Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

"Polls from all over the world consistently show that Israel and the US are regarded as the two greatest threats to peace and to life on earth. Yet, these two utterly lawless governments prance around pretending to be the 'world’s greatest democracies'.” -- Paul Craig Roberts



The Two Faux Democracies Threaten Life On Earth–Paul Craig Roberts

July 24, 2013 | Original Here                                                       Go here to sign up to receive email notice of this news letter

The Two Faux Democracies Threaten Life On Earth

Paul Craig Roberts

Amitai Etzioni has raised an important question: “Who authorized preparations for war with China?” http://yalejournal.org/2013/06/12/who-authorized-preparations-for-war-with-china/ Etzioni says that the war plan is not the sort of contingency plan that might be on hand for an improbable event. Etzioni also reports that the Pentagon’s war plan was not ordered by, and has not been reviewed by, US civilian authorities. We are confronted with a neoconized US military out of control endangering Americans and the rest of the world.

Etzioni is correct that this is a momentous decision made by a neoconized military. China is obviously aware that Washington is preparing for war with China. If the Yale Journal knows it, China knows it. If the Chinese government is realistic, the government is aware that Washington is planning a pre-emptive nuclear attack against China. No other kind of war makes any sense from Washington’s standpoint. The “superpower” was never able to occupy Baghdad, and after 11 years of war has been defeated in Afghanistan by a few thousand lightly armed Taliban. It would be curtains for Washington to get into a conventional war with China.

When China was a primitive third world country, it fought the US military to a stalemate in Korea. Today China has the world’s second largest economy and is rapidly overtaking the failing US economy destroyed by jobs offshoring, bankster fraud, and corporate and congressional treason.

The Pentagon’s war plan for China is called “AirSea Battle.” The plan describes itself as “interoperable air and naval forces that can execute networked, integrated attacks-in-depth to disrupt, destroy, and defeat enemy anti-access area denial capabilities.”

Yes, what does that mean? It means many billions of dollars of more profits for the military/security complex while the 99 percent are ground under the boot. It is also clear that this nonsensical jargon cannot defeat a Chinese army. But this kind of saber-rattling can lead to war, and if the Washington morons get a war going, the only way Washington can prevail is with nuclear weapons. The radiation, of course, will kill Americans as well.

Nuclear war is on Washington’s agenda. The rise of the Neocon Nazis has negated the nuclear disarmament agreements that Reagan and Gorbachev made. The extraordinary, mainly truthful 2012 book, The Untold History of the United States by Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, describes the post-Reagan breakout of preemptive nuclear attack as Washington’s first option.

During the Cold War nuclear weapons had a defensive purpose. The purpose was to prevent nuclear war by the US and USSR each having sufficient retaliatory power to ensure “mutually assured destruction.” MAD, as it was known, meant that nuclear weapons had no offensive advantage for either side.

The Soviet collapse and China’s focus on its economy instead of its military have resulted in Washington’s advantage in nuclear weaponry that, according to two US Dr. Strangeglove characters, Keir Lieber and Daryl Press, gives Washington first-strike capability. Lieber and Press write that the “precipitous decline of Russia’s arsenal, and the glacial pace of modernization of China’s nuclear forces,” have created a situation in which neither Russia nor China could retaliate to Washington’s first strike.

The Pentagon’s “AirSea Battle” and Lieber and Press’ article in Foreign Affairs have informed China and Russia that Washington is contemplating pre-emptive nuclear attack on both countries. To ensure Russia’s inability to retaliate, Washington is placing anti-ballistic missiles on Russia’s borders in violation of the US-USSR agreement.

Because the American press is a corrupt government propaganda ministry, the American people have no idea that neoconized Washington is planning nuclear war. Americans are no more aware of this than they are of former President Jimmy Carter’s recent statement, reported only in Germany, that the United States no longer has a functioning democracy.
The possibility that the United States would initiate nuclear war was given reality eleven years ago when President George W. Bush, at the urging of Dick Cheney and the neocons that dominated his regime, signed off on the 2002 Nuclear Posture Review.

