowers-truth tellers-Good Samaritans are thrown behind bars, while our criminals who engage in robbing our taxpayers of billions of dollars, or those who engage in torture and murder, are highly protected and handsomely awarded by our rulers.

We United States Citizens have been deprived of expressing collective dissent even through the most peaceful means and in the most pacifist manner. Our participation or membership in social groups or gatherings that challenge illegal wars or anti humanitarian practices land us on our government’s never-defined ‘enemy & terrorist’ list, with consequences ranging from being prohibited from traveling , to having our homes raided and families intimidated by armed government militia, to being persecuted and thrown before a federal grand jury to face possible incarceration for our beliefs.

We Americans, every single one of us, are treated as potential terrorists, are considered guilty with no way to prove otherwise. We all are subjected to round the clock warrantless-illegal surveillance , and degrading violation-probing-groping searches as mandatory requirements for our travel.

I believe, and you should as well, that we have more than enough cases of recorded atrocities, criminalities and violations inflicted upon us by our very own government to expect a substantial increase in our nation’s status-ranking for acceptance of our political refugees.

I know, and you do too, that there are many nations with governmental practices worse than ours. However, our bad government is much bigger than their bad governments, with much higher capabilities. When you have a huge government like ours, with incredible technological and weaponry capabilities as ours does, you risk far graver atrocities than with smaller bad governments with limited capabilities. That’s a fact. Our big bad government is far worse than their small bad government. And that should increase and elevate our nation’s ranking in the international community’s political refugee quota-status.

As for the so-called liberal nations: we urge you to remember the Stasi and the suffocating repression suffered by the East Germans, and then, go ahead and multiply that by a six-digit number of your choice. Any number will do, that is, as long as it has six digits. Our technology-enabled Stasis can tap, record, analyze and save billions of communications. Our rulers’ mega corporate collaborators can pull the plug on millions of us with no recourse available or even imaginable. Our mega military’s ferocious drones can pinpoint and turn us into ashes with a secret order issued on a simple letterhead.

We implore the international community to grant us, the Citizens of the United States of America, ‘High Priority Political Asylum’ status. At least consider a swapping arrangement whereby the international community’s highest-level criminals, con artists, professional swindlers, and or psychotic serial torturers are sent here where they can find an agreeable working-practicing environment and unlimited government protection and rewards, in exchange for those of us in search of peace, a reasonable degree of freedom and justice.

# # # #

Sibel Edmonds is the Publisher & Editor of Boiling Frogs Post and the author of the Memoir Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story. She is the recipient of the 2006 PEN Newman’s Own First Amendment Award for her “commitment to preserving the free flow of information in the United States in a time of growing international isolation and increasing government secrecy” Ms. Edmonds has a MA in Public Policy and International Commerce from George Mason University, a BA in Criminal Justice and Psychology from George Washington University.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Saluting Those Who Stand By a True Alternative

Sibel Edmonds — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 04:58:04 +0000

Boiling Frogs Post Team Thanks You for All Your Support

We have achieved our goal in raising the funds needed to carry us for another quarter. We want to thank you for all your support. We appreciate your kind and generous donations during these tough economic times. We know that your support goes beyond monetary donations- that your support is also your statement and action against disinformation and propaganda. You have placed your faith and trust in us, and we have made ‘you’ the sole determinant of our existence, survival and expansion. This is the only way to pursue the truth and needed changes: with critical minds, without partisanship, with no agenda-driven funding, staunchly and independently.

This quarter we will be adding two new weekly podcast shows to our programs. In the next few weeks I’ll provide you with more details on two exciting new hosts who will join our partners and their bold-daring weekly shows. We’ll also be improving and updating our website’s design and functions. With your support and contributions we hope to be able to bring on board investigative journalists to take on subjects and stories long-censored and ignored by the mainstream and pseudo-alternative media outlets.

Four years ago we launched this website as a home for the irate minority, and the following quote sums up my objectives back then and now:

“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds” - Samuel Adams

Thank you again for joining us at this home of the irate minority.

Sibel Edmonds

The New Great Game Round Up- June 16, 2013

Christoph Germann — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:15:50 +0000

CIA Guiding the Evolution of Islam, UAE: NATO’s Proxy at Work, “Colour Revolution in Kyrgyzstan?” & More!

The Great Game Round-Up brings you the latest newsworthy developments regarding Central Asia and the Caucasus region. We document the struggle for influence, power, hegemony and profits in Central Asia and the Caucasus region between a U.S.-dominated NATO, its GCC proxies, Russia, China and other regional players.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held its 10th joint counterterrorism drill in Kazakhstan this week. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan assisted the host nation while China, Russia and Uzbekistan observed the drill. Since 2002 the SCO member states have been conducting joint military exercises, primarily focusing on anti-terror operations. The recent drill featured a terrorist invasion in Kazakhstan:

The drill stimulates a situation where terrorists enter Kazakhstan by helicopters and automobiles, hijack hostages in a bordering village and attempt to conduct terrorist activities.

The mission is for counter forces from SCO member countries to crack down on the terrorist group and rescue hostages through both ground and aerial operations.

…

Professor Wang Baofu from the PLA National Defence University explains the underlying motives:

“This year the drill is not massive in scale but involves multiple central Asian countries. We know that the situation in Afghanistan is facing a critical point with unclear prospects, as the Taliban and NATO forces are taking undergoing fierce combats in important locations. Additionally, terrorists inside Afghanistan are operating rapidly. All these factors pose threats to these central Asian countries.”

China immediately addressed concerns about the increasing military cooperation and emphasized that the Chinese-led SCO will not turn into a military alliance.

CIA Guiding the Evolution of Islam

The joint drills are part of ongoing efforts to cement ties between the Central Asian countries in order to counter present and future threats. According to the director of the State Commission on Religious Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, Abdulatif Zhumabaev, one of these threats is extremism:

Expert: Central Asian countries should work together to fight extremism

According to him, every year, the country is visited by hundreds of preachers from different countries.

“Stabilization of the religious situation in Eurasia depends on many factors. Priests and how they are trained are amongst these factors. Yet this issue was dealt by the missionaries from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Turkey, and India. The world is again, on the verge of religious wars as it was in the Middle Ages. Certainly, this problem requires scientific understanding and practical actions,” Kairat Lama Sharif said.

He said that everything mentioned lead to the conclusion that religion today acts as an pivot for integration in the post-Soviet space.

…

Religion has often been used to further a certain agenda. Regarding the role of Islam in Central Asia we should consider this famous quote which is accredited to CIA agent Graham Fuller [emphasis mine]:

“The policy of guiding the evolution of Islam and of helping them against our adversaries worked marvelously well in Afghanistan against [the Russians]. The same doctrines can still be used to destabilize what remains of Russian power, and especially to counter the Chinese influence in Central Asia.”

…

Graham Fuller has very close ties to Fethullah Gülen and was one target of the FBI’s Gladio B investigation. While Gülen’s schools in the South Caucasus are currently flourishing, his vast network in Central Asia was established already several years ago and has been used since the late 1990s to radicalize young Muslims. Once their training by commandos of Turkish military and Pakistani ISI is completed, these new “mujahideen” are deployed for operations in different target areas by the United States and its allies.

Hizb ut-Nusrat & Hizb ut-Tahrir

Besides the Gülen cult there are a number of terrorist organizations which have specialized in radicalizing the Muslim population. Recently an almost unknown group called Hizb ut-Nusrat emerged in Uzbekistan [emphasis mine]:

Members of new extremist movement arrested in Uzbekistan

Law enforcement agencies of Uzbekistan revealed a training school for extremist women in Tashkent, 12uz.com news portal said.

Mahmudhuzha Akhmedzhanov was sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment in December 2012 for unlawful activities as a member of the religious extremist organization Hizb ut-Nusrat. Following the orders, his wife Lola Akhmedzhanova gathered religious women and taught them illegal religious background.

…

Covert Islamic group leader convicted in Uzbekistan

Yet high secrecy did not help Hizb un-Nusrat members: about 20 of them were found, detained and sentenced, the source stressed. Stricter anti-terrorist measures and migration control forced Al Qaeda to use Hizb ut-Tahrir, which originally proclaimed its non-violent nature, expert Nurali Begaliyev told Interfax. There is a high probability of radicalization of Hizb ut-Tahrir and Hizb un-Nusrat under the growing influence of Al Qaeda, which may trigger their terrorist operations with unpredictable consequences, he said.

…

Hizb ut-Nusrat appears to be an offshoot of Hizb ut-Tahrir and shares its goals. As previously discussed, Hizb ut-Tahrir is essentially a conveyor belt for terrorists and has spawned top terrorist recruiters like Omar Bakri Muhammad who has been working for British intelligence services since the mid-1990s.

Uzbekistan is trying to contain the threat of Hizb-ut Nusrat and preparing for possible attacks:

Uzbekistan to train specialists for fighting terrorism and carrying out special operations

And neighboring Kyrgyzstan is dealing with Hizb ut-Tahrir:

Hizb ut-Tahrir leader detained in Naryn

Leader of local Hizb ut-Tahrir unit has been detained in Naryn town, the State National Security Committee reported. According to the intelligence agencies, a 39-year-old leader of one of the extremist organization’s regional units, acting in Naryn province, as well as two other its members, have been arrested in course of investigation.

…

9 Hizb ut-Tahrir activists arrested in Osh region

Colour Revolution in Kyrgyzstan?

Given the strategic importance of Osh Province and USAID’s invovlement in this region, the latest arrest is not surprising. Bishkek hopes to improve its border stability with the new control programme Kalkan (Shield):

Kyrgyzstan’s new border control programme operational

The programme is expected to help thwart terrorism and drug and human trafficking. Similar programmes have taken effect in other CIS countries, but specialists at the International Organisation on Migration (IOM) designed the Kyrgyz programme to best fit the country’s needs.

Kalkan includes scanners, a database, an automated system for checking documents and a system for communications between BCPs and INTERPOL.

…

While the Kalkan border control programme is certainly useful, the next measure is questionable:

Joint Kyrgyz-American training to combat terrorism held in Tokmok

Nine representatives of the U.S. Army Special Forces Central Command headed by senior instructor Jeremy John and forty Kyrgyz soldiers of special forces during a month will share their knowledge, the PR department of the Ministry of Defense of the KR reports.

…

The last time I checked Washington was supporting and not fighting terrorism. Relations between Kyrgyzstan and the United States deteriorated since the Kyrgyz government decided to cancel the Manas Transit Center deal. There was even speculation in Kyrgyzstan about a connection between the Manas denouncement and recent protests against the Kumtor Gold Mine. According to Kyrgyz politicians “the protests were initiated by global players” in an effort to destabilize the country.

These concerns are probably justified considering the suspicious timing of Kyrgyzstan’s Tulip Revolution, which was highlighted by James Corbett in a previous BFP EyeOpener Report:

“The timing of the revolution itself was suspiciously fortuitous for the United States, which had enjoyed good relations with Akayev from the time of the opening of the Manas base in 2001 until October 2003, when Akayev allowed the reopening of an old Soviet base in Kant by the Russians in the name of combating terror in neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Kyrgyzstan was immediately put on the US State Department’s watch list, and aid increased to Kyrgyz opposition groups via a number of American-based NGOs.”

…

So joint counterterrorism exercises with the United States are probably not the best idea and Bishkek should instead intensify existing cooperation with fellow CSTO countries:

Interior Ministries of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan sign cooperation plan in fight against extremism, terrorism

Kyrgyz and Russian Ministries of Defense conduct military exercises in Batken

After the CSTO member states recently agreed to strengthen their armed forces, Kyrgyzstan is already contributing its share by acquiring air defense systems from China:

It’s not clear whether Kyrgyzstan is buying these systems or China is giving them as aid, or what kind of air defense we’re talking about. Either way, it’s an intriguing development given that Russia just promised Bishkek more than $1 billion in military aid and that there are ongoing plans to create a joint CSTO air defense system.

…

China Looking for Gas in Central Asia

Beijing is increasing its cooperation with Central Asian countries. Especially the Tajik government is looking to attract Chinese investment but this creates dependence:

Tajikistan piles on China debt

Rahmon’s official visit resulted in several multi-million-dollar investment projects in the infrastructure, banking, energy and mining sectors, as well as a technical cooperation agreement that altogether added up to around US$200 million, thereby further strengthening China’s presence in Tajikistan’s economy.

…

Tajikistan’s large natural gas reserves could solve this problem:

Tajikistan’s Gas Boom: Prosperity or Conflict?

Tajikistan now sits upon a gas and condensate resource that – depending on global commodity prices – could be worth a trillion dollars or more. The country is unlikely to become a Norway in the Pamirs, but there is no reason it cannot follow in the footsteps of a country like Botswana, which at its independence in 1966 was one of the world’s poorest countries, but now enjoys “middle income” status because it prudently managed its income resource income (from diamond mining) to maintain strong economic growth, despite major internal development challenges such as HIV/AIDS.

…

China with its growing natural gas market and constant need for gas supplies will probably become the largest customer and give Tajikistan the chance to improve its economic situation. But this will also depend on Dushanbe’s ability to deal with the rampant corruption and security challenges:

Intl terrorism, religious extremism threaten Tajikistan – senate speaker

The Tajik authorities are therefore taking measures to advance the country’s security [emphasis mine]:

President of Tajikistan signs laws to combat terrorism financing

Tajiks, INTERPOL discuss security challenges

Tajikistan is making increased use of the police organisation’s global tools, Noble said during his first trip to Tajikistan, adding that the number of INTERPOL notices (requests for INTERPOL member-state police agencies to share information) issued this year at Tajikistan’s request reached a record high.

…

As previously noticed in Kyrgyzstan, there are questionable steps in Tajikistan as well:

UK govt. signs agreement to enhance security in Tajikistan

British government has signed an agreement to enhance security along the border shared by Tajikistan and Afghanistan, the British Embassy in Tajikistan says.

…

Meanwhile Beijing works hard to secure gas supplies and is stepping up its cooperation with another Central Asian country in the energy sector:

Kazakhstan, China intend to increase gas transport

China has better chance than India for joining Kashagan project: analyst

China has greater chances than India for joining the project on the development of Kashagan, a giant oil field in Kazakhstan’s sector of the Caspian Sea, according to a Kazakh analyst.

…

Kazakhstan also plays a central role in the revival of the Silk Road:

Kazakhs launch ‘Silk Road’ China-Europe rail route

Now it takes just 15 days for trains carrying containers with electronic goods, construction materials and other cargo to cover the 10,800 km (6,750 miles) route from Chongqing in southwest China to Duisburg in Germany’s industrial Ruhr region.

…

UAE: NATO’s Proxy at Work

China is not the only foreign investor in Kazakhstan worth mentioning. The next one is also very interested in neighboring Uzbekistan [emphasis mine]:

UAE potential investments in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, UAE business circles discuss cooperation development

Landmark Kazakhstan mosque highlights UAE ties

The Foundation has also pledged to send 40 tonnes of dates to Kazakhstan each year as part of its development initiative. “Also, around Dh200 million has been set aside to develop the infrastructural development schemes in Kazakhstan by the Foundation,” Al Khoury added.

…

“Infrastructural development schemes” is a nice term to describe the financing of Operation Gladio B. The UAE has a very close relationship with NATO and like other GCC petro-monarchies it is essentially a proxy for the U.S.-led military alliance.

So the next two news items might be closely connected:

Dubai eyes ‘promising’ CIS states

CIS Chief Warns of Looming Asian Crises

“Unfortunately, there is a growing potential for future threats to Central Asian countries, and we must be prepared for this in advance,” Lebedev added.

…

In light of these developments, it is hardly surprising that recent talks between Kazakh president Nazarbayev and his Uzbek counterpart Karimov dealt with the issue of security in the region:

Kazakh President to visit Uzbekistan to discuss «security in Central Asia»

Kazakh, Uzbek Leaders Sign Strategic Partnership Agreement

The Kazakh leader added that Central Asia’s regional security “greatly depends on cooperation between the two countries.”

…

Moscow is aware of these issues and moves to strengthen its ties with Astana and Tashkent:

Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan form new geopolitical triangle

This alliance will be able to develop effective joint strategy towards China and USA politics in the region as well as towards Afghanistan and power transit in the region, that first of all means, succession to foreign policy priorities.

…

# # # #

Christoph Germann- BFP Contributing Author & Analyst
Christoph Germann is an independent analyst and researcher based in Germany, where he is currently studying political science. His work focuses on the New Great Game in Central Asia and the Caucasus region. You can visit his website here

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Soothing the Beast: Saturday Night BFP-Jamiol Music, Episode 73

Paul Jamiol — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:34:04 +0000

Bon Jovi- “Livin”

It’s Bon Jovi rocking with “Livin’ on a Prayer” for this week’s Soothing the Beast BFP/Jamiol Music Pick. The single was released in late 1986 and was second single from Jovi’s Slippery When Wet album. It was written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Desmond Child. So it’s a rockin’ upbeat song for our Saturday night show…enjoy…DJPJ

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Radio New Zealand National: A Memorable, Sobering & Humbling Interview

Sibel Edmonds — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:12:31 +0000

Last Thursday I was interviewed by one of the (if not ‘the’) most respected and award-winning radio hosts in New Zealand – Kim Hill. Please take a few minutes and read her bio here. Thanks to Ms. Hill’s producer Mark Cubey we were able to overcome the Time-Zone Difference obstacle. They were kind enough to allocate over an hour to this interview, and I must say, this was one of the most memorable interviews I have had (as you know I’ve had hundreds- and several good ones .

What made this interview memorable to me-in addition to having a host who was intelligent-articulate-informed and tough (yes, tough!), was the last few questions during the second half of the show- particularly, a tough but humbling question I was asked towards the end of the show. This was the first time anyone has ever asked me ‘that’ question- and the very first time I’ve ever had to pause, think hard, reflect, and answer it with an answer sobering to myself …

Here is the link to the show (you may want to skip the first 20 minutes or so-the usual background/whistleblowing journey related topics, if you are familiar with my case or book): Click Here

Direct Link:

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2558757/sibel-edmonds-whistle-blowing

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- June 14, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:05:14 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.” – Ayn Rand

International Newsworthy

US Offers ‘Military Support’ to Syrian Rebels

U.S. Plans Direct Military Interference In Syria: Russian MP

With Chemical Weapons Allegations, Syrian Conundrum Shifts

U.S. Falsifies Reports on Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria: Syrian Diplomat

Russian Lawmaker: Obama ‘Fabricated’ Evidence on Syria

UK Backs US Chemical Weapons Claims

Why Arming the Syrian Opposition Could Be as Dangerous as Putting U.S. Boots on the Ground

Syria Opposition “Hails” US Arms Supply

Moscow Unconvinced by US Evidence of Syrian Chemical Weapons Use

U.S. Military Proposal to Arm Rebels Includes No-Fly Zone in Syria

Carney: Obama ‘Welcomes’ Advice from Bill Clinton on Attacking Syria

UN Warns of Israel-Syria Escalation

US Decides to Keep Fighters in Jordan

Jordan Shuts Down Border Crossings from Syria

Egypt Says Citizens Free to Join Fight in Syria

Syria War Turns to Homs

Syria Rebels Seize Key Army Position in Hama: Activists

* * * *

Istanbul Protesters Reject Ultimatum to Evacuate Park

Why Turks Are Good at Protesting

Turkey: Resistance Park

The Only Win-Win for Erdogan and Turkey

Erdogan Backers: Use Guns, Not Tear-Gas on Protesters

No Clear Result after Turkish PM, Protesters Meet

Turkish PM to Delay Istanbul Park Project

Turkey Bids for Afghan Withdrawal Transit Business

* * * *

Big Question as Iran Picks a President: Will Reformists Turn Out to Vote?

Iran Says Voter Turnout to Hit 70%

Afghanistan Frees Bagram Prisoners

Karzai Seeks UK Explanation on Drones

Pakistan Military Technology Row ‘Threatens Israel’s Strategic Relationship With India’

Al Qaeda Activist Arrested in Murder of Benazir Case Prosecutor

India: Delhi Bill to Criminalize Opposition to GM Food

* * * *

Allawi: Maliki’s Visit to Kurdistan Is to Calm Tensions Because of His Failure to Run the Country

Yemen’s ‘Verbal’ Recognition of Kosovo Fuels Confusion

Israel Minister Says There Will Never Be A Palestinian State

Palestine Decries Israel’s New Outposts Plan

* * * *

Libya: No Impunity for ‘Black Saturday’ Benghazi Deaths

TV Channel Offices Attacked in Libya’s Benghazi

Morsi’s Rule Said Threatened by Impending Protests

Ethiopia Ratifies Controversial Nile Accord

The UN Prepares to Go to War for the First Time, with a 3,000-Strong Task Force Sent to Fight Rebels in the Congo

Khartoum Says Rebels Based in South Sudan Caused Oil Pipeline Blast

General Wanted Over Ugandan Memo Leak Now Hiding in Britain

* * * *

Russia’s Upgraded Nuclear Cruiser to Rejoin Navy In 2018

Internet Sector Sounds Alarm over Fresh Russian Anti-Piracy Bill

Rosneft Enters Norwegian Continental Shelf in Barents Sea

Georgia: Russia Flashes Territorial Appetite

Georgia: Jihad in the Backyard

Kyrgyzstan: Parliament Failing Public-Faith Test

* * * *

Drive East: NATO Shifts Command From Spain to Turkey

France Launches Probe into ‘Vulnerable’ Nuclear Base after Media Disclosure

Source: Poland, Czechs Balk on Blacklisting Hezbollah

‘American Dictate’: Swiss Parliament Split on Banking Secrecy Law

U.S. Troop Training Numbers in Australia to Reach 1115 in 2014: Defense Minister

National Newsworthy

US Cyber Force Ready to Unleash Hell

Surveillance Programs Reveal U.S. Hypocrisy

Secretive US Cyber Unit Has Been Spying on China for 15 Years

Inside the NSA’s Ultra-Secret China Hacking Group

US-China Ties Further Complicated By Snowden Charges

Pressure Builds on US over Hong Kong Civilian Hacking Allegations

* * * *

Inside the NSA: Peeling Back the Curtain on America’s Intelligence Agency

NSA Leaks Hint Microsoft May Have Lied about Skype Security

Thousands Of Firms Trade Confidential Data With The US Government In Exchange For Classified Intelligence

NSA to Release Details of Attacks It Claims Were Foiled by Surveillance

FBI Director Says US Will Hold Snowden Responsible on NSA Leak

Snowden on US Govt: ‘If They Want to Get You, They’ll Get You in Time’

NSA Whistleblower Barred from UK

* * * *

Lawmakers Planning Bill to Limit Contractor Access to NSA Secrets

Senators Challenge NSA’s Claim to Have Foiled ‘Dozens’ of Attacks

NSA Leaker Snowden is Lying, Say Leaders of House Intelligence Committee

Confidence in Congress Falls to Lowest on Record: 10%

* * * *

Pentagon Five-Year Cybersecurity Plan Seeks $23 Billion

Report: President’s Africa Trip Expected to Cost $60 to $100 Million

Coburn Blasts Holder over $58 Million in DOJ Spending on ‘Junkets’

State Department Has Hired Agents with Criminal Records, Memo Reveals

Nepotism Considered Normal at Energy Dept.

Undercover CIA Agent Sues Agency over Stalled Probe of Alleged War Crimes

Supreme Court Bans Protests on Its Grounds

* * * *

Foreclosures Jump 11 Percent as Banks Bet on Rising Home Prices

Current-Account Deficit in US Widens 3.7% in First Quarter

Treasury Sales by Foreigners Hit Record High in April

Noteworthy Editorials

M K Bhadrakumar: Obama’s Monica Moment

Paul Pillar: The Commitment Ploy

Washington’s Blog: Bipartisan Skepticism of America’s War in Syria

Stephen Lendman: Turkey- Epicenter of Police State Violence

Why I Don’t Care About Edward Snowden

Obama Speaks With Forked Tongue on Surveillance

Why You Should Worry About the NSA

BFP Select Videos & Podcast

BFP EyeOpener Video Report: NSA Spying: False Hope vs. Real Solutions

Video 1: Escobar- “Obama Starts Syria War to Deviate from Snowden Scandal”

BFP Podcast Show 1- Cryptome.Org’s John Young: “Why is Edward Snowden Censored by Craven Media?”

BFP Podcast Show 2-The Reality Principle with Eric Draitser-“ Elections in Iran” with Yassamine Mather

BFP Podcast Show 3- Pepe Escobar on Police State USA, Apathy America, Uprising in Turkey & More!

Podcast: Corbett Report- Douglas Valentine on Scahill’s Dirty Wars

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Podcast Show #111: Why is Edward Snowden Censored by Craven Media – Washington Post & Guardian?

Sibel Edmonds — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:23:02 +0000

The Boiling Frogs Show Presents John Young

In this episode of the Boiling Frogs Post Show Cryptome.Org’s John Young joins us to discuss and evaluate the recent controversies involving NSA’s illegal surveillance, PRISM, and whistleblower Edward Snowden. Mr. Young talks about Snowden’s choice of publications to release the crucial information, and these craven outlets’ arm-waving, self-aggrandizing verbosity, after conspiring to obey official demands to censor his information, as a pattern well-documented by unfettered disclosure sites. We discuss the trust-worthiness and reliability of the mainstream media outlets when it comes to disclosures and leaks by whistleblowers and much more!

Listen to the preview Here

Here is our guest John Young unplugged!

This Podcast is available to BFP subscription members only. If you are a member, log in to listen. If you are not a member, you can subscribe by clicking on ‘Subscribe' below.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs

Jamiol Presents

Paul Jamiol — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:20:15 +0000

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- June 13, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:25:55 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.” –Henry David Thoreau

International Newsworthy

Russia NOT to Ship “Offensive” Weapons to Syria: Lawmaker

U.S. Eases Sanctions on Syrian Opposition

US ‘Debating Options’ to Help Syrian Rebels

Bill Clinton Sides With McCain Over Obama on Syria

UK Coalition Gives Clegg a Veto on Arming Syria

Colombia Worries as Troops Join Arab Mercenary Force

Diplomats Predict Assad Will Soon Launch Campaign to Retake Aleppo

UN: At Least 93,000 People Killed in Syria

Al-Qaeda Divides over Syria and Iraq

Over 6000 Foreign Militants Killed in Syria

Syria Islamist Rebels Celebrate Shi’ite Deaths

Iraqi Kurdistan Region Struggles to Cope with Syrian Refugees

* * * *

Turkey: Protests Reverberate in Anatolian Heartland

‘Everyone Is Afraid’: Erdogan Regime Cows Embattled Media

Erdogan Gives Protesters ‘Last Warning’

Turkish Interior Minister Urges Protesters to Leave Gezi Park

Referendum May Be Held on Gezi Park

Istanbul Square Crackdown Shakes Erdogan’s Regional Credibility

Mossad Chief Made Secret Visit to Turkey, Asked to Meet Erdogan

Protesting Kurds Finding Solidarity in Gezi

Kurds Fear Impact of Istanbul Protests on Peace Process

Turkish TV Channels Fined for Live Coverage of Protests

* * * *

Iran Flexes Muscle with Taliban Meeting

Iran Denies Foreign Minister Called for Talks With US

Bahrain Arrests ‘Iran-Linked’ Cyber Group

Iran: Reformist Groups, Figures Rally Around Rohani

Google Finds Iranians Hacked on Election Eve

Economic Issues Remain Murky as Iranians Go to the Polls

Iran Imposes Severe Restrictions on Media Election Coverage

* * * *

Afghanistan: Sentence Goes on for Foreign Detainees in Bagram

Blasts Kill 8 Afghan Soldiers, 4 Civilians

Six Policemen Found Dead in Afghanistan

Pakistan Sets Sights on Drones

Pakistan Hikes Defense Spending in New Budget

No Money in Pakistan Budget for Iranian Gas Pipeline That US Opposed

Pakistan Tries Anew to End Insurgency in Resource-Rich Baluchistan

Sharif Targets Power Crisis

* * * *

Al-Qaeda Linked Terrorists in Mali May Have Surface-to-Air Missiles

Jordan: U.S. Leads Large-Scale, 19-Nation War Games

Main Tuareg Rebel Group Says Ready to Sign Accord

Sudan’s Hassan al-Turabi: Bashir Does Not Represent Islam

1,072 Chinese Gold Miners Return from Ghana

* * * *

Putin Says Moscow Willing To Restore ‘Full Scale’ Relations with Georgia

Russians Rally for Release of Protesters

NGOs Find Loopholes in Russia’s Foreign Agents’ Law, Officials Urge Corrections

Russian Oil Price Jumps 20% in a Month as Rosneft Cuts Domestic Sales

Georgia to Shut Two Bases in Afghanistan

Georgia Goes on PR Offensive over Afghanistan

NATO Week in Georgia, Completing Integration of Balkans

Stratfor Head Says Coop with Azerbaijan Meets US “Interests”

Baltics Hope NDN Is Route to Closer Ties with Central Asia

Daghestani Police Thwart ‘Anti-Azerbaijani’ Protest

* * * *

Bank of England Advisor ‘We’ve Intentionally Blown the Biggest Government Bond Bubble in History’

EU Failed to Protect Citizens from NSA

Pressure on Merkel to Talk ‘Prism’ With Obama

Expansion of Saudi-British Defense Cooperation in Focus

Eni Awarded New Exploration Licenses in Barents Sea

National Newsworthy

The Cyberwar Industrial Complex

Only One Big Telecom CEO Refused to Cave to the NSA … And He’s Been In Jail For 4 Years

Was a Telecom CEO Sent to Prison for Resisting NSA?

The NSA’s Best Defense of Prism Didn’t Even Last a Week

NSA Surveillance Played Little Role in Foiling Terror Plots- Experts Say

HRW Sees Urgent Need for US Surveillance Reforms

Leak Highlights Risk of Outsourcing US Spy Work

* * * *

NSA’s Word Games: How They Deceived Congress

Reid: Lawmakers Were Informed About Phone, Internet Snooping

Feinstein & Rogers Refuse to Discuss Constitutionality of Mass Surveillance

Rep. Peter King Wants Glenn Greenwald Punished

Lawmakers See Edward Snowden as a Leaker, Not as a Hero

Senators Request Independent Investigation into NSA Programs

* * * *

Obama Administration Prepares Charges against NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden

Washington Post Talks to Feds on Publishing More NSA Slides

Feds Hunted for Snowden in Days Before NSA Leaks Went Public

More Americans See Man Who Leaked NSA Secrets as ‘Patriot’ than Traitor: Poll

Snowden Vows More Revelations

Snowden “I Am Neither A Traitor Nor Hero. I’m An American”

Edward Snowden Vows Not to ‘Hide from Justice’

Snowden Wants ‘People of Hong Kong to Decide My Fate’

NSA Leaker Fears for Family Safety

* * * *

IRS Agents Train with AR-15 Rifles

House Committee Looks into IRS Seizure of 60 Million Medical Records

Top U.S. General Disputes Benghazi Attack Story

US Probes Sexual Offenses by Envoys Abroad

DHS Wants Equipment for “Riot Control Situations”

Cryptome: Top 20 Cybersecurity Companies

* * * *

Supreme Court Strikes Down Gene Patents

Monsanto Hit with Class Action Lawsuits in Mystery GMO Wheat Case

Lieberman Staffer to Lead New Lobby Shop

U.S. Runs $139 Billion Budget Deficit in May

California, Illinois on Brink of Pension Crisis

Hourly Wages See Sharpest Drop Since at Least 1947; Bank Profits Hit Record High

Noteworthy Editorials

Pepe Escobar: See You on the Dark Side

Peter Dale Scott: The NATO Afghanistan War & US-Russian Relation-: Drugs, Oil, & War

Andrew Napolitano: Liberty in Shambles

Micah Zenko: To Protect and Defend…

Stephen Lendman: America’s National Security State

Security, Liberty and the Forever War

The Constitutional Amnesia of the NSA Snooping Scandal

Put the NSA on Trial

How Obama Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Unaccountable Surveillance

US Secret Police Secrets

BFP Select Videos & Podcast

BFP EyeOpener Video Report: NSA Spying: False Hope vs. Real Solutions

Video 1: Corbett Report-The Transformation of Society

Video 2: Corbett Report-New World Next Week

BFP Podcast Show 1-The Reality Principle with Eric Draitser-“ Elections in Iran” with Yassamine Mather

BFP Podcast Show 2- Pepe Escobar on Police State USA, Apathy America, Uprising in Turkey & More!

