The idea that the drug trade in Afghanistan is enabled and protected by western interests for their own benefit is by no means a new or controversial idea. After all, we are talking about the third most lucrative commodity in the world behind oil and the arms trade. However, the media coverage of this issue involving hundreds of billions of dollars is another story. James Corbett brings to you questions and points not dared to be raised by the media and pseudo alternatives alike.

This is our EyeOpener Video Report by James Corbett on Afghanistan’s White Gold for boilingfrogspost.com

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by contributing directly and or purchasing Boiling Frogs showcased products.

After a month of being away and with so much happening on all the fronts of interest I am finding it hard to pick a starting point. First, I wanted to do a piece on Libya and the Manchurian Candidate of our government’s choice over there. After all, he fits right in with several others we have covered here at BFP. Then, I decided there were already so many sound bites, so many competing sexy-cutesy headlines, a major surplus of blogo-diarrhea, and tons of crisscross debates on this topic out there, and decided it would not be a good starting point. Next, I thought about doing a weekly round up for the latest noteworthy developments and articles. When I looked at my list of noteworthy items I saw that many went back further than a week, more like a monthly round up, and considering the length of the list I decided against a painfully long monthly round up. Then, I felt like sharing with you some of my relocation adventures and blissful trip, but quickly I reminded myself of my pledge to not cover much personal information at this site; I sure don’t want to be a hypocrite! Okay, now you see what I mean by finding it ‘hard’ to pick a starting point; right?

Finally, I remembered some friends asking me ‘why are you always so hard on yourself, Sibel,’ and… I see their point Therefore, instead of making things more complicated than they should be, instead of wasting time coming up with a subjective best and most appropriate topic, I am going to begin our operation with a brief potpourri of topics, and see how it goes.

Boiling Frogs Post Countdown & Status

As always I am going to start by thanking our supporters who have kindly contributed: Thank You. Even though we haven’t reached our objective, at least not yet, seeing your support in action keeps us on our toes and encourages us to hold on and keep trying. Based on what we have received (so far) we are in the position of continuing this website for five or six months; until October. After thinking, thinking very hard, about where we are, what our main objectives are, and ways to achieve these objectives, I am leaning towards turning this site into a subscription-based model. Why?

I am still wary of even considering advertisements. I hate it when I go to some sites, and while I am in the middle of reading, I am forced to constantly close this pop up ad window and that pop up ad box-like swatting flies. I simply hate it. I don’t want to turn around and give my readers and listeners what I seriously despise. So, ads are out.

I am not a marketing pro or a saleswoman, and I am not going to go through a round of fundraising with everything that has to go with that every three or four months. That’s too much, and no, I won’t do it.

On the other hand, I want to be able to offer you regular, even better, weekly podcast interviews. I want to be able to provide more frequent, ideally daily or nightly, noteworthy news and articles round ups. I certainly want to be able to write and publish in-depth analyses, and bring in other A-class experts and analysts work by being able to compensate them. All that and more! So, considering the level of volunteer donations we’ve been getting, excluding company ads, foundation briberies, and frequent ‘calls for support,’ how do we get there? Well, I am still thinking about it and discussing it with our team members, but the idea of a subscription-based model, at least for our podcast show and select articles, seems right. Of course, I welcome your suggestions-input, so please chime in.

My Relocation Study Journey & Status

I want to first thank all of you who have been sending me good-wishes in my relocation preparation and journey. Some of you have rightfully pointed out the difficulties of starting in a new place. Let me assure you: as far as the emotional aspects of it go, I will have none. Here is why:

I live less than two miles from the Pentagon. Just think about how I feel each time (very frequently, that is!) I pass that monstrosity. I get to hear (very loudly, that is!) helicopters making their ‘national security check’ rounds every day; not once, not twice, not three times…you get the point, right? It takes us a minimum of 30 minutes to commute a distance of less than 5 miles; not only during morning or evening rush hour, but around the clock. The majority of my neighbors are either defense contractors, national security related government contractors, lobbyists, or active members of shady organizations like AEI, AIPAC …Add to that a very sad state of public schools, astronomical housing prices, horrendous shape of hospitals-emergency rooms, crime rate, and the Red Light District across the river called the Capitol ….well, you get it, right?

I have been thinking about, planning, and working on this relocation for several years; to be exact, since 2007. So, this is not some spur of the moment, whimsical or hasty life-changing decision. Most importantly, this is a decision to provide my daughter with the best within my ability, and the most that I can. Speaking of my daughter, here are a few select pictures of her during our trip:

Literally reaching out for the olive branch

Greeting the sheep in the morning

Searching for Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Her new friend Toby

Savoring Farmers Market’s handmade ice cream

As you can see it will be a world far away from wars, pat-downs & groping, lobbyists, traffic, congested schools, glitzy people & shiny cars …hmmmm, does it sound like heaven?