This neocon document, signed off on by America’s most moronic president, resulted in consternation and condemnation from the rest of the world and launched a new arms race. Russian President Putin immediately announced that Russia would spend all necessary sums to maintain Russia’s retaliatory nuclear capability. The Chinese displayed their prowess by knocking a satellite out of space with a missile. The mayor of Hiroshima, recipient city of a vast American war crime, stated: “The nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the central international agreement guiding the elimination of nuclear weapons, is on the verge of collapse. The chief cause is US nuclear policy that, by openly declaring the possibility of a pre-emptive nuclear first strike and calling for resumed research into mini-nukes and other so-called ‘useable nuclear weapons,’ appears to worship nuclear weapons as God.”

Polls from all over the world consistently show that Israel and the US are regarded as the two greatest threats to peace and to life on earth. Yet, these two utterly lawless governments prance around pretending to be the “world’s greatest democracies.” Neither government accepts any accountability whatsoever to international law, to human rights, to the Geneva Conventions, or to their own statutory law. The US and Israel are rogue governments, throwbacks to the Hitler and Stalin era.

The post World War II wars originate in Washington and Israel. No other country has imperial expansionary ambitions. The Chinese government has not seized Taiwan, which China could do at will. The Russian government has not seized former constituent parts of Russia, such as Georgia, which, provoked by Washington to launch an attack, was instantly overwhelmed by the Russian Army. Putin could have hung Washington’s Georgian puppet and reincorporated Georgia into Russia, where it resided for several centuries and where many believe it belongs.

For the past 68 years, most military aggression can be sourced to the US and Israel. Yet, these two originators of wars pretend to be the victims of aggression. It is Israel that has a nuclear arsenal that is illegal, unacknowledged, and unaccountable. It is Washington that has drafted a war plan based on nuclear first strike. The rest of the world is correct to view these two rogue unaccountable governments as direct threats to life on earth.




Sunday, June 30, 2013

Was investigative journalist Michael Hasting's death last week in a high-speed single-car automobile crash a bizare accident? Or was he assassinated by someone hacking into his car's controls?



Bush advisor: Hastings crash ‘consistent with a car cyberattack’

Published time: June 25, 2013 16:19
Edited time: June 26, 2013 15:59                                                                                                Original here


A former cybersecurity advisor to President George W. Bush says a sophisticated computer hack could have been the cause of the automobile accident that claimed the life of journalist Michael Hastings last week in Los Angeles.

Richard Clarke, a State Department official-turned-special advisor to several United States presidents, said the early morning auto crash last Tuesday was "consistent with a car cyberattack,” raising new questions about the death of the award-winning journalist.

Hastings died last week when his 2013 Mercedes C250 coupe collided with a tree in Los Angeles, California on the morning of June 18. He was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed and failed to stop at a red light moments before the single-car crash. He was only 33.

Speaking to Huffington Post this week, Clarke said that a cyberattack waged at the vehicle could have caused the fatal collision.

"What has been revealed as a result of some research at universities is that it's relatively easy to hack your way into the control system of a car, and to do such things as cause acceleration when the driver doesn't want acceleration, to throw on the brakes when the driver doesn't want the brakes on, to launch an air bag," Clarke told The Huffington Post. "You can do some really highly destructive things now, through hacking a car, and it's not that hard."

"So if there were a cyberattack on the car — and I'm not saying there was," Clarke continued, "I think whoever did it would probably get away with it."

The Los Angeles Police Department said they don’t expect foul play was involved in the crash, but an investigation has been opened nonetheless.

In an email reportedly sent by Hastings hours before the crash, he told colleagues that he thought he was the target of a federal investigation.

Hey [redacted}, the Feds are interviewing my ‘close friends and associates,’” Hastings wrote 15 hours before the crash.

Also: I’m onto a big story, and need to go off the rada[r] for a bit,” he added. “All the best, and hope to see you all soon.”

The email was supplied to KTLA News in Los Angeles by Staff Sgt. Joseph Biggs, who says he met Hastings while the journalist was embedded in Afghanistan in 2008. It was reportedly send to a handful of Hastings’ associates and was blind-copied to Biggs.

I just said it doesn’t seem like him. I don’t know, I just had this gut feeling and it just really bothered me,” Biggs told KTLA.

Reporters at Buzzfeed where Hastings worked say they received an email from their colleague, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a statement two days after Hastings’ death to quash rumors that they had been looking into the reporter.

At no time was Michael Hastings under investigation by the FBI,” FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

According to the Associated Press, however, Hastings’ fingerprints were on file with the FBI and were used by the bureau to identify his body after flames consumed much the auto wreckage last week.