Podcast: Peter B. Collins Show-Snowden, Still in Hong Kong, Alleges US Hacking of China

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

The Reality Principle -Episode 32

Eric Draitser — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:41:08 +0000

“Elections in Iran” with Yassamine Mather

This week Eric sits down with Yassamine Mather to discuss this week’s presidential elections in Iran. Eric and Yassamine discuss the important factions (Principlists vs. Reformists) and the ideologies and attitudes they represent. Yassamine provides critical insight into the political and economic conditions of ordinary, working class Iranians living under conditions of economic warfare. Eric and Yassamine examine the issue of economic development and whether the development in Iran has been productive and equitable. Additionally, they discuss the Sistan-Balochistan region both in terms of its strategic importance to the United States and the various terror groups that call it home.

Yassamine Mather is the Chair of the Hands Off the People of Iran (HOPI) organization. She teaches at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for the Study of Socialist Theory and Movements. Visit the HOPI website at HOPOI.org.

Listen to the preview Here

Listen to the Podcast here (Subscribers Only):

This Podcast is available to BFP subscription members only. If you are a member, log in to listen. If you are not a member, you can subscribe by clicking on ‘Subscribe' below.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- June 12, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:33:22 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.” – Thomas Jefferson

International Newsworthy

Hezbollah Supporters to Be Expelled from GCC Countries

US Hits Hezbollah with New Sanctions

Lebanon in the Syrian War

Lebanon Warns Syria over Helicopter Raid

France Says Syrian War at ‘Turning Point’, Mulls Arming Rebels

Putin: Assad Could Have Avoided War by Enacting Political Reforms

Saudi Arabia, France Agree Qusayr Scenario Can’t Be Repeated in Aleppo

Israel Hasn’t Given Up on Persuading Russia Not to Send Air Defense System to Syria

Radical Rebels Storm Shiite Village in Eastern Syria

Rebels Kill 60 Shia Muslims in Syria

Syrian Residents Start Returning to Battered al-Qussair City

* * * *

Citizens of World & Citizens of Turkey: The Occupy Gezi Protests

Istanbul Crackdown Shakes Erdogan’s Regional Credibility

Turkey: With Taksim Operation, Erdogan Shoots His Own Foot

Istanbul Warzone: Thousands of Protesters Try to Reclaim Taksim Square

Turkish Riot Police Fire Tear Gas to Disperse Protesters, Violence Erupts

Human Rights Groups Censure Turkey

Erdogan, Gezi Park and the Headscarf

Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood: The Social Uprising against “Brother Erdogan”

Erdogan Raises the Stakes

Erdogan to Drum Up Support in Symbolic Sincan Suburb

* * * *

Iran’s Nuclear Program Peaceful: Russia

Why Iran’s Supreme Leader Wants Jalili for President

Taliban Bomber Kills 15 at Top Afghan Court

Pakistan May Seek World Support to End Drone Attacks

Drones Challenge Sharif

Four US Embassy Officials Detained at Karachi Airport

Pakistan Denies Receiving Military Equipment from Israel

Pakistan Denies British Weapons Report

* * * *

America Secretly Approves $1.3 Billion Worth of Military Aid to Egypt

Egypt’s Opposition Nixes Unity Talks

Hezbollah Raises Head in Libya

Libya’s Porous Borders Worry Its Neighbors

Gendarmerie Camp Attacked by Armed Men in Niger

Senegal to Get $800 Million in Financial Aid

U.S. Transfers $200 Million Grant to Jordan

* * * *

Rosneft & ExxonMobil Finalize Arctic Research Center & Technology Sharing Agreements

Russians: Financially Inactive or Financially Restricted?

INTERPOL Chief’s Visit to Tajikistan Underscores Security Priorities in Central Asia

Tajikistan Piles on China Debt

TurkmenGaz: Europe is a Priority Direction of Turkmen Gas Export

Armenia Looks West, Tries to Loosen Moscow’s Grip

* * * *

Germans Accuse US of Stasi Tactics before Obama Visit

Strike Called over Greek TV Closure

Lobbyists for Canadian Pipeline Have Deep Ties to White House

National Newsworthy

Prism Spying ‘Attacks Basic Civil Rights’

Prism Exposed: Data Surveillance with Implications for the World

NSA to Continue Global Surveillance Program

Defense Department Orders Employees, Contractors to Steer Clear of Surveillance Stories

The Mysterious Missing Slides from the NSA Leaked Presentation

* * * *

How the US Congress Lost the Plot on Secrecy, Surveillance & Accountability

Lawmakers Can Ask for Intel Info, but They Still Might Not Get It

Lawmakers Say NSA Briefing Didn’t Address Privacy Concerns

Feinstein and Rogers Refuse to Discuss Constitutionality of Mass Surveillance

Why Clapper’s Deception Destroys Obama’s Defense of Newly Revealed NSA Programs

K Street Lobbyists Tight-Lipped About Efforts to Influence the NSA

* * * *

US Preparing to Charge Snowden in NSA Leak – Report

US to Review Spy Leak’s “Potential” Damage

Snowden Says he will Fight any Extradition from Hong Kong

As Edward Snowden Speaks Out, Obama Goes Silent

Advice for Snowden from a Man Who Knows: ‘Always Check Six’

Ron Paul Warns U.S. Government May Assassinate Snowden

Russia May Grant Asylum for CIA Whistleblower

* * * *

IRS Buying Spying Equipment: Covert Cameras in Coffee Trays & Plants

Why Is the IRS Buying Spy Gear?

IRS Obamacare Official Clocked 165 White House Meetings

Ways and Means Chairman: IRS Targeting of Tea Party Groups Didn’t Start in Ohio

Rep. Schiff to Introduce Bill Ending War Authorization

* * * *

Obama FBI Increases FISA Requests 1,000%

FBI Client Data Requests Under PATRIOT ACT Skyrocket after Tech Firms Resistance

TSA Agent Pulls woman’s Breast Prosthesis Out of her Bra

DHS Admits to Backpack Drill in Boston

FBI Visits Oregon Man at Home, Ask Why He Photographed Dam

* * * *

Traders Said to Rig Currency Rates to Profit Off Clients

Hedge Funds Haven’t Owned This Much of Stock Market Since 08 Crash

S&P Warns Top US banks are Still ‘Too Big to Fail’

“Eminent Domain” Back on Table Following Fed’s Latest Bailout Proposal

QE Here to Stay in One Form or Another

U.S. Banks Profit from Facilitating Fraud against Their Customers

Noteworthy Editorials

Sibel Edmonds: Pardon Me for Taking Offense with Your ‘Pardon- Seeking’ Petition

Kevin Gosztola: US Media’s Contempt & Inability to Comprehend What It Means to Be a Whistleblower

Chase Madar: Dystopian Secrecy Fuels Clueless Wars

Washington’s Blog: The Dirty Little Secret About Mass Surveillance: It Doesn’t Keep Us Safe

Andrew Napolitano: The Star Chamber Exposed

Paul Pillar: Iran and the Syria Conference

James Petras: Washington & the Breakdown of the Colombia-Venezuela-FARC Peace Process

The US is a Police State

America’s New Normal: Mass Surveillance, Secret Courts

BFP Select Videos & Podcast

BFP EyeOpener Video Report: NSA Spying: False Hope vs. Real Solutions

Video 1: Ron Paul on NSA

Video 2: Director of National Intelligence Lying about NSA Data Collection

Video 3: Charlie McGrath- Will Whistleblower Edward Snowden’s Revelation lead to Revolution?

BFP Podcast Show- Pepe Escobar on Police State USA, Apathy America, Uprising in Turkey & More!

Podcast: Peter B. Collins Show-More Leaks Expected as Snowden Goes “Bourne”

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Corbett Video Report: The Transformation of Society

Sibel Edmonds — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:14:24 +0000

“50 years ago, America wanted to believe it was a nation of ideals, and many people did believe that. So what changed?”

The US government has been violating the Constitution and trampling on the bill of rights since virtually the inception of the country. The history of the US, like the history of every other country, is littered with the corpses of nice-sounding ideals, from false flag frame-ups to lead the nation into war to the persecution and even execution of political dissidents. But the point is that 50 years ago, America wanted to believe it was a nation of ideals, and many people did believe that. So what changed?

What Is the Government’s Agenda?

Dr Paul Craig Roberts — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:49:14 +0000

USA: Where there is No Democracy that Holds Government Accountable; Only a Brainwashed People who are Chaff in the Wind

It has been public information for a decade that the US government secretly, illegally, and unconstitutionally spies on its citizens. Congress and the federal courts have done nothing about this extreme violation of the US Constitution and statutory law, and the insouciant US public seems unperturbed.

In 2004 a whistleblower informed the New York Times that the National Security Agency (NSA) was violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by ignoring the FISA court and spying on Americans without obtaining the necessary warrants. The corrupt New York Times put the interests of the US government ahead of those of the American public and sat on the story for one year until George W. Bush was safely reelected.

By the time the New York Times published the story of the illegal spying one year later, the law-breaking government had had time to mitigate the offense with ex post facto law or executive orders and explain away its law-breaking as being in the country’s interest.

Last year William Binney, who was in charge of NSA’s global digital data gathering program revealed that NSA had everyone in the US under total surveillance. Every email, Internet site visited and phone call is captured and stored. In 2012 Binney received the Callaway Award for Civic Courage, an annual award given to those who champion constitutional rights at risk to their professional and personal lives.

There have been a number of whistleblowers. For example, in 2006 Mark Klein revealed that AT&T had a secret room in its San Francisco office that NSA used to collect Internet and phone-call data from US citizens who were under no suspicion.

The presstitute media handled these stories in ways that protected the government’s lawlessness from scrutiny and public outrage. The usual spin was that the public needs to be safe from terrorists, and safety is what the government is providing.

The latest whistle blower, Edward Snowden, has sought refuge in Hong Kong, which has a better record of protecting free speech than the US government. Snowden did not trust any US news source and took the story to the British newspaper, the Guardian.

There is no longer any doubt whatsoever that the US government is lawless, that it regards the US Constitution as a scrap of paper, that it does not believe Americans have any rights other than those that the government tolerates at any point in time, and that the government has no fear of being held accountable by the weak and castrated US Congress, the sycophantic federal courts, a controlled media, and an insouciant public.

Binney and Snowden have described in precisely accurate detail the extreme danger from the government’s surveillance of the population. No one is exempt, not the Director of the CIA, US Army Generals, Senators and Representatives, not even the president himself.

Anyone with access to a computer and the Internet can find interviews with Binney and Snowden and become acquainted with why you do have very much indeed to fear whether or not you are doing anything wrong.

James Clapper, the lying Director of National Intelligence, who would have been perfectly at home in the Hitler or Stalin regimes, condemned Snowden as “reprehensible” for insisting that in a democracy the public should know what the government is doing. Clapper insisted that secretly spying on every ordinary American was essential in order to “protect our nation.”

Clapper is “offended” that Americans now know that the NSA is spying on the ordinary life of every American. Clapper wants Snowden to be severely punished for his “reckless disclosure” that the US government is totally violating the privacy that the US Constitution guarantees to every US citizen.

President Obama allegedly educated in constitutional law, justified Clapper’s program of spying on every communication of every American citizen as a necessary violation of Americans’ civil liberties that “protects your civil liberties.” Contrast the lack of veracity of the President of the United States with the truthfulness of Snowden, who correctly stated that the NSA spying is an “existential threat to democracy.”

The presstitutes are busy at work defending Clapper and Obama. On June 9, CNN rolled out former CIA case officer Bob Baer to implant into the public’s mind that Snowden, far from trying to preserve US civil liberties, might be a Chinese spy and that Snowden’s revelations might be indicative of a Chinese espionage case.

Demonization is the US government’s technique for discrediting Bradley Manning for complying with the US Military Code and reporting war crimes and for persecuting Julian Assange of Wikileaks for reporting leaked information about the US government’s crimes. Demonization and false charges will be the government’s weapon against Snowden.

If Washington and its presstitutes can convince Americans that courageous people, who are trying to inform Americans that their historic rights are disappearing into a police state, are espionage agents of foreign powers, America can continue to be subverted by its own government.

This brings us to the crux of the matter. What is the purpose of the spying program?

Even if an American believes the official stories of 9/11 and the Boston Marathon Bombing, these are the only two terrorist acts in the US that resulted in the loss of human life in 12 years. Far more people are killed in traffic accidents and from bad diets. Why should the Constitution and civil liberty be deep-sixed because of two alleged terrorist acts in 12 years?

What is astounding is the absence of terrorist attacks. Washington is in the second decade of invading and destroying Muslim governments and countries. Civilian casualties in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya are extremely high, and in those countries that Washington has not yet invaded, such as Pakistan, Yemen, and Syria, civilians are being murdered by Washington’s drones and proxies on the ground.

It is extraordinary that Washington’s brutal 12 year assault on Muslim lives in six countries has not resulted in at least one dozen real, not fake FBI orchestrated, terrorist attacks in the US every day.

How can something as rare as terrorism justify the destruction of the US Constitution and US civil liberty? How safe is any American when their government regards every citizen as a potential suspect who has no rights?

Why is there no discussion of this in American public life? Watch the presstitutes turn Snowden’s revelations into an account of his disaffection and motives and away from the existential threat to democracy and civil liberty.

What is the government’s real agenda? Clearly, “the war on terror” is a front for an undeclared agenda. In “freedom and democracy” America, citizens have no idea what their government’s motives are in fomenting endless wars and a gestapo police state. The only information Americans have comes from whistleblowers, who Obama ruthlessly prosecutes. The presstitutes quickly discredit the information and demonize the whistleblowers.

Germans in the Third Reich and Soviet citizens in the Stalin era had a better idea of their government’s agendas than do “freedom and democracy” Americans today. The American people are the most uninformed people in modern history.

In America there is no democracy that holds government accountable. There is only a brainwashed people who are chaff in the wind.

# # # #

Paul Craig Roberts, Boiling Frogs Post contributing author, is a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has been reporting on executive branch and cases of prosecutorial abuse for two decades. He has written or co-written eight books, contributed chapters to numerous books, and has published many articles in journals of scholarship. Mr. Roberts has testified before congressional committees on 30 occasions on issues of economic policy, and has been a critic of both Democratic and Republican administrations. You can visit his website here.

© PaulCraigRoberts.org

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Boiling Frogs Post Needs “Your” Support

Sibel Edmonds — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:04:13 +0000

Take a Stand and Make a Statement by Supporting a Real Alternative

This website, Boiling Frogs Post, began with a promise: a site where the irate minority (that’s me and you), those aware and tired of the creators of lies-fables-smoke and mirrors, could call home. It was created on a pledge: complete independence from the establishment- those who come in many forms-whether foundations, sponsors or deep-pocket advertisers.

For over three years our stellar team of producers and independent analysts has been presenting you with untainted, bold, independent and nonpartisan facts and discussions through original video reports, podcast interviews and commentaries, editorial cartoons, news and analyses. We believe we have been effective: we have been shining the light on the truth, and have been irritating the powers and their puppetries. We have expanded our team and coverage. And, we have accomplished this through one source (and one source only): You and your support.

We can only exist with the support of our irate minority members-that’s “You”. Without your subscriptions we won’t be able to create and produce original and independent multimedia shows. Without your donations we won’t be able to research, verify, select and present to you crucial news and developments night after night…Without your support this truth source cannot exist. Without your support the obscurers of the truth will win.

Please take a stand and make a statement today by supporting a real alternative. Please help us continue and expand- for the independent truth, and for all of us. You can, and here is how:

Donate to Boiling Frogs Post

You can make a one-time contribution to support our team and projects. Those of you who do not wish to subscribe to our multimedia projects or commit to recurring annual- monthly payments but want to support our team, all the daily news, editorials, political cartoons, and other features provided by BFP can make a one-time contribution. You can contribute by Credit Card here:

Or if you would prefer to contribute by check, make it payable to “Boiling Frogs Post“, and mail to:

Boiling Frogs Post
PO Box 880
Bend, OR 97709

Become a Boiling Frogs Post Subscriber

You can sign up for our recurring annual subscription program for $50 or more, or if you prefer recurring monthly subscription payments you can sign up for monthly $5 or more. Your subscription will give you access to all our weekly exclusive multimedia reports, including The EyeOpener Video Report with James Corbett , The Boiling Frogs Show , The Reality Principle , and Empire, Power, and People Podcast Report. You can sign up for recurring annual or monthly subscription here:

Thank you for all you do,

Sibel Edmonds

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- June 11, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:53:58 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” – Mark Twain

International Newsworthy

UN Forces in the Golan Perpetuate Israeli Occupation

Syria’s War of Tunnels

Syrian Group Urges Foreign Fighters to Leave

Still More Questions Than Answers on Nerve Gas in Syria

White House Convenes Meetings on Syria Escalation

Iraqi Shi’ite Fighters’ Syria Role Raises Tensions

Syria Militants Rockets Hit Lebanon

Deadly Blasts Shake Syrian Capital

Iran Official to Visit Russia to Talk Syria

* * * *

Erdogan Opts for War

“No More Tolerance” for Nationwide Protests: Turkish PM

Turkish Police Storm Taksim Square

Turkish Police Oust Taksim Protesters with Tear Gas as Erdogan Cheers Removal of ‘Rags’

Turkish Opposition Leader Criticizes Erdogan

Turkish Police ‘Attack’ Protesting Lawyers at Courthouse, Many Arrests (VIDEO)

Turkish President Approves Controversial Bill Restricting Alcohol

Erdogan Defends Police Crackdown

* * * *

Iran’s Next President and the Third Nuclear Strategy

Iranian Diplomat Detained for 3 Months Without Lawyer: Sources

Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant Experienced Generator Malfunction, Envoy Says

Taliban Attacks Show Afghan Insurgents’ Resilience

Taliban Lay Siege to NATO Air Base in Kabul in Early Morning Assault

Afghan Group Accuses Police of Significant Violence Against Women

Non-Bailable Warrant for Musharraf in Bugti Murder Case

Pakistan Army Rejects Israeli Arms Import Report

Militants Attack NATO Supply Convoy in Khyber Agency, 4 Killed

India Says U.S. Spying on Internet Data of its Citizens Unacceptable

* * * *

Over 60 Dead After Bloody Day in Iraq

Kurds Who Suffered Saddam Hussein Chemical Weapons Attack Accuse French Suppliers

What’s Delaying the WHO Report on Iraqi Birth Defects?

Lebanese Army Fears Rise of the Salafists

Saudi Arabia: One Dead in Unrest, as Violence Engulfs Indonesian Consulate

Yemen Arrests Local Al-Qaida Leader

* * * *

NGO Workers Sentenced By Egyptian Court

Egypt ‘War’ Talk Raises Ethiopia Nile Dam Stakes

The Uncertain Fate of the U.S.-NATO Installed Libyan Regime

UN Prepares for Mali Force Deployment

Mali Government, Tuaregs Reach Ceasefire Deal ‘in Principle’

Somalia: Puntland VP Alleges Federal Govt. Is Supporting Conflict in Kismayo

‘Clashes in South Sudan Displace Thousands’

* * * *

Russia May Deem Civil Servants’ Use of Gmail, Facebook ‘High Treason’

How Chechnya is Independent—and How it isn’t

The Roots of Uzbekistan & Tajikistan’s Water Conflict

Through the Baku Looking Glass

Kazakhstan: Nazarbayev Clan Set to Grow

China has Better Chance than India for Joining Kashagan Project

* * * *

Brussels Failed to Act against US Surveillance of EU Citizens

Merkel, Obama to Discuss NSA Surveillance Program

Canada Has Program to Eavesdrop on its Citizens, Too

Shadow Banking Squeeze Catches Up to Majors

National Newsworthy

Mass Surveillance in US: Timeline of Loosening Laws & Practices

Spy vs. Spy in the Cyber Age

NSA Document Leak Proves Conspiracy to Create Big Brother Styled World Control System

What’s in the NSA PowerPoint Deck That Nobody Dare Publish?

Journalist on NSA Leak Case: More To Be Revealed

Snowden Turned Over ‘Thousands’ of Documents to Greenwald

Defense Contractors Fear Blowback in Wake of Leak about NSA Snooping

* * * *

US Lawmakers Call for Review of PATRIOT ACT

Security Clearances Held by Millions of Americans

Meet the Contractors Analyzing Your Private Data

K Street Lobbyists Tight-Lipped about Efforts to Influence the NSA

The Majority of Americans Still Don’t Care About the NSA Spying on Them

Majority Views NSA Phone Tracking as Acceptable Anti-terror Tactic

Former DoJ Prosecutor Suing Obama, Verizon, DoJ for $3B over PRISM

* * * *

Snowden Censored by Craven Media

Snowden Goes into ‘Hiding’

NSA Leaker Could be Latest to Seek Help in Iceland

Icelandic Legislator: I’m Ready to Help NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Seek Asylum

FBI Visits NSA Whistleblower’s Dad in Pa

Booz Allen Fires Edward Snowden for ‘Shocking’ Violation of Ethics Code

Sen. Feinstein Calls Snowden’s NSA Leaks an ‘Act of Treason’

Ron Paul: ‘Thankful’ for Edward Snowden

NSA Whistleblower Supported Ron Paul’s Presidential Run

* * * *

Obama Backtracks on Promised Investigation of Afghanistan Massacres

U.S. Government Has Given Afghan National Army More than $1 Billion in Ammo

FBI Files Reveal Anti-Defamation League Spied on Arab Students

IG memo: State Dept. Officials Squashed Embarrassing Probes

State Department Denies Derailing Prostitution Probe

House Committee Votes to Give Israel Another 1/2 Billion in Aid

* * * *

Fed Hell-Bent on Hyper Inflating Stock Market

Millenials’ Student Loan Debt up 76% in Just 5 Years

S&P Says Shrinking U.S. Deficit Boosts Debt Outlook

Noteworthy Editorials

Sibel Edmonds: Pardon Me for Taking Offense with Your ‘Pardon- Seeking’ Petition

Pepe Escobar: Digital Blackwater Rules

Norman Solomon: Historic Challenge to Support the Moral Actions of Edward Snowden

Jacob Hornberger: The Role of Foreign Policy in Security-State Surveillance

Chris Hedges: The Judicial Lynching of Bradley Manning

Paul Craig Roberts: Another Phony Jobs Report From A Government That Lies About Everything

Government Secrets and the Need for Whistle-Blowers

All the Infrastructure a Tyrant Would Need-Courtesy of Bush & Obama

Where Was Mainstream News While the Surveillance State was Expanding?!

How to Pre-Convict an American Muslim

From 9/11 To PRISMgate – How the Carlyle Group LBO’d The World’s Secrets

BFP Select Videos & Podcast

BFP EyeOpener Video Report: NSA Spying: False Hope vs. Real Solutions

Video 1: Continuity of the US government-TOP SECRET!

Video 2: Candidate Obama debates President Obama on Government Surveillance

BFP Podcast Show- Pepe Escobar on Police State USA, Apathy America, Uprising in Turkey & More!

Podcast 1: Radio Liberty- The Turning Point Has Arrived

Podcast 2: Peter B Collins Show- Do you believe Barack Obama or Ed Snowden?

Podcast 3: Traces of Reality- Marcy Wheeler on NSA Surveillance, Verizon & PRISM

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Pardon Me for Taking Offense with Your ‘Pardon- Seeking’ Petition

Sibel Edmonds — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:48:35 +0000

Do Not Mix Up Criminals with Whistleblowers

Someone had the gall to send me this pathetically misguided, ignorant, and demeaning petition requesting a Governmental Pardon for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

I say pathetic because I believe this was a genuine attempt to support this courageous whistleblower, but instead became an establishment-supporting, insulting and self-defeating petition due to the authors’-organizers’ ignorance.

I say misguided because this is a case where the criminals who have violated our Constitution and laws are the ones who should be seeking forgiveness and pardon from the people. The executive branch is the party which has violated the Constitution and broken the supreme laws of this nation, thus in need of repentance and pardoning. Not the courageous whistleblower who took his oath to protect the United States Constitution seriously and actually exercised it.

I say demeaning because it misrepresents and insults the guardians of the United States Constitution, and reduces these truth-telling whistleblowers to criminals-to those who have committed illegalities. Not only that, it simultaneously raises the status of a criminal government to those of kings and emperors who can do no wrong. When the kings engage in criminality they call it ‘the king’s given rights.’ When an irate minority dares to expose the kings’ criminality they are declared a criminal-to dare to challenge the kings.

The insulting ignoramuses who drafted this pathetic petition are giving the president and the executive branch of the United States of America the status of absolute kings and emperors.

Here we have a case where there is a president and his entourage who see themselves as the absolute and untouchable kings of the United States, and break with reckless abandon the supreme law of the United States, the Constitution. They do so repeatedly; with arrogance and impunity.

We have a case where a conscientious citizen of the United States does what his citizenship demands of him: he stands up and protects the Constitution of the United States by exposing the kings engaged in its violation and destruction.

So what do we have so far? Please repeat after me:

We have the United States Executive Branch which has suspended, violated and destructed the United States Constitution and its citizens’ rights.

We have the United States Legislative and Judicial Branches which have abdicated their responsibilities under the United States Constitution, and instead of overseeing and holding accountable the President and his cabinet, who in this case have been violating and destroying the United States Constitution, they have been protecting and collaborating with them.

And we have a true American, a citizen who has taken his US citizenship and citizen responsibilities that go with it very seriously-as demanded by the United States Constitution. He has courageously come forward to inform and warn his country of its rulers’ criminality.

Now please tell me who should be seeking a pardon here? The conscientious citizen who is protecting the mother-of-all laws of his nation-the Constitution? Or the kings who have suspended, violated and broken the laws of this nation? Or the Judiciary and Legislative Branches who have abandoned their responsibility to the people of this nation and their oath to the Constitution?

The authors-drafters of this ignorant and insulting petition have either totally mixed up their senses when it comes to crime and punishment. Or, they are among those who view the United States Executive Branch as kings and their powers as absolute, thus seeking a pardon for a citizen whose crime has been to expose the crime and responsible criminals-defending his nation’s laws and the people’s rights.

Either way, this petition and its wording is pathetic, ignorant, misleading, and insulting to humble whistleblowers like me. I urge the authors to educate themselves on the United States Constitution, what constitutes crime and criminality, and what is considered a citizens’ foremost duty under our Constitution. Here is a good place to start:

Oath of Office-Presidency

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Oath of Office-Congress

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

Military Oath

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

Once the drafters-authors of the shameful petition read and understand the basics of this nation’s Constitution, after they become enlightened, they may proceed to draft and circulate a petition where the executive branch is not treated as absolute king but as the servant of this nation, where the crime is violating the Constitution not protecting it, and where the criminals responsible for violating the Constitution are called to seek pardon from their masters-we the people of the United States.

# # # #

Sibel Edmonds is the Publisher & Editor of Boiling Frogs Post and the author of the Memoir Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story. She is the recipient of the 2006 PEN Newman’s Own First Amendment Award for her “commitment to preserving the free flow of information in the United States in a time of growing international isolation and increasing government secrecy” Ms. Edmonds has a MA in Public Policy and International Commerce from George Mason University, a BA in Criminal Justice and Psychology from George Washington University.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

The EyeOpener Report- NSA Spying: False Hope vs. Real Solutions

Sibel Edmonds — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:01:47 +0000

Make a Statement Today & Support a Real Independent Alternative

In this very special edition of The Boiling Frogs Post EyeOpener Video Report, James introduces new members of the irate minority to the problem, as well as the false hopes (and real solutions) that are available to address that problem. We need you and your eternal vigilance now more than ever. Please do your share and help us. We cannot continue without your support. Make a statement today and support a real alternative.

Watch the Full Video Report Here:

Another Phony Jobs Report From A Government That Lies About Everything

Dr Paul Craig Roberts — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:20:16 +0000

“Washington’s claim that Americans have “freedom and democracy” is the sickest joke in human history.”

June 7, 2013. The payroll jobs report for May released today continues the fantasy.

Goods producing jobs declined, with manufacturing losing another 4,000 jobs, but the New Economy produced 179,000 service jobs.

Are these jobs the high-powered, high-wage “innovation jobs” that economists promised would be our reward from Globalism. I’m afraid not.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the jobs created are the usual lowly paid non-exportable domestic service jobs–the jobs of a third world country.

Retail trade accounts for 27,700 of the jobs.

Wholesale trade accounts for 7,900 jobs.

Ambulatory health care services accounts for 15,300 of the jobs.

Waitresses and bartenders account for 38,100 of the jobs.

Local government accounts for 13,000 of the jobs.

Amusements, gambling, and recreation account for 12,500 of the jobs.

Temporary help services provided 25,600 jobs.

Business support services provided 4,300 jobs.

Services to buildings and dwellings provided 6,400 jobs.

Accounting and bookkeeping services provided 3,100 jobs.

Architectural and engineering services provided 4,900 jobs.

Computer systems design and related provided 6,000 jobs (most likely filled by H-1B work visas).

Management and technical consulting services provided 3,200 jobs.

For a decade this has been the jobs profile of “the world’s most powerful economy.” It is the profile of third world India 40 years ago. The jobs that made the US the dominant economy have been moved off shore by corporations threatened by Wall Street with takeovers if they did not increase their profits.

The easiest way for corporations to increase profits is to take advantage of cheap labor in countries with massive quantities of unemployed labor.

So, if we believe the BLS report, and the reported new jobs are not simply a product of faulty season adjustments and a faulty birth-death model, why is the financial press happy that the US economy can only create third world jobs? Why was the stock market up on the news that the US economy has created 179,000 third world jobs? Would rational markets be up on such discouraging news?

But are the jobs really there?

With retail sales going nowhere, why 35,600 new jobs in wholesale and retail trade?

