Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Puppet Masters

Clinton emails reveal oil and gold were primary reasons behind regime change in Libya Zero Hedge 2016-01-09 21:08:00 On New Year's Eve, 3,000 emails from Hillary Clinton's private email server were released. One of them confirms - an email dated April 2, 2011 to Clinton from her close confidante Sidney Blumenthal - that: Qaddafi's government holds 143 tons of gold, and a similar amount in silver. This gold was accumulated prior to the current rebellion and was intended to be used to establish a pan-African currency based on the Libyan golden Dinar. This plan was designed to provide the Francophone African Countries with an alternative to the French. franc (CFA). (Source Comment [This is in the original declassified email, and is not a comment added by us]: According to knowledgeable individuals this quantity of gold and silver is valued at more than $7 billion. French intelligence officers discovered this plan shortly after the current rebellion began, andthis was one of the factors that influenced President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to commit France to the attack on Libya. According to these individuals Sarkozy's plans are driven by the following issues: A desire to gain a greater share of Libya oil production, Increase French influence in North Africa, Improve his internal political situation in France, Provide the French military with an opportunity to reassert its position in the world, Address the concern of his advisors over Qaddafi's long term plans to supplant France as the dominant power in Francophone Africa) This may confirm what some of us have been saying for years.

Turkey claims to have foiled ISIS raid that Iraq says never happened RT 2016-01-09 18:58:00 Turkish forces foiled an attack on their training camp in Iraq, killing 18 jihadists, said President Erdogan in defense of an unauthorized military deployment. However, Iraq's military said no battles between Turkish troops and ISIS recently took place. Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants attempted to infiltrate the Turkish training camp in Iraq this week, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed, referring to an event that allegedly took place on January 7. "I have been told that some 18 Daesh [the Arabic name for IS] terrorists who tried to sneak into the Bashiqa camp were neutralized," he said, adding that no Turkish troops were injured in the fight. The Turkish President has taken the opportunity to praise the usefulness of the military installation located near the city of Mosul, saying that the ISIS attack "proves just how appropriate was the step taken regarding the camp." "It is clear that with our armed soldiers there, our officers giving the training are prepared for anything at any time," he told reporters in Istanbul. However, a statement from Iraq has cast doubt on Erdogan's announcement. According to Iraq's joint operations command, there was no such attack on a Turkish base or any recent military engagement between the Turkish forces and ISIS whatsoever.

US spent millions giving Afghan children violent textbooks to indoctrinate them to jihad, and it worked John Vibes The Free Thought Project 2016-01-09 19:05:00 The Unites States government has played a crucial role in the development of the complex and volatile political situation that now exists in the Middle East, and they have had a heavy hand in influencing the region since the first world war. From propping up dictators to funding rebel groups for regime change, the U.S. and their allies have been creating monsters in the Middle East for generations.Western involvement in the region became more pronounced and more militarized during the Cold War, where the western allies and the Soviets fought proxy wars all over the world. Afghanistan was one of the primary battlegrounds where these proxy wars took place, and at the time, the U.S. military was supplying militants in Afganistan with training and weapons to be used against the Soviets who also had political and strategic interests in the region. The tactics used by the U.S. government extended far beyond traditional warfare and entered the realm of psychological warfare. From the Cold War period until very recently, the U.S. government spent millions of dollars supplying Afghan schoolchildren with propagandized textbooks that had violent images and militant jihadi teachings. The motive behind this propaganda was to actually radicalize the Afghan children so they would be more willing to fight against the Soviets when they got older. According to the Washington Post, the textbooks were published in the dominant Afghan languages of Dari and Pashtu and developed in the early 1980's at a cost of $51 million. The schoolbooks were even approved by the Taliban because the teachings were not far off from their own worldview.