"I believe the FBI when they say they weren't investigating him," Clarke told the Huffington Post. "That was very unusual, and I'm sure they checked very carefully before they said that."

"I'm not a conspiracy guy. In fact, I've spent most of my life knocking down conspiracy theories," he said. "But my rule has always been you don't knock down a conspiracy theory until you can prove it [wrong]. And in the case of Michael Hastings, what evidence is available publicly is consistent with a car cyberattack. And the problem with that is you can't prove it."

Clarke, 62, spent nearly two decades at the Pentagon before relocating to the White House where he served under President Ronald Reagan and both Presidents Bush. He served as special advisor to President George W. Bush on cybersecurity until leaving the administration in 2003 and is currently the chairman and CEO of Good Harbor Security Risk Management, LLC.

Sunday, July 01, 2012

THE PRECEEDING BLOG BY PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS STATES THAT IN SYRIA "THE FACTS ARE DIFFERENCT FROM THOSE PRESENTED BY THE PRESSTITUTE AMERICAN MEDIA AND MEMBERS OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT." WHILE I KNOW THAT PCR USES ONLY RELIABLE SOURCES TO MAKE SUCH ACCUSATIONS, MY READERS MAY LIKE TO ACCESS SUCH SOURCES. IF SO, FIND ALL OF THE SORDID DETAILS IN THE TWO VIDEOS IMMEDIATELY BELOW AS RELATED BY A VETERAN REPORTER WHO HAS ACTUALLY ROAMED THE LOCATIONS IN QUESTION.





Pepe Escobar: US will continue to arm anti-government rebels in Syria after veto 

http://youtu.be/y7ZWgJbpVnE

Uploaded by RTAmerica on Feb 6, 2012

For several months anti-government rebels have been protesting the government led by Bashar al-Assad. In the past few days the violence in Syria has increased radically and over the weekend the Syria resolution proposed by the UN Security Council was vetoed by China and Russia. Many have criticized the two countries for the veto but many feel Syria will share the same fate as Libya if the resolution passes. Pepe Escobar, Asia Times correspondent, joins us to look at the bigger picture. 



Escobar: Al-Qaeda agents worm into Syrian rebel army 

http://youtu.be/liXG_vm4jes

Uploaded by RussiaToday on Feb 18, 2012 

The EU states are calling for creating humanitarian corridors in Syria, which some fear could open the door to foreign intervention. But Asia Times correspondent Pepe Escobar says it's already underway. 



Blogger's Note: A year or so ago I came across a couple videos by Pepe Escobar on his theme of "Pipelineistan." But I subsequently lost track of his publications until last week when I friended him on Facebook and then asking where I could find his latest reporting. He vectored me to Russia Today, from which I selected the two videos above. Those wishing to learn more about Pepe's concept of Pipelineistan should watch the video below. 


The Stream - Afghanistan...or Pipelineistan? - Pepe Escobar and Derrick Crowe 

http://youtu.be/JC3KPT3eSl0

Uploaded by AJstream on Jul 18, 2011

Many have theories as to why the US continues to fight in Afghanistan. One theory is that it's all about a pipeline. The Stream spoke with journalist Pepe Escobar and with political blogger Derrick Crowe. 


Friday, December 30, 2011

U.S. SABER RATTLING IN THE PERSIAN GULF HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ARRESTING IRAN’S INCIPIENT NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE GLOBAL BANKS COVERING UP THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE IMPENDING COLLAPSE OF THE WORLD FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Blogger’s Remarks: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has found no evidence that Iran is actively working towards developing a nuclear weapon, much less evidence that they are on the verge of completing one. While it is true that Iran is performing low enrichment of uranium suitable for use in nuclear reactors, the IAEA has been actively monitoring their facilities on site. In February of 2009 the IAEA “…reported that Iran continued to enrich uranium contrary to the decisions of the Security Council and had produced over a ton of low enriched uranium.” However, converting low enriched uranium to highly-enriched weapons grade requires many repeated enrichment cycles, an operation that would have been easily recognized by IAEA inspectors …unless some of the low enriched material had been taken to a separate location unknown to the inspectors. Indeed several “news reports” based of hearsay evidence released by U.S. authorities allege that Iran is close to developing a nuclear weapon. But in response to these allegations, “IAEA spokesman (sic) Melissa Fleming asserted that the IAEA had no reason at all to believe that the estimates of low-enriched uranium produced by Iran were an intentional error, and that no nuclear material could be removed from the facility for further enrichment to make nuclear weapons without the agency's knowledge since the facility is subject to video surveillance and the nuclear material is kept under seal.” [This information was extracted from Wikipedia, which provided the following reference: Iran cooperates after understating atom stocks-IAEA" by Mark Heinrich, Reuters Sun February 22, 2009]