With real median incomes declining, why 38,100 more waitresses and bartenders? For every month as long as I can remember the BLS reports numerous new jobs in waitresses and bartenders, despite the long-term decline in real median income.

In the May jobs report, where are the jobs for the vast number of new college graduates?

The US now has more hotel maids, bartenders, and waitresses than it has manufacturing workers. The US has twice as many people employed in government than in manufacturing.

The services of maids, bartenders, waitresses, and government cannot be exported.

Therefore, the US trade deficit remains large and without exports to reduce it, a crisis in itself.

What the BLS jobs reports have been telling us for many years is that the US economy is in crisis, in a death-spiral. Yet, not a handful of economists’ voices have been raised.

Today president Obama’s economist said that the notch upward in the unemployment rate was because the economic outlook was so good that more people were encouraged to enter the labor market than there were new jobs available.

The conclusion is inescapable: The same government that lies about weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein’s al-Qaeda connections, Iranian nukes, and so on, also lies about jobs, the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, rigs every financial and commodity market, pretends that terrorism is such a threat that the US Constitution must be set aside and that Americans are safer without the protection of habeas corpus and due process.

It is amazing how rare terrorism is, especially with Washington in the second decade of trying to stir up terrorism by invading countries on totally false pretenses, murdering citizens of countries, such as Pakistan and Yemen with drones, and supporting Israel’s never-ending murder and dispossession of the Palestinians.

After such massive provocations from Washington, one would think that the world would be ablaze with terrorism. But it isn’t.

As there is so little terrorism, Washington and its presstitute media call those who resist

Washington’s invasion of their countries “terrorists.” Everyone who resists Washington’s military aggression is a terrorist. Just ask the New York Times, Fox News, or any neoconservative. Or, for that matter, the Bilderbergs, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, and Homeland Security, the Gestapo organization that now defines all American dissenters to be “domestic extremists.”

Washington’s claim that Americans have “freedom and democracy” is the sickest joke in human history.

In 21st century America, defendants have no more rights than the accused in Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia. The FBI now shoots suspects brought in for questioning in the back of the head even before the suspect is arrested.

Long before Bradley Manning’s trial the presstitutes have convicted the accused based on lies leaked by the prosecutors. Consider Bradley Manning. After three years of detention, including one year of torture, he is brought to a rigged trial as a national security danger. All that Bradley Manning did was to comply with the Military Code and report war crimes. As his corrupt superiors did not want to know, he complied with his duty, apparently, by going public.

Now he is being made an example. The message is clear: Support Washington’s war crimes or be destroyed.

The Amerika that exists today has more in common with Nazi Germany than with the America in which I grew up. The young don’t know any different. But those my age realize that we have lost our country. America no longer exists.

# # # #

Paul Craig Roberts, Boiling Frogs Post contributing author, is a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has been reporting on executive branch and cases of prosecutorial abuse for two decades. He has written or co-written eight books, contributed chapters to numerous books, and has published many articles in journals of scholarship. Mr. Roberts has testified before congressional committees on 30 occasions on issues of economic policy, and has been a critic of both Democratic and Republican administrations. You can visit his website here.

© PaulCraigRoberts.org

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- June 10, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:22:32 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“Feeling good about government is like looking on the bright side of any catastrophe. When you quit looking on the bright side, the catastrophe is still there.” –P. J. O’Rourke

International Newsworthy

Israel and Syria on Verge of Military Clash – UN Official

Jordan Wargames: Patriot Batteries, F-16s & 4,500 US Troops Near Syrian Border

US Speeds Up Arming Syria Rebels

Syrian Rebels Urge Global Military Action

Syrian Rebels ‘Execute Teenager’ in Aleppo

Syria: Opposition in Retreat – Analysis

Syrian Rebels Clash with Kurdish Militias

Large Car Bombs Increasing in Syria

Foreign Islamists Head to Syria to Face Hezbollah

Russia Enlists Syrian Kurds for Geneva II

For Hezbollah, What is Victory in Syria?

Jordan Jittery as Assad Troops Advance

Subsidies Cut or Removal Poses Great Concern for Most Syrians

Senator John McCain Meets Leaders of Terror Brigade in Syria. The NGOs that Made it Happen

* * * *

Is Turkey Heading Toward Civil War?

Turkey: The Rise of a New Citizen

Turkey’s Protests and the Potential for Foreign Involvement – Analysis

In Turkey, Rival Soccer Fans Unite in Protest

Turkish Protesters Control Gezi Park

Turkey: Erdogan Again Calls Demonstrators ‘Looters’

U.S. Embassy in Ankara Deletes Tweets Disputing Erdogan’s Comment

Turkish PM Changes Park Plans, Istanbul Protests Likely to Continue

Turkish PM Calls for Pro-Government Rallies

Turkey Opposition Calls for Snap Vote

Turkey Rules Out Early Polls, Thousands Defy Call to End Protest

Erdogan Warns Govt’s Patience could ‘End’ as Police Teargas Protesters in Ankara

Erdogan’s Mishandling of Protests Has Exposed the Myth of a Stable Turkey

* * * *

US Tests Iran Nuclear ‘Bunker Buster’

Iran Announces Security-Oriented ‘Space Tracking Center’

Iran Embassy Rejects Beirut Clash Report

Iraq Looks to Foreign Investment To Boost Oil Capacity

Iran to Load Heavy Water Reactor with “Virtual Fuel”: Nuclear Chief

Iran Ups Cyber-Attacks on Israeli Computers: “Says” Netanyahu

Iran Rejects Russia’s S-300 Substitute Offer

* * * *

Taliban Strikes Kabul Airport with Multiple Blasts, 7 Dead

Insider Attack Kills Three NATO Troops in Afghanistan

Afghanistan Demands British Forces Transfer Prisoners within Weeks

US Drone Strike Draws Angry Pakistan Protest

Pakistan Summons Top U.S. Diplomat over Drone Strikes

This Is Pakistan’s Answer to US Drone Defiance

Militants Attack NATO Containers in Khyber; Six Killed

* * * *

Iraqi Kurdish Parties Agree on Controversial Information Law

Sadr Calls on Government to Curb Armed Group

US Gulf Allies Crack Down on Internet Freedoms

10 Zaidis Dead in Yemen Police Clash

US Anti-Drone Activists to visit Yemen

Israel’s Military Exports Jump by 20% in 2012: Report

* * * *

Egypt Braces for Judicial Showdown

Will Egypt Have Its Second Revolution on June 30?

‘No Nile, No Egypt,’ Cairo Warns Over Ethiopia Dam

US Quietly OKs Egypt Military Aid Despite Rights Concerns

Kerry Secretly Approved Huge Arms Shipments to Egypt

Major Military Exercises under Way in Jordan

Libyan Army Chief Quits after Deadly Clashes

Sudan Orders Halt of South Sudan Oil Flow

Mali: HRW Sees New Abuses by Tuareg Rebels, Soldiers

* * * *

The New Great Game Round-Up, June 10

China to Revive ‘Southern Silk Road’

Putin Orders Crackdown on Islamists, Police Detain 300 People

Russia’s New Middle Eastern Role

Moscow Trial Sends Warning to Rank-and-File Putin Foes

Gazprom’s Demise Could Topple Putin?

Decision Time for BP-Led Group on Route of Caspian Gas Pipeline

Dubai Eyes ‘Promising’ CIS States

Azerbaijan to Demonstrate Drones Purchased from Israel in Parade for First Time

Tajikistan Getting Helicopters from India; Kyrgyzstan Air Defense from China

Alleged Hizb Ut-Tahrir Members Arrested in Kyrgyzstan

* * * *

UK Mosques Urged to Install Panic Alarms and Safe Rooms

Report: UK Government Getting US Spy Agency’s Data

Prism: Ministers Challenged Over British Access to Covert US Operation

US Nuclear Bombs Stored in Netherlands

Swiss Minister Pushes for More & Fair Asylum Reforms

National Newsworthy

Bush NSA Chief: Obama ‘Expanded’ Surveillance

NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Reveals Himself

Whistleblower’s NSA Warning: ‘Just the Tip of the Iceberg’

Edward Snowden, the Washington Post & Whistleblowers

NSA Whistleblower: The Ultimate Insider Attack

DOJ Launches Criminal Probe of NSA Leaker

* * * *

What Is the NSA’s Prism Program?

How the NSA and FBI Lie with Numbers

Government Says Secret Court Opinion on Law Underlying PRISM Program Needs to Stay Secret

What We Don’t Know About Spying on Citizens: Scarier Than What We Know

Why Government Access to Metadata Is More Than a ‘Modest Encroachment’ on Privacy

Sources: NSA Sucks in Data from 50 Companies

Graphics, Grids & 4 More Secret Years of PRISM: What Anonymous Knows

Despite Obama’s Claim, FISA Court Rarely Much of a Check

Verizon Security Chief Used to be High Level Official at FBI

The Motherboard Guide to Avoiding the NSA

* * * *

Obama Orders Global Cyber-Attacks Target List

Obama Homeland Security Says Reasonable Suspicion not Needed for Laptop and Cellphone Searches…Hunches Good Enough

NY Times Quietly Changes Published Editorial to Make It Less Damning of Obama

The A-List Conspiracy: Did Hollywood Tell Obama to Take Down Internet Entrepreneur?

* * * *

Pentagon Has No Idea What 108,000 Contractors Are Doing

Defense Contractors Turn to Border Control for New Profits

Appeals Court Reverses Order to Declassify Foreign Trade Documents

Report: Homeschooling Growing Seven Times Faster than Public School Enrollment

Fracking Companies Buy Silence of Families with Contaminated Water

US Spends $80 Billion Year on Secret Information Gathering

* * * *

Fed’s ‘Flow of Funds’

U.S. Mired in Employment Rut after Jobless Numbers Rise: Economists

American Households on Foodstamps Climb to New Record

Noteworthy Editorials

Sibel Edmonds: America- A Deteriorating Nation of Denial & Apathy

Ron Paul: Government Spying: Should We Be Shocked?

John Stanton: President Obama’s Data Harvesting Program: NSA as Pollster, PRISM as MISO

Glenn Greenwald: US Wants to Destroy Privacy Worldwide

NSA Spying on Americans Is an Outrage

Douglas Valentine: Dirty Wars and Self-Indulgence

Phil Giraldi: Paul Wolfowitz’s Iran Connection

Pat Buchanan: Government Paid Agitators

Andrew Gavin Marshall: Turkey’s Urban Uprising

Eric Margolis: Why the Turn on Turkey?

Turkey: Erdogan, a Sultan in Winter?

BFP Select Videos & Podcast

Video 1: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden

Video 2: RT-NSA: Everyone’s a Terrorist | Brainwash Update

Video 3: Ron Paul Daily-Ron Paul on Computer Surveillance in 1984

BFP Podcast Show- Pepe Escobar on Police State USA, Apathy America, Uprising in Turkey & More!

Podcast 1: Traces of Reality- How Perpetual War Abroad Leads to the Police State at Home

Podcast 2: Lew Rockwell Show-The State Seeks To Split the Opposition

Podcast 3: Rick Rozoff-NATO is Antithetical to the Spirit of the United Nations

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Podcast Show #110: From Police State USA to American Apathy, Turkey’s Uprising & Beyond

Sibel Edmonds — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 16:18:16 +0000

The Boiling Frogs Show Presents Pepe Escobar

In this episode of Boiling Frogs Post Show roving journalist and author Pepe Escobar joins us for an intense roller-coaster of discussion on topics ranging from the recent revelations on the NSA illegal wiretapping, Apathy USA, pathetic US Media, the uprising in Turkey, and Syria. Don’t miss this episode bringing Dangerous minds into a passionate discussion!

Listen to the preview Here

Here is our guest Pepe Escobar unplugged!

This Podcast is available to BFP subscription members only. If you are a member, log in to listen. If you are not a member, you can subscribe by clicking on ‘Subscribe' below.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs

President Obama’s Data Harvesting Program: NSA as Pollster, PRISM as MISO

Guest — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:41:51 +0000

“And to the comfort offered by senators Chambliss, Graham, and Feinstein, who ask us to sleep well and sleep long, there is a simple reply. In what country do they think they are living, and under what constitution?”

By John Stanton

It is way too soon to bet the house fortune on the reliability of reports by the Washington Post (Washington, DC) and The Guardian (United Kingdom) on President Obama’s data harvesting program, known for the moment as PRISM.

With the hot pursuit of mainstream media reporters underway by the US Department of Justice (Associated Press, for example); a US Corporate‐State show trial of Bradley Manning, Julian Assange/Wikileaks (Obama has already stated they are guilty); the extraordinary cyberwar/hacking accusations against the Chinese government; and the shrill sound of cyber quackery from the Defense Science Board and its legion of security contractors, caution all around is the order of the day.

Indeed, the membership of President Obama’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NTSAC) reflects the close proximity of the President to critical cyber/telecom/ISP leaders who likely get advanced warning of the incoming nukes. Some of the NSTAC members include Verizon Business Group, Raytheon, AT&T, Vonage, Intelsat, Avaya, Microsoft and Lockheed Martin. And they did not know that their networks, switches, routers, and packets were being violated? Of interest is the presence of FireEye, a Cybersecurity firm. One of FireEye’s Board members is Robert Lentz who has an excellent DOD/NSA pedigree. “Robert has served as a member of the board of directors since March 2010. He has served as the president of Cyber Security Strategies since October 2009. He served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber, identity, and information assurance in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Networks and Information Integration/Chief Information Officer from November 2007 to October 2009. Since November 2000, he has also served as the chief information security officer for the U.S. Department of Defense. He previously worked at the National Security Agency from 1975 to 2000, where he served in the first National Computer Security Center.”

The US national security machinery has stated time and again that the Internet and World Wide Web are fair game for military information support operations (MISO) and that means shaping the consciousness of individuals, organizations and governments to the benefit of America’s national interests. Viewed in this manner, it is possible to argue that PRISM would have a chilling effect on not only whistleblowers and their media handlers, but perhaps on practitioners of industrial espionage whether they are French, Chinese or Israeli’s.

The calculated pursuit of mainstream media by President Obama, the publicizing by the US corporatenational security machinery of PRISM, Stuxnet—and the takedown of BitCoin websites; and the entry of Cyber Command into the daily lives of Americans seems to suggest that a new order is afoot, or at least that the US Corporate State is trying to recover/wrest control of the US historical‐current‐future narrative from independent internal and foreign news/information sources. Obama seems to have taken US presidential paranoia to new levels.

President Obama’s national security aides and political handlers appear to have adopted the John Haldeman—John Erlichman philosophy and practice of protecting Obama. According to the Telegraph, UK, “Vali Nasr, a university professor who was seconded in 2009 to work with Richard Holbrooke, Mr. Obama’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, records his profound disillusion at how a “Berlin Wall” of domestic‐focused advisers was erected to protect Mr. Obama. “The president had a truly disturbing habit of funneling major foreign policy decisions through a small cabal of relatively inexperienced White House advisers whose turf was strictly politics,” reports The Telegraph.

Intelligence Agencies as Pollsters

Would it surprise anyone of some eager Obama aides decided to use data mined through a program like PRISM to figure out what American citizens are thinking? Forget Gallup and Pew. With the thoughts, pictures, video, travel records and expenditures of tens of millions of Americans harvested and interpreted by various machine programs and human analysts in the NSA, CIA, and DIA, who needs commercial pollsters. Talk about sample size! And thanks to many US Court decisions, data gathering is largely legal.

And would it not be a matter of national security for the President of the United States to know what Americans are thinking as the USA remains in a state of emergency since 911. Moreover the American nation is still at war and just steps away from lighting up Iran, Syria and Iraq (again). For the global carnage to proceed as planned, the US Corporate State must control the flow of information as it did in World War II (1939‐1945).

Obama “is the boss” has a need for “the info” as Doctor Evil so eloquently put it the movie Austin Powers. PRISM data must be in his hands, particularly given that Obama can say with a straight face “civil liberties improve with this type of surveillance.” US Senators must have the info too. Senators like Diane Feinstein, John McCain and Lindsey Graham are “happy” to be monitored and, well, why not all of us. All four of these characters know that American’s will collectively shrug their shoulders and forget about the matter by immersing themselves in the celebrity breakdown of the day.

Perhaps the most unsettling aspect of US government data harvesting and analysis programs is that the all of the work is researched, developed, tested and deployed by for‐profit companies like those belonging to NSTAC. According to the Defense Security Service (DSS), “U.S. industry develops and produces the majority of our nation’s defense technology – much of which is classified – and thus plays a significant role in creating and protecting the information that is vital to our nation’s security… DSS has

Industrial Security oversight and assistance responsibility for over 13,000 cleared facilities participating in the National Industrial Security Program and estimates that there are over 11 million classified documents in the hands of U.S. industry.” DSS, always understaffed but extraordinarily dedicated, do their best to keep US industry within a tolerable degree of greed.

All PRISM’s are Not Created Equal

Email, voice, video capture would seem to rely on some sort of read‐module within a switch. Analyzing it all—separating wheat and chafe—would appear to require some sort of autonomous machine language.

Perhaps some of these PRISM’s are tangentially related to the NSA’s PRISM.Over at Cryptome, a document from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) describes Protect, Respond, Inform, Secure, and Monitor (PRISM). According to DHS PRISM is composed of two primary components: Contora and ESRI ArcIMS. Additional and optional components include Message 911, Ensco Sentry, and Lunar Eye. These components have been tightly integrated into a single end‐user application that provides a messaging, alerting, geo‐referenced mapping, asset tracking, CBRN sensing, and public warning system. Lunar Eye is a GPS tracking suite.

A USAF “communications” dictionary shortens Programmable‐Reconfigurable‐Integrated‐Switch and Multiplex to PRISM.

Alcatel‐Lucent’s product PRISM/GORI manages SMS (text) messages. A sample of DOD’s DTIC search engine returns when PRISM is entered follows: MITRE’s PRISM is a software program used to request intelligence collection on moving vehicles, aircraft, people and animals; PaRallel Inference SysteM‐‐ PRISM—a connectionist inference for developing machine language and autonomous network management programs; and RDTE Budget Note‐‐PRISM to MAJIIC Interoperability Assessment: assessed that Planning Tool for Resource, Integration, Synchronization and Management (PRISM) and the interface to NATO Multi‐Sensor Aerospace‐Ground Joint ISR Interoperability Coalition (MAJIIC) was functional and ready for operations by demonstrating automated interoperability and exchange of intelligence requirements.

What’s the Big Deal?

David Bromwich at the Huffington Post sums it up best, “Even now, government aides are most concerned about “the magnitude of the leak.” The question that troubles them is not, How did we come to this? but rather, Shall we prosecute the whistleblower? The pattern is so galling and tedious, and its harms so invisible to all but a few, that we may be tempted to relax and wait for the next election. But remember again the language of the court order. On an ongoing daily basis. All call detail records. Including local telephone calls. The next president will inherit this. No names, no records of words (not yet), no inculpating or exculpating evidence (just “signatures”), but still: these are outlines of the communicative behavior of upward of a million persons, with similarly compelling orders out to the other telecoms. The aim is to capture by index the whole of the U.S. population. The amazing and routine FISA order is a blind command for the opening of a thousand eyes. The plainest rebuke to such procedures comes from the language of the fourth amendment itself.”

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

“By what right are the addressed envelopes of the spoken communications of 280 million citizens plucked from the air by government and filed away? Supported by whose oath and what affirmation? There is a simple force to the words of the fourth amendment after all. It says: we do not live by secret laws, and we will not abide by general warrants. And to the comfort offered by senators Chambliss, Graham, and Feinstein, who ask us to sleep well and sleep long, there is a simple reply. In what country do they think they are living, and under what constitution?”

# # ##

John Stanton is a Virginia based writer specializing in national security matters. His latest book is Cyber Noodles (cyber security), Orphan Nukes and the Failure of the US National Security State. Reach him at cioran123@yahoo.com

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

America: A Deteriorating Nation of Denial & Apathy

Sibel Edmonds — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 17:55:49 +0000

The Ultimate Enemy We Must Take On & Out

As the unending back-to-back scandals unfold, from the arrest and prosecution of courageous truth-tellers (aka whistleblowers), to the illegal wiretapping of all Americans, torture, indefinite detentions, the groping and handling of travelers, utilizing the IRS as the government’s hit-men and thugs … I am asked to provide statements, interpretations and/ or explanations as to what it is we are facing as a nation today. Some seek my opinion on what it is we are fighting against; on whom it is we are fighting against. After all, I am that government whistleblower- the one who has been fighting these same enemies and their recurring assaults, one way or another, in courts or congress or executive halls or the media, for twelve years, on and off-and to no avail.

I guess those experiences must make me some sort of an expert- on the illusion of pursuing justice in the US federal courts, on the naivety of expecting the US Congress to fulfill its theoretical responsibilities, on the futility of expecting real journalism from what is known as the US media … Because: Once upon a time, for over a decade, I was that relentless naïve sucker under the illusion of America the land of the pretty much free and the nation more-or-less governed by the Constitution.

Then I stopped-being that sucker.

That’s right. I stopped talking about that enemy sympathizer called the US Federal Courts. I ceased cheering for entities filing lawsuits, year after year, in pursuit of illusionary justice coming out of imaginary Halls of Justice.

I completely ended my day after day rounds in the congressional halls in hopes of finding the real representatives of the people. The occupiers of the US Congress represented a thing or two, but rest assured, “the people” was not among the what and who they represented.

I severed all my contacts with anything or anyone known as the US media, and I reduced my exposure to them to pretty much ‘zero’- a must do in resisting and preventing the worst kind of toxicity to mankind (a concoction of propaganda, lies and misinformation ).

Most importantly, I found the real enemy. I discovered the mega beast. I unearthed the main evil paving the way for all the secondary evils and their deeds. I found the one common answer to the most common question asked of me: who/what is the real enemy we are facing today that we must fight.

Unfortunately that answer is not what the inquirers in the alternative media want to receive and air.

Sadly, the real answer is not what the bewildered and irate activists are willing to hear or acknowledge.

It is much easier to stare at the beasts in the forms of palaces and presidential mansions, carved majestic marble-granite courts, congresses or parliaments, media conglomerates …

Beast-making is not that difficult. Channeling rage and energy towards the beastly abysses outside is a common practice.

On the other hand, it is hard and painful to turn the eyes inwards and look at one’s self. It is not a common practice- that’s for sure. It is not what we want or like to hear, acknowledge or tackle.

I find myself standing alone when I now answer the questions directed at me following the endless atrocities and scandals. I am no longer the provider of the popular answer. My answer is one of the most unpopular, if not the most, in the eyes and ears of the public. I accept the consequences. I may never be sought as an opinion-provider after the never-ending breaking news on ever-expanding and continuing scandals. And that’s okay. Because I know there will be no hope of any meaningful action or changes so long as we stick with our national pride.

The enemy has been us; we the people. We the majority – in denial. Our national apathy. Our large majority’s denial, indifference; apathy. Apathy is a must ingredient for any police state, authoritarian regime, dictatorship, for abuses of power, for corruption, national atrocities, genocide … Some ingredients may be decreased, increased or substituted, but one key ingredient remains constant: Public Apathy.

Like a cat chasing its tail, like Don Quixote chasing the many windmills, we can target and point fingers at kings, presidents, statesmen, judges and media puppetries. In the end we’ll end up with our own tail, we’ll arrive at the windmill of our own. We will end up with us the people. And that is the ultimate enemy we must take on and out: Our very own denial and apathy.

# # # #

Sibel Edmonds is the Publisher & Editor of Boiling Frogs Post and the author of the Memoir Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story. She is the recipient of the 2006 PEN Newman’s Own First Amendment Award for her “commitment to preserving the free flow of information in the United States in a time of growing international isolation and increasing government secrecy” Ms. Edmonds has a MA in Public Policy and International Commerce from George Mason University, a BA in Criminal Justice and Psychology from George Washington University.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

The New Great Game Round Up- June 9, 2013

Christoph Germann — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 05:33:04 +0000

Russia’s Three Main Security Challenges, Azerbaijan and the Real Axis of Evil, Southern Gas Corridor: Russian Nightmare? & More!

The Great Game Round-Up brings you the latest newsworthy developments regarding Central Asia and the Caucasus region. We document the struggle for influence, power, hegemony and profits in Central Asia and the Caucasus region between a U.S.-dominated NATO, its GCC proxies, Russia, China and other regional players

Kazakhstan’s appeal to suspicious players was already mentioned last week and this trend is continuing:

Kuwait embassy to open in Kazakhstan by year end

Kazakh and EU presidents plans to intensify negotiations on new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement

The Central Asian country has learned to use its strategic location as leverage and to play both ends against the middle in order to make a profit.

But cooperation with the NATOGCC corporation involves certain dangers [emphasis mine]:

Kazakh terrorist reportedly killed in Pakistan

Over hundred Kazakhstan citizens are in militant camps in Afghan-Pakistan zone

The Kazakhstan National Security Commission’s chairman stressed that the young people got to the militant camps under different reasons. “We know them by names thanks to the joint work primarily with our Russian colleagues,” Abykayev said. The young people from Kazakhstan who are now in Waziristan were recruited by Caucasian militants who came to Kazakhstan, he said. 4 of the Kazakhstan citizens has recently returned from Afghan-Pakistan zone, Abykayev said. According to Abykayev there are several militants from Kazakhstan in Syria. He believes that international cooperation of the law-enforcement authorities and special forces is important for tracking the militants’ crossing of the borders. According to him, a system of information exchange of the related mattes has been established, namely with Russia. …

Abykayev mentioned necessary measures to contain the threat of Kazakh terrorists. It would be interesting to get his opinion on Kazakhstan’s recent agreement with the country which serves as hub for US-NATO-Chechen terrorism in the Caucasus and is channeling Central Asian terrorists into Syria:

Kazakhstan and Turkey increase travel flexibility

Southern Gas Corridor: Russian Nightmare?

Turkey is currently also engaged in business with Turkmenistan:

Turkmenistan Makes Another Quiet Purchase Of Warships

Turkmenistan is buying eight new well armed naval vessels from Turkey, marking a substantial increase in capability for the country’s nascent navy.

…

And Ankara was not entirely selfless when it offered to facilitate the delivery of Turkmen gas to Europe, which Turkmenistan considers to be one of its top priorities:

Turkey ready to deliver Turkmen natural gas to Europe

Turkey is ready to deliver Turkmenistan’s natural gas to consumers in Europe, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Thursday, supporting the Central Asian nation’s plans to build alternative pipelines and ease dependence on exports to Russia.

Senior Turkish officials had said earlier Turkmenistan would be welcome to link to the $8-billion Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline (TANAP).

…

The U.S. State Department is ecstatic about the possible realization of the Southern Gas Corridor. By the end of this month the Shah Deniz consortium is expected to decide if Nabucco West or the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will deliver Caspian gas from Azerbaijan’s largest gas field to Europe. The selected pipeline is supposed to be the “European leg of a grand pipeline project known as the Southern Gas Corridor”:

Turkmenistan’s Energy Politics Under Spotlight in Paris

This attitude could be a boost for projects like White Stream, the long-running attempt to build a subsea pipeline across the Black Sea from Georgia to Romania. Giorgi Vashakmadze, Director of Corporate Strategy, put forward a slightly different vision of the project than heard before (with a new website to boot), which appeared to link it directly with a Trans-Caspian Pipeline.

Conceivably this could create two branches of the Southern Corridor; one from Azerbaijan across Turkey and into central or southern Europe, one from Turkmenistan across the Caspian, into Georgia and across the Black Sea into eastern Europe. This would make commercial sense, in the long term.

…

Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan are now frequently discussing the construction of the Trans-Caspian pipeline. But this pipeline project faces one major obstacle and Turkmen officials are well aware of this fact [emphasis mine]:

On a Trans-Caspian Pipeline to Azerbaijan, he dodged the question of Russian opposition and said simply that Turkmenistan regularly negotiates with their Azerbaijan counterparts on the issue. From his speech it seems that things will become clearer once the East-West pipeline, taking gas from the giant Galkynysh field to the Caspian coast, is operational by 2015. And according to European Commission policy adviser Brendan Devlin, the EU is planning to present a full development concept on the pipeline to Ashgabat by the end of the year.

…

As a consequence of increased competition, Gazprom announced a few days ago that it will cut prices for European buyers this year, which prompted Turkey to demand the same discount. Moscow is not interested in further competition and a pipeline directly threatening Gazprom’s South Stream triggered Russia’s state-controlled energy group to threaten war with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. If Baku and Ashgabat continue to push this project forward, Turkmenistan will probably need its new naval vessels from Turkey:

Russian warships have drills in Dagestan

Russian warships of the Caspian Flotilla have been training defense maneuvers and deployment of artillery at the coast of Dagestan, Interfax reports.

…

Russia Deploys Advanced Missiles To Armenia

Russia has deployed an advanced new missile system to its base in Armenia,amid deteriorating relations with Armenia’s rival, Azerbaijan. A source in Armenia’s Defense Ministry confirmed to RFE/RL’s Armenian service the deployment of “several” Iskander-M systems.

…

Russia’s Three Main Security Challenges

Last week’s round-up dealt among others with Kyrgyzstan’s importance in the Russian War on Drugs and President Putin emphasized this again after he welcomed 120 top anti-drug officials from around the world at the International Drug Enforcement Conference in Moscow [emphasis mine]:

Putin Boosts Russian Role in Global War on Drugs

Illicit drugs have become a top security threat to Russia and a negative influence on the already dire demographic situation. Russia’s Security Council lists illegal drugs as one of the three main security challenges facing the nation, alongside terrorism and illegal immigration.

In one recent international effort, a senior Tajik drug dealer who controlled a heroin-smuggling route to Russia was detained in Dubai in December 2012 by a coalition consisting of Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service, Interpol, the U.S. DEA, and law enforcement agencies from Kazakhstan, Belarus and the United Arab Emirates.

…

Moscow is leading efforts in the fight against illegal immigration which is also considered to be one of the main security challenges:

Moscow Mayor Sobyanin opposes Central Asian migrants integration

Moscow to form database of migrants from Kyrgyzstan

Moscow police arrest nearly 1,000 illegal migrants

Makhachkala, the capital city of Russia’s Republic of Dagestan, made the most interesting headlines this week when its powerful mayor Said Amirov was arrested [emphasis mine]:

Arrest of Makhachkala Mayor Seen as Sign of Changing Tide

Izvestia cited sources in the presidential administration as saying the arrest was sanctioned from the very top due to almost daily deadly explosions in the republic.

In another sign of tightening security in the region, President Vladimir Putin fired Zhaudat Akhmetkhanov from the post of interior minister of the republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia, the Kremlin’s official website said Monday.

Analysts have noted that Amirov’s detention fits into the ongoing transformation of the Kremlin’s internal policy.