Israel: Recipient of fifth German nuclear-capable submarine Press TV 2016-01-12 06:24:00 The Israeli regime has received of a fifth submarine from Germany, amid pressure on Berlin to halt the delivery of the state-of-the-art weaponry that is capable of being armed with nuclear warheads. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday welcomed the delivery of the advanced Dolphin-class submarine at the Haifa port north of the occupied Palestinian territories. The submarine, said to be capable of remaining submerged for up to seven days, can be equipped with missiles armed with nuclear warheads. The Tel Aviv regime pursues a 'policy of ambiguity' over its nuclear arsenal, which is widely believed to contain up to 400 nukes. The new submarine has cost Israel about 500 million euros (USD 540 million), with the German government paying one third of the cost. Berlin is also to deliver a sixth submarine in two or three years. Many have criticized Germany for the sales of the modern military equipment to Israel. The administration of German Chancellor Angela Merkel claims Germany has an obligation to guarantee the security of Israel. German media say the delivery of the four previous Dolphin-class submarines have cost German taxpayers over 1 billion euros (USD 1.12 billion). Israel's ministry of military affairs announced in May 2015 that it had reached a deal with a German shipbuilding company to have four major warships built for the Tel Avivregime. It said the government in Berlin would pay for one fourth of the deal, which was reported to be more than 400 million euros.

Comment: Germany will remain Israel's slave as long as it believes the propaganda and doesn't counteract the manipulation. Israel is fortifying at Germany's expense and Germany is not its only victim. It is even less comforting knowing Israel is increasing its nuclear capability in regards to moveable and undisclosed locators. What will that mean if/when the Western deterrents evaporate and Israel is uncontained?

Media hints that work on the South Stream project will resume in coming weeks Ollie Richardson Fort Russ 2016-01-11 18:52:00 Work on the project "South Stream" in the next few weeks will be restored. According to the newspaper "Standart", "such signals from Russia were received by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov". "There are two main reasons why Moscow will resume the project, frozen in summer of 2014 by the Oresharski Cabinet (Plamen Oresharski, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, who, after meeting a group of U.S. senators announced in 2014 the freezing of the project). One of them is the sharp deterioration of relations between Russia and Turkey. The second reason is the recession in the Chinese economy, which has stalled the "Power of Siberia" gas pipeline, which should deliver natural gas to China, - says the publication, citing experts and sources in the government. The revival of the project "South Stream" will be done to meet the requirements of Brussels and to fit in with the idea of building a 'Balkan' gas distribution centre, supported by the EU, which cannot be implemented without Russian gas". According to the newspaper, the pipeline project will probably be one of the items on the agenda of the meeting of the intergovernmental Commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation, to be held in Sofia in late January after a five-year break.

The government's newest jobs report is another fabricated lie Paul Craig Roberts paulcraigroberts.org 2016-01-08 19:03:00 According to Friday's (January 8) payroll jobs numbers, almost 300,000 new jobs were created in December. Additionally, the previous two months were revised upward by 50,000 jobs. Apparently, the equity market did not believe the report, with the averages moving down today. As I have pointed out almost monthly for what I think could be approaching two decades, the alleged job growth always takes place in nontradable domestic services, that is, in areas that do not produce exports and have no competition from imports. This is the job profile of a Third World country. Twelve years ago I predicted at a major Washington, D.C., conference that was nationally televised that in 20 years the United States would have a Third World economy if jobs offshoring, which benefits only corporate executives and shareholders, continued. Jobs offshoring has continued, and judging by the payroll jobs reports from the US government, the US is already a Third World economy. The presstitute financial media—and what they are is a bunch of whores—always reports the alleged jobs increase as if it is a great thing, testimony to the continuing strength of the American economy, and so forth. Only a handful of us look at the data and reveal its meaning. Once again I will strip away the Matrix and show you the reality.

Is the US going to lower the sword on the House of Saud? Finian Cunningham RT 2016-01-11 18:14:00 The brittle insecurity of the Saudi rulers will have been shattered even more this past week, with Washington's political establishment openly calling into question the historic alliance between the two countries. Saudi Arabia was denounced in the main editorial pages of both the New York Times and the Washington Post - the US' two leading newspapers - for its "dangerous sectarian policies" and "reckless regime." This extraordinary outpouring of condemnation followed the execution of a Shiite cleric last weekend. TheWashington Post described the state killing of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimir as "a step that was as risky and ruthless as it was unjustified." For the autocratic House of Saud such rare criticism from the United States will intensify its already brittle insecurity over its hold on power in the kingdom. The Saudis may have acquired their modern state from British colonialism in 1932, but it is the patronage of the United States upon which the autocratic rulers of the oil-rich desert kingdom have relied for their continuing existence ever since.