Therefore, I am in serious disagreement with the assertion by Edwin Black in the following video that there is any great urgency to stifle Iran’s unproven (and no more than incipient) quest to develop a nuclear weapon. On the other hand, I’m in complete agreement with Black’s reasoning that Washington’s saber rattling in the Persian Gulf will lead to catastrophic consequences for most of the western world (especially the U.S. 5th Fleet!) the moment an all-out attack is launched. The case for war currently being hyped by the mainstream stream media proves that the U.S. government is either run by idiots …or more likely by the global banks, who may reason that a market-crashing event of this magnitude would obscure the fact that their unregulated derivatives trading (amounting to almost $1 QUADRILLION!!!) will be the true reason why the western world’s financial markets will crash in 2012. Treasonous BASTARDS!!! (Read this to understand why.)  They almost pulled this off in 2007 but were foiled by members of the military who gave their lives to prevent it: see here.








Original Here

‘US not ready for all-out conflict with Iran’

Published: 30 December, 2011, 00:10
Edited: 30 December, 2011, 11:42


AFP Photo / Adam Jan 

In the wake of Iran and the US threatening each other with navy might in the Persian Gulf, investigative writer Edwin Black says full military conflict would cripple the oil-dependent US – as well as the rest of the world.

After the International Atomic Energy Agency published a report on the Iranian nuclear program in November, Washington came up with fresh proposals to impose an embargo on Iranian oil. Iran responded with threats to block the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway for the Gulf countries’ crude exports to the rest of the world. With the two countries now showing off their naval capacities on either side of the strait, investigative writer Edwin Black tells RT that in embargos and sanctions Washington is seeking an alternative to a military strike.

America is indeed concerned that Iran may be on the fast track of developing nuclear weapons. But, Black says, the US government is unprepared for this conflict as this would mean Gulf oil supplies would be choked off.

They do not have a plan for an oil interruption. There is a 57-day supply of unrefined oil that can be stretched to about a hundred days,” he told RT.

Iran would not limit itself to merely blocking the Strait of Hormuz, remarks Black. In the event of an all-out conflict, Tehran could target Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, such as the desulphurization plant at Ab Tak, which processes 70 per cent of Saudi oil, and the Ras Tanura terminal, a major oil port and oil operations center for Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company.

If that is done, the world will be crippled,” he pointed out.

Saudi Arabia, which has declared it will increase oil exports if Iran shuts the Strait of Hormuz, would not fill in the black hole of the world’s oil demands, observes Edwin Black. The main oil transport routes include the same strait, which would cease to be available. Other transport options do not have enough capacity.

There is a backdoor pipeline in Yanbo which has a capacity of about 1-5 million barrels per day, but this cannot make up for the 70 million barrels a day. And the Yanbo pipeline can be bombed as easily as Ras Tanura,” says Black.

The outlook is indeed grim,” he concludes. Most of the world is petrol addicted with maybe Brazil only enjoying the option of using alternative sources of energy. But with the US determination not to let Iran have nuclear weapons, some kind of military conflict looks inevitable.

­'Iran and US playing lose-lose game'


Shirin Shafaie, from the School of Oriental and African Studies and Campaign against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran, says the crisis around Iran’s nuclear program requires an urgent diplomatic solution of mutual concessions.

This is a lose-lose situation,” Shafaie told RT. “Everybody is going to lose in that – except some military industrial complexes in the West. But if there is a diplomatic solution, we have a very good nuclear deal between Iran, Turkey and Brazil, which could be revived. On this deal, Iran could have most of its uranium, which is required for fuel rods, enriched abroad. President Obama supported the deal in his letter to the leaders of Brazil and Turkey in 2010.”

Watch RT's full interview with Shirin Shafaie