“In my view, this is another sign that the Kremlin is tightening the screws across all of Russia. Physical force instead of ’soft power’ is being used against the insurgents in the North Caucasus, or anybody connected with them. This is the so-called scorched earth policy, which does not need people who can build bridges between the warring sides,” Shvedov said.\

…

But there are questions if this new strategy will harm or benefit the Salafi militants:

The Kremlin’s New Way of Ruling Dagestan

In other words, Amirov’s arrest marks a radical shift in the model of governance for Dagestan. Moscow concluded that the lawlessness of local Dagestani elites was the main cause of instability and the growing support for the Salafi, and that the only solution would be to put the local elites under direct control not even of the Kremlin, but of Lubyanka.

If the siloviki are calling the shots in Dagestan directly from the Lubyanka, it will mark a turning point in Moscow’s policy for the North Caucasus and will serve as a serious warning to neighboring Chechnya. But this approach will probably be no more successful than the previous model in which Amirov, who was once honored as Russia’s best mayor, lobbied on behalf of United Russia in calling everyone to vote for Putin.

In that case, the Salafis will emerge as the biggest beneficiaries of Amirov’s arrest. After all, in a republic where everything is decided by money, guns and high-stakes risks, the Salafis are the only force growing stronger every year that Moscow has been unable to control.

…

While the FSB joined forces with the FBI in urging to tackle terrorist threats on the internet, the Russian security service is also busy preventing attacks by U.S.-sponsored terror organizations [emphasis mine]:

FSB arrests mastermind of foiled Moscow bombing who ‘fought in Afghanistan’

Russia’s FSB secret service has captured the suspected mastermind behind a foiled terror attack in Moscow. His group, which fought in Afghanistan against the ISAF forces, was uncovered and neutralized last month by police.

The cell was sent to Moscow by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party, a terrorist organization that seeks to establish an Islamic state inside the Chinese border province of Xinjiang. The organization has carried out attacks against US-related targets, and others.

…

For more information about the struggle for Xinjiang and East Turkestan I encourage you to read a previous post discussing China’s Central Asia Problem.

Meanwhile the War on Terror in the North Caucasus continues:

Three militants sentenced to imprisonment in Chechnya

Libyan Jailed For Insurgency In Ingushetia

Suleiman Osman Uheida, also known as Abu Khalid, was found guilty on June 2 of organizing an Islamic armed group and of illegal possessing a weapon.

The investigators said that, in 2011, Umarov appointed Uheida the leader (Qadiy) of the Shari’a court of Imarat Kavkaz. (The Caucasus Emirate).

…

Georgia-NATO Partnership Under Pressure

Due to territorial disputes, there is always potential for conflict in the Caucasus region. Lately, Moscow and Tbilisi argued about Georgia’s breakaway province of South Ossetia and this immediately brought NATO into the arena:

S.Ossetia Border Fences ‘Unacceptable’ – NATO

Rasmussen reiterated the alliance’s support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders. He also pledged that Georgia would one day become a NATO member.

…

Dmitry Medvedev was recently asked about a possible NATO entry of Sweden and Finland. The Russian Prime Minister was probably also thinking about Georgia when he gave the following answer:

Russia has to react as NATO moves closer to its borders – Medvedev

“This is their own business; they are making decisions in accordance with the national sovereignty doctrine. But we have to consider the fact that for us the NATO bloc is not simply some estranged organisation, but a structure with military potential,” the head of the Russian government said adding that under certain unfavorable scenarios this potential could be used against Russia.

“All new members of the North Atlantic alliance that appear in proximity of our state eventually do change the parity of the military force. And we have to react to this,” the top official noted.

…

This week Georgia suffered its largest troop loss in Afghanistan and the NATO-Georgia partnership is facing some challenges:

Afghanistan Deaths and Jihad Video Test Georgia’s Patience with NATO

The June 6 appearance of a questionable YouTube video, in which supposed Taliban fighters declare jihad on Georgia, has added to that debate.

A close inspection of the video, which was posted from Georgia, has raised suspicions of a domestic job or even of Russian intelligence, but the video’s timing has contributed to the unease.

…

The loss of more Georgian soldiers in the ISAF misson prompted anti-NATO rallies in Batumi. But this will neither affect Georgia’s participation in Afghanistan nor change the government’s determination to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Furthermore, Tbilisi is expanding its cooperation with Baku in the military sector:

Georgia And Azerbaijan Strengthening Military Ties?

Georgia and Azerbaijan have been publicly cooperating a lot lately, with presidential meetings and news of co-producing military jets and armored personnel carriers. That military cooperation, in particular, is projected to grow, writes Azerbaijani analyst Zaur Shiriyev.

…

Azerbaijan and the Real Axis of Evil

Baku is also strengthening ties with three countries which were once properly called an “axis of evil” by the former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards:

“America, Britain and the Zionist regime (Israel) are an axis of evil against the Islamic world and the whole of humanity”

…

As previously discussed, Azerbaijan is essentially NATO’s base at Russian and Iranian borders and its attractions for Washington are easily explained:

“They number four: a supply corridor for NATO’s military campaign in Afghanistan; a foothold for American interests in regional stability (Iran is just next-door) and fighting terrorism; and, finally, oil and gas for Europe.”

…

We should know by now what “fighting terrorism” in this context means [emphasis mine]:

Report: Azerbaijani citizens are among 280 mercenaries killed in Syria

According to the report, most of the killed are Libyan (59 citizens). They are followed by Saudi Arabia (44) and Tunisia (44), Jordan (32), Egypt (27), Lebanon (22) and Russia (17). 5 out of them are from Chechnya, 4 from Dagestan, 1 from Kabardino-Balkaria and 7 from other regions. Rustam Gelayev, the son of Chechen separatist field commander Ruslan Gelayev, is also among them. He was allegedly killed in the fights against the government in the grouping “Chechen Mujahideen in Syria” in August last year. The citizens of Palestine, Kuwait, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Bahrain, Morocco, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Ireland, Kosovo, Qatar, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan and the United States are also among mercenaries killed in Syria.

…

Predictably, the Chechen freedom fighters aligned their activities with U.S. foreign policy objectives and are fighting against the Syrian government. Besides Turkey, Azerbaijan is the country where most of these active Chechen terrorists can be found. With so much commitment for their joint operations and its large gas resources, Baku is highly esteemed by the NATO countries and its allies. Great Britain, which is the largest investor in Azerbaijan, is looking to establish a long-term cooperation with the country in the South Caucasus. The investments within all BP projects in Azerbaijan amount to $40 billion and more leading energy companies want to follow BP:

Leading energy companies interested in examining shale oil in Azerbaijan

Speaking at the Caspian Oil and Gas 2013 conference on June 6, SOCAR’s first vice-president Khoshbakht Yusifzade said that companies such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Total and Nobel Oil show interest in the country’s shale oil.

…

In addition to its abundant energy resources, Azerbaijan’s strategic location is of particular interest to some countries. Tel Aviv and Baku have developed a close cooperation and last year there was even speculation about Israel using Azeri air bases for an attack against Iran. Azerbaijan’s Consul General in Los Angeles Aghayev and Foreign Minister Mammadyarov attended this week events in the United States organized by the American Jewish Committee, further illustrating the “special relations” between the two countries [emphasis mine]:

Azerbaijan and Israel enjoy special relations – Consul General

Azerbaijan and Israel enjoy special relations, Azerbaijan Consul General Nasimi Aghayev said at the presentation dedicated to Azerbaijan organized on June 5 by the Los Angeles representation of the American Jewish Committee (AJC-LA), one of the most influential Jewish advocacy organizations of the world.

Speaking at the event, Executive Director of AJC-LA Rabbi Mark Diamond, Chairman of its International Committee Gary Jacobs and AJC-LA liaison for Azerbaijan Ali Ibrahimzade also noted the great importance of Azerbaijan for Israel and U.S.

They highlighted the fact that Jews have lived in Azerbaijan peacefully and without any discrimination for many centuries. They also noted the strong relationship existing between Azerbaijan and AJC.

…

Elmar Mammadyarov: “Azerbaijan and Israel are united by close friendly relations going beyond the diplomatic relations”

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov attended the opening of the AJC Global Forum of the Jewish lobby in Washington, APA reports. Foreign Minister informed the participants about Azerbaijan’s decisive role as the provider of energy resources and the close relations between Azerbaijan and Israel.

…

With the reliable puppet leader Ilham Aliyev looking to start his third term as president, Baku’s close cooperation with the real axis of evil will continue:

Azerbaijani Ruling Party Nominates Aliyev For Presidency

A constitutional amendment introduced in 2009 removed a two-term limit for holding the presidency. Azerbaijan’s opposition and human rights activists have accused Aliyev of nepotism, concentrating the country’s wealth and resources in the hands of his family, and systematically abusing of the citizens’ rights.

…

# # # #

Christoph Germann- BFP Contributing Author & Analyst
Christoph Germann is an independent analyst and researcher based in Germany, where he is currently studying political science. His work focuses on the New Great Game in Central Asia and the Caucasus region. You can visit his website here

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Take a Stand & Make a Statement Today: Support a Truly Independent Alternative

Sibel Edmonds — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 17:50:35 +0000

We Need Your Help to Raise Awareness & Continue Operating This Home of the Irate Minority

What does it mean to be a ‘True Alternative’ among the too many and too powerful media outlets infested with lies and busy with implementing deception and propaganda? As a long-term truth seeker and activist, and as founder and director of Boiling Frogs Post, I believe I have gained a certain degree of moral authority to answer this question confidently:

A true alternative means a truly independent: independent of foundation mega-bucks, independent of corporate-sponsors, and independent of mega-advertisement dollars. There is only ONE way for a truly independent alternative to exist, survive, continue and expand: Through People- direct contributions and donations by the people for the people.

Without the people’s support there will never be a true alternative. Never. The truly independent alternatives will not survive without the support and backing of the people. Thus, it is up to the people to decide and take steps to support the real independent and counter the mega establishment.

This website, Boiling Frogs Post, began with a promise: a site where the irate minority (that’s me and you), those aware and tired of the creators of lies-fables-smoke and mirrors, could call home. It was created on a pledge: complete independence from the establishment- those who come in many forms-whether foundations, sponsors or deep-pocket advertisers.

For over three years our team of producers and analysts has been presenting you with untainted, bold, independent and nonpartisan facts and discussions through original video reports, podcast interviews and commentaries, editorial cartoons, news and analyses. We believe we have been effective: we have been shining the light on the truth, and have been irritating the powers and their puppetries. We have expanded our team and coverage. And, we have accomplished this through one source (and one source only): You and your support.

Please take a stand and make a statement today by supporting a real alternative. Please help us continue and expand- for the independent truth, and for all of us. You can, and here is how:

Donate to Boiling Frogs Post

You can make a one-time contribution to support our team and projects. Those of you who do not wish to subscribe to our multimedia projects or commit to recurring annual- monthly payments but want to support our team, all the daily news, editorials, political cartoons, and other features provided by BFP can make a one-time contribution. You can contribute by Credit Card here:

Or if you would prefer to contribute by check, make it payable to “Boiling Frogs Post“, and mail to:

Boiling Frogs Post
PO Box 880
Bend, OR 97709

Become a Boiling Frogs Post Subscriber

You can sign up for our recurring annual subscription program for $50 or more, or if you prefer recurring monthly subscription payments you can sign up for monthly $5 or more. Your subscription will give you access to all our weekly exclusive multimedia reports, including The EyeOpener Video Report with James Corbett , The Boiling Frogs Show , The Reality Principle , and Empire, Power, and People Podcast Report. You can sign up for recurring annual or monthly subscription here:

Thank you for all you do,

Sibel Edmonds

Jamiol Presents

Paul Jamiol — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 15:16:35 +0000

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- June 7, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:39:19 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“The instant formal government is abolished, society begins to act. A general association takes place, and common interest produces common security.” –Thomas Paine

International Newsworthy

Most Foreign Sunni Fighters Recently Killed in Syria Fought For Jihadist Group

Al Qaeda Chief Zawahiri Calls on Syrians to Revolt against Assad

Syria Army Retakes Key Golan Crossing

Russia Ready to Join UN Peacekeeping Mission on Israel-Syria Border

Austria to Pull Its 380 Troops from 1,100-Member UN Force on Syria-Israel Border

Israeli Military Expels Attempted Syrian Refugees, Ruling Warzone Is ‘Safe’

Qusair: Exclusive Eyewitness Account

Opposition Figure Says Military Solution Not to Save Syria from Crisis

Report: Hamas Infighting Deepens Over Syria War

Cameron Faces Serious Cabinet Split over Arming Syrian Rebels

Russia Wants More Info from Turkey on Sarin Reports

Jordan Threatens to Expel Syrian Envoy for Criticizing US Deployments

EU Commits Another 400 Million Euros of Aid to Syria

Syrian Kurdish NGOs Prevent Recruitment of Child Soldiers

* * * *

Turkey PM Calls for End to Protests

No ‘Peace at Home’ in Turkey

Erdogan Faces Growing Criticism

Moroccan King Declines to Meet With Erdogan

US Criticizes Erdogan Comments

Erdogan to Face Calls for Protest Apology on Return to Turkey

Uncertain Future: Turkish PM Returns to Cheering Crowd, Decries ‘Illegal’ Protests

Outside Taksim, Turkey Faces Polarization

Turks Angry Over Dearth of Protest Coverage by Established Media

* * * *

Iran Has a Right to Peaceful Nuclear Enrichment

Nuclear Issue is Key in Iran Election

New Poll on Iranian Election Shows Rouhani as Front-Runner

Ahmadinejad Sees Better Pakistan-Iran Relations

Georgia Suffers Largest Troop Loss in NATO’s Afghan War

ISI Engaged in Helping Taliban Again: Riedel

India Blinded by China’s Shock and Awe

* * * *

Car Bomb in Iraq Kills 17, Including 12 Iranian Pilgrims

GCC Warns Against Traveling to Lebanon as Bloodshed Escalates

Israeli Troops Hit with Social Media Ban

Egypt Dismisses Early Election Calls

Libya Must Hand Former Spy Chief to Hague Court: Lawyer

Jordanian Media Licensing Law Shuts Down 300 Websites

Ghana Arrests Chinese over ‘Illegal Mining’

* * * *

Russia’s FSB and FBI Urge ‘Active & Aggressive’ Action in Tackling Terror Threats Online

Dagestan: A Political Facelift, or New Rules of the Game?

Russia Cleared over Death of Chechen Leader Maskhadov

NATO Faults Russia over South Ossetia Fence, Also Chides Georgia

Russia Demands that Georgia Abandons Law on Territories

Saakashvili Rallies People to Resist Russia

Afghanistan Deaths and Jihad Video Test Georgia’s Patience with NATO

Ukrainian Court Delays Trial of Former PM Tymoshenko for 19th Time

Landmark Kazakhstan Mosque Highlights UAE Ties

The Iman of Uzbekistan: Government Official or Secret Police Agent?

Britain to “Boost Security” in Tajikistan

Europe Criticizes Azeri Leader over Internet Defamation Law

Azerbaijan: A Double Standard Won’t Do for Baku

* * * *

Pentagon Chief: NATO to Build Afghan, Libyan Proxy Armies

US Drone Attacks controlled from Military Bases in Germany

French Banking Secrecy Investigation Spills over into Switzerland

National Newsworthy

NSA: Surveillance Giant With Eyes on America

Report: NSA Collects Data Directly From Servers of Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook & More

Report: NSA, FBI Mining Data from 9 US Internet Companies

Report: NSA Targets Credit Card Transactions

NSA Got Court Order for All Verizon Calls in US, Every Day

Classified Docs Show Vast, Real-Time, Warrantless NSA Online Surveillance

Feinstein Defends NSA & Calls for Leak Investigation into Publishing of Top Secret Order for Verizon Call Data

NSA Snooping Pits Obama vs. Left

NSA Building $860 Million Data Center in Maryland

* * * *

PATRIOT Act Author: FBI’s FISA Order Is Abuse of Act

Rep. Grayson to DHS: Just Say ‘No!’ to Armed Drones in the US

LAPD Holds Downtown Counterterrorism Drill

Alleged Anonymous Hacker Raided by FBI after Exposing Ohio Rape Scandal

Misfired 2010 Email Alerted IRS Officials in Washington of Targeting

* * * *

US Payrolls Increased by 175,000 in May, Unemployment at 7.6%

Bond Volatility’s Grim Message for the Market

The ‘Shocking’ Details Behind California’s Budget Surplus

Buying US Treasury Bonds, A Sucker’s Game

Noteworthy Editorials

Sibel Edmonds: The United States of America: A Four-Branch-Police State

Kevin Gosztola: NSA’s ‘Hoarding Complex’ on Full Display with Details on Top Secret PRISM Surveillance Program

Shahid Buttar: FBI & NSA Spying Revealed: Uncle Sam is Watching You, and Both Congress and the Courts are Complicit

Jonathan Turley: Obama’s Surveillance Reveals Massive Erosion of Civil Liberties

Chase Madar: Would Bradley Manning Be Better Off in a Civilian Court?

Paul Pillar: Never Say Never Again

Paul Craig Roberts: A Brief for Animals

Tom Engelhardt: Graduation Speech for the Class of ’66

M K Bhadrakumar: Nawaz Sharif Muses on Foreign Policy

The Unknown Patriot Who Exposed the Government’s Verizon Spy Program

The Police State on Steroids

BFP Select Videos & Podcast

BFP EyeOpener Video Report- Bilderberg Exposed: Leaks, Whistleblowers & Secrets

Video 1: RT- Death from Above: US Drone Victims Share Their Agony & Grief

Video 2: Press TV- John Kerry Supports Al Qaeda in Syria

BFP Podcast: Empire-Power & People with Andrew Gavin Marshall- “A Turkish Uprising?”

Podcast 1: Corbett Report- James Corbett on the Solari Report

Podcast 2: Peter B. Collins Show- Confirmation of the United States of Surveillance

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Turkey’s Urban Uprising: The Struggle for Democracy Against Inequality, Oligarchy, Oppression & Tyranny

AGMarshall — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:40:16 +0000

Barack Obama’ Turkey: A “Model Democracy”?!

It began innocently enough, it seemed, when a plan to turn Istanbul’s Gezi Park – located at Taksim Square – into a shopping mall spurred a small group of environmental activists to occupy the park in protest in late May of 2013. Within a week, a wave of urban uprisings had spread across the country, involving hundreds of thousands of protesters, in dozens of cities, met with massive state repression and violence, resulting in a few deaths and thousands of injuries and arrests. The world is now watching Turkey – the connecting landmass between Europe and Asia – once home to the Ottoman Empire and now home to a profound lesson for the world’s people in a struggle for democracy against inequality, oligarchy, oppression and tyranny.

The Spark in the Park

Small protests began on May 26 attempting to prevent bulldozers from destroying Gezi park in Istanbul after plans were announced to turn the small park – one of Istanbul’s lone green areas – into a shopping center. As Bloomberg explained:

Gezi Park itself is small. Imagine if Manhattan had no Central Park, and authorities decided to cut down the few trees in Union Square to build a mall on it. New Yorkers might have something to say. They might even protest and try to stop construction. And they would probably be upset if President Barack Obama told them that what they thought was irrelevant and sent in riot police to clear them.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, head of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has led the country since he was elected in 2003, and is himself a former mayor of Istanbul. As the occupation and protests about the planned destruction of the park continued, Erdogan expressed his sentiment toward the actions and ideas of the protesters, saying on May 29 that, “Whatever you do, we’ve made our decision and we will implement it.”

That day, protesters at Taksim Gezi Park set up tents and engaged in a sit-in, even getting support from opposition politicians in the Turkish government, braving the advances of riot police and tear gas. On top of the plans to build a shopping center, the government was proposing plans to rebuild an old Ottoman barracks on the land. As protesters entered their third night of occupying the park on May 30, riot police were sent in with tear gas to disperse the crowds, removing tents and sleeping bags. The number of people in the park had swelled to thousands.

The courage of the occupiers inspired more to come down to support them, as one Turkish citizen stated, “I saw it on TV last night, saw that there were people, young people taking ownership of the environment. I wanted to support them, because I think not supporting them is inhumane.” A 21-year old architecture student commented on the government response to the protests, “Gas, gas, gas, it is the only way they deal with problems.” Demonstrators in the park began chanting, “this is only the beginning, our struggle will continue,” and Michelle Demishevich, an activist member of Turkey’s Green Party commented: “This is an uprising, a protest against the increasing bans,” referring to the recent upsurge of restrictions imposed by the government, “Perhaps just like we saw the Arab Spring, this will be the Turkish Spring.”

A week prior to the protests, the Turkish parliament rushed through legislation that would place restrictions on alcohol sale and consumption in the country, worrying many retailers and small business owners, among many others. As one resident of Istanbul’s busy Beyoglu district (largely known for its night life) commented, “If Turkey really is a secular state, then the government should not have the right to tell me when and where to drink alcohol… As long as I don’t harm others, drinking is a matter of my own personal freedom.”

Haydar Tas, the owner of a bar in the district commented: “The AKP government wants to control what Beyoglu looks like, and who can be here. In the future, there will be no room for alternative places like ours. All leftist opposition groups, associations and cultural spaces will be rooted out, and the only place to get a drink will be expensive luxury hotels and restaurants. It will be the end of Beyoglu as we know it.” His bar is not merely a place to drink, but also serves an interesting social function, with postings and flyers supporting LBGT rights and environmental issues scattered on tables next to a stack of feminist magazines. Tas stated, “Places like ours do not fit in the AKP’s vision of Istanbul… And restrictions on alcohol consumption will make things harder for us.”

On May 30, as police dispersed protesters at the park with tear gas and water cannons, they even began setting fire to the tents put in place to facilitate the popular occupation. Construction workers immediately moved in to begin work, tearing down trees – some of which were torn down a few days prior, but re-planted by the protesters. One protester even stood in front of a bulldozer to prevent its advancement into the park.

On Friday 31 May, the protests reached a new level, with thousands of people coming out into the streets as Gezi Park sparked a wider general opposition to the government. Thousands of people protested in Istanbul’s main Taksim Square, where there was “an assortment of tear gas canisters everywhere.” As police moved in and began arresting dozens of people, an Al-Jazeera reported stated that, “the protesters are saying that this is not about trees anymore.” As protests continued throughout the day, several people were hospitalized with head injuries, over 100 more were subjected to other injuries, some even lying unconscious on the ground.

In the Turkish capital of Ankara, solidarity protests erupted with over 5,000 people gathering in a park only to be met with riot police and tear gas. Many of the protesters chanted, “Everywhere is resistance, Everywhere is Taksim,” referring to Taksim Square in Istanbul as the main center of protest. One reporter noted that in Istanbul, “We saw a lot of tourists running to different directions. People are trying to take refuge at coffee shops and the homes around the area. Police have been firing tear gas in different directions,” also adding that several protesters were throwing rocks back at the police, though, “the predominant complaint here is that police are firing teargas indiscriminately.”

At Taksim, police used tear gas and chemical spray to disperse the thousands of protesters. What was just days prior an environmental protest had “become a lightning conductor for all the grievances accumulated against the government.” Protesters brought home-made gas masks and called for solidarity protests across the country, while police surrounded the park and enclosed it “under clouds of gas.” The ruling AKP party with Islamist roots represents a “conservative Muslim bourgeoisie” which rose to prominence since the continued neoliberal economic reforms of the 1980s onwards. After having spent more than a decade in power, the AKP has accelerated neoliberal reforms and privatizations which have “led to accelerated inequality, accompanied by repression.”

One protester who attended the 31 May demonstrations in Istanbul commented, “I’ve been in the protests since yesterday afternoon, it has been a long couple of days for us. Now we’re protesting not because of some trees, but because we’re sick of this oppression and this police brutality against people.” Critics began to compare the Taksim Square protests to those that took place in Egypt’s Tahrir Square in 2011 leading to the fall of long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak.

A former Turkish diplomat who is now with the American think tank, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace stated, “The movement in Tahrir targeted removal of the regime, whereas the reaction in Turkey is against the government’s ruling method. The similarity is the sense of self-empowerment. Until today, ruling as it wished didn’t have any consequences for the government because it kept thinking it can override the opposition, but these protests might be a turning point.” Thousands continued to call for Erdogan to resign in what the Wall Street Journal called the “fiercest antigovernment protests for years.”

Koray Caliskan, a political scientist at Bosphorus University stated, “We do not have a government, we have Tayyip Erdogan… Even AK Party supporters are saying they have lost their mind, they are not listening to us,” and added: “This is the beginning of a summer of discontent.”

A local court in Istanbul suspended the project to uproot the trees of Taksim’s Gezi Park, but as images and word reached wider Turkish society regarding the use of excessive police force, thousands more poured into the streets to protest the increasingly authoritarian nature of the government. The protests spread to over a dozen cities across the country. The U.S. State Department issued a statement declaring: “We believe that Turkey’s long-term stability, security and prosperity is best guaranteed by upholding the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association, which is what it seems these individuals were doing.”

Within Turkey, there was very little television media coverage of the protests, reflecting the “self censorship” exercised by the media, with journalists also being targeted by riot police at the protests. The head of Turkey’s lawyers’ association, Metin Feyzioglu, stated: “The people are demonstrating against the government’s intolerance toward demonstrations… The government must display understanding and immediately stop the violence against the demonstrators.”

As many Turkish journalists complained that they were being pressured to censor the news, one local journalist stated, “Gezi Park is the new Tahrir of the region.” Another journalist tweeted, “Occupy Gezi is the explosion of anger against the hubris of one man whose ambitions for power are unmeasured.” Adding to the anti-government anger were plans announced in the same week to build a new $3 billion bridge over the Bosphorus named after the 15^th century Ottoman Sultan Selim. Erdogan stated, “There might be some petty unpleasantness but our security forces act proportionately.”

An architecture historian participating in the protests told the media, “The real problem is not Taksim, and not the park, but the lack of any form of democratic decision-making process and the utter lack of consensus. We now have a PM who does whatever he wants.” Sparking further anger on Friday, one politician from the ruling AK Party tweeted, “It looks like some people needed gas… If you go away, you will have a nice day. One has to obey the system.”

Amnesty International issued a press release which demanded that the “Turkish authorities must order police to stop using excessive force against peaceful protesters in Istanbul and immediately investigate alleged abuses.” Observers from Amnesty International who were at the protests were even gassed and hit with truncheons, prompting an Amnesty director to state: “The use of violence by police on this scale appears designed to deny the right to peaceful protest altogether and to discourage others from taking part… The use of tear gas against peaceful protestors and in confined spaces where it may constitute a serious danger to health is unacceptable, breaches international human rights standards and must be stopped immediately.”

Turkey: The World’s Worst Jailer of Journalists

In December of 2012, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a report which accused Turkey of being “the world’s worst jailer” of journalists, with 49 behind bars for writing or publishing pieces the government dislikes. Turkey was ahead of both Iran and China, with worldwide imprisonment of journalists reaching a record high in 2012, “driven in part by the widespread use of charges of terrorism and other anti-state offenses against critical reporters and editors,” tallied at 232, an increase of 53 from 2011. An Istanbul-based editor commented that, “the government does not differentiate between these two major things: freedom of expression and terrorism.”

A special CPJ report on Turkey noted: “Authorities have imprisoned journalists on a mass scale on terrorism or anti-state charges, launched thousands of other criminal prosecutions on charges such as denigrating Turkishness or influencing court proceedings, and used pressure tactics to sow self-censorship.” As the Guardian commented in 2012, “modern, secular, western-oriented Turkey, with its democratically elected government, has locked away more members of the press than China and Iran combined,” with nearly 100 journalists behind bars, according to numbers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). And it wasn’t just the press which was a major target: “students, academics, artists and opposition MPs have all recently been targeted for daring to speak out against the government of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his mildly Islamist Justice and Development Party.” An Al-Jazeera journalist visiting Turkey was harassed and detained by police, who went through his possessions and, while reading a news transcript, voiced their objections to describing Turkey as having an “increasingly authoritarian government.” As the journalist later wrote: “Who says that Turks don’t do irony?”

Press freedom continued to decline into 2013, and despite rhetoric from the government years earlier to allow for a more “open” society, Turkey’s respect for freedom of the press and freedom of expression has declined under the rule of Erdogan. Internet freedom under Erdogan has also “largely disappeared,” with the government passing legislation to facilitate “mandatory filtering of content.”

In an interview with the German publication Deutsche Welle in early May 2013, Turkish journalist Ragip Duran commented on the decline of press freedom in his country: “In the past, our colleagues were killed, newspaper offices were bombed out, the military used repression, there was censorship. Today, journalists are no longer killed. But while in the past we had to go to our colleagues’ funerals, we now have to visit them in prison or attend trials in court. There is a lot more censorship, self-censorship and pressure on media outlets and on journalists in comparison to 20 or 30 years ago.”

Students, Scholars and Dissidents

Scholars and academics have also come under extensive repression. As one journalist noted: “the number of people charged, mostly under anti-terrorism legislation, for some ‘crime’ that has a political angle, be they journalists, elected deputies, protesting students, human rights activists or environmentalists — with many languishing in prison — almost matches the number of people in a similar situation under military rule in Turkey in the past.” One Amnesty International researcher referred to the number of intellectuals imprisoned in Turkey as “staggering.”

In December of 2010, hundreds of students protested Prime Minister Erdogan as he met in Ankara with officials at the Middle East Technical University. Turkish police used batons and tear gas to disperse the student protesters, arresting roughly 50 students at the demonstration. As students then protested against the excessive use of force by police, the police responded by pepper spraying them. One female student who threw an egg at a State Minister during a protest in Ankara was facing up to two years and four months in prison as “an attack on a public official’s honor, pride and prestige.” Among her immense crimes was that she apparently ruined the left shoulder of the minister’s jacket.

In 2010, when three students attended a public meeting help by Prime Minister Erdogan, they unveiled a banner reading, “We want free education, we will get it.” Two of those students were then sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for “membership of a terrorist organization” while the third was sentenced to two years and two months in prison for “spreading terrorist propaganda.”

In 2013, an internationally renowned Turkish pianist was sentenced to ten months in prison for a Tweet which the government considered a violation of the law against “publicly insulting religious values that are adopted by a part of the nation.”

In August of 2012, the Turkish Ministry of Justice revealed that there were 2,824 students who had been arrested since the beginning of the year, with over 1,700 of them charged with a crime, and over 600 of which were charged with “being a member of an armed terrorist organization.” A month earlier, the Solidarity with Arrested Students Platform reported that there were 771 students in prison across the country. As one university academic commented: “None of the students have exerted violence against anyone. Most of them are not members of any illegal organization, although they are charged with making propaganda for them. The issues they are charged with are asking for free education or education in Kurdish. According to a decision by the Supreme Court in 2008, one can be charged with making illegal propaganda for participating a protest held by an organization.”

Politically active students had been subjected to dramatically increased state repression under Erdogan. The Turkish Minister of Education reported that in 2010 and 2011, “a total of 7,043 college students have been subjected to disciplinary investigations at their colleges. 4,602 of them have received suspensions while 55 have been expelled.” A group of university faculty even set up a white board outside a prison in Northwestern Turkey as a symbolic lesson to the students held captive inside, with one participating professor beginning the lecture by saying, “We came here for our students under arrest. This is not their place, they should be at their classrooms.” As students were increasingly detained under draconian anti-terror laws put in place by the Erdogan government, students and other members of society held solidarity protests with the imprisoned youth.