Brigadier General Naqdi: US wants to shift Iran struggle to Saudi level Press TV 2016-01-12 05:54:00 The chief of Iran's Basij (volunteer forces) Brigadier General, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, says Tehran must not lose focus of its main enemy, namely the US, warning that Washington seeks to downgrade the stature of the Islamic Republic's struggles to Riyadh's levels. "They [Americans] intend to replace the main enemy in Iran's public opinion and downgrade Iran's struggles from confrontation with the US to confrontation with Saudi Arabia," Naqdi said on Tuesday. "The US's objective isto trigger conflict in the region and engage us with Saudi Arabia. We should not be deceived," he added. Naqdi said the US is the root cause of all "acts of mischief" against Iran, adding thatWashington is behind Riyadh's execution of top cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran. "The purpose of Sheikh Nimr's execution and attacks on the Saudi embassy [in Tehran] was to pave the way for the advancement of the US policies in the region," he said. Naqdi noted that the US is doing its utmost to infiltrate Iran, saying that Washington is training terrorists and arming them along Iran's eastern and western borders.

Comment: Follow the bread crumbs. General Naqdi has done his homework.

Sweden calls for 'thorough' investigation into Israel's killing of Palestinians Press TV 2016-01-12 03:18:00 Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom has called for a "thorough" investigation into the killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces in the past few months. "It is vital that there is a thorough, credible investigation into these deaths in order to clarify and bring about possible accountability," Wallstrom said during a parliamentary debate on Tuesday. The comments come amid the violence in the occupied Palestinian territories in the recent past which have led to the killing of nearly 150 Palestinians. Hundreds more Palestinians have been injured since October last year, when Israeli forces intensified attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Comment: In addition, 15,759 Palestinians were injured, 92 seriously—including 58 journalists and 103 emergency medical personnel. Among Israelis, 385 were injured, 33 seriously. Israelis claim most of the Palestinians killed or injured in recent violence are teenagers who stabbed or attempted to stab Israeli forces and settlers. They say 25 Israelis have been killed in the violence which was triggered by the Israeli regime imposing restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) in August 2015. The move drew the deep resentment among Palestinians, triggering the recent wave of tensions. The Tel Aviv regime has also increased the number of illegal arbitrary detentions of Palestinians, accusing them of contemplating plans to attack Israeli troops and settler units. Rights groups said on Monday that at least 14 Palestinians received the so-called administrative sentences and dozens more saw similar sentences renewed. It said more than 7,000 people are currently behind bars in the Israeli detention centers.

Comment: Too little too late? Israel has gotten away with these atrocities for decades. It is not called out on its actions because it has well-placed influence all over the world. A free pass on genocidal behavior? The reward of psychopathic infiltration. Sweden's resolve...well, we can hope. See also: 100 days of Israeli extrajudicial executions and brutal intimidation

Riyadh admits using cluster bombs against Yemen Press TV 2016-01-12 04:11:00 Saudi Arabia has admitted that its military has used cluster bombs in the aggression against Yemen. The spokesman for the Saudi military said Tuesday that Riyadh had used cluster bombs in an airstrike on the northwestern areas of Yemen. Ahmad al-Asiri claimed however that the military used cluster bombs just once in Hajjah Province to attack cars belonging to Yemeni fighters. The attack was carried out nearly nine months ago, when the Riyadh regime began the campaign, the military official said. The news comes against the backdrop of a growing body of evidence on the use of cluster bombs by Saudi Arabia. The United Nations and other international organizations say investigators have found remnants of such bombs in Hajjah and around the Yemeni capital, Sana'a. The UN human rights office said in early January that it had received reports that Saudi forces used cluster bombs in Hajjah, adding that a UN team found remnants of 29 cluster submunitions in the village of al-Odair. Local sources in Hajjah also confirmed the repeated use of the bombs in attacks against villages, saying the airstrikes had causedsignificant loss of life among the civilians. Reports have emerged over the past days showing that Saudi warplanes have repeatedly pounded with cluster bombs the positions of the Houthi Ansarullah movement and its supporters in Sana'a. The Saudi aggression began on March 26, 2015 and in a bid to undermine Ansarullah and restore power to the fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.

Comment: Cluster bombs are an internationally banned weapon causing mounting civilian casualties. Trace the cluster bombs to their origins; who profits?