The Growing List of Untouchable- Notorious-Infamous US War Profiteers…Still Operating!

Please raise your hand if you’ve never heard of the criminal-notorious yet still happily in operation Blackwater Inc.aka Xe Services LLC? No hands? Please raise your hand if you are fairly familiar with the scandalous-infamous yet untouchable Mina Corp? Okay, now get ready to add another one to your list: ladies and gentleman meet please meet Harry Sargeant III . You see, there are many chapters involved when it comes to Harry Sergeant; the latest being this one. So the moral of the story here is not as much Harry Sergeant per se, but the fact that his chapters, like the rest of the criminal operators in the long-list of our nation’s war profiteers, never seem to come to an end. These companies, the criminal-notorious-infamous war profiteers, keep operating, and their profits keep skyrocketing; with 100% immunity and impunity. Read more È

I am watching the first snow of the season fall as I’m typing this quick update for this past week. There’s so much to write about, and so many important articles and links to provide: Obama’s speech, the new administration continues its assault on transparency and liberties just like the old one, our ever failing foreign policy…and more. However, as always, I’m short in time and not able to cover them all. My part IV on the Makings of a Police State has been taking a backseat every week. It is almost done, but every time I make a resolution to sit down and just finish it, something comes up and gets in the way. This week it ended up being the infamous speech. I know thousands and thousands of people, websites, are covering it, but somehow I am not able to find among them the very few macro conclusions I see. I don’t mean to imply that I expect to see my exact points and conclusions when it comes to political issues like this one, or that my points are the right ones, however, knowing that I am not the only one seeing that the same cycle keeps repeating itself over and over, reading conclusions after conclusions showing up like carbon copies everywhere…well, I guess you get the point. Right?

I’ll start with the announcement of two great additions to our team here at Boiling Frogs Post:

Pepe Escobar & John Stanton Join Boiling Frogs Post

Author and investigative journalist Pepe Escobar is now a member of our investigative news and analysis team. Many of you know Pepe and his great work, whether on Afghanistan and Central Asia, or his muckraking of the Obama presidency and its lack of change on issues and policies that really matter. Some of you know his work through citations and references in my previous writings and updates, and a few of you know that I’ve been a big fan and a follower of his work. Please welcome Pepe Escobar – here is his bio:

Pepe Escobar, born in Brazil, is a roving correspondent for Asia Times and an analyst for The Real News Network.  He is an investigative journalist with three decades of experience in covering politics and conflicts around the globe. He has been a foreign correspondent since 1985, based in London, Milan, Los Angeles, Paris, Singapore, and Bangkok. Since the late 1990s he has specialized in covering stories from the Middle East to Central Asia, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was in Afghanistan and interviewed the military leader of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, Ahmad Shah Masoud, a couple of weeks before his assassination. Mr. Escobar has made frequent visits to Iran and is the author of three must-read books: Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War, Red Zone Blues: A Snapshot of Baghdad During the Surge, and Obama Does Globalistan.

When you get a chance read the latest by Pepe on Obama’s speech published by Asia Times: Vietnam-Lite Unveiled.

Author, analyst, and a good friend of mine, John Stanton, has joined our contributors, and will be writing on the military industrial complex and oil related revolving doors, foreign lobbies, US Deep State, and Central Asia, under his moniker Dr. Strangelovian. I’ve known John for several years, and I’m truly honored to have him join us and  to present his effective and original analyses here at Boiling Frogs. Here is John’s Bio:

John Stanton is an author and journalist covering the national security arena. He was a senior editor of American Politics Magazine, and has provided national security and political analysis for CBS Evening News, CNN, ABC, and CNN. Mr. Stanton’s commentaries have appeared on Washington Post’s Foreign Policy Magazine, the National, History News Network, NPR, and other media outlets worldwide. He is the author of four books of essays including: Talking Politics with God & the Devil in Washington, DC  and A Power But Not Super. His latest book is titled Inside the US Army Human Terrain System available here. He received his Masters in Political Science with minors in Economics & International Affairs from the University of Detroit Mercy.

Anti-War & Anti-Surge Rally in Washington DC

End US Wars, a new coalition of antiwar organizations, peace and justice advocates, and citizens of conscience are planning a major rally in Washington DC on Saturday, December 12. Here is an excerpt of their statement of purpose from their website: Read more È

Russ Tice Interview, The True Face of Facebook?, Outlaw Rabbis Busted & More

This Thursday I’ll post our second ‘Boiling Frogs’ Podcast interview, with Russ Tice, Former NSA Intelligence Analyst & Capabilities Operations Officer Specializing in Offensive Information Warfare (O-IW). You may want to check out the post I had on Tice last month. It’s a full hour show with Tice unplugged on the latest NSA related developments, US Congress, his Kafkaesque journey as a whistleblower, and more.