As Erdogan was advancing his program for the privatization of university education, over a thousand students protested in the streets in late December of 2012, met with over 3,000 police officers using tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets.

In recent years, Turkey has imprisoned thousands of political prisoners for associating with the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democratic Party (BDP), which the Turkish government considers to be a terrorist organization because it advocates for the rights of Kurdish citizens. Among the thousands arrested under anti-terrorism measures for associating with the BDP were writers, academics, parliamentarians, mayors, and students. Some academics were arrested simply for delivering speeches to the BDP, prompting Amnesty International to condemn the government.

In January of 2013, the Turkish government arrested 15 human rights lawyers “known for defending individuals’ right to freedom of speech and victims of police violence.” Amnesty International’s researcher on Turkey, Andrew Gardner, noted: “The detention of prominent human rights lawyers and the apparent illegal search of their offices add to a pattern of prosecutions apparently cracking down on dissenting voices.” Gardner added: “Human rights lawyers have been just some of the victims in the widespread abuse of anti-terrorism laws in Turkey. The question to ask is: who will be left to defend the victims of alleged human rights violations?”

Human Rights Watch also spoke out against the arrests, with the lead researcher on Turkey commenting, “Police raids against lawyers at 4 a.m., their arrest and imprisonment are part of a wider clampdown on those who oppose the government.” The researcher, Emma Sinclair-Webb, added: “What makes the latest arrests particularly disturbing is that these lawyers are well-known for acting on behalf of those whose rights have been violated by the state.” Official figures revealed in May of 2012, Sinclair-Webb said, “suggest that many thousands are in prison for terrorism offenses, many of them political activists, students, journalists, and human rights defenders… Most have committed no offense that could or should be described as terrorism under international law.”

Turkey: A “Model Democracy”?

When Barack Obama spoke to the Turkish parliament in 2009, he referred to Turkey as a “strong and secular democracy,” and that the country was “a critical ally” of the United States, emphasizing his “commitment to our strong and enduring friendship.”

In an article for Christian Science Monitor, Reza Aslan, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote that following several constitutional reforms in 2010, Turkey had taken “another step toward solidifying its position as the new superpower of the Middle East: the shining model of what a modern, Muslim-majority democracy can achieve if given the opportunity.”

As Hosni Mubarak, the military dictator of Egypt, was facing immense opposition in the streets of Tahrir Square and elsewhere across the country in February of 2011 – as the Arab Spring was spreading across the region – Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan stated, “No government can remain oblivious to the democratic demands of its people… There isn’t a government in history that has survived through oppression. Know that governments that turn a blind eye to their people cannot last long.”

As Time Magazine noted, with the unrest spreading across the region in early 2011, many commentators were pointing to Turkey’s “successful melding of a largely Muslim population with an officially secular and working democracy as a role model for what might come next.” In September of 2012, Erdogan declared that, “We called ourselves conservative democrats. We focused our change on basic rights and freedom… This stance has gone beyond our country’s borders and has become an example for all Muslim countries.”

In light of the Arab Spring, Hugh Pope of the International Crisis Group stated that, “Turkey is the envy of the Arab world… It has moved to a robust democracy, has a genuinely elected leader who seems to speak for the popular mood, has products that are popular from Afghanistan to Morocco — including dozens of sitcoms dubbed into Arabic that are on TV sets everywhere — and an economy that is worth about half of the whole Arab world put together.”

On May 24, 2013, a few days prior to the current protests and police repression erupting across the country, the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Besir Atalay, spoke at the 38th Congress of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), declaring: “We enhanced suspect and defendant rights and custody conditions. We based our solutions for all problems, including terror, on more democracy, freedom and pluralism. We have lifted the legal barriers on free expression of non-violent and non-threatening thoughts. We have made great efforts to normalize Turkey.” He also explained that Turkey “used to have problems” in regards to human rights problems, but the country has “changed a lot.”

Apparently, two days later, it changed back.

To read the entire analysis Click Here.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

The United States of America: A Four-Branch-Police State

Sibel Edmonds — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:18:17 +0000

Long Running, Long-Known NSA Illegalities & Long-Ignored NSA Whistleblowers

Yesterday a long-known but long-covered up report on the extent of NSA’s illegal spying on millions of Americans was made public. Interestingly this outrageous American scandal was revealed and reported not by an American media outlet but by one outside the United States. That alone should tell you a lot.

The National Security Agency is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon, one of America’s largest telecoms providers, under a top secret court order issued in April.

The order, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, requires Verizon on an “ongoing, daily basis” to give the NSA information on all telephone calls in its systems, both within the US and between the US and other countries. The document shows for the first time that under the Obama administration the communication records of millions of US citizens are being collected indiscriminately and in bulk – regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing.

…

I characterize the report as long-known and long-covered up because over eight years ago this scandal was exposed and related to the US Congress and media by long-ignored whistleblowers.

Interestingly, shamelessly, half-accurately, and indirectly the elected traitors known as the members of the US Congress have already admitted that much:

The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday said senators were informed of the administration’s sweeping surveillance practices, which they said have been going on since 2007.

…

“Everyone’s been aware of it for years, every member of the Senate,” said Sen. Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

…

I say half-accurately because they have intentionally provided a wrong date. They have known about this particular illegal operation, in addition to several other equally explosive illegalities, since 2005; thanks to long-ignored truth-telling NSA whistleblowers.

As the founder and director of National Security Whistleblowers Coalition I became aware of at least two NSA truth-tellers who tried to alert Congress and the US media to these illegal government operations. I personally assisted them in their desperate attempts to reach and brief the appropriate congressional offices.

I can only divulge the identity of one of these NSA witnesses who courageously came forward publicly-and dearly paid the price for doing so. As for the others-their internal battles continue to date.

On December 22, 2005, I made public the following press release (the release was sent to all appropriate congressional offices and spineless members of the US mainstream media):

Former NSA Intelligence Analyst & Action Officer Urges to be Heard by Congress Regarding Unlawful Conduct by NSA

Russ Tice, former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence analyst and action officer, has sent the following two letters to the chairs of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees. Mr. Tice intends to report to Congress probable unlawful and unconstitutional acts conducted while he was an intelligence officer with the National Security Agency (NSA) and with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). These acts involved the Director of the National Security Agency, the Deputies Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, and the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and were conducted via very highly sensitive intelligence programs and operations known as Special Access Programs (SAP). SAP programs and operations are more commonly referred to as “black world” programs and operations. Mr. Tice was a technical intelligence specialist dealing almost exclusively with SAP programs and operations at both NSA and DIA.

Mr. Tice stated: “As a Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) officer it is continually drilled into us that the very first law chiseled in the SIGINT equivalent of the Ten Commandments (USSID-18) is that Thou shall not spy on American persons without a court order from FISA. This law is continually drilled into each NSA intelligence officer throughout his or her career. The very people that lead the National Security Agency have violated this holy edict of SIGINT.” A pivotal question in this case is whether Americans were being spied on via a vacuum cleaner approach wherein vast amounts of information are sucked in. FISA warrants require a name of the target and would not cover such a mass approach. He also added: “In addition to knowing this fundamental commandment of not violating the civil rights of Americans, intelligence officers are required to take an oath to protect the United States Constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic. It is with my oath as a US intelligence officer weighing heavy on my mind that I wish to report to congress acts that I believe are unlawful and unconstitutional. The freedom of the American people cannot be protected when our constitutional liberties are ignored and our nation has decayed into a police state.”

“These actions by the current administration are a compulsion to secrecy, an expansive view of presidential authority, and reluctance to answer to the people and Congress. Woodrow Wilson, himself no novice concerning secrecy, claimed that it is a ‘fair presumption that secrecy means impropriety’. That is a presumption that we have been called upon to suspend in the name of national security, but with recent disclosures that suspended judgment appears to have been unwise. We urge the congress to hold hearings and let patriotic witnesses like Russ Tice testify,” stated Sibel Edmonds, the director of National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC).

…

To read the entire press release and our letters to the US Congress Click Here

So what does all this tell us?

That the Executive Branch of the United States of America has been illegally and continuously engaged in surveillance of all its citizens.

That the United States Congress has been briefed and reported on this illegal-unconstitutional surveillance, and has readily gone along with it- as collaborators.

That the United States Federal Courts have been sitting on the side-lines, and allowing the continuation of the illegal-unconstitutional surveillance of United States Citizens.

That the media in the United States has firmly positioned itself as government- collaborators in this illegal-unconstitutional practice against the citizens of the United States.

And finally … that the citizens of the United States of America are in a position to decide to act or not to act against this Four-Branch-Police State.

# # # #

Sibel Edmonds is the Publisher & Editor of Boiling Frogs Post and the author of the Memoir Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story. She is the recipient of the 2006 PEN Newman’s Own First Amendment Award for her “commitment to preserving the free flow of information in the United States in a time of growing international isolation and increasing government secrecy” Ms. Edmonds has a MA in Public Policy and International Commerce from George Mason University, a BA in Criminal Justice and Psychology from George Washington University.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- June 6, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 19:10:15 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“Ancient Rome declined because it had a Senate, now what’s going to happen to us with both a House and a Senate?!” –Will Rogers

International Newsworthy

What Inspires Turkey’s Protest Movement?

Turkey: Twitter and Mass Media Become Part of the Story

Resistance in Istanbul With 140 Characters

Turkey: “This is a Revolt, Not Yet a Revolution!”

Revolt in Turkey: Erdogan’s Grip on Power Is Rapidly Weakening

Erdogan to Demolish Park Despite Protests

Turkish Protesters Demand Police Sackings, Unions Join

Third Person Killed in Turkey’s Protests: Medical Association

25 Held for ‘Inciting’ Demonstrations over Social Media

Turkish Protesters Raise $55,000 for Full-Page Ad in New York Times

Turkey Angry at US Comments on Protests

Turkish FM Responds to Kerry for US Criticisms on Turkey Protests

Turkey Suspends TV Game Show After Protest

* * * *

Insight: Russia’s Syria Diplomacy, a Game of Smoke & Mirrors

Syria Rebels Say They Have Lost Battle for Al-Qusayr

Hezbollah: Fall of Qusayr Big Blow to US, Israel

Syrian Army Finds Mass Grave of “Rebel Fighters” in al-Qussair: Report

EU Official Wants Criminal Penalties for Joining Syrian Fighting

US ‘Secretly Sending’ Troops to Syrian Border

U.S. Urges Hezbollah, Iran Withdrawing Fighters from Syria

US War Party Beats Drums for Action in Syria

Russia Insists on “All” Syrian Parties’ Presence at Conference

Syria Slams Arab League as Player in Ongoing Unrest

Syria, Like Iraq and Lebanon, Is on Path toward Sectarian Split

Hamas-Hezbollah Ties Deteriorate Over Syria

* * * *

The West Accuses Iran of Nuclear Deception

Obama: World Oil Supplies Ample Without Iran

US Terror Drone Kills 3 Afghan Children

NATO Shipments Banned Throughout Pakistan Re-Polling

‘America is Our Worst Enemy’: Pakistani Victim of US Drone Strike Speaks Out

Window Shuts on Pakistani Talks with Taliban

* * * *

Fourteen Iraq Border Police Killed at Fake Checkpoint

Yemen Launches Anti-Al Qaeda Offensive

Ten Dead in Yemen ‘Anti-Qaeda Offensive’

Pro-Hezbollah Sunni Sheikhs Face Assassination in Lebanon

Bahrain Probe Into Hezbollah Business Links

Hamas Denies Endorsing Ties With Hezbollah

* * * *

NGOs under Pressure in Egypt

Egypt Demands Ethiopia Halt Nile Dam, Upping Stakes

Egypt’s Fundamental Crisis of Legitimacy

Malian Army Fights Tuareg Rebels; Unofficial Truce Over

French Soldiers Take Positions in Mali’s Anefis Town

Nigerian Refugees Accuse Army of Excess Force

Bombing Kills Two Soldiers in Tunisia

* * * *

Russia: FSB Arrests Mastermind of Foiled Moscow Bombing who ‘Fought in Afghanistan’

Russia Deploys Permanent Naval Force in Mediterranean

Guriyev Fears New Move against Jailed Khodorkovsky

Rosneft and Gazprom Both Awarded Arctic Shelf Permits

CIS Chief Warns of Impending Crisis in Central Asia, Middle East

CSTO to Strengthen Armed Forces

Azerbaijan and Israel Enjoy “Special” Relations

Azerbaijani Citizens are Among 280 Mercenaries Killed in Syria

Britain Signs Agreement to Improve Services along Tajikistan-Afghanistan Border

Turkmenistan Makes another Quiet Purchase of Warships

International Terrorism & Religious Extremism Threaten Tajikistan

As Turkish Protests Rage, Baku Watches With Interest

* * * *

ECB to Launch EU-Wide Audit of Bank’s Balance Sheets

Italy, Germany to Join US Afghan force

Bulgaria Joins NATO Rapid Deployable Corps HQ in Greece

UK: Ex-Police Jailed for Leaking to Press

UK Islamic Center Destroyed in ‘Hate Crime’ Fire

Germany’s Drone Doubts

Bulgaria: “Hezbollah Role in Bus Attack Unproven”

Controversial French Former Spy Chief Found Dead in Paris

National Newsworthy

Report: NSA Secretly Collecting Phone Records of All U.S. Verizon Calls

Top-Secret Court Order Reveals NSA’s Daily Data Collection on Millions of Americans

Two Secretive Israeli Companies May Have Bugged the US Telecommunications Grid for the NSA

Obama Administration Defends NSA Grab of Verizon Customer Phone Calls

Senators: NSA Phone Sweeping Has Been Going on Since 2007

The Same Federal Judge Who Struck Down Obamacare Approved the Government’s Sweeping Collection of Phone Records

DHS: Laptops, Phones Can Be Searched at Border Based on Hunches

Now FBI Wants Back Door to All Software

Report: Panetta Disclosed Top Secret Info to ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Filmmaker

Classified Documents Reveal CIA Drone Strikes often Killed Unknown People

US Deploys Extra Forces in Guantanamo

* * * *

New York: Senate Passes Bill Making the Harassment of a Police Officer a Crime

Conn. Gov. Signs Bill Restricting Newtown Photos

Iowa City to Ban Red-Light Cameras, Drones & License Plate Readers Too

Kansas Farmer Sues Monsanto Over GMO

Connecticut Becomes, Conditionally, First State to Require Genetically Modified Food Labeling

* * * *

Manning Trial Transcripts

Manning Given Unfettered Access to Closed Databases, Court Hears

36 News Organizations Join Suit for Bradley Manning Info

Shielding the Whistleblowers on Sexual Assaults

Obama Wants Whistleblowers Silenced

* * * *

Victims of IRS Targeting Tell Their Stories on Capitol Hill

Two IRS Staffers Placed on Leave for Taking Gifts at Anaheim Hotel Party

IRS Official: Lavish Conference Followed IRS Rules

House Votes to Delay Bulk Ammunition Purchase by DHS

ObamaCare More Unpopular than Ever

Report: TSA Screening Program Not Objective

TSA Abandons Plan to Allow Knives

* * * *

Are Central Bankers Losing Control?

Factory Orders in US Increased Less than Forecast in April

How Another Housing Bubble Was Blown … And Why

First Quarter Hourly Compensation Plunges 3.8%, Most on Record

Weak Data, Abenomics Crash are Hitting US Stocks

S&P Breaks 1,600 (The Wrong Way)

Noteworthy Editorials

Sibel Edmonds: DOJ-FBI Have it Both Ways- Ain’t Nothing Here, but the “Nothing” is Highly Classified & Sensitive

Pepe Escobar: Hezbollah Don’t Take No Mess

William Blum: Iran- A Modest Proposal- The Sanctions of Mass Destruction!

Nile Bowie: China Hacking vs. Pentagon Whacking- An Arms Race in Cyber-Space?

Dave Lindorff: You Have the Right to Remain Silent…as the Grave- Is the FBI in the Execution Business?

Andrew Napolitano: We’d Have to Arrest the Entire Government

Stephen Lendman: Susan Rice for National Security Advisor

The Return of the Liberal Hawks: Susan Rice & Samantha Power

How Susan Rice Bungled Sudan

The Great Wall of Bilderberg

BFP Select Videos & Podcast

BFP EyeOpener Video Report- Bilderberg Exposed: Leaks, Whistleblowers & Secrets

Video 1: TPP- The Biggest Threat to the Internet You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Video 2: Corbett Report- New World Next Week

Video 3: RT-’US Drone Strikes in Pakistan Negate Right to Life’

BFP Podcast: Empire-Power & People with Andrew Gavin Marshall- “A Turkish Uprising?”

Podcast 1: Corbett Report- Who Pays for Bilderberg

Podcast 2: Black Listed Radio-Jan Irvin Interview

Jamiol Presents

Paul Jamiol — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:01:17 +0000

Iran: A Modest Proposal- The Sanctions of Mass Destruction!

William Blum — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:56:06 +0000

“Iran’s basketizing has begun with draconian sanctions, the way the basketizing of Iraq began.”

Washington’s sanctions against Iran are a wonder to behold, seriously hampering Tehran’s ability to conduct international commerce, make payments, receive money, import, export, invest, travel … you name the hardship and the United States is trying to impose it on the government and the people of Iran. In early May a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress aimed at stopping Iran from gaining access to its billions of dollars in euros kept in overseas banks – money that represents up to a third of Tehran’s total hard-currency holdings. In addition, Congress is looking to crack down on a weakness in current sanctions law that allows Iran to replenish its hard-currency accounts by acquiring gold through overseas markets.

Washington has as well closed down Iran’s media operations in the United States, is putting great pressure on Pakistan to cancel their project to build a pipeline to import natural gas from Iran, and punished countless international companies for doing business with Iran.

After a plane crash in Iran in 2011, the Washington Post reported: “Plane crashes are common in Iran, which for decades has been prevented from buying spare parts for its aging fleet by sanctions imposed by the United States.”

There are many more examples of the sanctions of mass destruction.

All this to force Iran to abandon any program that might conceivably lead someday to a nuclear weapon, thus depriving Israel of being the only nuclear power in the Middle East. The United States doesn’t actually say this. It instead says, explicitly or implicitly, that a nuclear Iran would be a danger to attack the US or Israel, without giving any reason why Iran would act so suicidal; at the same time Washington ignores repeated statements from various Israeli and American officials that they have no such fear.

Now, a group of US lawmakers is proposing a more drastic remedy: cutting off Iran entirely from world oil markets. Oil sales provide Iran with the bulk of its foreign-currency earnings. The plan would require all countries to stop buying oil from Iran or risk losing access to the US banking system.

And Iran ignores it all, refusing to bend. Islamic fanatics they are.

I have a much simpler solution. Why not cut off all exports of food to Iran? Worldwide. And anything that goes into producing food – seed, fertilizer, farm equipment, etc. Let’s see how good they are at ignoring it when their children’s bellies start to balloon. And medicines and medical equipment as well! Let’s see how good they are at producing whatever they need themselves.

Officials at The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated that as many as 6,000 Iraqi children died each month in the early 1990s primarily due to the sanctions imposed by the US, the UK and others. As proof of the lasting effectiveness and goodness of that policy, today blessed peace reigns in Iraq among its citizens.

And if all else fails with Iran … Nuke the bastards! That may be the only way they’ll learn what a horrible weapon a nuclear bomb is, a weapon they shouldn’t be playing around with.

In recent times Iraq, Libya, Syria and Iran have been the prime forces standing in the way of USraeli Middle East domination. Thus it was that Iraq was made into a psychotic basket case. Libya’s welfare state was wiped out and fundamentalists have imposed Islamic law on much of the country. The basketizing of Syria is currently in process. Iran’s basketizing has begun with draconian sanctions, the way the basketizing of Iraq began.

It’s worth noting that Iraq, Syria, and Libya were the leading secular states of the Middle East. History may not treat kindly the impoverishment and loss of freedoms that the US-NATO-European Union Triumvirate has brought down upon the heads of the people of these lands.

# # # #

William Blum, BFP contributing author and analyst, is an American, historian and critic of United States foreign policy. He is the author of Killing Hope: U.S. Military & CIA Interventions Since World War II. He has described his life’s mission as: “If not ending, at least slowing down the American Empire. At least injuring the beast. It’s causing so much suffering around the world.” Mr. Blum can be reached through his website http://killinghope.org .

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Boiling Frogs Post: It Boils Down to ‘Us’ vs. ‘Them’- Let’s Not Let Them Win

Sibel Edmonds — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:16:56 +0000

First things first: We want to thank all our supporters for their kind and generous contributions during these tough times. We know who you are. You are not ‘the’ 1% with deep pockets and big devious agendas who feed and sustain the mainstream and pseudo-alternative misinformation mediums. On the other hand you are the ‘other’ 1%: The irate and tireless minority fed up with deception and propaganda, keen to set brush fires in people’s minds. I know it is tiring to be the tireless irate minority. Sometimes it feels like being on the set of David vs. Goliath. I know because I have been in this exact position for twelve years counting. But look at the bright side, together, we are still standing-our ground.

You have helped us raise $4800. We are half way there, but we still have a ways to go before reaching our minimum goal necessary to sustain us for another quarter. Without your subscriptions we won’t be able to create and produce the original and independent multimedia shows. Without your donations we won’t be able to research and present to you the crucial news and developments night after night…Without your support this truth source cannot exist. Without your support the obscurers of the truth will win. After all, it boils down to ‘Us’ vs. ‘Them’- So please, let’s Not let ‘them’ win.

Please help us continue and expand- for the independent truth, and for all of us. You can, and here is how:

Donate to Boiling Frogs Post

You can make a one-time contribution to support our team and projects. Those of you who do not wish to subscribe to our multimedia projects or commit to recurring annual- monthly payments but want to support our team, all the daily news, editorials, political cartoons, and other features provided by BFP can make a one-time contribution. You can contribute by Credit Card here:

Or if you would prefer to contribute by check, make it payable to “Boiling Frogs Post“, and mail to:

Boiling Frogs Post
PO Box 880
Bend, OR 97709

Become a Boiling Frogs Post Subscriber

You can sign up for our recurring annual subscription program for $50 or more, or if you prefer recurring monthly subscription payments you can sign up for monthly $5 or more. Your subscription will give you access to all our weekly exclusive multimedia reports, including The EyeOpener Video Report with James Corbett , The Boiling Frogs Show , The Reality Principle , and Empire, Power, and People Podcast Report. You can sign up for recurring annual or monthly subscription here:

Thank you for all you do,

Sibel Edmonds

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- June 5, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 21:16:26 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.” – Thomas Jefferson

International Newsworthy

Turkey: Calm and the Spreading Storm

Turkish Protests to Go On Until Demands Met: Organizers

Turkish Protests Test Obama’s “Close Friendship” with Erdogan

Turkey & All the Prime Minister’s Yes-Men

Has Erdogan Overstayed Welcome?

Ultras: The Surprise Kids of Turkey’s Uprising

Dozens Arrested in Turkey over Protest Tweets &Accused of ‘Inciting Hatred’

Strike Call in Turkey Likely to Inflame Anti-Erdogan Protests

Anonymous, Syrian Electronic Army Hack Turkish Govt Networks, Leak E-mails Including PM’s

US Personnel at Turkey AFB Warned on Anti-Government Protests

Turkey Uprising Exposes Limits on Free Press, Power of Social Media

Turkey: Taksim Square’s Long History as a Contested Space

* * * *

Syria Peace Meeting will NOT Happen in June

Top Islamic Leader Calls for No-Fly Zone in Syria

Syrian Government Army ‘Totally Controls’ Qusayr, Border

Syrian Rebels Attempt Shift from Guerrilla Tactics

Syrian War Widens Sunni-Shia Schism as Foreign Jihadis Join Fight for Shrines

UN Fails to Determine Perpetrator of Syria Chemical Attacks-Urges on-Site Inquiry

France Says Tests from Syria Show Sarin Use

McCain Excuses Syrian Rebel War Crimes, Suggests He’d Tolerate Extremist Takeover

Syria Ravaged by Outbreaks of Disease: Typhoid, Cholera, Measles & Tuberculosis

* * * *

U.S. Says Iran’s Nuclear Reactor Plans ‘Deeply Troubling’

US Extends Iran Sanctions Waivers to Nine Countries

Iran’s Outreach to Afghanistan, Tajikistan Faces Obstacles

Iran Denies Link to Turkey Protests

Afghan Bodies Found Near US Base

US Drone Attacks Are Further Radicalizing Pakistan

Giving Chance to Minority Party in Balochistan Lauded

* * * *

Promised Spoils of U.S. War in Iraq—Its Oil—Go to China

Iraqi Kurds Criticize Growing Turkish Influence

Iraqi Shiite Pilgrims Rally for Major Ritual amid Tight Security

Kurdistan’s Two Ruling Parties Give Conflicting Views on Region’s Constitution

Bahrain to Investigate Transactions, Accounts with Hezbollah Links

France: Yemen Urged to Take Immediate Action against Al-Qaeda

Official: Israel Would Oppose International Forces as Part of Peace Deal

* * * *

US Offers $23 Million Bounty for Islamists in Africa

Egypt: Dozens of Activists Sentenced to Jail

Egyptian Court Convicts 16 Americans

US Lawmakers Want Review of Aid to Egypt after Americans Sentenced

Water Wars: Egyptian Politicians Want to Sabotage Ethiopia’s New Dam

NATO to Train Libyan Armed Forces: Alliance Chieftain

NATO to Send Team to Libya to Assess Security Aid

Jordanian Universities Transformed Into ‘Battlefields’

Mali Military Claims Victory against Rebels

Seleka Rebels Kill Dozens in CAR

* * * *

The World Through Putin’s Eyes

Russia Blasts U.S. Interceptor Missile, Warplane Deployments to Jordan

Russia to React to NATO Expansion

The Kremlin’s New Way of Ruling Dagestan

Chechens Report on Lapankuri Special Operation

Russian Official: US ‘Ignored Boston Bombers Warning’

NATO Scrutinizing Events in South Ossetia “With Great Interest”

Armenia and Russia’s Arm-Length Friendship

CIS Chief Warns of Looming Asian Crises

Tajikistan’s Gas Boom: Prosperity or Conflict?

Georgia and Azerbaijan Strengthening Military Ties

Investments within BP Projects in Azerbaijan Total USD 40bn

EU Expects Azerbaijan to Play Key Role in Gas Supplies to Europe

Kyrgyz Airline Ferrying “Illicit” Iranian Cargo to Assad – US Treasury

US Sanctions Kyrgyz, Ukrainian Airlines Over Iran-Syria Link

Uzbekistan: Russian Telecom Giant’s Assets up for Grabs

Uzbekistan’s Move Away from Regional Afghan Response

Eight Sentenced on Terrorism Charges in Kazakhstan

* * * *

The Euro Hawk Scandal: A Chronicle

NATO Agrees On Cyber Warfare Quick Response Teams

Spain: U.S. Marines Arrive for African, Eastern Mediterranean Missions

Italy Leads Charge against EU Move to Blacklist Hezbollah

Latvia Gets Approval to Join Eurozone

National Newsworthy

The Lawlessness of Obama’s Drone Policy is Coming Home

Obama Aides Use Secret E-Mail Accounts

No Action on 2008 Obama Promise to Investigate Afghan Massacre

Poll: Obama’s Job Approval Collapsing

Senior US Intelligence Official Gets Personal Email Hacked

* * * *

Bradley Manning’s Legal Duty to Expose War Crimes

No Signs of Hatred in WikiLeaks Soldier’s Laptop: Investigator

Manning Never Talked About Aiding US Foes: Hacker

* * * *

DOJ Defends Not Telling AP of Subpoenas in Letter to Lawmakers

IRS Victims Testify as New Agency Scandal Emerges

Congress Looks to Revise, Expand President’s War Powers

Lawmakers Defend the FBI amid Russian Allegations over Boston Marathon Attack

* * * *

Top Schools for Federal R&D Grants Are Big Spenders on Lobbying, Campaign Contributions

Pentagon Has No Idea What 108,000 Contractors Are Doing

Senator Feinstein’s Husband Stands to Make Millions from USPS Contract

Lobbyists Helping Banker Recoup Land Saddam ‘Stole’

Susan Rice to Replace Donilon as Obama’s National Security Adviser

The Return of the Liberal Hawks: Susan Rice and Samantha Power

* * * *

The Feds Seized another Bitcoin Site

Morgan Stanley: Rising Junk-Debt Loads Erode Credit Quality

Illinois Pensions: Fallout Felt in Pension Deadlock

Noteworthy Editorials

Francis Boyle: Bradley Manning- Prisoner of Conscience

Norman Solomon: Bradley Manning Is Guilty of “Aiding the Enemy” — If the Enemy Is Democracy

Stephen Lendman: Bradley Manning Court-Martial- Secrecy & Injustice on Trial

Pepe Escobar: Meet the ‘Friends of Jihad’

Robert Higgs: State Power and How It Might Be Undermined

M K Bhadrakumar: Et Tu, Gul? Then Fall, Erdogan

The US Base on Diego Garcia: An Overlooked Atrocity

Erdogan’s Sin of Hubris

Independent vs. Mainstream News: Informed vs. Re-Educated

BFP Select Videos & Podcast

BFP EyeOpener Video Report- Bilderberg Exposed: Leaks, Whistleblowers & Secrets

Video 1: RT-Bitcoin Crackdown? US Laws Choke Digital Cash Flow Anonymity

Video 2: George Galloway on Syria

Video 3: RT-US Cashes in on Teargas amid Turkey Brutal Turmoil

Video 4: Charlie McGrath-The Death of Free Speech, Most Will Cheer

BFP Podcast: Empire-Power & People with Andrew Gavin Marshall- “A Turkish Uprising?”

Podcast 1: Lew Rockwell Show- Suppressing the Truth about the Boston Bombings

Podcast 2: Traces of Reality- Phil Giraldi

Podcast 3: Radio Liberty- European Crisis & American Bubble

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

The DOJ-FBI Have it Both Ways: “Ain’t Nothing Here, but the “Nothing” is Highly Classified & Sensitive”

Sibel Edmonds — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:22:30 +0000

“Our simplicity-loving government-trusting & mainstream media-following majority has half of it right:-It is a conspiracy!”

Once upon a time there lived a Saudi Clan in a city called Sarasota in the United States. The clan was visited by Mohamed Atta – the government-designated top hijacking terrorist who according to the government led the largest terrorist event in United States’ history – known as 9/11. The clan’s Sarasota house was visited by this lead hijacking terrorist not once, not twice, but many times. The clan also had visits from two other US government-designated 9/11 hijacking terrorists – Marwan Al-Shehhi, who supposedly crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower, and Ziad Jarrah, who was supposedly at the controls of United Airlines Flight 93 when it crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

Are you with me so far? Let’s simplify and sum this up so far for the sake of our simplicity-loving majority: Three 9/11 hijacking terrorists visited a Saudi Family in Sarasota repeatedly before 9/11.