Iran's FM spokesman Ansari, and others, condemn terrorist attack in Istanbul Press TV 2016-01-12 03:06:00 Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari has strongly condemned a terrorist explosion in Turkey's Istanbul, stressing the importance of a united regional and global fight against terrorism. "This terrorist operation once again reaffirmed the priority of a united fight by regional and world countries against terrorism and extremism and the importance of swift settlement of regional crises based on a political solution and rejection of all forms of terrorism," Jaberi Ansari said. He added that Iran would stand by the Turkish government and nation in the battle against terrorism. Hezbollah slams attack In a statement, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah also denounced the acts of terror in Arab and Islamic territories, particularly in Istanbul and Baghdad, and offered its condolences to the families of the victims. Hezbollah said terrorism is not limited to any location in particular, adding, "The campaign against this scourge calls for the collective resolve of various states and organizations." The anti-Israeli resistance movement fighting terrorism does not only constitute the condemnation of terrorists in Syria but also entails the denunciation of the ideological, political, financial and military supporters of the ominous phenomenon. At least 10 people have been killed and 15 others injured in a large blast in Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet square, a major tourist attraction in Turkey's most populous city, on Tuesday. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu blamed the terrorist Takfiri Daesh groupfor the deadly attack."We have determined that the perpetrator of the attack is a foreigner who is a member of Daesh," he said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier said the bomber was of Syrian origin. Comment: A quick reshuffle of culprits.

Comment: Another terrorist event. Blame, condolences and renewed vigor. Right on schedule. Several responses. Who's missing here? See also: 10 die in Istanbul blast, Syrian national suspected

Western hegemonic destruction versus Russian stability, justice and freedom Mark Taliano Off Guardian 2016-01-09 00:00:00 One of the unstated goals of imperial warfare is to make hapless civilians pay a price for having the temerity to be born in a targeted nation. Prior to the illegal invasion of Iraq, for example, the Western oligarchies imposed sanctions which destroyed water treatment infrastructures and killed about700,000 children, and about 1 million other innocent Iraqis. These consequences were all planned and projected. There was nothing accidental about the mass killings. It was simply imperial punishment for living in Iraq. Part of the calculus for such barbarity is that Imperialists hope that such punishments will demoralize local populations, and possibly make them reject their leaders. It falls under the euphemistic categories of "destabilization" and "collateral damage". More accurately, it is targeted mass murder. Why did the Western oligarchies choose to destroy Iraq and its people? It had nothing to do with Weapons of Mass Destruction, or terrorism, or any other of the creative lies perpetrated by cooked intelligence reports and public relations agencies. More accurately, CIA asset Saddam Hussein had decided to stop using the US dollarfor foreign trade. Once Iraqi oil fields were under U.S control, oil sales were switched back to the dollar. Multitudes of innocent people were slaughtered - and continue to be slaughtered - for the US dollar, oil, and oligarch profits. Whereas Iraq under Hussein was free of Wahhabism, and other assorted Western-supported terrorists, now it is a hotbed for terrorism, and innocent Iraqis are still paying for their temerity.

Comment: Russian Documentary: "World Order" exposes US-driven NWO conspiracy - with English subtitles Russia's vision: The multipolar network-centric policy of the Eurasian Union The U.S. refuses to accept that the world is becoming multipolar

Western aggression: US Navy planning permanent deployment in Mediterranean RT 2016-01-12 16:03:00 US Navy weighs permanent deployment in the Mediterranean to respond to Russia's increased naval capabilities, a senior Navy official said. As part of global rivalry, not countering Moscow at sea entails the "risk of falling behind," another Navy chief warned. The US Navy is considering "long-term" deployments in the Mediterranean in addition to the ongoing use of four guided missile destroyers stationed in Rota, Spain, the senior Navy official told Sputnik on Tuesday. "You could say it's because of the migrant issue and the tax that that has put on European navies, and then certainly because of the increased Russian naval presence and capability," he added. Washington is also in touch with its NATO allies to see what amount of naval capacities the Europeans are able to stand up. "The reason for those discussions... at the top of that list, again, is the increased Russian presence and what it means," the official reiterated. Comment: Russia's military buildup exists because of the West's continued aggression against them. It's like the US lives in another world where they haven't staged a coup in Ukraine and surrounded the Western border of Russia with NATO military bases. If Russia put military bases in Canada and Mexico, you can be certain that the US would be forced to military respond to those actions. But when Russia does that, it's "aggression".