Our list of upcoming Boiling Frogs guests includes Peter Lance, Phil Giraldi, Sandalio Gonzalez, and Stephen Kohn. Stay Tuned!

Here are a few interesting stories from last week:

Here is a very interesting developing story about a gang of rabbis arrested in New Jersey:

“Several rabbis were arrested as part of a public corruption and international money-laundering investigation in New Jersey. According to reports, among the 44 people arrested Thursday morning by the FBI along with the rabbis were the mayors of three New Jersey towns, a deputy mayor and a state assemblyman. They were to appear in federal court in Newark later in the day. The money-laundering suspects were accused of moving “at least tens of millions of dollars through charitable, nonprofit entities controlled by rabbis in New York and New Jersey,� according to a release by acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra.�

…

The story goes beyond money laundering and reaches the shadowy world of illicit organ trade:

“Even by New Jersey standards, Thursday’s roundup of three mayors, five rabbis and 36 others on charges of money laundering and public corruption was big. But what put this FBI dragnet head and shoulders above the rest are the charges of trafficking in human body parts.

According to a federal criminal complaint filed in district court in New Jersey, Levy Izhak Rosenbaum of Brooklyn conspired to broker the sale of a human kidney for a transplant. The cost was $160,000 to the recipient of the transplant, of which the donor got $10,000. According to the complaint, Mr. Rosenbaum said he had brokered such sales many times over the past 10 years.�

Here is the Youtube Clip:

As you can see these rabbis were not dealing in peanuts. Their money-laundering deals involved moving “at least tens of millions of dollars through charitable, nonprofit entities controlled by rabbis in New York and New Jersey.� I recommend that you put this story on your radar, since the case may end up mysteriously dropped once AIPAC and JINSA make their congressional rounds and poke their men inside various executive branch agencies. Remember the Franklin, AIPAC, and Asher Karni cases? Okay, so that you know what I’m talking about here is a sample of what will be coming and will be done so very typically shrewdly and effectively:

“Anti-Semitism was behind the highly publicized arrests last week of rabbis, including three from the Aleppo-Syrian Jewish community in New York and New Jersey, according to Yitzhak Kakun, editor-in-chief of the Shas weekly Yom Le’Yom.
“There is a feeling here that the FBI purposely attempted to arrest as many rabbis as possible at once in an attempt to humiliate them,� Kakun said in a telephone interview Sunday.

“Regardless of the details of the case – I am not familiar with the precise charges and the evidence – you would never see the FBI and police behaving that way with Muslim sheikhs or Christian priests. It is so obvious that the whole thing is motivated by anti-Semitism,� he said. Kakun added that he planned on devoting the editorial of his paper to an attack on the Obama administration for attempting to whip up anti-Semitic feelings against the Orthodox Jewish community in the US.�

…

What has this guy been smoking?! “…you would never see the FBI and police behaving that way with Muslim sheikhs…â€�! Can someone send him the known list of Guantanamo inmates held there for eight years with no charges? Or maybe the secret list of those kidnapped and tortured around the world by our government? Did the Brooklyn mobs ever use this line; you know, the fact that the FBI was targeting devote churchgoing Catholics?! Okay I’ll leave it here because I am sick of this tactic, used over and over in cases ranging from espionage to plain ole criminal!

Is Facebook joining AT&T, Verizon and others who are willing to act as the extension of US Government policing practices? It may be. Check out this recent article, and let me know what you think:

“The operators of the internet site Facebook have recently removed a webpage dedicated to fans of Hamas’ prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, the London-based Al-Hayat reported Sunday. The webpage, called ‘Commander Ismail Haniyeh’, had attracted more than 10,000 Facebook users by the time it was removed from the internet.

One such user told the Arab daily that the site’s operators had not provided an explanation for their action. He warned that similar action may be taken against other Hamas-affiliated Facebook webpages, including that of Hamas’ politburo chief, Khaled Mashaal, which has already accumulated 17,000 ‘friends’.â€�

…

This story is worth putting on our radar…Is this the true face of Facebook? Where is the outrage? Where are the riots?!

Bill Conroy of NarcoNews reports on how former a DEA agent’s lawsuit exposes CIA fraud, and on the litigation’s claim that the spook agency engages in wholesale spying on other federal agencies:

“The secretive government agency is now coping with the embarrassing exposure of its deceit in a lawsuit filed by Horn, who previously served as the DEA’s country attaché in Burma (now officially known as the Union of Myanmar) from June 1992 to September 1993. In addition, the events that prompted the CIA’s lie appear to point to serious dysfunction within the agency that potentially poses a threat to the very U.S. national security it is charged with protecting.�

…

“After Tenant filed his declaration with the court invoking state secrets privilege, Judge Lamberth discovered that several CIA attorneys were likely aware as early as 2002 that Brown was no longer officially deemed to be undercover, yet those attorneys and Brown failed to inform the court. That deception resulted in a ruling by Lamberth, and subsequently a U.S. Appeals Court, that hamstrung Horn’s case under national security restrictions and led to Brown being dismissed as a defendant in the case.�

…

“Narco News has previously reported at length on the Horn case in a 2004 story that was based on leaked court pleadings. That story can be found at this link.
Horn’s lawsuit was filed in 1994 against Brown and State Department Chief of Mission in Burma Franklin Huddle Jr., who also was stationed in Burma at the same time Horn served as DEA’s country attaché. In the litigation, both Brown and Huddle are accused of violating Horn’s constitutional rights by conspiring to plant an eavesdropping bug in his government-leased quarters in Burma. Horn also alleges in the lawsuit that the eavesdropping was part of a larger effort by Brown and Horn to undermine DEA’s anti-narcotics mission in Burma.�

…

I strongly encourage you to read the entire piece, including the link provided by Conroy to Horn’s original leaked story. We have covered the CIA-Narc ties and history, and of course the MSM chronic agenda-driven blackout of similar cases.

Here is the latest by Jeremy Scahill published in Nation on Blackwater, now ‘Xe,’ titled ‘Blackwater Seeks to Gag Iraqi Victims & Their Lawyers’:

“Now, Blackwater (which recently renamed itself “Xe”) is attempting to use other means to silence its victims. On July 20, the company’s high-powered lawyers from Mayer Brown, which boasts that it represents eighty-nine of the Fortune 100 companies and thirty-five of the fifty largest US banks, filed a motion in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to impose a gag order on Iraqi civilians suing the company. The motion also seeks to silence the lawyers representing the families of Iraqis allegedly killed or injured by Blackwater in a series of violent incidents spanning several years. Four cases in the Washington, DC, area were recently consolidated before Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia for pretrial motions.â€�

“At the same time, according to a court filing, Blackwater is also asking Judge Ellis to seal evidence that Blackwater claims is confidential or could impact national security. The company argues that if its contracts with the State Department and its “Tactical Standard Operating Procedure” guide are publicly revealed, it “could give valuable information to those who wish to plan more effective attacks against diplomatic personnel stationed in Iraq.” Susan Burke, the lead attorney on the civil lawsuits against Blackwater, is not contesting Blackwater’s request to seal these specific documents–primarily because they will still remain evidence. But, it does mean that the public will not be able to view them. “Blackwater is basically trying to keep from public view all of the evidence that shows their criminality,” says Burke. “They are trying to ensure that we cannot apprise the public of the progress of the lawsuit.”â€�

…

I wonder how long before intelligence related firms and mercenary government contractors will feel bold enough to invoke their own ‘State Secrets Privilege’ or other classification and gag orders. It may seem farfetched, but so many other cases we’ve been witness to in the past eight years or so…

And finally,

The Center for Public Integrity ran an interesting story about how the US government retroactively classifies information when they get stuck and engage in CYA. This is especially prevalent when they deal with whistleblowers. One of the stories is about Robert MacLean, US Air Marshal, who is also a member of my organization:

“The elements are all there for another thrilling episode of the TV program “24.� The backdrop: A U.S. agency of armed government agents who fly anonymously as passengers on airlines to stop terrorist hijackings. In the summer of 2006, British authorities subvert a plot to blow up transatlantic flights to the U.S. and Canada. But then, eight days later, sensitive information about a cutback on agent deployments on flights over the United Kingdom spills onto the public pages of an online forum. The U.S. agency, while monitoring websites where its employees post, rapidly mounts an inquiry into who posted the information.�
…

“In 2003, federal air marshal Robert MacLean blew the whistle to the press about an attempt by his agency to cut air marshal coverage of flights during a period of heightened threat warnings. His disclosure led to a congressional outcry that the Federal Air Marshal Service was putting security at risk, leading the decision to be reversed. Though the information was not marked “sensitive security information� when MacLean received it, it was retroactively determined to be sensitive after he was fired on the basis of disclosing SSI.�

“MacLean’s case illustrates the complex dynamic between secrecy and security. TSA argues that his disclosures weakened security, were in violation of agency regulations, and that MacLean should have known the information was SSI whether it was marked or not. MacLean, several members of Congress, and others say he prevented a policy that would have left airlines more vulnerable to attacks, improving security. And the way the TSA utilized the “sensitive security information� label retroactively to fire him could create a chilling effect, preventing future potential whistleblowers…