About a month before September 11, 2011, after government-confirmed multiple visits by the three 9/11 hijacking terrorists, this Saudi clan hurriedly left their Sarasota home, went to the airport, and left the country – mysteriously and in a hurry. I say hurriedly and mysteriously because: They left behind their fully-furnished luxury house, their three luxury cars, their luxury refrigerator filled with food, their furniture and clothing, and while their luxury swimming pool water was still circulating. They left everything behind and flew to Saudi Arabia-in panic mode. And they never came back.

Let me quickly cite mainstream media reports-articles and government confirmation before our simplicity-loving and government-trusting majority categorize this tale as a ‘conspiracy’ and stop reading the remainder.

In February 2012 the UK Telegraph reported the following:

A Saudi Arabian accused of associating with several of the September 11 hijackers and who disappeared from his home in the United States a few weeks before the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, is in London working for his country’s state oil company.

…

Security records of cars passing through a checkpoint at the Prestancia gated community indicated that Mr. al-Hijji’s home, 4224 Escondito Circle, had been visited a number of times by Mohamed Atta, the leader of the 19-strong hijack team, who piloted American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre in 2001.

The logs also indicated that Marwan Al-Shehhi, who crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower, and Ziad Jarrah, who was at the controls of United Airlines Flight 93 when it crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, had visited the house. All three men had trained to fly at Venice Airport, which is 19 miles from Sarasota.

…

Abdulaziz al-Hijji and his wife Anoud left three cars at their luxurious home in a gated community in Sarasota, Florida — one of them new — and flew to Saudi Arabia in August 2001. The refrigerator was full of food; furniture and clothing were left behind; and the swimming pool water was still circulating.

…

You see, the tale I recounted was confirmed and reported by mainstream media outlets like Telegraph UK, Miami Herald, Seattle Times, Tampa Bay Times, and almost all major mainstream outlets-albeit with their usual shallow and never-to-be-truly investigated modus operandi. Here is a report by Seattle Times confirming the FBI’s confirmation and report on this never-truly investigated case:

A Saudi family who left their Sarasota, Fla.-area home weeks before 9/11 had “many connections” to “individuals associated with the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001,” according to newly released FBI records.

…

The records cast new light on one of the remaining unresolved mysteries regarding Florida’s many connections to the 9/11 attacks: What went on before the attacks at the home of Abdulaziz al-Hijji and his family?

…

I hope having presented the discredited and disgraced US media confirmation of our tale (so far) persuades our government-trusting and simplicity-loving majority to continue reading.

Despite all the evidence, all the confirmation and even some media exposure no one in our government ever bothered to truly investigate this case. The little poking around they did- which produced damning evidence, resulted in no ‘real report.’ This significant real-life tale with significant connections to the biggest terror event in the history of the USA never made its way into any of the pseudo investigative government reports-9/11 Commission or Senate-House investigations or reports.

The clan continued to live happily after, not in Saudi Arabia but in England:

A decade after the world’s worst terrorist attack, which claimed the lives of 3,000 people, Mr. al-Hijji is resident in London, working for the European subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state oil company. Described as a career counsellor, he is based in the offices of Aramco Overseas Company UK Limited and lives in an expensive flat in central London.

…

Now back to the US government part of this story. The FBI has played this massive cover-up in their usual way: Putting damning evidence-reports and statements out confirming the case, and simultaneously denying the case and its intimate connections to 9/11, allow me to illustrate:

Confirmation- A US counter-terrorist agent told The Daily Telegraph: “The registration numbers of vehicles that had passed through the Prestancia community’s north gate in the months before 9/11, coupled with the identification documents shown by incoming drivers on request, showed that Mohamed Atta and several of his fellow hijackers, and another Saudi suspect still at large, had visited 4224 Escondito Circle.”

Denial & Cover up- Mr. al-Hijji’s account is supported by the FBI, which has stated: “At no time did the FBI develop evidence that connected the family members to any of the 9/11 hijackers … and there was no connection found to the 9/11 plot.’’

…

Let’s run this again, starting with confirmation:

An April 16, 2002, FBI report says “repeated citizen calls” led to an inspection of the home by agents of the Southwest Florida Domestic Security Task Force. “It was discovered that the (family name deleted) left their residence quickly and suddenly. They left behind valuable items, clothing, jewelry and food in a manner that indicated they fled unexpectedly without prior preparation or knowledge,” the report says. “Further investigation of the (name deleted) family revealed many connections between the (name deleted) and individuals associated with the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001.”

…

A Saudi family who left their Sarasota, Fla.-area home weeks before 9/11 had “many connections” to “individuals associated with the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001,” according to newly released FBI records.

…

And follow it up with denial:

The FBI said Thursday that it had interviewed members of a Saudi Arabian family that left Sarasota shortly before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and found no evidence they were connected to the hijackers or the terror plot. In what he called a statement “to correct the public record,” Steven Ibison, special agent in charge of the Tampa office, took issue with a recent story that claimed the FBI found “troubling ties” between the hijackers and the al-Hijji family, the residents of a home in a gated Sarasota community.

…

Please be my guest and in your spare time comb through all the FBI reports and statements on this case to date. You are guaranteed to find: tons of evidence and confirmation followed by a few tons of denial. That’s the good ol’ boy FBI for you.

Of course no matter the connections of this case to Saudi Arabia, and regardless of the clan’s current resident in our brother-nation the United Kingdom, our State Department has had zero to do with the entire case.

As for our disgraced media – even the simplest question has not been asked to date: Why would they, Abdulaziz al-Hijji and his wife, leave a luxury house with all its furniture, three cars, almost all their clothing items and more behind- very hastily?!

All this brings me to the latest development in the case which has been completely ignored by the US media:

A senior FBI official has told a Fort Lauderdale federal judge that disclosure of certain classified information about Saudis who hurriedly left their Sarasota area home shortly before 9/11 “would reveal current specific targets of the FBI’s national security investigations.”

…

The government’s latest court filings, thick with veiled references to foreign counterintelligence operations and targets, deepen the mystery about a once-secret FBI investigation of Esam and Deborah Ghazzawi and their tenants, son-in-law and daughter, Abdulaziz and Anoud al-Hijji. The filings by Miami Assistant U.S. Attorney Carole M. Fernandez also seek to justify in the name of national security numerous deletions of information from FBI records about the decade-old investigation that were released recently amid the ongoing litigation.

…

One thing we must all credit our Department of Justice and the FBI for is this: consistency. In this case, the consistency in having it both ways-confirm and deny. Also the consistency in feeling no shame in engaging in confirmation and denial simultaneously:

The FBI later confirmed the existence of the probe, but said it found no evidence connecting the Ghazzawis or the al-Hijjis to the hijackers or the 9/11 plot.

…

The newly released FBI records contradict the FBI’s public denials. One dated April 4, 2002 says the investigation “revealed many connections” between the Saudis who fled Sarasota and “individuals associated with the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001.”

…

For months, the FBI claimed it had no responsive documents regarding its Sarasota investigation. But on March 28, Hardy unexpectedly announced the Bureau had located and reviewed 35 pages of records. It released 31 of them.

…

That is right. The DOJ-FBI confirms the existence of evidence and reports connecting the Sarasota Saudi clan to 9/11, and claims that these reports are extremely sensitive and highly classified. They say ‘there ain’t nothing here,’ and that there were no connections between the Sarasota Saudi clan and 9/11, and at the same time they claim that this “nothing” is highly classified and sensitive.

This is another case among hundreds that have been placed in the US Government Black Hole. This is a tale among a dozen others that have been censored and covered up by the United States government. Is this a conspiracy? Put all these cases, including the latest on the Sarasota Saudi Clan, in one place, and can you tell me it isn’t? Our simplicity-loving government-trusting and mainstream media-following majority has half of it right. It is a conspiracy. What they don’t have is the other half: A conspiracy, not one concocted by outside theorists, but a massive one carried out by our very own government.

# # # #

Sibel Edmonds is the Publisher & Editor of Boiling Frogs Post and the author of the Memoir Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story. She is the recipient of the 2006 PEN Newman’s Own First Amendment Award for her “commitment to preserving the free flow of information in the United States in a time of growing international isolation and increasing government secrecy” Ms. Edmonds has a MA in Public Policy and International Commerce from George Mason University, a BA in Criminal Justice and Psychology from George Washington University.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Empire, Power, and People with Andrew Gavin Marshall- Episode 73

AGMarshall — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:50:14 +0000

A Turkish Uprising?

What caused the current mass protests spreading across Turkey? The spark for the events took place last week regarding the protection of a park that the government planned to demolish and replace with a shopping mall. But the problems in Turkish society – and the anger towards the government – run much deeper. The neoliberal era has been vicious in Turkey, and the current Prime Minister Erdogan is its main champion. A few family dynasties dominate the economy, while masses of people are pushed into poverty. Dissent is not tolerated, with Turkey jailing more journalists than any other country on earth, jailing union activists, intellectuals, and over 700 students, most often on trumped up “terrorism” charges. Turkey is a victim of internal and global plutocracy, and of declining democracy. Gezi Park provided the spark for the people to rise up across the country.

Listen to the podcast show here (Subscribers only):

This Podcast is available to BFP subscription members only. If you are a member, log in to listen. If you are not a member, you can subscribe by clicking on ‘Subscribe' below.

SUBSCRIBE

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- June 4, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 20:35:05 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“The government is merely a servant — merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them.” – Mark Twain

International Newsworthy

Turkey: Protests from Ankara to Smirne as Nation Rocked by Violence

Black Friday: A Turning Point in Turkey’s History?

What’s Causing the Riots and Violence in Turkey?

Turkey: Where Will the Protest Movement Go?

Tahrir’s Lesson for Taksim: Police Brutality Unites Battle-Hardened Fans

Turkey Demos Take Toll on Economy

Turkish Public Workers to Go on Anti-Gov’t Strike

Turkish PM, President Clash over Reply to Protests

Turkish President-Gul Defends People’s Right to Protest

Turkey Deputy PM Sorry for ‘Excessive Force’

Erdogan’s Grip on Power Is Rapidly Weakening

Erdogan Blames Foreign Hand in Protests

Extensive Use of Social Media in the Absence of Traditional Media by Turks in Turkish in Taksim Square Protests

Erdogan Says Social Media is ‘the Worst Menace to Society’

US Urges Turkey Violence Investigation

* * * *

NATO Data: Assad Winning the War for Syrians’ Hearts & Minds

UN Investigators Find “Reasonable Grounds” to Believe Chemical Agents Used in Syria

Syrian “Opposition” Armed to Thwart Construction of Iran-Iraq-Syria Gas Pipeline

SRGC Withdraws from Syria Opposition

Syria Rebel Leader Says Revolution Will Fail without Weapons From Britain

Russia Says “Untimely” for Proposed UNSC Discussion of Syrian Army Operation in Qusayr

Russia: “U.S. Not Putting Enough Pressure on Syria Opposition”

No Russian S-300s to Syria before 2014: Israel

Israel’s Defense Minister: Hezbollah Moving Elite Fighters into Syria

Iraq Says Arming Syrian Opposition Threatens Stability

Over 700 Kurds Kidnapped in Syria

* * * *

Mossad Busted? Iran Says Network Planning to Disrupt Elections

Iran Accuses Britain of Operating Spy Ring to Undermine Elections

Iran Summons Qatari Charge d’Affaires over “Terror” Allegation

U.S. Targets Iran’s Currency in New Sanctions

Obama Sanctions Iran’s Auto Industry

* * * *

Afghan Taliban Confirm Talks in Iran

Pentagon to Maintain “Bridging Force,” “Enduring Force” in Afghanistan

Pakistan: Newly Elected Lawmaker Shot Dead in Northwest

Treason Charges: SC Requested to Hold Musharraf Guilty

Musharraf to Leave for Dubai as Part of Secret Deal with Sharif

NATO Drivers Refuse to Drive US Military Vehicles to Karachi

* * * *

Iraqi Kurdish Rivalries Play Out over the Border: Taking the Fight to Syria

Kirkuk Governor Orders Unauthorized Arab Residents Expelled

Iraq to ‘Lower Oil Targets,’ Minister Tells AFP

Qatar’s Reputation-Tainted Media Arm Seeks to Reconquer Viewers

Americans in Bahrain Warned About Possible Extremist Threats

Palestinians Not Counting on Kerry’s $4 Billion

Israel Speeding Up Development of Anti-Nuke Missile Defense

* * * *

Egypt’s Judges Stage Protest over Judicial Bill

Egypt’s Court Jails Foreigners, Egyptians in NGO Case

Hollande: No Military Intervention in Libya

US to Send Patriot Missiles to Jordan

Sudan Decries ‘Foreign Plot’ to Destabilize the Nation

Bystanders in Tunisia Shot in Clash with Police

Somalia Demands Action over Brutal Killing

* * * *

Uyghur Villagers Battle Land Grab

Russia, EU Should Forge More “Trustful” Partnership: Putin

Russia Deploys Advanced Missiles to Armenia

Russia and Pakistan New Equation

Russian Govt Commission Approves New Guidelines for NGO Restrictions

Dagestan Security Forces Go on High Alert

Arrest of Makhachkala Mayor Seen as Sign of Changing Tide

Special Envoy Prepares NATO Chief’s Visit to Georgia

Kerry Pledges to “Help” End Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh

Risks in Ashgabat’s Religious Suppression

* * * *

German Defense Ministry Knew of “Drone Problems”

Poland to Spend $40 Billion on Defense Modernization

Kosovo – Serbia: Where Things Stand

National Newsworthy

Sixth Continent: U.S. to Back Colombia’s NATO Membership

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Police to Obtain DNA of People under Arrest

US Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Military Protester Case

U.S. Does Not Sign on to UN Weapons Treaty

Top Obama Appointees Use Secret Gov’t Emails Accounts

* * * *

State Dept: No Active Al Qaeda, Hezbollah Terror Cells in Western Hemisphere

As Manning Trial Opens, Prosecution Hides Name of “Enemy” He Allegedly Aided

FBI, DOD Sued over Petraeus Scandal

Another TSA Employee Spills the Beans

Holder Laid the Groundwork for “Too Big to Jail” In 1999

House Panel Seeks to Boost Pentagon War Spending by $5B

* * * *

Bank of America $8.5 Billion Settlement Heads for Court Showdown

ISM Manufacturing Index Declines in May to 49.0, Lowest Since June 2009

The Legacy of the Bernanke Regime Will Be Stagflation

Stock Market – A Correction Begins

Financial Firms Face New Clampdown?

Crash This Year or Next?

Noteworthy Editorials

Jacob Hornberger: Syria and the US Are Partners in Crime

Philip Weiss: As Manning Trial Begins– ‘Does America Have a Conscience?’

William Grigg: The FBI- An American Cheka

M K Bhadrakumar: Taliban Seen Waltzing in Tehran

Gary Webb Receives Posthumous Apology from LA Times Writer

Classification Games Hiding the Afghan Defeat

Thinking about Think Tanks in Turkey and Georgia

The World’s Long Affair with Gold

Erdogan’s Democracy

BFP Nightly Video-Podcast

BFP EyeOpener Video Report- Bilderberg Exposed: Leaks, Whistleblowers & Secrets

Video 1: RT- Syria S-300 Delivery on Hold over Balance-of-Power Concerns

Video 2: The Turkish Protests in 90 Seconds

Video 3: Portland’s Fluoride Journey & Victory

Podcast 1: Corbett Report-The Geneva Business Insider with David L. Smith

Podcast 2: Traces of Reality- Jacob Hornberger

Podcast 3: Peter B. Collins Show- Bradley Manning “Was Hoping to Make the World a Better Place”

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

The EyeOpener Report- Bilderberg Exposed: Leaks, Whistleblowers & Secrets

Sibel Edmonds — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:41:47 +0000

It is the first week of June, and that can only mean two things. Firstly, that 130 or so of the world’s most richest and powerful figures will be gathering at a 5-star resort near London to discuss some of the most important topics in global finance and geopolitics. And secondly, that the so-called “fourth estate” whose very reason for existing is supposedly to keep the public informed on issues of importance will be doing their best to label anyone who so much as raises questions about the meeting as a delusional mental patient.

Over the years, a smattering of documents have been leaked, discovered or otherwise obtained giving glimpses into the meeting and its discussions. Find out more about these leaks in this week’s edition of the Boiling Frogs Post’s EyeOpener Video Report.

Find out more about the real scandal behind the AP spying story in this week’s edition of The Boiling Frogs Post EyeOpener Report.

Watch the Full Video Report Here:

SUBSCRIBE

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- June 3, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:57:49 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules. It’s people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages. As a precaution to ever committing major acts of evil it is our solemn duty never to do what we’re told, this is the only way we can be sure.” –Banksy

International Newsworthy

Syria: The Policy Dilemma That Endures

400 Kg Explosives Seized at Syrian-Turkish Border Crossing Point: Report

EU Allows Banks to Open Accounts for Syrian Rebels

McCain Urges a No-Fly Zone over Syria

Top Muslim Cleric Tells Sunnis to Join Syria War

Gulf States will Consider Punishing Hezbollah for Role in Syria

Syrian External Opposition Says No Deal with Assad

Syria President Bashar Al-Assad Says Golan Will Be New War Front

Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose US Military Action in Syria

* * * *

Iran Busts ‘Terror Cell’ Plotting to Disrupt Upcoming Polls

US Targets Iran’s Petrochemical Industry

Obama Administration Quick To Chide Iran on Elections

Iran’s Youth Key to Elections

Iran Presidential Candidate’s Staff Arrested

UK Bribes Taliban ahead of Withdrawal

Six Million Afghan Children Deprived of Education

Afghans Furious at Bales Plea Bargain

Pakistan: 2NATO Containers Torched in Mastung by Militants

* * * *

Turkey: Istanbul Demonstrators Prepare for an Uncertain Future

Anti-Government Protests Spread across Turkey

Simmering Anger at Erdogan’s Authoritarianism Boils Over in Turkey

Blood in the Streets: Turkey Explodes In Violence (**Graphic Content**)

Who Are Turkey’s Protesters? The View from Taksim Square

Erdogan Blames ‘Extremists’ for Turkey Riots

Erdogan Risks the ‘Must Go’ Path

Turkey’s Velvet Revolution

The Economics of the ‘Turkish Spring’

Turkey: Taksim Is Not (Yet) Tahrir?

* * * *

More than 1,000 Iraqis Killed in May in Iraq’s Violence: UN

Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s Lawyers Speak Out Against New Law

Pro-Hezbollah Leaders Attacked in Lebanon

Yemen Confronts Rising Pressure to Divide

Yemen’s Real Blackout

8 Killed in US Drone Strike in Southern Yemen

Lebanon to Take Airspace Violations to UN

Mass Palestinian Grave Found in Tel Aviv

The End of ‘Greater Lebanon’

* * * *

Libya Becomes ‘The New Mali’ as Islamists Shift in Sahara

Regional Group Declares Self-Government for East Libya

Armed and Dangerous: Egyptian Court Gives Military the Vote

Egypt Top Court Rules Senate Invalid

The Future Is Grim for Egypt’s Independent Press

Hezbollah Cell ‘Connected with Boko Haram’ Arrested in Nigeria

Thousands March for Rights in Rare Ethiopia Protest

UN Launches New Mission in Somalia

NGOs Concerned About New DRC Intervention Brigade

* * * *

The New Great Game Round-Up

Russia to Send Nuclear Submarines to Southern Seas

Dagestan Mayor Detained by Russian Security Forces

Russia Aims Targeted Stimulus at Tough Oil & Gas Resources

Leading Economist Flees Russia amid Putin’s Growing Crackdown

Satrap Georgia Marks “Independence” in Occupied Afghanistan

Russia-Georgia: Preparing for Food Fight II?

Moscow Eager to Retain Azeri Oil Transit

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Meets US Jewish Lobby

EU Seeks Closer Strategic Ties with Kazakhstan

* * * *

“Russian Threat” Used to Drag Sweden into NATO

Berlin Not Aware of US Drone Strikes from German Bases in Africa

UK Bid to Reach Deal on Assange’s Future

Balkans Battle against Drug Mafia ‘Must Be Constant’

Cyprus Considers Pipeline to Europe through Turkey

National Newsworthy

Hacking the Drone War’s Secret History

Did Obama’s Speech Actually Say Anything New About Drones?

Justice Department Secret Document Details Unconstitutional Surveillance of American Citizens

Mystery of Sarasota Saudis Deepens as Justice Moves to End FOI Lawsuit Citing National Security

Obama Keeps Post-2014 Afghan Plans Secret

* * * *

FBI Director Candidate Comey Complicit in “Dark Chapter” in US History

AP, Fox News Not Isolated First Amendment Controversies for DoJ

DHS Buying More Ammo: Lots of Non-Military Calibers

Army’s Fingerprint and Iris Databases Head for the Cloud

Judge Rules Google Must Comply With FBI’s Warrantless Requests for User Data

TSA Says It Has Finished Removing All Graphic X-Ray Machines

* * * *

Bill Clinton Takes a Cool Half-Million from Jewish National Fund for Speech in Israel

Former Obama Aides Take Lucrative Consulting Jobs with Special Interest Groups

Former Congressional Aides to Lobby for Oil Refining Firm

Carl Rove’s Shadowy Defense

Issa Warns Holder Not to Take ‘Perjury Lightly’

* * * *

Taxpayer Dollars Used by U.S. Government to Promote GMOs in Other Countries

Report: Treasury Finds IRS Spent $50M on Conferences in 3 Years

In Midst of Pay Freeze, Some Federal Contractors May Earn Million-Dollar Annual Salary

Bonds Drop Globally as Stocks Reach Highs on Growth Optimism

Goldman: This US Treasury Sell-Off is for Real

Noteworthy Editorials

Ron Paul: Iraq Collapse Shows Bankruptcy of Interventionism

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: America’s Greatest Affliction- the Presstitute Media

Glen Ford: Perpetual War – and Obama’s Perpetual Con Game

Eric Margolis: Those Old Colonial Lusts

Andy Worthington: Close Guantánamo, Free the Afghans

Paul Pillar: Half of the Story on Terrorism

M K Bhadrakumar: US Engages with Pakistan’s Sharif

War Crimes as Policy

The Cold War Redux?

America’s Misguided Pivot to Asia

BFP Nightly Video-Podcast

Video 1: Corbett Report-Beyond Bilderberg

Video 2: RT-’Taxation is Legalized Form of Robbery’

BFP Podcast -The Reality Principle with Eric Draitser-“Move to Amend” with David Cobb

Podcast 1: Lew Rockwell Show- The Wars Are Coming Home with Gerald Celente

Podcast 2: Corbett Report-Laurette Lynn on Peaceful Parenting

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Help Us Counter the ‘Dumb-ification of the Masses’- Support a Real Independent Alternative

Sibel Edmonds — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:37:13 +0000

BFP Quarterly Survival Drive: We are $5850 Short in Meeting this Quarter’s Budget!

We can’t have it both ways: On one hand moan and complain about the ‘dependent’ mainstream and pseudo alternative propaganda machine, but on the other hand not back and support the very few independent alternative mediums. We can’t; pure and simple.

The establishment has many ways to implement its well-designed and calculated project: The ‘Dumb-ification of the Masses’ and manufacturing consent. The mainstream and pseudo-alternative channels have always been the establishment’s major implementation outlet for the project. How? Via funding, whether directly or indirectly; whether through mega-bucks advertisement, or mega-grants through their sub-outlets aka foundations. They finance and dictate. They sponsor and rule. They own and manage. As simple as that. Period.

The true alternative means the truly independent: independent of foundation mega-bucks, independent of corporate-sponsors, and independent of mega-advertisement dollars. There is only ONE way for a truly independent alternative to exist, survive, continue and expand: People- direct contributions and donations by the people for the people.

Without the people’s support there will never be a true alternative. The truly independent alternatives will not survive without the support and backing of the people. Thus, it is up to the people to decide and take steps to support the real independents and counter the mega establishment and the ‘Dumb-ification of the Masses.’

For three years Boiling Frogs Post producers and analysts have been presenting you with untainted, bold, independent and nonpartisan facts and discussions through original video reports, podcast interviews and commentaries, editorial cartoons, news, articles and analyses. We believe we have been effective: we have been shining the light on the truth, and have been irritating the powers and their puppetries. We have expanded our team and coverage. And, we have accomplished this through one source (and one source only): You and your support.

Boiling Frogs Post can only exist with the support of its irate minority members. Without your subscriptions we won’t be able to create and produce original and independent multimedia shows. Without your donations we won’t be able to research, verify, select and present to you crucial news and developments night after night…Without your support this truth source cannot exist. Without your support the obscurers of the truth will win.

Please help us continue and expand- for independent truth, and for all of us. You can help counter the project ‘Dumb-ification of the Masses,’ and here is how:

Donate to Boiling Frogs Post

You can make a one-time contribution to support our team and projects. Those of you who do not wish to subscribe to our multimedia projects or commit to recurring annual- monthly payments but want to support our team, all the daily news, editorials, political cartoons, and other features provided by BFP can make a one-time contribution. You can contribute by Credit Card here:

Or if you would prefer to contribute by check, make it payable to “Boiling Frogs Post“, and mail to:

Boiling Frogs Post
PO Box 880
Bend, OR 97709

You can sign up for our recurring annual subscription program for $50 or more, or if you prefer recurring monthly subscription payments you can sign up for monthly $5 or more. Your subscription will give you access to all our weekly exclusive multimedia reports, including The EyeOpener Video Report with James Corbett , The Boiling Frogs Show , The Reality Principle with Eric Draitser , and Empire, Power, and People Podcast Report. You can sign up for recurring annual or monthly subscription here:

Thank you for all your support,

Sibel Edmonds

America’s Greatest Affliction: The Presstitute Media

Dr Paul Craig Roberts — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 15:31:19 +0000

“The Entire Western Media: A Collection of Bought-and-Paid-for Whores.”

When Gerald Celente branded the American media “presstitutes,” he got it right. The US print and TV media (and NPR) whore for Washington and the corporations. Reporting the real news is their last concern. The presstitutes are a Ministry of Propaganda and Cover-up. This is true of the entire Western media, a collection of bought-and-paid-for whores.

It seems that every day I witness a dozen or more examples. Take May 31 for example.

The presstitutes report that US Secretary of State John Kerry and his German counterpart are working on Russia to convince that country to be a “party to peace” in Syria by not supplying the Syrian government, whose country has been invaded, with arms. Kerry and the Israelis especially do not want Russia to deliver the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Syria.

This was the extent of the presstitutes’ report. The presstitutes made no mention of the fact that the invasion of Syria by al-Qaeda affiliated radical Muslims was organized and equipped by Washington via its proxies in the region, such as Saudi Arabia and the oil emirates. Americans sufficiently stupid to rely on the presstitute media do not know that it is not Syrians who want to overthrow their government, but Washington, Israel, and radical Islamists who object to Syria’s secular non-confrontational government.

One might think that the US media would wonder why Washington prefers to have al-Qaeda governing Syria than a non-confrontational secular government. But such a question is over the heads of the moronic US media, a collection of whores who are glad for whatever money comes their way for whatever lies they are required to tell.

Israel, unlike Washington which so far hides behind proxies, has actually openly committed war crimes as defined by the Nuremberg trials of Nazis by initiating unprovoked aggression against Syria by militarily attacking the country.

In reporting Kerry’s pressure on Putin, presstitutes made no mention that the Washington-backed attempted overthrow of the Syrian government has run into difficulty, causing president Obama to ask the Pentagon to come up with a no-fly plan, which means according to the Libya precedent NATO or US air attacks on Syrian government forces. As the S-300 missiles are a defensive weapon, Obama’s plan to send in Western or Israeli air forces to attack the Syrian army is why Kerry is pressuring Russia not to honor its contract to deliver to Syria the S-300 missiles, which can knock US, NATO, and Israeli aircraft out of the sky.

Those who believed that Kerry could have made a difference as president must be disillusioned to see what a warmongering whore he is. In America marketing is everything; truth is nothing.

The real news story is that Washington is trying to convince Putin to acquiesce to

Washington’s overthrow of the Syrian government so that Russia can be evicted from its only naval base in the Mediterranean Sea, thus making it Washington’s sea, Washington’s Mare Nostrum. The American pressitutes put all the onus on the Russian government for not helping Washington to overthrow the Syrian government in order that Washington has another victory over Russia and can start next on Iran.

William Hague, Washington’s two-bit punk puppet who serves, with Washington’s approval, as British foreign secretary to the shame of a once proud nation, made this clear when he declared: “We want a solution without Assad. We do not accept the stay of Assad.” This is amazing hypocrisy, because the Syrian government is more respectful of human rights than Washington and London.

While Kerry was trying to con Putin, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that the Obama administration’s immediate priority was removing Assad from power. So for the US and UK, “peace” means the overthrow of the Syrian government by force.

Why isn’t the United Nations protesting? The answer is that the countries and their UN representatives have been purchased by Washington. Money talks. Integrity and justice don’t. Integrity and justice are poverty-inflicted. The UN belongs to the evil empire. Washington owns it. The American Empire has the money. It pays for the headlines and for the budget that lets the UN delegates enjoy New York City,

In the world today, integrity is worthless, but money is valuable, and Washington has the money because, as the dollar is the world reserve currency, it can be printed in sufficient quantities to purchase every country’s government, including our own. One year out of office and the pimp Tony Blair was worth $35 million. Look at the amazing Clinton riches. According to news report, $3.2 million was spent on Chelsea’s wedding.

Hague said that the UK and France “seek to end the ban on arming Syrian rebels.” Hague did not explain how the invasion force was armed if there is a ban against arming it. But the British moron did tell us who the invading force is: “the Syrian National Coalition,” which consists of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt (still the American puppet), the United States, Britain, France, Turkey, Germany and Italy. Obviously, the talk about a “Syrian rebellion” is pure BS. Syria is confronted with an attempted overthrow of its government by the US and its puppet states. Kerry is trying to convince Putin to let Washington overthrow Syria.

As if this wasn’t enough, also on May 31, I listened to E.J. Dionne and David Brooks on National Public Radio discuss the state of the Obama presidency. Both were protective of “our president.” Neither would dare say: “the military-security complex’s president,” “Wall Street’s president,” “the Israel Lobby’s president,” “Monsanto’s president,” “the mining and fracking president.” Obama is “our president.”

Both brooks and Dionne agreed that the media had got rid of the Benghazi issue and that the IRS persecution of Tea Party members was under the media’s control and was not a threat to Obama. David Brooks did acknowledge that there were economic problems ignored and no new ideas. However, the blatant fact that under Obama the US is in a constitutional crisis, well described by Dr. Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois, was not mentioned by NPR’s pundits, who define correct thoughts for the NPR audience, people too busy to pay attention,

In America today, the executive branch in explicit violation of the US Constitution detains indefinitely or murders any US citizen alleged without proof by an unaccountable member of the executive branch to be in any way associated with the broad but undefined term, “terrorism,” even innocently as a donor to hungry or ill Palestinian children. The executive branch clearly violates the US Constitution and US statutory laws against torture and spying on citizens without warrants. Congress does not impeach the president for his obvious crimes, and the Federal Judiciary enables them.