US Senator: Saudi Arabia and Turkey are greatest threats to world peace RT 2016-01-12 15:43:00 Republican Virginia state Senator Dick Black said Saudi Arabia and Turkey are the greatest threats to world peace in an interview with RT, adding that Saudi Arabia's "absolute barbarity" is overlooked because of its long-standing relationship with the US. "I believe that Saudi Arabia and Turkey are the two greatest dangers to world peace," Senator Black told RT. "It is Saudi Arabia, through the Wahhabist doctrine, that is spreading terrorism across the globe. It's not Iran, it's not Syria or any other country." Saudi Arabia's state-sponsored teachings of Wahhabism promote an ultra-conservative, austere version of Sunni Islam. Meanwhile, Black told RT that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to impose an absolute dictatorship. "Erdogan has a dream of becoming a new Ottoman Empire," Black said. "He's a very calculating, very vicious individual and, I think, a great danger. Erdogan won an absolute majority of the Turkish parliament, which will enable him to rewrite the constitution. Once he had that total power to impose an absolute dictatorship - which he intends to do - and he publicly said that his model is that of Adolph Hitler."

Comment: The senator is right. Since Saudi Arabia and Turkey are essentially puppet terrorist states of the US, what the senator is really saying is that the US government is the greatest threat to world peace.

Syrian UN envoy: US-led bombing raids on Syrian civilian and industrial infrastructure costing country billions RT 2016-01-12 15:34:00 Bombing raids in Syria by the US-led coalition target civilian and industrial infrastructure worth billions of dollars, while Western airstrikes aim to exhaust the "capacities of the people" and halt post-war reconstruction, Syria's envoy to the UN says. "Those attacks aim at devastating capacities of the Syrian people and complicate development and reconstruction of the country," Bashar Ja'afari was quoted as saying by TASS on Tuesday. The Western coalition's air raids are hitting facilities critical for ordinary Syrians to survive, he stressed, mentioning recent bombing of water tower facility in the province of Raqqa that deprived people of an access to pure water in surrounding villages and towns. In October 2015, the coalition's warplanes bombed Radwaniyah area outside Aleppo, severely damaging two power plants, with the damage estimated at €1.2 billion, Ja'afari added.

Comment: This is why the Russian intervention in Syria has been so important. The US-led action in Syria was never about stopping ISIS, which the US actively helped create, but in crippling the Syrian state's ability to fight ISIS so that the West could foment a revolution which would overthrow the Assad government and install a pro-US puppet and turning Syria into another Libya and Iraq. Without Russian help, ISIS would probably have taken over Syria by now and the people of Syria would be suffering immensely for it.

Society's Child

"Sell everything!" Royal Bank of Scotland advising clients to prepare for "cataclysmic year" RT 2016-01-12 21:33:00 The Royal Bank of Scotland has recommended its clients prepare for a "cataclysmic year," as major stock markets could drop by a fifth and Brent oil could hit $16 a barrel. "Sell everything except high quality bonds. This is about return of capital, not return on capital. In a crowded hall, exit doors are small," said the bank's credit team in a note sent to clients, quoted by the Telegraph. According to RBS analysts, the markets are showing the same stress alerts as seen before the 2008 crisis. Andrew Roberts, the bank's credit chief, says that "China has set off a major correction and it is going to snowball." China "has very high debt levels (as a percentage of GDP) given they are still emerging" and crucially they have accumulated this debt incredibly fast, he said.

Oregon militia occupying wildlife refuge tears down government fence RT 2016-01-12 20:52:00 Armed men occupying Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon are tearing down part of a fence erected by the government to keep ranchers out of federally owned property. The escalation comes 10 days into the standoff at the fowl sanctuary south of Burns, Oregon. Ammon and Ryan Bundy, who head the group occupying the refuge, announced they would be tearing down the portion of the fence and replacing it with a gate, to allow local ranchers access to pastures. The Bundy brothers also said they would not end the occupation until Dwight and Steven Hammond, the two ranchers recently imprisoned by the government, are set free. The Hammonds were prosecuted by the government under a terrorism statute, over fires set on their property that damaged 140 acres of federally owned land. Government prosecutors insisted on a five-year mandatory minimum sentence. Following a peaceful protest in Burns on January 2, the Bundys and their fellow militia members seized the empty building at Malheur. The group has been camped at the refuge ever since, calling for the government to abide by its own rules and stop the heavy-handed treatment of the ranchers. Their father, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, successfully faced down federal agents in 2014 in a dispute over grazing fees and land use.