President Nixon was driven from office because he lied about when he learned of a burglary for which he was not responsible. President Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives for lying about a sexual affair with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.

President George W. Bush took America to wars based on obvious lies, and so did president Obama. Both administrations are guilty of war crimes and almost every possible infraction of constitutional and international law. Yet, no presstitute member of the media would dare mention impeachment, and the House would never bring the charge.

There is no doubt whatsoever that in the 21st century presidents, their lawyers, Justice (sic) Department officials, and CIA and black-op operatives have broken law after law, and there is no accountability. For the presstitutes, this is a non-issue. “Rule of law, Constitution? We don’t need no stinking rule of law or Constitution.”

For the presstitutes, the lowest life form on the planet, the bought-and-paid for-whores for evil, the issues are Obama’s stable poll numbers; teenage girls arrested for fighting at a kindergarten graduation ceremony; ”Microsoft’s Bill Gates extended his lead over Mexico’s Carlos Slim as the world’s richest person,” “the $14 million-dollar girl: Beyoncé rakes it in.”

Constitutional crisis? What is that? I mean, really, look at Beyoncé’s legs. Didn’t you hear, the dollar rose today?

The presstitutes have not investigated any important issue. Not 9/11. Not the accumulation of unaccountable power in the executive branch. Not the demise of the Bill of Rights. Not the Boston Marathon bombing. Not the endless and unexplained wars against Muslims who have not attacked the US.

The Boston Marathon saga reached new levels of absurdity with the FBI’s murder of Ibragim Todashev, who was being pressured to admit to various associated crimes. The presstitutes first reported that Todashev was armed. It was a gun, then a knife, then after the presstitutes duly reported the false information planted on them, which for the insouciance American public was sufficient to explain Todashev’s murder, the FBI admitted that the victim was unarmed.

Nevertheless, he was shot seven times, one to the back of the head. His father wants to know why the FBI assassinated his son, but the presstitutes could not care less. Don’t expect any answer from the american press and TV media or from NPR, an organization that pretends to be a “listener station” but is financed by corporate contributions.

How’s Todashev’s murder for Gestapo justice? Where is the difference? A bullet in the back of the head. And America is the shining light on the hill, the font of freedom and democracy brought to the world courtesy of the military/security complex out of the barrel of guns and hellfire missiles from drones. And relentless propaganda in the schools, universities, and media.

Washington certainly learned from Mao and Pol Pot. You kill them into submission.

But you will never hear about it from the presstitutes, the scum of the earth.

# # # #

Paul Craig Roberts, Boiling Frogs Post contributing author, is a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has been reporting on executive branch and cases of prosecutorial abuse for two decades. He has written or co-written eight books, contributed chapters to numerous books, and has published many articles in journals of scholarship. Mr. Roberts has testified before congressional committees on 30 occasions on issues of economic policy, and has been a critic of both Democratic and Republican administrations. You can visit his website here.

© PaulCraigRoberts.org

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Narco News: FBI Director Candidate Comey Complicit in “Dark Chapter” in US History

Guest — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 14:22:12 +0000

Former Deputy Attorney General Played Leading Role in Cover-Up of US Government Informant’s Participation in Mass Murder in Mexico

By Bill Conroy

President Barack Obama is expected to nominate former George W. Bush-era Deputy Attorney General James Comey as the next director of the FBI, according to multiple media outlets that have published fawning reports about Comey’s supposed independence and upstanding moral character.

Comey, according to those reports, is deemed the ideal pick because he is a Republican who also is admired by Democrats for his principled stand against the Bush Administration’s warrantless surveillance program — a still highly-classified program Comey ultimately acquiesced to after some unspecified technical changes were adopted by the Bush administration.

But is Comey, who now serves on the board of the giant British Lender HSBC, really the guy in the white hat the commercial media – always enamored of power and not so much principle – paints him to be?

HSBC must think so. The bank brought Comey onboard, providing him annual compensation of some $190,000, to serve as window dressing for their recovery from over-indulging in the illegal drug market. The lender late last year received a slap on the wrist from the US Department of Justice (paying a relatively small fine compared to its billions in annual profits in exchange for promising to be good citizens in the future) — but only after admitting to allowing its US and Mexican subsidiaries to serve as money-laundering machines for Mexican and Colombian narco-traffickers.

Comey this past March was brought on board to serve on HSBC’s Financial Systems Vulnerability Committee — which is supposed to help the bank improve its legal compliance. So, in some senses, it could be argued Comey is now collecting a consulting fee that is, in part, being paid to him from the fruit of drug-money laundering.

However, there is a far more sinister story buried in Comey’s record of government service that is not likely to be aired publicly in our democracy by its commercial media, or examined by a self-interested Congress, unless Narco News, or another independent voice like it, brings that news to light yet again.

There is little likelihood that these facts about Comey’s past will have any effect on the PR steamroller that is now clearing the path for his anointment as the next director of the FBI, arguably the most powerful law enforcement post in the country and one that he could occupy for at least 10 years — well beyond the term of the current president, so this is an issue that reverberates far beyond simple partisan politics.

In other words, folks, this one really does matter — even if Comey’s appointment is a fait accompli.

According to former DEA Special Agent in Charge Sandalio Gonzalez, Comey played key role in helping to cover up what he describes as “one of the darkest chapters in the history of US federal law enforcement.”

The case to which Gonzalez is referring is the House of Death — in which a US government informant assisted, and even participated in, the torture and murder of a dozen people, mostly Mexican citizens, who were then buried in the backyard of a house in Juarez, Mexico.

In addition, due to the informant’s Department of Justice-condoned homicidal activities, a DEA agent and his family were pulled over in the streets of Juarez by the House of Death killers [Juarez cops working with the Juarez Drug Organization] and also nearly delivered to the grave — forcing the DEA to subsequently evacuate all of its personnel from Juarez.

Gonzalez, incensed by the activities of this informant and the complicit of certain US officials in his murderous rampage, wrote a letter to his counterpart at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, denouncing the informant’s activities and the complicity of federal agents and prosecutors in the House of Death murders. The informant, Guillermo Ramirez Peyro (aka, Lalo) was under the supervision of ICE as well as the US Attorney’s Office for Western Texas — then headed by Johnny Sutton — while Comey was deputy attorney general and Sutton’s boss.

From Gonzalez Feb. 24, 2004, letter, directed to ICE the ICE division head in El Paso:

I’ve had an opportunity to digest what you’ve said as well as to conduct a careful review of the material in this case. I am now writing to express to you my frustration and outrage at the mishandling of the (Vicente Carrillo Fuentes drug organization) investigation that has resulted in unnecessary loss of human life in the Republic of Mexico, and endangered the lives of Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and their immediate families assigned to the DEA Office in (Ciudad Juarez) Mexico.

Gonzalez’ letter made its way to then-US Attorney Sutton, who, rather than investigating the serious charges contained in the letter, instead complained to his superiors at DOJ headquarters in Washington.

Comey served as deputy attorney general from 2003 to 2005. The House of Death murders played out between August 2003 and January 2004. The commercial media, though, to this day has been silent about the ensuing cover-up orchestrated at the highest levels of DOJ that has assured to this day that no one in Justice has been held accountable for the House of Death murders — which were carried out by an informant who had made his US government handlers aware of his assistance and even participation in the murders, often in advance of the murders.

From a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed in 2006 by a professor at the University of Texas at El Paso: …

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Read the full expose by Bill Conroy here @ Narco News: Click Here

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

The New Great Game Round-Up, June 2, 2013

Christoph Germann — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 16:55:18 +0000

Top Terrorists Protected by NATO, Hizb ut-Tahrir as the Conveyor Belt for Terrorists & Much More!

The Great Game Round-Up brings you the latest newsworthy developments regarding Central Asia and the Caucasus region.

This week the presidents of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan met in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. Armenia and Belarus did not attend the one-day summit, which focused on issues concerning Central Asia. ISAF’s withdrawal from Afghanistan next year was at the top of the summit’s agenda and the presidents discussed measures to prevent further deterioration of the security situation in the region. CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha explained the specific plans [emphasis mine]:

Bordyuzha said the measures discussed included boosting security at state borders, modernizing the CSTO joint rapid-reaction forces, and joint efforts against extremism and illegal drug trafficking.

Russia-Led Group to Beef Up Tajik-Afghan Border Security

The leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have agreed to reinforce the organization’s military capability and step up control at the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border ahead of the withdrawal of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from Afghanistan next year, CSTO General Secretary Nikolai Bordyuzha said on Tuesday.

The leaders of the CSTO, a Russia-led intergovernmental military alliance of former Soviet states, also discussed the need to supply the CSTO rapid response force with modern weapons and deepen cooperation between the member states’ special services in combating extremism.

…

President Putin emphasized the importance of the fight against drug trafficking and Afghan heroin, which is a major concern for Russia. Especially a close cooperation with Kyrgyzstan will be necessary to counter the threat:

Putin goes to Kyrgyzstan to solve the fate of Afghan drug trafficking

Kyrgyz GKNB, Russian FSB suppress international drug trafficking route

Kyrgyzstan’s decision to cancel the Manas Transit Center deal with the United States is probably the most significant step in the ‘War on Drugs’. At the very least it will give Russia and other countries the opportunity to acquire a larger share of the global drug trade, which is currently run by NATO. The Manas air base plays a central role in NATO’s drug network because it is the key transit hub for Afghan heroin. Additionally the base is used by Washington to conduct covert meetings with top terrorists, as James Corbett explained in a previous BFP EyeOpener Report:

“But as important as the base is to the Kyrgyz people, the true nature of Manas remains an open question. For years, it has been at the center of a string of allegations revolving around drug-running, terrorism and stage-managed revolutions. One of the most surprising revelations to emerge from Manas centered around the story of Abdolmalek Rigi, the former leader of the Jundullah terrorist organization who was captured by Iran onboard a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Kyrgyzstan.

Jundullah is a Pakistani tribal militant group that concerns itself with plight of Sunni Muslims in the predominantly Shiite Iran. Despite widely-acknowledged links to al-Qaeda, the CIA has been funding the group for years as a proxy force to commit attacks inside Iran, where it is believed to have killed and injured over 500 civilians since 2003. As Rigi himself told his Iranian captors, his story included the air base at Manas, which he claims the US uses to conduct covert meetings with people like himself.”

…

With the U.S. being forced out of Kyrgyzstan, Moscow seizes the chance to increase its economic and military presence in the Central Asian country. Meanwhile, the security situation in Russia is deteriorating. A few weeks ago Russian analysts cautioned against the rapid spreading of radical Islamism and the potential danger for Siberia. This warning was probably justified:

Two Imams In Siberia Sentenced For Extremism

The Russian government hopes that imposing harsher sentences will serve as a deterrent. But this won’t be the ultimate solution, especially if certain countries continue to foment unrest and instability [emphasis mine]:

Illegal Migration ‘National Security Threat’ – FSB

“We expect the ongoing armed conflicts, in particular in Syria as well as the effects of the ‘Arab Spring’ to lead to an inflow of militants, who are now acquiring practical experience, via illegal migration channels,” he told a hearing at the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament.

“It has been established beyond any doubt that the special services of foreign states are using illegal migration channels to conduct intelligence and ‘subversive’ activity to the detriment of Russian security,” Roshchupkin said, but did not elaborate.

…

Hizb ut-Tahrir: Conveyor belt for terrorists?

Considering this it is self-evident that the boosting of security at state borders was one of the measures discussed at the CSTO summit. The arrest of three Tajik Hizb ut-Tahrir members in Russia this week illustrates the problem further:

3 Detained on Terror Allegations in Russian Region

“Investigators discovered evidence that the three members of the cell (all citizens of Tajikistan) had committed intentional acts directly aimed at the procurement and preparation of means and weapons to carry out a series of terrorist attacks,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Russian police said the group actively recruited members in the Nizhny Novgorod region to commit acts against the state in order to establish an Islamic caliphate. “Due to circumstances beyond the terrorists’ control,” the three detained members were unable to carry out the planned attacks, police said.

…

Hizb ut-Tahrir publicly claims to oppose violence and is not designated as a terrorist organization by the EU or the U.S., which should not be an indication anyway given the recent example of the MKO. Nevertheless, HT poses a significant threat because as Zeyno Baran pointed out [emphasis mine]:

“HT is not itself a terrorist organization, but it can usefully be thought of as a conveyor belt for terrorists. It indoctrinates individuals with radical ideology, priming them for recruitment by more extreme organizations where they can take part in actual operations. By combining fascist rhetoric, Leninist strategy, and Western sloganeering with Wahhabi theology, HT has made itself into a very real and potent threat that is extremely difficult for liberal societies to counter.”

…

Therefore the party is banned among others in Germany, Russia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and many Arab countries. Recently Hizb ut-Tahrir has been increasing its activites in Russia:

Hizb ut-Tahrir recruiter apprehended in Chelyabinsk region

As well as in certain Central Asian counties:

Police officers arrest Hizb ut-Tahrir member in Jalal-Abad region

The southern edge of Jalal-Abad Province is part of the Fergana Valley, which could soon become the terrorism hotspot in Central Asia, and it is one of Kyrgyzstan’s many provinces where USAID was involved in opening “improved” registration and passport offices.

Top terrorists protected by NATO

By taking a closer look at one prominent former Hizb ut-Tahrir member, we might be able to decide if the United States and its allies are fighting a War on Terror or a ‘War of Terror’.

No, I am not referring to alleged 9/11 al-Qaeda mastermind and former HT member Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The life of Omar Bakri Muhammad, the man who was instrumental in developing Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain, is every bit as remarkable. Dr. Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed recently published a very important piece about Bakri and I encourage you to read the full article [emphasis mine]:

UK pays price for MI5 courting terror

In 1996, Omar Bakri founded Al Muhajiroun with Anjem Choudary. According to John Loftus, a former US Army Intelligence Officer and Justice Department prosecutor, three senior Al Muhajiroun figures at the time – Bakri, Abu Hamza, and Haroon Rashid Aswat – had been recruited by MI6 that year to facilitate Islamist activities in the Balkans.

In 2000, Bakri admitted to training British Muslims to fight as jihadists in Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya or South Lebanon. Recruits were “learning firearms and explosives use, surveillance and other skills” and “would be expected to join a jihad being waged in one country or another”. That year, he boasted: “The British government knows who we are. MI5 has interrogated us many times. I think now we have something called public immunity. There is nothing left. You can label us … put us behind bars, but it’s not going to work.” Labour Party MP Andrew Dismore told parliament the following year about a month after 9/11 that Bakri’s private security firm, Sakina Security Services, “sends people overseas for jihad training with live arms and ammunition”, including training camps “in Pakistan and Afghanistan”, and even at “many different sites in the United Kingdom”. Hundreds of Britons were being funneled through such training only to return to the UK advocating that Whitehall and Downing Street be attacked as “legitimate targets”. Though Sakina was raided by police and shut down, Bakri and Hamza were not even arrested, let alone charged or prosecuted.

And last year, Bakri boasted, “I’m involved with training the mujahideen [fighters] in camps on the Syrian borders and also on the Palestine side.” The trainees included four British Islamists “with professional backgrounds” who would go on to join the war in Syria. Bakri also claimed to have trained “many fighters”, including people from Germany and France, since arriving in Lebanon.

…

Given Omar Bakri’s close cooperation with the British intelligence services it shouldn’t be a surprise that his activities are closely aligned with NATO foreign policy objectives. Instead of serving time in prison, Bakri is currently in Lebanon praising the ‘courage’ of his former disciple Michael Adebolajo and organizing the local al-Qaeda chapter’s jihad against Hezbollah. Omar Bakri Muhammad is another Islamist militant leader in a long list of protected terrorists including former CIA asset Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman and of course al-Qaeda’s current leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is working directly for U.S./NATO.

Just like Omar Bakri, Zawahiri was heavily involved in operations in the Balkans in the 1990s and his activities showed up a lot in the FBI ‘Gladio B’ counterintelligence investigations during this time. While working with the Turkish arm of NATO and with NATO, Ayman al-Zawahiri travelled frequently to Turkey, Bulgaria and Azerbaijan. Now famous meetings of Zawahiri with U.S. military and intelligence officials took place in the U.S. embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia supported these operations which were overseen and directed by the United States. At one meeting in Baku there were also two high-level Saudi officials present. One of them was in charge of the Saudi intelligence office in the U.S. and the other person held a high-ranking position at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington. Several bin Laden family members, who participated in the Gladio B operations, worked directly with Saudi Arabia’s U.S. embassy and with another familiar face, Fethullah Gülen. The bin Ladens regularly attended official openings of mosques financed supposedly by Saudis and Imam Gülen at the direction of the United States and NATO. As previously mentioned, the Islamization of Central Asia and the Caucasus region is a key part of the Pentagon’s Gladio B operations.

GCC countries eye Central Asia & the Caucasus

Speaking of mosques, the foundation of Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the emir of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates, is currently completing its mosque in Kazakhstan:

KF completes mosque, hospital in Kazakhstan

An official source reported to Emirates News Agency (WAM) that the mosque is considered the largest in the region, and can accommodate up to 6,000 worshippers.

…

In 2010 the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation built a hospital in the Syrian city of Homs. The very same city is now playing a central role in the proxy war in Syria and has been referred to as the “Capital of the revolution”.

Qatar is also heavily interested in cooperation with Kazakhstan and suggests opening a direct flight between Doha and Astana or Almaty. Another paragon of democracy, Saudi Arabia, is not only involved in Central Asia but is also increasing its activities at Russian borders in the Caucasus:

Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia discuss cultural cooperation

Garayev said Azerbaijan was interested in further boosting relations with Saudi Arabia. Abdullah Al-Kassiri highlighted close relations between Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia.

…

The close relations between Azerbaijan and the medieval House of Saud are vital to facilitate Pentagon-backed destabilization operations in the region and should be cause for concern in the Kremlin. Russia’s North Caucasus will probably make more headlines similar to these:

Suicide bombing strikes near Interior Ministry in southern Russia’s Dagestan

Dagestan Police Uncover Huge Ammonium Nitrate Cache

3 militants destroyed in special operation in Dagestan – NAK

Policeman Injured in Clash with Chechen Militants

And it is doubtful if Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s dream to eliminate Islamic insurgent leader Doku Umarov will come true in the near future. But maybe Steven Seagal can help him accomplish this goal:

Seagal Visits Russia’s Beslan School, Vows to Fight Terror

# # # #

Christoph Germann- BFP Contributing Author & Analyst
Christoph Germann is an independent analyst and researcher based in Germany, where he is currently studying political science. His work focuses on the New Great Game in Central Asia and the Caucasus region. You can visit his website here

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Corbett Report- Beyond Bilderberg

Sibel Edmonds — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 15:11:28 +0000

The alt media has done a remarkable job of raising awareness of the Bilderberg meetings in the last few years. Now, as this year’s conference gets set to kick off in Watford, UK, this year’s protest is shaping up to be the largest one yet. But as hopeful as this growing Bilderberg awareness is, there is always the question: what other meetings, conferences and groups are flying under the radar while the alt media is fixated on the Bilderbergers? Join us this week on The Corbett Report as we explore what lies beyond Bilderberg.

*Show Notes & MP3 is available here @ Corbett Report: http://www.corbettreport.com/?p=7435

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Soothing the Beast: Saturday Night BFP-Jamiol Music, Episode 72

Paul Jamiol — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 21:52:19 +0000

Florence and the Machine – “Not Fade Away”

For week 72 of the Soothing the Beast BFP/Jamiol Music Pick we have Florence and the Machine covering Buddy Holly’s hit Not Fade Away. English indie rock band Florence and the Machine consists of lead singer Florence Welch, Isabella “Machine” Summers, and a collaboration of other artists who provide their backing. Their sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul. Welch’s cover of Holly’s song was for a tribute album dedicated to the legendary artist. So tonight it’s a really funky cover that Holly never envisioned but I think would have approved of…Enjoy…DJPJ.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

BFP Book Review: “The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI’s Manufactured War on Terrorism’ by Trevor Aaronson”

Guest — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 16:46:35 +0000

How the FBI creates and facilitates phony terrorist plots so that the bureau can then claim victory in the war on terror.

By Mark Mondalek

In his speech on national security on May 23, 2013, President Obama addressed the threat of terrorism perpetrated inside the United States, stating that “the best way to prevent violent extremism inspired by violent jihadists is to work with the Muslim American community, which has consistently rejected terrorism, to identify signs of radicalization, and partner with law enforcement when an individual is drifting towards violence.”

Trevor Aaronson, in his new book The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI’s Manufactured War on Terrorism (Ig Publishing, January 2013), gives a very contradicting assessment of what this partnership actually entails, one that the government––by the looks of things––has no plans on reigning in anytime soon.

Assembling together the research that was originally a part of his award-winning project about FBI counterterrorism operations for Mother Jones in September 2011, Aaronson poured through the court records of every terrorism-related prosecution in the United States in the ten years following 9/11 to amass a staggering list of 508 defendants considered to be terrorists by the U.S. government. Analyzing this data in accordance as to whether the defendant was targeted through the use of an FBI informant, caught in an FBI terrorism sting or encountered by an agent provocateur (an undercover government agent used to provoke the defendant into illegal activity), Aaronson determined that he “could count on one hand” the number of actual terrorists who posed a direct and immediate threat to the United States.

We have all repeatedly been made well aware of who these “actual terrorists” are that he is referring to, people like Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to blow up an airplane over Detroit; Faisal Shahzad, the failed Times Square car bomber, and Richard Reid, the infamous “Shoe Bomber,” all of whom were mentioned in Obama’s address.

But what about all of the other initially well-publicized and media-warped terror-related cases that have come and gone since 9/11, cases such as the Lackawanna Six, the Liberty City Seven, or the Newburgh Four? These cases, and the ultimate convictions of those involved, were sold to the American people as triumphs in national security and further evidence as to the legitimacy of the whopping $3 billion from its $7.8 billion annual budget that the FBI allocated to its counterterrorism division in fiscal year 2011-2012.

And then they were swiftly swept under the carpet.

With the help and cooperation of dozens of current and former FBI agents around the country, The Terror Factory provides a rare glimpse inside the lives of these supposed terrorists who Aaronson describes as “powerless braggarts,” often times on the fringes of society, occupying neither the skills nor the financial resources necessary to execute an attack on their own and who never came into contact with Al Qaeda or any other terrorist network whatsoever. As one former agent said on behalf of Mahamed Osman Mohamud, the nineteen-year-old Somali-American student convicted of trying to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon: “This is a kid who, it can be reasonably inferred, barely had the capacity to put his shoes on in the morning.”

While every case is different, the disturbing pattern of a results-driven Bureau sending out undercover agents and informants who goad and coax these defendants with financial incentives, ideas, and mock weapons of mass destruction quickly emerges. Thus, these individuals, who are usually only guilty of committing some sort of Orwellian “thought crime” before the FBI becomes involved––watching jihadi videos on the Internet or ranting about a hatred of Jews––transform overnight into national security threats thwarted by the government in the fight against the “War on Terror,” or as Aaronson strongly asserts, “manufactured” terrorists.

In crisp, clean investigative fashion, The Terror Factory doles out one eye-opener after the next, taking readers through the strange and often sordid methods that are routinely utilized by the FBI’s network of over 15,000 informants, the largest network of spies ever to exist in the United States. The majority of these informants––who can literally be anyone; doctors, clerks, imams––are all deeply rooted within Muslim communities throughout the U.S., a practice that began under the George W. Bush administration, but has become even more common under Obama. While he claims to be working with the Muslim American community to help identify the next “lone wolf” terrorist before they strike, his administration appears far more focused on infiltration more than anything else, putting the government needlessly at odds with a community that would otherwise be eager to assist them in the fight against radicalization, if only they knew who they could trust.

During the course of his research for what would become The Terror Factory, Aaronson received financial support from the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California Berkley, the Fund for Investigative Journalism, and the Carnegie Legal Reporting Fellowship at Syracuse University, as well as a 2011 cover story in Mother Jones magazine. In January 2013 the book was released by Ig Publishing, a Brooklyn-based small press publisher that specializes in authors who are overlooked by the mainstream establishment, along with political and cultural nonfiction with a progressive bent. Since its publication, Aaronson has appeared on popular television channels such as MSNBC, CBS, and C-SPAN to discuss his work.

Yet, despite all that this book offers in terms of Aaronson’s indepth, leave-no-stone-unturned brand of investigative reportage, its central thesis––that the FBI’s current counterterrorism policies essentially run counterproductive––still ultimately finds itself rooted within an impossible ideological deficit.

Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent who was interviewed by Aaronson, summed up the rather inarguable nature of the debate at hand quite well in his scathing review published by The Wall Street Journal in January. On the subject of Michael Curtis Reynolds, who described his dream of bombing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in an Internet chat forum and who Aaronson described as “a caricature of the all-American loser,” Soufan writes:

As you can’t prosecute someone just for professing a desire to kill Americans, and you can’t read minds to determine if they really intend to carry out their threats, either you wait to see if the real al Qaeda gets in contact—and hope you can track them—or you intercede. Most Americans would no doubt prefer the latter option to taking a serious gamble with civilian lives.

For every seemingly faux-terrorist that The Terror Factory examines, horrendous events like those which took place in Boston and, most recently, on the streets of London in broad daylight, will continue to provide the FBI with the justification that they need in order to maintain the status quo––and quite possibly expand upon it.

# # # #

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- May 31, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Fri, 31 May 2013 18:38:44 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“Representative government is artifice, a political myth, designed to conceal from the masses the dominance of a self-selected, self-perpetuating, and self-serving traditional ruling class.” –Giuseppe Prezzolini

International Newsworthy

NATO Chief at White House To Plot Syrian War Plans

UN: Most Syrian Rebels Don’t Want Democracy

Russia Criticizes US Refusal to Rule Out Syria No-Fly Zone

Moscow Disappointe “Political Games” Prevented Investigation into Chemical Weapons Use in Syria

Atrocities, Disunity Threaten Syrian Rebels

Syrian Opposition Boycotts Geneva Meeting to Buy Time

Hezbollah Fighters Find Nusra’s Tactics ‘Irritatingly Familiar’

Turkey Arrests Syrian Nusra Front Militants

‘Turkey Seizes Sarin Near Syria Border’

Turkey Returns Fire after Troops Shot at From Syria

American Woman, UK Man Killed Fighting alongside Syrian Insurgency

* * * *

US Lifts Ban To Iran on Sale of Communications Equipment

US Targets ‘Villainous’ Censorship of Iranians

Iran Cuts Hamas Funding over Syria

Khomeini’s Rebel Grandchildren Rock the Vote

Iran Presidential Candidates Are Not Just Shades of Grey between ‘Yes Men’

Iranian-American Sentenced in Plot to Kill Saudi Arabian Ambassador in US

Argentine Foreign Minister Visits INTERPOL, Discuss Cooperation and Iran

* * * *

Afghan Media Fear Collapse in Funding

No Taxation Delivers Tyranny to Afghanistan

Defense Contractors Vastly Outnumber Troops in Afghanistan

Pakistan: New KP CM Calls for Clear Govt Policy on Drones

Nawaz as PM Should First Decide to Stop or Shoot Drones: Imran

Pakistani Taliban Confirms Leader’s Death in U.S. Drone Strike

Balochistan: Nawaz in Catch-22 Situation

* * * *

Top Iraqiya Official Calls for Dissolving Parliament, Holding New Elections

Iraqis Fear Return of ‘Death Squads’ to Baghdad Streets

15 Killed, 65 Wounded in Iraq’s Violence

Iraq Situation Can Get Worse: UN Envoy

Lebanese FM Rejects Listing Hezbollah as Terrorist Organization

Turkey: Erdogan’s Accusation of CHP Goes Too Far

Rebel Rehab: Former Gitmo Prisoners to Be ‘De-Programmed’ in Yemen

‘Abyss of Autocracy’: A Protest Movement Simmers in Kuwait

IDF to Extend Air, Sea & Land capabilities for Any Proposed Long-Range Mission, such as a Pre-Emptive Strike on Iran

* * * *

Russian Forces Kill 3 Suspected Rebels in Dagestan Shootout

Putin’s Chechen Hammer Hits Muslim Region After Boston Bomb

Russia to Conduct over 500 Military Drills this Summer

Russia Creates $9bn Bonanza for Oil Rig Manufacturers

Pipelineistan and the New Silk Road(s)

Nabucco-West Gas Pipeline Project, EU Faces Same Moment of Truth in Baku

State Department on Central Asia’s “Terror” Threat

Uzbekistan Joins CIS Free Trade Zone

Azerbaijan Makes Up with NDI?

Kyrgyzstan Declares State of Emergency amid Gold Mine Protests

Turkey to Deliver Turkmen Gas

* * * *

Eurosur: Parliament and Council Agree on New Border Surveillance System

World Bank Insider Blows Whistle on Corruption, Federal Reserve

Norway Upholds Convictions Over Al-Qaeda Plot

NZ Cops Ordered to Return Dotcom Materials Seized in Raid

Bill S-7 “Combating Terrorism Act” Now in Force in Canada

National Newsworthy

Obama Foreshadows New Internet Surveillance Proposal During National Security Speech

Obama’s New FBI Chief Approved Bush’s NSA Warrantless Wiretapping

Internet Monitoring System to Stalk Social Media Users Who Question Safety of Vaccines

Schools Scanned Students’ Irises without Permission

Defense Lawmakers Consider Changing Rules of Terror War

* * * *

US Muslim Sues FBI over ‘Months of Torture on Unspecified Charges’

Guantánamo Guard Converts to Islam, Demands Release of Detainees

Rogue Monsanto Wheat Sprouts in Oregon

Discovery of Monsanto GMO Wheat in Oregon Threatens US Exports

$24 Million in Welfare Benefits Paid to 20,000 New Jersey Prisoners

* * * *

Giant Private Equity Firm KKR Lands Petraeus

Former Congressional Aides to Lobby for Oil Refining Firm

California Lawmakers Turn Down Moratorium on Fracking

Rate Shock: In California, Obamacare to Increase Individual Health Insurance Premiums by 64-146%

* * * *

Associated Press Chief Says DoJ Seized Records for ‘Thousands and Thousands’ of Phone Calls

US Attorney General Eric Holder Personally Approved Obama’s Secret Effort to Seize Email & Phone Records of News Reporters

House Questioning IRS Staffers in Ohio

Solari Story: The Red Button

* * * *

Jobless Claims Climb 10,000 in Latest Week

Can the Fed Afford Higher Interest Rates?

US Banks Post Record Profits

All Time Record Gold Transactions Reported By LBMA

Noteworthy Editorials

Sibel Edmonds: A True Alternative to the Establishment’s Many Poisoned Wells

Stephen Lendman: CIA Global Renditions

M K Bhadrakumar: Moscow Remembers Charlie Wilson’s War

Michael Klare: A Future in Arms

James Petras: Ireland & the Basque Country: Massive Flight (Emigration) or General Strike?

Washington’s Blog: A Proxy War Is Raging In Syria

Obama’s Orwellian Doublespeak on the Drone Program

Obama’s Willful Foreign-Policy Blindness

Did Obama’s Speech Really ‘Narrow’ the War?