Professor weighs in on David Bowie's statutory rape allegations Dr. Rebecca Hains rebeccahains.com 2016-01-11 20:05:00 Today, on the day of David Bowie's death, people have been discussing an upsetting issue: Early in his career, David Bowie statutorily raped young teen girls—the underage "baby groupies" who were an open secret in the rock scene of the 1970s. This was despite the age of consent being 18 in California. (Their scene was the Sunset Strip.) It's difficult to receive this information while mourning Bowie's death. It's particularly complex to negotiate for those fans who are aware of the complexities of rape culture and who have made a conscious decision to believe women.

Comment: Just because someone made well-respected art does not mean their sexual predation towards young girls should be overlooked or excused, even if it was early in their career, and especially when said artist never took responsibility for their actions.

FBI conducting Hillary Clinton corruption probe into "intersection" between the Clinton Foundation work and State Department Shepard Ambellas Intellihub 2016-01-12 05:21:00 "Unusually high number" of FBI agents working on Clinton public corruption probe Independent researchers have long detailed the sordid history of the Clinton crime family, from documented drug running operations, to suspicious murders, all the way to accusations of pay to play corruption at the families "charitable" foundation. Both Bill and Hillary Clinton have deep ties to criminal activity yet have somehow remained largely outside the cross-hairs of law enforcement. Amazingly, that is all possibly about to change. On Monday multiple shocking reports surfaced that detail the fact that the FBI is not only investigating Hillary for improper use of a personal email account to conduct official government business but, more importantly, they are also conducting a massive corruption probe into the intersection between Clinton's work at her family foundation and her time at the State Department.

Comment: Considering the amount of support she is getting in the media, and considering the free ride towards the Presidency she seems to be enjoying from all other quarters, it will be interesting to see how far the FBI will be allowed to go in its investigation. And just how that investigation will ultimately come to be quashed.

The great forgetting: Intellectual amnesia in Western society Chris Hedges Truthdig 2016-01-12 18:52:00 America's refusal to fund and sustain its intellectual and cultural heritage means it has lost touch with its past, obliterated its understanding of the present, crushed its capacity to transform itself through self-reflection and self-criticism, and descended into a deadening provincialism. Ignorance and illiteracy come with a cost. The obsequious worship of technology, hedonism and power comes with a cost. The primacy of emotion and spectacle over wisdom and rational thought comes with a cost. And we are paying the bill. The decades-long assault on the arts, the humanities, journalism and civic literacy is largely complete. All the disciplines that once helped us interpret who we were as a people and our place in the world—history, theater, the study of foreign languages, music, journalism, philosophy, literature, religion and the arts—have been corrupted or relegated to the margins. We have surrendered judgment for prejudice. We have created a binary universe of good and evil. And our colossal capacity for violence is unleashed around the globe, as well as on city streets in poor communities, with no more discernment than that of the blinded giant Polyphemus. The marriage of ignorance and force always generates unfathomable evil, an evil that is unseen by perpetrators who mistake their own stupidity and blindness for innocence. "We are in danger of forgetting, and such an oblivion—quite apart from the contents themselves that could be lost—would mean that, humanly speaking, we would deprive ourselves of one dimension, the dimension of depth in human existence," Hannah Arendt wrote. "For memory and depth are the same, or rather, depth cannot be reached by man except through remembrance."

Human traffickers use broken US immigration system to bring victims into country RT 2016-01-12 17:51:00 Lack of communication and data sharing between the major immigration services has allowed human traffickers to bring hundreds of their victims into the US on work and fiancé visas, a Department of Homeland Security report has revealed. According to the new DHS report, between 2005 and 2014, 17 of 32 human trafficking cases known to the feds primarily involved those two types of visas, which were used to legally bring victims into the country. In the remaining 15 cases, victims either entered the US illegally or failed to leave the country when their visas expired. The DHS determined that family reunification visas have also been used. All trafficking victims in these cases were then exploited for labor or prostitution, in some cases through physical or psychological abuse.

Researchers expose police field drug test kits - they test positive to just about everything Matt Agorist Free Thought Project 2016-01-03 15:57:00 According to the national litigation and public policy organization, the Innocence Project, at any given time there are an estimated 40,000 to 100,000 innocent people currently locked in a cage in U.S. prisons. Couple this staggering number with the number of people locked up for non-violent drug possession and the United States looks more like the Gulag of the 1930's than the Land of the Free.

LA County supervisor calls California methane leak a 'mini-Chernobyl' RT 2016-01-12 12:56:00 The California gas company responsible for the storage site where methane has been leaking from a damaged well for over two months has promised action to stop the breach, while a Los Angeles County supervisor has branded the situation a "mini-Chernobyl." SoCal Gas said it was working on a plan to siphon off and safely burn some of the leaking methane, a crisis which has led to months of protests and the displacement of thousands of families in the Los Angeles County community of Porter Ranch. The gas has also leaked into homes and schools. "SoCalGas is developing a system designed to capture and control a portion of the natural gas leaking from the well," a spokeswoman said in an email on Sunday,according to The Guardian. The operation is designed to reduce, but not eliminate, the leak, the company added. "The design calls for a pipe to be installed in the area of the gas flow to capture a portion of the leaking gas and then carry it to separate units that will remove the fluids from the gas and then either incinerate it or filter the odorant out of it," SoCal Gas stated.

Comment: Another regulatory failure, where corporate profits trumps citizens' safety?

The real 2016 State of the Union: Things couldn't be better for Wall Street Lance Roberts RealInvestmentAdvice.com 2016-01-12 02:05:00 Tomorrow night, the President Obama will deliver his final annual "State Of The Union"address. Just recently, the President gave a preview of his upcoming speech from the White House.

Florida woman dies outside hospital after being arrested, forcibly removed by police from her room Nicolas Roberts Opposing Views 2016-01-10 01:28:00 A Florida woman who was arrested for refusing to leave an emergency room of a local hospital collapsed and died in the hospital's parking lot later that day. Medical staff called police on her because they reportedly thought she was feigning her illness. Barbara Dawson, 57, went to the Calhoun Liberty Hospital in Blountstown, Florida, on Dec. 20, 2015, to get treatment for her abdominal pain, ABC reports. She died in the early hours of Dec. 21, 2015. Hospital officials said that Dawson was being unruly and refused to leave the hospital after medical staff examined and released her. A police officer was called to the hospital, and he arrested Dawson for disorderly conduct and trespassing. Lawyers representing Dawson's family have released a police dash-cam video of the incident. Martha Smith-Dixon, Dawson's aunt, said in a news conference on Jan. 6 that she hopes the footage will bring "justice for Barbara," according to ABC. Dawson is not visible in most of the dash-cam video but can reportedly be heard saying "Oh my God" and "I can't breathe" multiple times."You hear them insisting that she is going to jail," Benjamin Crump, the Dawson family lawyer, said about the video, Reuters reports. "You also hear hospital personnel repeating to her, 'There's nothing wrong with you,' as she continues to be in distress."

Comment: How utterly horrifying for this woman and her family. We hope the family sues and get millions. It's heinous that the police are now killing weak, infirm citizens in entirely new ways.

Ex-inmate Shaker Aamer interview: Gitmo designed to 'destroy human beings' RT 2016-01-12 01:42:00 Guantanamo is run by psychologists with the sole purpose of destroying the human beings it holds, Shaker Aamer told RT in an exclusive interview. The US prison camp, from which he was released in October, is starting its 15th year of work. "Guantanamo is being run by one concept: how to destroy a human being," Aamer, who regained his freedom on October 30 of last year after being held at Gitmo without charge since 2002, said.

Insignificant arrest of El Chapo versus the longstanding CIA global drugs business Stephen Lendman Global Research 2016-01-11 00:00:00 Drug lords come and go, El Chapo's arrest of little consequence, doing nothing to stem the flow of illicit drugs. Business as usual continues. His operation and others like his pale compared to CIA global drugs trafficking - a topic the media won't touch. Its involvement began in 1947, its first year of existence. In his book titled "The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade," Alfred McCoy documented CIA and US government complicity in drugs trafficking at the highest official levels. It continues today in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South and Central America, facilitating the global supply of illicit drugs. Gary Webb's expose of CIA involvement in Nicaraguan drugs trafficking, supporting the Contras, dealing with Los Angeles crack dealers, made him a target for vicious vilification - hounding him out of journalism into deep depression, either committing suicide or succumbing to foul play.

Delusional Florida teacher threatens to let gunman in school to shoot third graders if the class 'disrespected her' Victor Skinner EAG News 2016-01-11 01:12:00 A freshly trained substitute teacher in Volusia County schools was banned after she reportedly told students she'd let a gunman in the building to "shoot them in between the eyes." Linda Baker, 61, was assigned to cover a third-grade classroom at Turie T. Small Elementary School in Daytona Beach last Thursday for her first working in the district after undergoing substitute teacher training last month, the Orlando Sentinel reports. About 20 students were in class and apparently misbehaving when Baker allegedly concocted a story about a gunman with an AK-47 to get their attention. Statements from students and parents contend Baker dangled her keys in front of students and told them if they don't pipe down she let someone in to "shoot them in between the eyes," parents told WESH. Volusia County school district spokeswoman Nancy Wait told the Sentinel the class' full-time teacher was at a training session and stopped in to check on her students. They reportedly told her about the threat and she relayed the comments to administrators. School officials questioned students and asked them to write down what occurred, and the consensus was that Baker told them "that if the class disrespected her ... that it has been known for people to come to the school with an AK-47 and shoot the kids, and that she has a key to the classroom and that she would let them in to shoot them between the eyes," according to the police report cited by the news site. "It was pretty clear that she had said these things to the students," Wait said. "It was a very inappropriate comment." One parent told WESH his son was traumatized by Baker's comments. "He was very shaken," the parent said. "He had difficulty, at first, going to sleep."

Comment: Substitute or not, who on Earth lets lunatics like this into schools? She should probably be arrested and charged.

Nanny state: Federal government passes law allowing students to walk to school alone Charlie Sorrell Co.EXIST 2016-01-06 22:03:00 Relax, parents. Now you can allow your kids to walk, ride a bike, or take a bus to school, without you or your children getting arrested. The recently-signed Every Student Succeeds Act contains a section (858) that protects the rights of kids to walk or go out alone. The act was sponsored by Utah senator Mike Lee, who is a supporter of the Free Range Kids movement, and provides some hope for parents who feel that their kids should be allowed some autonomy to get by own their own. The inclusion of a section that lets the parents choose what is appropriate is welcome. Though it doesn't replace any state or local laws, such clarification could go help curb the growing trend of cops picking up kids while they play or travel unattended. We've all read these stories, and there is a juicy selection on the Free Range Kids blog—the mother who was arrested because her eight-year old son showed some initiative and walked to school after he missed the bus. Or the story of the Meitiv family of Maryland, whose kids (age 10 and 6) were picked up by cops in three cars and detained for six hours, away from their parents. Why? They were walking home from the park. (The parents have since been cleared of all charges).

Comment: This really shows how far we've come as a nanny state that we need an act to protect something so normal, natural and necessary in developing a child's autonomy and independence. Unfortunately this federal law will not supersede state and local laws so police and child services may not play along. Such a sad state of affairs as the US continues to slide towards complete totalitarianism.

Islamic State killing Muslims: 51 killed in single day of terror attacks in Baghdad and nearby towns RT 2016-01-11 22:34:00 At least fifty one people lost their lives in a series of terrorist acts that rocked the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and two other towns on Monday. The Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) extremist group has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks. In the predominately Shia Muslim Baghdad al-Jadida district, a group of gunmen broke into the Jawaher mall after detonating a car bomb and staging a suicide attack at the entrance. At least 18 people were killed in the assault, which also left 50 wounded, AP reported, citing Iraqi officials. Iraqi Samarra TV has released an alleged video of the attack.

Secret History

Stone Age pit filled with severed limbs uncovered Tia Ghose Live Science 2016-01-12 13:00:00 An ancient pit filled with severed human arms, hands and fingers has been unearthed in France. The nearly 6,000-year-old pit was found near the village of Bergheim, which sits near the border with Germany. "The discovery of Bergheim is the witness of a very violent event, which took place at a specific time," said study co-author Fanny Chenal, an archaeologist at the University of Strasbourg in France. "Its unique and extraordinary nature does not allow or help us to better understand the daily life of these people." And though Chenal and her colleagues don't know exactly what spurred people to suchgory acts, the likeliest explanation is a violent skirmish or war, the researchers speculate in the December 2015 issue of the journal Antiquity. [See Images from the Gruesome Pit of Limbs]