America the Vulnerable

BFP Nightly Video-Podcast

BFP EyeOpener Video Report: The AP Spying Story: What You Aren’t Being Told

Video 1: Corbett Report- New World Next Week, May 31, 2013

Video 2: GRTV- The Dissolution of the West with Dr. Paul Craig Roberts

Video 3: RT- Britain’s Gitmo: UK’s Camp Bastion Extends US Detention Model

BFP Podcast 1-The Reality Principle with Eric Draitser-“Move to Amend” with David Cobb

BFP Podcast 2: Power & People with Andrew Gavin Marshall- “Protesting the Cosmopolitical Corporate Order”

Podcast 1: Blacklisted Radio: IRS: Bureaucratic Blunder or Political Profiling

Podcast 2: Smells Like Human Spirit- Boston Bombings, Recent Political Scandals, ‘Breaking Bad’ with Guest Kenny Fuentes

Podcast 3: Peter B Collins Show-Is Obama’s Pick for FBI Boss Worse than Mueller?

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

It Takes an Entire Village … of Irate Minority Members

Sibel Edmonds — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:37:05 +0000

We Need Your Help to Raise Awareness & Continue Operating This Home of the Irate Minority

I want to thank every single one of you for your continuing support- subscriptions and contributions. Your support and contributions have made this independent website, the home of irate minority, possible. With your support we have thrived and grown. Through your contributions we have expanded our base and our partnerships with distinguished reporters and producers who share our vision and goals: to present independent and nonpartisan truth, cut through the propaganda and spins, and help see the macro realities long-obscured by smoke and mirrors created by the establishment and its tentacles- mainstream and pseudo-alternative media, foundations and puppet NGOs.

Thanks to you we have gone from a simple one-woman blogspot.com to a site offering several weekly podcast shows, an unmatched weekly video report, weeknight noteworthy news and editorials, original political cartoons, and daily editorials by distinguished, independent-minded and critical-thinking authors and analysts:

The EyeOpener Video Report with James Corbett

The Reality Principle with Eric Draitser

Empire, Power & People Podcast with Andrew Gavin Marshall

The Boiling Frogs Show with Peter B Collins & Sibel Edmonds

Jamiol Presents Editorial Cartoons by Paul Jamiol

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials by Sibel Edmonds

The New Great Game Weekly Round Up

Today, among others, Boiling Frogs Post contributing columnists and advisors include: Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, Dr. James Petras, William Engdahl, Rick Rozoff, Stephen Lendman, William Blum, Nile Bowie, Christoph Germann and Bill Bergman.

We have ‘you’ to thank for this growth and success. We have made it, and done so without a single penny from corporates or corporate-foundations, without a single dime from corporate advertisers and sponsors, and without any backing from partisan agenda machines. Because of ‘you.’

We can only exist with the support of our irate minority members and supporters. Without your subscriptions we won’t be able to create and produce original and independent multimedia shows. Without your donations we won’t be able to research, verify, select and present to you crucial news and developments night after night…Without your support this truth source cannot exist. Without your support the obscurers of the truth will win. Without your support there will not be a true alternative to the poisoned wells

Please help us continue and expand- for independent truth, and for all of us. Please help us provide an alternative to the mainstream and quasi alternative channels furthering the establishment’s poison. You can, and here is how:

Please Donate to Boiling Frogs Post

You can make a one-time contribution to support our team and projects. Those of you who do not wish to subscribe to our multimedia projects or commit to recurring annual- monthly payments but want to support our team, all the daily news, editorials, political cartoons, and other features provided by BFP can make a one-time contribution. You can contribute by Credit Card here:

Or if you would prefer to contribute by check, make it payable to “Boiling Frogs Post“, and mail to:

Boiling Frogs Post
PO Box 880
Bend, OR 97709

Become a Boiling Frogs Post Subscriber

You can sign up for our recurring annual subscription program for $50 or more, or if you prefer recurring monthly subscription payments you can sign up for monthly $5 or more. Your subscription will give you access to all our weekly exclusive multimedia reports, including The EyeOpener Video Report with James Corbett , The Boiling Frogs Show , The Reality Principle , and Empire, Power, and People Podcast Report. You can sign up for a recurring annual or monthly subscription here:

Thank you for all you do,

Sibel Edmonds

The Social Cost of Capitalism

Dr Paul Craig Roberts — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:01:20 +0000

The New Social Costs Brought by Globalism

When I was a graduate student in economics, the social cost of capitalism was a big issue in economic theory. Since those decades ago, the social costs of capitalism have exploded, but the issue seems no longer to trouble the economics profession.

Social costs are costs of production that are not born by the producer or included in the price of the product. There are many classic examples: the pollution of air, water, and land from mining, fracking, oil drilling and pipeline spills, chemical fertilizer farming, GMOs, pesticides, radioactivity released from nuclear accidents and the pollution of food by antibiotics and artificial hormones.

Some economists believe that these traditional social costs can be dealt with by well-defined property rights. Others think that benevolent government will control social costs in the interests of society.

Today there are new social costs brought by globalism. For developed countries, these are unemployment, lost consumer income, tax base, and GDP growth, and rising trade and current account deficits from the offshoring of manufacturing and tradable professional service jobs. The trade and current account deficits can result in a falling exchange value of the currency and rising inflation from import prices. For underdeveloped countries, the costs are the loss of self-sufficiency and the transformation of agriculture into monocultures to feed the needs of international corporations.

Economists are oblivious to this new epidemic of social costs, because they mistakenly think that globalism is free trade and that free trade is always beneficial.

Economists are also unaware of the social costs of deregulation. The ongoing financial crisis which requires massive public subsidies to “banks too big to fail” is a social cost resulting from government accommodating Wall Street pressure to deregulate the financial system by repealing the Glass-Steagall Act, by removing the position limits on speculators, by preventing the CFTC from regulating derivatives, and by turning the Anti-Trust Act into dead-letter law and permitting massive economic concentrations. The social costs of successful corporate lobbying is enormous. But economists who believe that markets are self-regulating imagine that an enormous gain in efficiency has occurred, not massive social costs.

In order to keep the deregulated financial system afloat, the Federal Reserve has monetized trillions of dollars of debt over the last several years. Real interest rates have been driven into negative territory. Retirees are unable to earn any interest income on their savings and have to draw down their capital in order to cover their living expenses.

The liquidity injected into financial markets by the Federal Reserve’s policy of quantitative easing has produced huge bond and stock market bubbles. When they pop, more American wealth will be wiped out and more jobs will be lost.

Consider just one example of the social costs of jobs offshoring. When US corporations produce abroad the goods and services that they market to Americans, the goods and services that flow into the US arrive as imports. Thus, the trade deficit rises dollar for dollar.

The trade deficit means that the US has imported more than it has earned in foreign currencies by exporting. For most countries this would be a problem, but not for the US. The US dollar is the world reserve currency, which means that it is the means of international payment and that foreign central banks hold US dollars as reserves to secure the values of their own currencies.

With the passage of time, this advantage becomes a disadvantage, because foreigners use the dollars gained from their trade surpluses to buy up American income-producing assets. They buy US Treasury bonds and US corporate bonds, and the interest income leaves the country. They purchase US companies, and the profits, dividends and capital gains leave the country. They lease Chicago’s parking meters and American toll roads, and the revenues flow abroad.

The enormous outflow of income streams creates a large current account deficit for the US, which means that foreigners have even more surplus dollars with which to buy up more US assets. In other words, a chronic trade deficit is a way to redirect a country’s revenues and profits into overseas hands.

The ownership of a country changes from its own citizens to foreigners. According to Reuters, in 1971 foreign companies owned 1.3% of all corporate US assets.

By 2008 foreigners owned 14.2 percent of all US industries, including 21.5% of mining, 25% of manufacturing, 30.2% of wholesale trade, 12% of information industries, 12% of real estate, 15% of finance and insurance, 25% of professional, scientific, and technical services, 11% of entertainment and recreation and 11% of accommodation and food services, according to a report from Economy In Crisis.

Numerous famous American brand names now are companies owned by foreigners.

Budweiser belongs to a Dutch company. Alka Seltzer belongs to a German company.

Firestone belongs to a Japanese company. The magazines Car and Driver and Woman’s Day are owned by a French company. Gerber baby food and Purina dog food belong to Swiss companies. Hellman’s Mayonnaise and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream belong to UK companies. Many thousands of former US companies have moved into foreign control as a result of the US trade deficit, which is swollen by the offshored production of US corporations.

The policy of chasing lowest labor cost abroad, that is, of pursuing absolute advantage, the antithesis of comparative advantage which is the basis of free trade, is the redirection of US profits, capital gains, rents, interest, parking meter and toll road fees into foreign hands.

Thus, there is a high social cost from corporate executives pursuing short-term profits in order to maximize their performance bonuses. The profits from offshored production are not indications of economic efficiency and social welfare. Most likely, the social costs to the US of offshored production are larger than the profits gained, making jobs offshoring a net loss to the US economy. There is little doubt that the social costs of GMOs exceed the profits of Monsanto.

But don’t expect mainstream economists to pay any attention. They are still waxing eloquently about the advantages of Globalism’s gift of the New Economy of high unemployment and low wages, financial crisis and dollar erosion.

# # # #

Paul Craig Roberts, Boiling Frogs Post contributing author, is a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has been reporting on executive branch and cases of prosecutorial abuse for two decades. He has written or co-written eight books, contributed chapters to numerous books, and has published many articles in journals of scholarship. Mr. Roberts has testified before congressional committees on 30 occasions on issues of economic policy, and has been a critic of both Democratic and Republican administrations. You can visit his website here.

© PaulCraigRoberts.org

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

The Reality Principle -Episode 31

Eric Draitser — Fri, 31 May 2013 15:50:26 +0000

“Move to Amend” with David Cobb

This week, Eric sits down with David Cobb to discuss the nature of corporations and their immense power over our lives. Eric and David examine the symbiotic relationship between corporations and imperialism, with particular attention to key historical examples. The conversation touches upon some of the most insidious examples of corporate power in the world today, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Monsanto and big Agribusiness, etc. Additionally, David discusses the Move to Amend coalition which is leading a grassroots movement to amend the Constitution to limit the power of corporations. They analyze ways in which this issue is trans-partisan, uniting like-minded people from across the political spectrum behind the causes of freedom, sovereignty and human rights.

David Cobb is an activist and organizer. He is one of the founders of Move to Amend as well as a former presidential candidate from the Green Party. Visit the organization’s website at movetoamend.org

Listen to the preview Here

Listen to the Podcast here (Subscribers Only):

This Podcast is available to BFP subscription members only. If you are a member, log in to listen. If you are not a member, you can subscribe by clicking on ‘Subscribe' below.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials- May 30, 2013

Sibel Edmonds — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:40:57 +0000

Please help us continue this work. We do not have foundation bosses or fund-ers. We do not serve the corporate fund-ers by being their advertisement platform-stage. We solely depend on you and your direct support. Please support this home of the irate minority, and thank you for all you do: Support BFP

BFP Nightly Quote

“Voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. Next time, go all out and write in Lucifer on the ballot.” – Jarod Kintz

International Newsworthy

Let’s Be Clear: Establishing a ‘No-Fly Zone’ Is an Act of War

Syria Gets First Shipment of Russia’s S-300 Missiles: Assad

Syria has No Preconditions for Talk-Assad May Run 2014 Election

Syrian Opposition to Boycott Geneva Talks

Hezbollah Said to Control Most of Qusayr in Major Setback for Syria Rebels

Syrian Fault Lines in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley

Sources: Jordan Drill in Preparation for Syria Conflict

US “Demands” Hezbollah Pull out Fighters from Syria

Middle East Countries Fighting Proxy War in Syria

Russia May Revise Ban on Syrian Arms Exports – Minister

The Role of Turkey in the US-NATO-Israeli War on Syria

Iran “Invited” to Syria Peace Conference, State Media Says

Syria’s War Impacts Turkish Alevis

* * * *

IAEA Says May Find “Nothing” at Iran Base Parchin

Israel & U.S. Generals Draw Up “Theoretical” Scenario for Attack on Iran

OPEC to Meet Amid Iran-Saudi Tensions

Iran’s Non-Oil Exports Hit 6.1 Billion USD in Two Months

Iran Warns Against Sectarian Rift in ME

Iran Accused of Latin America Terror Plot

Canada Bans All Imports, Exports with Latest Iran Sanctions

Iranian Minister Warns Against Foreign Journalists

* * * *

ICRC Office Attacked in Afghanistan, One Guard Killed

Afghan MPs Oppose Permanent US Bases

Kabul Demands Detainees in British Custody in Afghanistan

NATO Strengthens Military-to-Military Cooperation with Pakistan

Drone Death Would Hit Pakistani Taliban Hard

Pakistan’s Taliban Denies Death of Its Deputy Commander

TTP Confirms Waliur Rehman Death; Suspends Talks

* * * *

Sadr Gives Maliki ‘Final Warning’

Evening Bomb Blasts Kill 30 in Baghdad

Turkey’s False-flag Operation against Syria Backfires

Turkish Smuggler Shot Dead at Syrian Border

Yemen and Turkey Energy Cooperation Deal

Israel ‘to Build’ New Outposts in Jerusalem

* * * *

Mediterranean Dialogue: NATO Forges New Military Partnership with Algeria

Hamas Asks Egypt to ‘Re-Evaluate’ Camp David Accords

Gaza Held Hostage to Egypt’s Turmoil

Libya PM Moves State Oil HQ to Troubled Benghazi

64 Killed in Fresh Tribal Clashes in Sudan’s South Darfur State

Boko Haram Denies Losing Nigeria Battle

UNSC Votes for Extra Troops to Abyei

UN Charges That Congo’s M23 Rebels Fired on Goma

* * * *

China Looks Local for Solution to Gas Price Dilemma

Chinese Army to Conduct ‘Digital’ War Games for First Time

China & Russia Relations Moving Forward Under New Chinese Leadership

Terrorists from Syria May Sneak into Russia: Security Service

U.S. Congressmen in Russia on Boston Bombing Fact-Finding Mission

Russia, Serbia Eye Closer Military-Technical Ties

Georgia Issues Protest to Russia over Situation in Ossetia Conflict Zone

Ukraine Seeks Trade Deals to East and West

* * * *

Russia Urges Tajikistan to Approve Deal on Military Base

Uzbekistan: Russian Telecom Channels Cash to Karimova Charity

UAE’s Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation (KF) Completes Mosque &Hospital in Kazakhstan

U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan: OSCE Minsk Group to Be Strengthened

US-Azerbaijan: What Vision for the Future?

* * * *

Gitmo-UK? 80 to 90 Afghans Held at British Base Without Charges

UK Pays Price for MI5 Courting Terror

MI6 Archives Reveal Plans for WWII & Cold War Black Operations

National Newsworthy

Navy Considers 3D-Printing Future Fleets of Drones

The Army’s Multibillion Dollar ‘Money Pit’

UN Expert Calls for Moratorium on “Killer Robots”

After Vowing Transparency, US Silent on Drone Killing

Drones at Home

US Army Creates NATO Rapid-Deployment Forces

* * * *

National Shame: Obama’s Poll Numbers Hold Up Despite the Storm of Scandal

Unapproved Monsanto Crop Found Growing in Oregon

Obama to Nominate Comey as Next FBI Director-Sources Say

Who’s Who of Obama Lobbyists Pushes Keystone Pipeline

Ready for Hillary Super PAC Moves Forward With Big Funders

* * * *

Conservative Groups Sue Holder, IRS over Tea Party Targeting

Media Groups Decline Holder Invite to Discuss DOJ Subpoena Policy

New Subpoena Issued for State Dept Documents in House Probe of Benghazi Attacks

IRS Higher-Ups Requested Info on Conservative Groups

Poll: 76% Want Special Prosecutor to Investigate IRS Scandal

IRS’s Shulman Had More Public White House Visits than Any Cabinet Member

Holder Runs into Roadblocks on Off-the-Record Meetings on Leaks

Government’s Hunt for Leakers in New York Times’ Stuxnet Story Put Chill on News Sources

* * * *

Total S.A. to Pay $245.2 Million in Relation to US Investigation

Understanding Gold Market Dynamics

Fed’s Rosengren: ‘Modest’ QE3 Cut May Make Sense in a Few Months

Slower Growth, Rising Jobless Claims Spark Soft-Patch Jitters

10 Under-Reported Realities in the US Labor Market

The Student Loan Delinquency Rate in US Has Hit A Brand New Record High

Noteworthy Editorials

Peter Edel: Reyhanli-Gate: The Cover Up & Changing Story on the Turkey-Syria Border Town Bombing

Andrew Napolitano: An Assault on Freedom of the Press

Christoph Germann: China’s Central Asia Problem

David Swanson: An Anti-War Blockbuster

Stephen Lendman: Obama’s Anti-Populist Agenda

Washington’s Blog: Bush’s Invasion of Iraq was Criminal … Obama’s About to Do the Same Thing In Syria

How Obama and Al-Qaeda Became Syrian Bedfellows

So Why Did The FBI Shoot Ibragim Todashev?

Partial Readings: the Rule of Law

Afghanistan: Is it Really the End Game?

BFP Nightly Video-Podcast

BFP EyeOpener Video Report: The AP Spying Story: What You Aren’t Being Told

Video 1: RT-British ‘Secret Prison’ Holds Up to 90 Afghans Without Charges

Video 2: RT- Friend of Boston Bombing Suspect Unarmed When Killed by FBI

BFP Podcast: Power & People with Andrew Gavin Marshall- “Protesting the Cosmopolitical Corporate Order”

Podcast 1: Peter B. Collins Show- Corrupt Judges Go to Prison!

Podcast 2: Blacklisted Radio Podcast w/ Andrew Gavin Marshall .

Podcast 3: Corbett Report-the Transhumanist Nightmare

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Boiling Frogs Post: A True Alternative to the Establishment’s Many Poisoned Wells

Sibel Edmonds — Thu, 30 May 2013 18:04:30 +0000

Help Us Counter the Establishment’s Poisoned Wells & the Poisoned-Water-Bearing Media

This morning I woke up to yet another discouraging report re-affirming the sorry state of our country due to the even sorrier state of our majority. Despite being the worst president this nation has ever had when it comes to secrecy, persecution and prosecution of whistleblowers, civil liberties abuses, many-fronted wars, furthering police-state practices, and numerous current scandals surpassing even those of President Nixon, 50% of our nation’s people approve and support Barack Obama. That’s right- Our uninformed majority is still defending the indefensible.

As I read and listen to case after case illustrating the ever-growing public ignorance and apathy I can’t help but think of one of my favorite stories-analogies. This is how the story goes:

Once upon a time an evil witch visits a kingdom and poisons the central well with a potion that drives people mad. The next morning all who drink from that well go crazy. The king, however, knew about this in advance, and didn’t drink from the communal well. The next day, those who drank the poisoned water came to the king and accused him of being the crazy one. The king, aware of what had transpired, was faced with a dilemma: drink from the well and lose his sanity like the rest of his subjects, but remain king; or don’t drink, remain sane, but be swept from power by those who would view his very sanity as madness.

…

Our majority is exactly in this sorry state due to their regular consumption of the water from the establishment’s poisoned wells. Meanwhile, those who refrain from drinking from the wells poisoned by the establishment witches are categorized, marginalized, and labeled extremists, crazies, conspiracy theorists, and other adjectives along the same line.

We have the witches of the establishment pouring the poisoned concoction into the communal wells. Maybe a little bit of pseudo patriotism mixed with a fair amount of fear-mongering laced with dependency-inducing barbitals topped with fluffy fantasy puffs. Maybe three portions of false security shaken with two portions of false prosperity into a hallucinogenic elixir blended with a shot of apathy-enhancing liquor. Maybe all of the above and more.

Equally if not more importantly we have the poison-water bearers. After all, the objective of poisoning the majority is too important to be left to chance. You see, for the poisoned well plot to work, most if not all should drink from the poisoned wells, so what better way to ensure that than having water bearers deliver to most if not all. The mainstream and pseudo-alternative poison-water-bearers do just that: take the water poisoned by the establishment witches, put it into easy-to-swallow portions and easy-to-drink containers, and then deliver it to as many people as they can. That’s right. You take the establishment poisons together with the mainstream media poison-bearers, and you get a whole a lot of poisoned people acting crazy as hell. And if by any chance you have refrained from drinking, then you better be ready to be singled out, pointed at, and called a nut and a crazy.

All this brings me to why I started this website named so very aptly-Boiling Frogs Post. My main objective was to provide people with a real alternative- an alternative to the many poisoned information sources. An alternative not poisoned with concoctions poured out by the mega corporations, corporate-foundations, or lap-dog NGOs. An alternative not tainted by shrewdly-crafted divisiveness called partisanship.

To achieve this objective I, together with my partners at Boiling Frogs Post, made a pledge: We would receive no funding, not even a dime, from corporate advertisers, corporate-foundations or lap-top NGOs. We pledged not to allow partisanship poison to slip into our content. We put our existence and continuance solely in the hands of our readers and supporters- The Irate Minority.

Thanks to all of you who have been supporting this true alternative website and its mission, during the last three years we have survived, grown, expanded, and increased our reach and impact-solely due to your backing.

We have carefully expanded our partnership to bring to you unmatched daily podcast and video reports untainted by any establishment poison, propaganda or partisanship. We have been breaking stories and reports that no mainstream or pseudo-alternative media dares to touch. We have been publishing daring articles and analyses to neutralize and counter establishment poisons. Whether it is our ground-breaking video report series, or original and daring podcast interviews, or enlightening analyses and articles censored by the establishment, or nightly news roundups gathered from non-mainstream sources and channels … we have continued our quest to provide a true alternative and informative source of information.

This website is a true alternative to the many poisoned wells. We are growing and expanding, but we are still the minority. We can only exist with the support of our irate minority members and supporters. Without your subscriptions we won’t be able to create and produce original and independent multimedia shows. Without your donations we won’t be able to research, verify, select and present to you crucial news and developments night after night…Without your support this truth source cannot exist. Without your support the obscurers of the truth will win. Without your support there will not be a true alternative to the poisoned wells

Please help us continue and expand- for independent truth, and for all of us. Please help us provide an alternative to the mainstream and quasi alternative channels furthering the establishment’s poison. You can, and here is how:

Donate to Boiling Frogs Post

You can make a one-time contribution to support our team and projects. Those of you who do not wish to subscribe to our multimedia projects or commit to recurring annual- monthly payments but want to support our team, all the daily news, editorials, political cartoons, and other features provided by BFP can make a one-time contribution. You can contribute by Credit Card here:

Or if you would prefer to contribute by check, make it payable to “Boiling Frogs Post“, and mail to:

Boiling Frogs Post
PO Box 880
Bend, OR 97709

Become a Boiling Frogs Post Subscriber

You can sign up for our recurring annual subscription program for $50 or more, or if you prefer recurring monthly subscription payments you can sign up for monthly $5 or more. Your subscription will give you access to all our weekly exclusive multimedia reports, including The EyeOpener Video Report with James Corbett , The Boiling Frogs Show , The Reality Principle , and Empire, Power, and People Podcast Report. You can sign up for a recurring annual or monthly subscription here:

Thank you for all your support,

Sibel Edmonds

The New Great Game Round Up: China’s Central Asia Problem

Christoph Germann — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:59:44 +0000

Xinjiang-The Main Target for Destabilization in China

Since 1990, 34 new countries have been created with South Sudan’s addition in 2011 being the latest but certainly not the last.

Washington’s regime change hit list is almost endless. One commonly used practice is to destabilize the target country and to carve out territories. Afterwards a puppet government is installed and a permanent U.S. military presence established. Lo and behold, we can welcome a new subordinate country completely led by the United States. The “Mafia State” Kosovo is a prime example of this modus operandi and it was so successful in Yugoslavia that it is again being implemented in China:

Uyghur leader gives Chinese diplomats a history lesson at UN

The meeting at the UN in which Chinese representatives met with representatives from Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Tibet was marked by the diplomatically discourteous actions of the Chinese representatives and Rebiya Kadeer’s speech.

A Chinese diplomat stated that no states named East Turkestan, Inner Mongolia and Tibet existed in China, and that they were historically Chinese territory.

…

The Chinese are obviously far from pleased and to most people East Turkestan is probably better known as China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The infamous International Crisis Group (ICG) explains why Xinjiang has become the main target for destabilization in China:

“Energy, precious metals, and other natural resources flow into China from the region. Investment flows the other way, as China builds pipelines, power lines and transport networks linking Central Asia to its north-western province, the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

Beijing’s primary concern is the security and development of its Xinjiang Autonomous Region, which shares 2,800km of borders with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.”

…

For more information about the ICG I encourage you to read Tony Cartalucci’s excellent report about the think-tanks, which are used by corporate-financier interests to create, promote, publish, and execute their policy:

Naming Names: Your Real Government

While the International Crisis Group (ICG) claims to be “committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict,” the reality is that they are committed to offering solutions crafted well in advance to problems they themselves have created in order to perpetuate their own corporate agenda.

…

So if the International Crisis Group alleges that China has a “Central Asia Problem”, you can be sure that there will be problem and most likely it will be a terrorism problem [emphasis mine]:

“There is a risk that Central Asian jihadis currently fighting beside the Taliban may take their struggle back home after 2014. This would pose major difficulties for both Central Asia and China. Economic intervention alone might not suffice.

The planned 2014 withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan is of special concern: Chinese separatist organisations have trained in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan, and stability – or lack thereof – will have, Beijing feels, direct bearing on Islamist insurgency in China’s border areas.”

…

One of the ICG’s founders is Uber-Neocon Morton Abramowitz who also happens to be Fethullah Gülen’s main CIA handler. Let’s remember what Sibel Edmonds had to say in her deposition 2009 about Gülen’s network and how it is being used in Central Asia [emphasis mine]:

“He has since established more than 300 madrasahs in Central Asia and what he calls universities that have a front that is called Moderate Islam, but he is closely involved in training mujahideen-like militia Islam who are brought from Pakistan and Afghanistan into Central Asia where his madrasahs operate, and his organization’s network is estimated to be around $25 billion.

He has opened several Islamic universities in the United States. As I said it’s being promoted under Moderate Islam. It is supported by certain U.S. authorities here because of the operations in Central Asia, but what they have been doing since late 1990s is actually radical Islam and militizing (phonetic) these very, very young, from the age 14, 15, by commandoes they use, and this is both commandoes from Turkish military, commandoes from Pakistani ISI in Central Asia and Azerbaijan, and after that they bring them to Turkey, and from Turkey they send them through Europe, to European and elsewhere.”

…

The involvement of NATO member Turkey and close NATO ally Azerbaijan is not surprising since they are simultaneously assisting the U.S. to create and sustain the threat of Chechen terrorism. Of course there is also the Pakistani ISI which is closely cooperating with the CIA and plays a central role in these operations ever since Operation Cyclone.

Part of the same Gladio B network is the man chosen by Washington to become the new puppet leader once East Turkestan is “liberated”. Meet Anwar Yusuf Turani:

He is the first person to start the East Turkistan independence movement in the United States. In 2004, Turani set up the “East Turkistan Government in Exile” (ETGIE) and was elected Prime Minister.^[1]^[2]

…

Turani is now the Prime Minister of a nonexistent country after his “election” in the U.S. State Department in 2004. That sounds legit but the question is why he was picked by the United States to head the East Turkestan Government in Exile. His presence in Sibel Edmonds’ State Secrets Privilege Gallery should give us a clue. Anwar Yusuf Turani was and probably still is involved in operations in China’s Xinjiang region and was therefore one target of the FBI’s ‘Gladio B’ counterintelligence investigation.

Xinjiang borders among others Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The increasing activity of the medieval petro-monarchies Qatar and Saudi Arabia in Tajikistan and in Kyrgyzstan is a particularly worrying development for China, as well as USAID’s “rehabilitation” of passport offices in Osh Province.

Being aware of the imminent danger, the Chinese authorities seek to take the appropriate measures [emphasis mine]:

Tajikistan, China hold consultations on regional security

The sides discussed issues of fight against terrorism, problems of regional security and prospects of situation development in Central Asian region after anti-terrorist coalition’s troops withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014. Importance of bilateral cooperation strengthening in fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism was highlighted.

…

Karimova, In Beijing, Discusses China-Uzbekistan Ties

Karimova paid special attention to the potential threats and challenges, which Uzbekistan and China will face in the near future. Among them, the great risk of Afghanistan turning into a component of Islamist expansionism coming from North Africa and the Middle East, geopolitical processes unfolding in the Asia-Pacific region, the persistent effect of the global financial-economic problems, clashes of different value systems…

…

China holds training course for border inspectors

“The disarmament in the border areas between China and the four countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, strengthens the mutual trust and cooperation among the militaries, maintains the peace and stability of the areas along the 7,000-odd-kilometer-long border in northern China and is beneficial to the normal development of the friendly relations among the five countries,” said Luo Yongbin, deputy director of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), on May 27, 2013 during the three-day-long training course for the border disarmament inspectors from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

…

Russia, China to Hold Antiterror Drills in August

Russia and China will conduct joint antiterrorism exercises in Russia’s Urals region in the first two weeks of August, a spokesman for the Central Military District said.

…

Yu tours Xinjiang, stresses curbing extremism, terrorism

During his tour of Xinjiang, China’s top political advisor stressed containing the growth of religious extremist elements and maintaining a high intensity in the fight against terrorist activities.

…

China knows that the fight against NATO/GCC-sponsored terror will be intense but is determined to maintain social stability and to prevent further terror attacks:

Xinjiang terror spree kills 21

Terrorists killed 15 police officers and community workers, among whom 10 were Uyghur, three were Han and two were Mongolian. Police fought back, killing six terrorists and arresting eight, with the attack now under full investigation.

…

Xinjiang terror group smashed, say police

Mainland police say they have broken up a terrorist group linked to a clash with the authorities in Xinjiang last week in which 21 people died.

The group’s members watched violent jihadi videos, organised “underground Koran classes” and had spread extreme religious teachings since September, the government notice said. It said they had started training for attacks in December and were planning a “major attack” in Kashgar this summer.

# # # #

Christoph Germann- BFP Contributing Author & Analyst
Christoph Germann is an independent analyst and researcher based in Germany, where he is currently studying political science. His work focuses on the New Great Game in Central Asia and the Caucasus region. You can visit his website here

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.

Empire, Power, and People with Andrew Gavin Marshall- Episode 72

AGMarshall — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:30:46 +0000

Protesting the Cosmopolitical Corporate Order

From the global march against Monsanto to factory workers in Bangladesh, protests against global corporations and the policies put in place by states to protect them are advancing around the world. This episode briefly identifies some of the protests and acts of resistance against the global corporate order, and looks at why this resistance must accelerate: it’s only the future of the species which hangs in the balance, so better to try than to say goodbye.

Listen to the podcast show here (Subscribers only):

This Podcast is available to BFP subscription members only. If you are a member, log in to listen. If you are not a member, you can subscribe by clicking on ‘Subscribe' below.

SUBSCRIBE

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVDs.