The new president in Iran will take office in a few weeks and naturally will make some changes both in domestic and international policies. Experts believe the new administration should be seen by other countries as a chance for resetting ties with Iran. Ordinary people say, under any circumstances Iran must keep its principle and at the same time efforts must be made to remove or ease the unilateral sanctions of the west. Meanwhile, other experts believe improving relations with the international community could help Iran’s economy see better days.
Doctors who treated protesters wounded in clashes with riot police in Turkey are to be investigated by the government in a move likely to inflame tensions further.
The Health Ministry had demanded a list of the names of all doctors who treated demonstrators from the Turkish Medical Association (TBB), the association said on Friday 14 June.
The TBB estimates that 7,500 people have been injured in the unrest, the overwhelming number suffering from teargas exposure.
The association said it was ordered to “immediately” give up the names of medical workers and their patients, but had vowed not to co-operate.
“We were notified that an investigation has been launched into the improvised clinics that treated the protesters,” said Osman Öztürk of the TBB.
The authorities also signalled they would take steps to close down media outlets that broadcast images of demonstrations last week.
Turkey’s state television regulator shut down one channel that offered continuous live coverage of the protests. Hayat TV went off air “for broadcasting from abroad without a licence”, the Radio and Television Supreme Council said.
On Tuesday, the regulator fined Hayat TV and three stations that ran extensive coverage of the protests for “encouraging people to violence”.
On Friday night, the BBC suspended its partnership with NTV after the private channel refused to air the Turkish version of the World Agenda programme.
However, the government was forced to back down on plans to redevelop Gezi park in Istanbul, which sparked the protests last month. Police were criticised for the heavy-handedness of their response to the initial protests.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, agreed to abide by a court decision on his plan to uproot Gezi Park. He said he would hold a referendum if the court rules in favour of it.
“If judiciary in the end allows the project we’ll still apply the public vote,” he said. “It won’t be a military barracks but a city museum – 80% of trees will be within the city museum, the rest will be planted around the complex.”
Taksim Solidarity, one group representing the protesters, hailed the move as “positive”.
The government also turned its sights on Twitter, demanding the company set up a local division as “they receive advertising revenue without paying a penny in tax”.
Police have arrested a number of people who are accused of stirring up protests by posting messages on the site, including information on the position of police lines.
Canada’s prime minister recently addressed the CFR, a globalist think tank who have been a driving force behind the push towards deeper North American integration. The U.S. and Canada are now further advancing this agenda through the Beyond the Border agreement. Both countries are increasing bilateral border transportation and infrastructure coordination. This includes a common approach to border management, security and control. They are also integrating an information sharing system that would be used to track everyone crossing the U.S.-Canada border and entering or leaving the continent. Without much fanfare and seemingly little resistance, Canada is being assimilated into a U.S. dominated North American security perimeter.
In May, the Conservative government highlighted the benefits of the U.S.-Canada Beyond the Border action plan which was announced back in 2011. The deal, “focuses on addressing security threats at the earliest point possible and facilitating the lawful movement of people, goods, and services into Canada and the United States, and creates a long-term partnership to improve the management of our shared border.” The goal is to further increase, “security, economic competitiveness and prosperity through numerous measures, including reducing border wait times and improving infrastructure at key crossings to speed up legitimate trade and travel.” The Beyond the Border Executive Steering Committee recently met to discuss the objectives that have already been achieved and the work that still needs to be done. Another important facet of the economic and security perimeter agreement is the Regulatory Cooperation Council action plan. A stakeholder dialogue session is planned for June 20, which will review its implementation progress and will seek further input regarding the next stage of U.S.-Canada regulatory integration.
Last month, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a joint report on the findings of Phase I of the Entry/Exit Information System. The program included collecting and exchanging biographic information at four selected land border ports of entry. In a news release, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Acting Commissioner Thomas Winkowski stated that, “The results of Phase I demonstrate the capacity of the United States and Canada to increase information sharing capabilities.” He added, “This kind of cooperation epitomizes the Beyond the Border Action Plan.” The next phase of the entry/exit initiative is set to begin at the end of this month. It will involve exchanging the data collected from third-country nationals and permanent residents of Canada and the U. S. at all common ports of entry. Both countries are further merging databases and are expanding surveillance and intelligence gathering operations. In 2014, they will also start sharing biometric information at the border. This will further advance the creation of a North America security perimeter where all travellers will be tracked and traced in real time.
As part of the commitment made under the Beyond the Border deal, both countries have announced the Border Infrastructure Investment Plan which was, “developed to establish a mutual understanding of recent, ongoing and potential border infrastructure investments. It outlines the approach that Canada and the United States will take to coordinate plans for physical infrastructure upgrades.” In June 2012, Canada reached an agreement with the State of Michigan to build a second bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. This was followed by a presidential permit issued in April of this year that officially paved the way for construction of the project. A U.S. State Department press release explained that, “Consistent with the bilateral Beyond the Border Initiative, this permit contributes to ensuring that our border infrastructure supports increased competitiveness, job creation, and broad-based prosperity in the United States and Canada.” It went on to say that the new bridge, “will help to meet future capacity requirements in a critical travel corridor, promote cross-border trade and commerce, and advance our vital bilateral relationship with Canada.”
In March, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews signed a memorandum of understanding which established a truck cargo pre-inspection pilot project. The joint undertaking is another component of the Beyond the Border agreement and would shift inspections and clearances away from the actual border crossing. The first phase, “will test the concept of conducting U.S. CBP primary cargo inspection in Canada, and will be implemented at the Pacific Highway crossing between Surrey, British Columbia and Blaine, Washington.” The second phase, “will further test how pre-inspection could enhance border efficiency and reduce wait times to facilitate legitimate trade and travel, and will be implemented at the Peace Bridge crossing between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York.” The perimeter security deal is laying the foundation for a future U.S.-Canada binational organization that would jointly manage and control the border.
The CBSA is also testing additional technology at the Morses Line, Quebec and Piney, Manitoba ports of entry. Under the remote traveller pilot project, people entering either location after regular hours of service, “will be processed by a border services officer located at a remote processing centre through a two-way audio and one-way video kiosk. Cameras will be installed to provide the officer with the ability to see the traveller and the vehicle.” The program which could later be expanded to other areas , “is part of the Small and Remote Ports of Entry Initiative, one of the deliverables under the Beyond the Border Action Plan.” NAUNEWZ pointed out that, “Although a lot of this technology is already installed and being utilized in limited ways at most of the main Canada-U.S. border crossing points, these smaller border crossings are ideal testing grounds for their ‘no borders’/NAU agenda.”
On May 16, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper participated in question and answer session before the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). The conversation centered around economic growth, foreign investment and the role of the G20 with regards to global governance. Other issues focused on Canada-U.S. relations. Harper lobbied for approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline which would carry oil from western Canada to the Texas gulf coast. He dismissed environmental issues associated with the project and argued that it would be a step towards North American energy independence. The Obama administration is expected to make a final decision on the pipeline sometime this year. Harper also acknowledged the Beyond the Border and the Regulatory Cooperation Council action plans. He blamed sovereignty concerns and the continued negativity surrounding NAFTA as the main obstacles to even deeper continental integration. Prime Minister Harper used his audition in front of the CFR as an opportunity to demonstrate to the U.S. political and corporate elite that he is committed to defending the interests of big business and further pushing plans for a North American Union (NAU).
The Beyond the Border action plan is the most significant step forward in U.S.-Canada cooperation since NAFTA. It provides the framework for future North American integration. When fully implemented, the agreement can be expanded and updated. So far, the agenda has quietly slipped under the radar. By incrementally incorporating various pilot projects and excluding Mexico from the process, it has managed to avoid the controversy of past initiatives. The perimeter security deal is being sold as vital to improving the flow of trade and travel across the border. In order to appease U.S. fears, Canada has made numerous concessions with no guarantees that it will lessen border restrictions. As part of a North American security perimeter, Canada will always be at the mercy of any new U.S. security measures, regardless of the dangers they may pose to privacy and civil liberties.
Dana Gabriel is an activist and independent researcher. He writes about trade, globalization, sovereignty, security, as well as other issues. Contact: beyourownleader@hotmail.com Visit his blog at Be Your Own Leader
Press TV has conducted an interview with Michel Chossudovsky, Center for Research on Globalization, Montreal, on the back of UN concern for the Syrian war spilling over into other countries.
The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.
Press TV: The UN is warning of an explosion in the Middle East if the war on Syria continues. The question is what has the UN itself done to prevent the war from exacerbating?
Chossudovsky: First of all, that statement was made by the head of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. And the statement says that if the fighting doesn’t stop… the fighting is going to stop because the terrorists have been defeated
And essentially if Western powers put a moratorium on their support to these al-Qaeda affiliated rebels, the war is over – at least, the ground war is over. Recent developments suggest and confirm that the country is under the control of the Syrian government. The rebel forces have been defeated in al-Qusayr and they’ve also been defeated in other parts of the country.
The question of humanitarian aid has to be, from my standpoint, addressed because, who are the protagonists for humanitarian aid, so-called humanitarian aid? Precisely the countries, which supported these rebel terrorists.
And I think what we should be raising at this stage is that it is well established that this war was waged by the United States, NATO and Israel with the support of the [Persian] Gulf states Qatar and Saudi Arabia in particular and that under international law what is now required is war reparations.
So I would say let us put the humanitarian dimension aside and focus on the billions and billions of dollars of war reparations, which are due to the Syrian government as a result of the legal support of these terrorist formations in Syria, which constitute essentially the ground forces – the foot soldiers of the Western military alliance.
Press TV: The recent victory in Qusayr and the recent revelation that Israeli-made weapons were seized from Syrian insurgents – What impact will this have on the dynamics of the conflict?
Chossudovsky: We’ve known from day one that Israel has supported al-Qaeda. And we also know that Israel has channeled weapons and logistic support to the rebels in the areas surrounding the occupied areas of the Golan Heights and in fact Israel even established a hospital facility for the al-Qaeda rebels and was bussing them back and forth, taking the wounded to the hospital and then sending them back to the war theatre.
Israel was involved in acts of aggression against a sovereign state together with NATO, particularly Turkey, Britain, France, the United States. French and British Special Forces, SAS forces, MI6 and CIA agents were involved – We know it because it’s documented. Who is training the rebels in chemical weapons? The Western military alliance.
Minister Laurent Fabius of France comes out – and it’s the typical sort of weapons of mass destruction saga accusing the government of using chemical weapons against civilians when in fact CNN confirms that Western forces are training the rebels in the use of chemical weapons; when the Turkish police arrests al-Qaeda rebels – it just happened a week or so ago.
So we know that all this is fabrications whereby the Western military alliance is accusing the government of committing atrocities, which they themselves have committed.
What we must now tackle at an intentional level is war reparations. The war is over unless of course the West decides to continue this war e.g. with a no-fly zone. That would be an extremely dangerous option at this stage because Syria has an advanced air defense system.
The S-300 is in place; it has been building up over the past 18 months; there are other elements of air defense; and it would be very unwise for the Western military alliance to impose a no-fly zone, which would immediately be subject to some kind of response.
So that is the background. This war has reached a point of transition if there is no intervention on the part of the Western military alliance, the war is over.
Has Morsi betrayed Iran by cutting ties with Syria on the day that Iran was busy with its presidential elections.
Turkey appears to have had more than a million people demonstrating for and against Erdogan.
Madison Ruppert and Sean Anthony discuss the government’s massive surveillance of the American people and how it relates to the Fourth Amendment, the NSA’s PRISM and Boundless Informant programs, whistleblowers and much more.
End the Lie Radio airs from 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PM PT every Monday evening at http://UCY.TV/EndtheLie.
All material(s) used in this video that are not original or are under copyright are used under Fair Use under the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107.
[Potent News editor's note: via Pepe Escobar: For those who haven't seen it yet. RT's title is misleading; I meant "start" metaphorically; Obama's Syria decision is a diversion from PRISMgate. At least for 24 hours it worked, bumping Snowden off the headlines.]
CIA whistle blower Edward Snowden has reportedly been stopped from flying to the UK. The man who lifted the lid on America’s secret surveillance activities is being pursued by Washington. For his latest revelation, he told a Hong Kong newspaper that the U.S. repeatedly hacks into Chinese computer networks. For more about the leaks and Snowden’s future we’re now joined live by Pepe Escobar, a roving correspondent for the Asia Times.
RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 1 billion YouTube views benchmark.
In this video, Luke Rudkowski documents the end of the Bilderberg protest, gets inside the Grove hotel, interviews Mark Anderson of AFP and Jon Scoby of WRC Birmingham. The next vlogs will be taking place from the G8 summit in Northern Ireland so stay tuned.
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Iranians are preparing for a changing of the guard – the country will be welcoming a new President for the first time in eight years. Six candidates are vying for that position in the Islamic republic – with the first round of voting due to begin on Friday. But election campaigning and the process itself – have some noticeable differences from most other nations.
RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 1 billion YouTube views benchmark.
In the course of its investigation into the Reyhanlı bombings (11 May 2013), the Turkish police conducted on Monday, 27 May 2013, a series of raids on the homes of Al-Nusra Front militants in Adana and Mersin. 12 suspects were arrested.
2 kg of sarin gas were found.
The Al-Nusra Front is the Levantine branch of Al-Qaida. The militants were preparing to use the sarin gas inside both Turkey and Syria. Sarin gas is a chemical weapon banned by the United Nations in 1991.
This discovery comes as the French daily Le Monde, in its edition dated May 28, published a five-part report by Jean-Philippe Rémy and Laurent Van Der Stockton “certifying” the use of gas by the Army Syrian Arab against the “rebellion” in Jobar (district of Damascus).
The report is a carbon copy of the one carried out in Homs, more than one year ago by the same newspaper, which was translated into the main European languages and published by all major outlets in NATO member states. The report contains several absurdities: journalists describe a chemical warfare at the heart of the capital supposed to affect only “opponents“; the people show diverse symptoms, but no convulsions; and photos illustrating the first installment point to an eye treatment which is incongruous with for poison gas (which penetrates the skin and is not a tear gas). This piece of propaganda was disseminated and widely relayed on the eve of the lifting of the EU embargo on sending weapons to armed groups in Syria.
BAE Systems – the UK’s largest arms manufactures – was the first stop on what would be a fast-paced journey across Central London highlighting the capital’s ties to the global arms trade. With scores of protestors arrested during Tuesday’s Stop G8 demos, the police presence was a heavy one. Demonstrators from a coalition of anti-capitalists groups explained why the arms firms provoked their anger. With just days to go before the G8 Summit kicks off in Ireland the capital is the focal point. With the demonstrators taking the media and other protestors on what seemed like a magical mystery tour of locations associated with the arms trade in London.
Breaking news! CNN reports Obama is set to announce Syria has crossed the red line for military intervention by using chemical weapons to kill hundreds of civilians in Syria.
Details are just coming in but the news means the United States will now be launching military action against Syria as Obama has previously promised the use of Chemical weapons in Syria would be a “game changing” red line.
According the the reports from US intelligence officials given just moments ago to congress in a secret closed door meeting, the Syria government has been using Sarin gas.
After concluding that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against the country’s insurgency, thus crossing a ‘red line,’ the Obama administration has decided to start sending arms to anti-Assad rebels for the first time, officials say.
An internal memorandum circulating within the Obama administration has assessed that chemical weapons, most likely the nerve gas sarin, were used multiple times in battle against the Syrian rebels.
The “intelligence community assesses that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year,” according to that memo, as cited by The New York Times.
President Obama has authorized to release of at least some US arms for Syria’s rebels as part of new military and political aid measures, according to a source who spoke with Reuters.
White House officials speculated over evidence that nerve gas had been used as of April, but that evidence is now being called “definitive” – with Congressional sources describing the conclusion as crossing the “red line” for US military intervention or backing as previously defined by the president.
“The president has made a decision about providing more support to the opposition, that will involve providing direct support to the (Supreme Military Council), that includes military support,” Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters on a conference call on Thursday.
“This is going to be different in both scope and scale in terms of what we are providing to the SMC than what we have provided before,” he adds.
According to officials who spoke with the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, the US military is currently considering a proposal for arming factions of the Syrian insurgency – as well as establishing a limited no-fly zone over the country to be enforced from nearby Jordanian territory.
That no-fly zone could stretch for up to 25 miles into Syrian territory, and would be set up in a bid to train and equip rebel forces and protect refugees, officials said.
A no-fly zone would not require the destruction of Syrian antiaircraft batteries, according to the accounts cited in American media. The White House could alternatively authorize the arming and training of the Syrian opposition in Jordan without a no-fly zone.
Congress was being notified of the conclusions over chemical weapons use in the country on Thursday in classified documents. Findings were corroborated by evidence sent to the US by France, which along with the UK claimed that Assad’s forces had used chemical weapons.
“There is a growing body persuasive evidence showing that the regime used – and continues to use – chemical weapons, including sarin,” a spokesman for Britain’s Foreign Office said Thursday.
“The room for doubt continues to diminish. Assad must grant the UN investigation unrestricted access to investigate on the ground in Syria and establish the full facts,” he added.
In a conference call to reporters on Thursday, the White House said that the intelligence community estimates that as many as 150 people, or about 0.16 per cent (0.0016) of the 93,000 reported deaths in the Syrian conflict, could have been a result of chemical weapons used by pro-Assad forces.
The White House said during the same call that the US “will make decisions on our own timeline” regarding the next steps on Syria. President Obama will consult with G8 partners, including Russia, about Syria next week.
Republican senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham called on the US to provide “lethal assistance, especially ammunition & heavy weapons” to Syria’s rebels on Thursday.
“The President must rally an international coalition to take military actions to degrade Assad’s ability to use airpower and ballistic missiles and to move and resupply his forces around the battlefield by air,” said a joint statement by the pair.
As a UN probe was underway into allegations of chemical weapons use in May, lead investigator Carla Del Ponte said the findings showed that rebels were behind at least one chemical weapons attack. “This was used on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities,” Del Ponte told Swiss TV.
But the final report released in early June said the UN investigators failed “to determine the precise chemical agents used, their delivery systems or the perpetrator” in the investigated attacks.
On several occasions media reported seizure of small amounts of sarin from militants of the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front. This happened both inside Syria and in neighboring Turkey, where many Syrian refugees live in camps along the border.
Abayomi Azikiwe, international affairs expert and journalist, says that US claims will be used to justify intervention at a time when the rebels are threatened with defeat on the battlefield.
“Based upon the developments that have been taking place in Syria over the last two weeks, in regard to the removal of rebels from various parts of the country, and also the overall international situation — which is very disadvantageous to US or NATO direct intervention in Syria –I believe that this being utilized to provide a rationale and justification for the escalation of military, political as well as diplomatic pressure against the Syrian government,” he adds.
Author and historian Gerald Horne said that Washington’s allegations are in “flagrant contradiction” with an assessment from the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry, and may only serve to escalate the conflict.
“They’re under enormous pressure from former US President Bill Clinton, who just came out with a statement criticizing the Obama administration for not intervening more deeply in the Syrian morass,” Horne said. “Mr. Obama’s former competitor, Senator John McCain of Arizona, just took to the floor of the United States Senate saying that arming the rebels is not enough, presumably calling for air strikes to create a no-fly zone. It seems to me this is a very dangerous and ominous moment, particularly as Sunni clerics have just met in Cairo, Egypt and called for a holy war against the Assad regime. Instead of trying to calm things down, it seems to me the Obama administration is about to throw gas on the flames.”
Sad news from the Syrian capital Damascus. At least 14 people have been killed by two bomb attacks carried out by the foreign-backed militants and jihadists, often called “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) or “democratic innocent people just defending themselves” by Western mass media. So according to the facts on ground in Syria since over two years, some might wish these European states some of these “democratic freedom-lovers” due the situation that their media and politicians love these militants so much.
The two bomb attacks in the Syrian capital Damascus were carried out near a police station after other explosive devices blew off near the known Marjeh Square in the central area of the Syrian capital Damascus. According to the Syrian Al-Ikhbariya television station, not only (at least) 14 people died due to the next terrorist attack in the Syrian capital, but also some 31 innocent Syrians were injured in this incident today.
Although there is so far no group which has claimed the responsibility for this terrorist attack in the capital of Syria, it seems logical that the foreign-backed militants and jihadists are behind such acts of pure terrorism against the innocent citizens of the Syrian capital. Thus, that the Syrian television channel Al-Ikhbariya has soon blamed the US-backed terrorists within Syria is not very far fetched, but logical.
After all the successful operations of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in recent weeks, for example in al-Qusayr and the countryside of al-Qusayr near the border to Lebanon and the recent successful operations in the largest Syrian city Aleppo and the northern region of Syria, these next car bombs and acts of terror against the Syrian citizens of the capital Damascus can be taken as a cruel revenge and a last attempt of these foreign-backed militants and Islamists to spread fear in the capital. It is possible that these armed thugs wanted to give a sign that they are still able to carry out such horrible attacks against civilians in the capital of Syria.
While this horrible sign by these uneducated thugs and al-Qaeda fanatics is sure bad in terms of that there is not yet a real level of security implemented by the Syrian government even in the capital of the country, this cruel sign just boosts the morale of the resistance against this sectarian terrorism and the proxy war by foreign nations, including Arab traitors in Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, who are just working hand in hand with the Israeli regime and the American regime of terrorism, covered by mass media and politicians as the “world police” and “suppliers of democracy”. My ass.
Already some days ago, on June 8, at least eight people were killed in a car bomb blast in Al-Adawiya neighborhood of city of Homs. According to the reports, also some innocent Syrians were injured in this blast.
As mentioned, these recent horrible acts of terrorism came as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) took control of the last militant bastion near the strategic town of al-Qusayr (al-Qusayyr) also in the province of the Syrian city of Homs and located near the Syrian border to Lebanon.
ALMANAR REPORTS THAT 6,113 FOREIGN TERRORISTS HAVE BEEN KILLED, SEVERELY WOUNDED OR MISSING IN SYRIA. Here’s their breakdown according to the Hizbollah news source:
729 Saudi Arabians
640 Kurds from the Mujaahedeen Khalq (recently declassified as a terrorist organization by the U.S.)
489 Egyptians
439 Libyans
439 Chechens
301 Afghans
263 Libyans
261 Pakistanis
208 Iraqis
188 Russians
167 Turks
129 Jordanians
117 Somalis
129 Jordanians
109 Kuwaitis
90 French
67 Germans
66 British
50 Tunisians
55 Indonesians
53 Algerians
52 Yemenis
19 Qataris
45 Belgians
40 Uzbekis
35 Americans
31 Kosovars
21 Azerbaijanis
31 Maltese (Of Lebanese descent)
7 Mauritanians
6 Sierra Leone
6 Surinam
We at SyrPer do not agree with the break-down of nationalities. The evidence is much more convincing that the Libyans have made up the largest bloc of foreign rodents.
In April of 2012, Matt Ehling, President of Public Record Media, LLC, made a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the Obama Administration’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), which is part of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Ehling requested the administration’s legal opinions and notes about subsections 1021 and 1022 of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, which are the parts of the NDAA involved in much public controversy and litigation since 2001. The FOIA mandates the OLC respond within twenty days.
At first, the OLC said they would not respond in the time period allowed because of all the other requests for information made to them, but would reply as soon as possible. Ehling asked how long that might be. They said maybe in a few months, but couldn’t guarantee it. When questioned further, the OLC refused to comply with the FOIA at all. They said they were exempt, citing the administration’s opinions were “protected by the deliberative process privilege”, and “not appropriate for discretional release”. On the surface, these two excuses seem more plausible than “We’re too busy”, but on closer inspection, this claim also violates the FOIA.
Exemptions to the FOIA are specific. To qualify as an exemption, the material must be both “deliberative” and “pre-decisional”. The deliberative process is similar to private conversations protected under attorney-client privilege in a court case. Pre-decisional refers to discussions which take place before a case is concluded or a law is enacted. However, Ehling only requested post-decisional information, that is, material after the NDAA was passed, material which determines how the law will be carried out. Therefore, since the information requested was not both deliberative and pre-decisional, the OLC’s objection is invalid. As OLC attorneys specialize in this area of law, they knew this all along.
The OLC also claims that material in the 2012 NDAA subsections 1021 and 1022 is not appropriate for release. Under those two subsections, President Obama and all future presidents can accuse anyone of being a terrorist, incarcerate them, deny them trial, forbid them access to council and send them to a foreign prison. It is not only appropriate, but essential that U.S. citizens and anyone visiting this country know how the government plans to use this law. That the government is forbidden from developing “secret laws” has been upheld in court.
What is so damning in the Obama administration files that the OLC is willing to violate the law to hide them? They must obey the law, specifically, the FOIA.
As Obama’s Department of Justice has frequently refused to comply with legally binding requests for information, other questions comes to mind.
Does the DOJ consider the concept of obeying the law tiresome? Do they consider themselves above the law? Since the crafters of the NDAA seem to consider the Constitution an annoyance, this would be consistent behavior.
P.A.N.D.A. People Against The NDAA June 6, 2013
The Constitution was written to restrain the government and make sure that every citizen was afforded due process of law, a fair trial, and the protection of their natural rights.
The National Defense Authorization act of 2012 codifies into law indefinite military detention without charge or trial. It assures that the executive branch can act with no checks or balances from any other branch of the Federal Government. It is an urgent warning to all of us that we must take our country back by forcing our legislators to act appropriately, or replacing them with those who will. Those who profit from war would gladly seek to make every inch of this earth into a battleground, and every human other than themselves into collateral damage.
It is our duty to ourselves, our families, and our neighbors, to fight this unjust law and restore our executive branch to its proper limitation. Groups like People Against the National Defense Authorization Act are motivated, organized, and energized and I respect and admire the work that they are doing, and I intend to assist them in their efforts.
Amplify the People,
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.
That the BBC would smear those interested in this annual meeting as believers in “inter-stellar lizards” is especially odd considering the network’s own coverage of the group just a few years ago. Back in 2003, the BBC aired “Club Class,” a half hour exploration of the group and the secrecy surrounding it. The program even presented the documentary evidence that the group was committed to forming a European Union from the time of its inception in the mid-1950s, decades before the term was ever normalized in mainstream discourse.
By the BBC’s own logic, BBC presenter Simon Cox is clearly a delusional believer in inter-stellar lizards for daring to talk about the conference. The characterization of those interested in this meeting as mentally unhinged individuals is so obviously flawed that it is not even offensive. It is self-parodying. Better yet, exactly as the rare moment of lucidity on BBC’s Club Class program a decade ago demonstrates, there is ample documentary evidence, including leaks and confessions from Bilderberg whistleblowers and insiders, proving that the meeting is, contrary to its self-characterization, a policy-setting conference at which important global policies and agendas are not only discussed, but later implemented.
Over the years, a smattering of documents have been leaked, discovered or otherwise obtained giving glimpses into the meeting and its discussions. The documents cited by the BBC in the Club Class documentary were later leaked online and made available for download, detailing how the 1955 edition of the conference stressed the need ““To arrive in the shortest possible time at the highest degree of [European] integration, beginning with a common European market.”
France utilizes divisive tactics to maintain control over West African Mali
Abayomi Azikiwe (PAP),- France is continuing its occupation of northern Mali to the growing displeasure of youth who have staged a sit-in in the city of Gao. The young people, many of them women, believe that Paris is seeking to maintain its control over the region by pitting the Tuareg people against other nationalities inside the country.
On May 30 the youth of Gao accused France of favoring the Tuareg rebel movement, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), over other groups by not consulting broadly in regard to plans related to the future of the state. National elections are scheduled to be held in July and talks have already been held in neighboring Burkina Faso between various political parties.
The civilian government of President Amadou Toumani Toure was overthrown in a military coup on March 20, 2012. The engineer of the seizure of power was Capt. Amadou Sanogo who was trained in several military academies in the United States.
Photo via The 4th Media
During the protest in Gao people carried signs saying “No elections without trust,” and “Our thoughts are with the victims, not the killers.”
Much attention was focused on the northern city of Kidal where France appears to be operating in alliance with the MNLA in the occupation. Reports indicate that the Malian army has not been able to enter the city through an agreement between France and the MNLA.
One youth activist at the demonstration in Gao told Middle East online that”The banners, which were addressed to Francois Hollande, were saying ‘you liberated Mali from terrorists, now free Kidal, otherwise Mali is going to brutally divorce you’”. (May 30)
Despite this widespread notion that France played a positive role in driving out several Islamist organizations from several northern cities, criticism against Paris has escalated in recent months. Attacks on the French occupation have taken place within the press and among some Malian politicians who are accusing the occupation forces of working to extend their presence inside the country.
Gao was the first city that was attacked by the French military in January. Consequently, it is significant that the first mass demonstration was held there.
One of the organizers of the Gao demonstration, Moussa Boureima Yoro, said that ”We want to give France a heads-up and to tell them that they are allowing a situation to take place in Kidal that we do not understand. We want France to tell us what they are up to — because we are confused when they say on the one hand that Kidal is part of Mali, and at the same time, they act as if it doesn’t belong to Mali.”(Associated Press, May 30)
Humanitarian Crisis Worsens in Gao and Other Areas
Since the rebel campaign of the MNLA and other armed groups in the north of Mali, there have been hundreds of thousands of people who are internally displaced and forced into exile. Gao, which has a population of 70,000, has been severely impacted as well.
In the aftermath of the military coup, and the seizure of power by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA) and Ansar Dine in several northern cities and towns, France utilized this internal political crisis as a rationale for intervention. Nonetheless, the social situation of the civilian population has deteriorated with the French invasion.
A recent United Nations report documents that there are serious issues that need addressing in Gao. For example, the access to clean drinking water is in serious decline.
An Inter-agency mission to Gao led by Aurelien Agbemonci, who is the coordinator for Malian humanitarian assistance from the United Nations, noted that it was imperative that the availability of drinking water be addressed. Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told the international press that available drinking water had fallen by 60 percent over the last few weeks. (United Nations News Service, May 28)
“Water is a main issue: some neighborhoods in Gao did not have water at all due to dysfunctional pumps and lack of electricity,” said Mr. Laerke. “Outside of the city, the situation is even worse because the Niger River was the only source of water and there were concerns about cholera outbreaks.”
In addition to problems involving access to clean drinking water, food is also in short supply. The UN says that only one-third of the population of Gao is being serviced with food distribution.
At present there are approximately 100 humanitarian organizations operating in Mali. According to the UN, the proposed budget of $410 million needed for humanitarian relief is only 29 percent funded.
Most of the schools in the cities of Gao, Timbuctu and Kidal are still not functioning. The conditions in areas outside the cities and towns are even more precarious due to the lack of security despite the presence of nearly 4,000 French troops as well as thousands of soldiers from Chad and other regional states.
With these problems continuing, it will be very difficult to organize credible national elections by the end of July. The UN reports that 174,000 Malians are living outside the country in neighboring states.
The UN is attempting to ensure that refugees will have an opportunity to participate in the upcoming elections. ”While details of the out-of-country electoral process are still being worked out, UNHCR is ready to facilitate the exercise by refugees of their right to vote,” said UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards.
The bulk of Malian refugees are to be found in Mauritania with some 74,000 people being harbored. In Burkina Faso, it is reported that at least 50,000 have taken residence there and in Niger, another 50,000 have fled from the fighting and dislocation in northern Mali.
France Deepens Involvement in West Africa
Although France publicized its withdrawal of what it said was 2,000 troops from Mali during May, the occupation of the country will continue even into 2014. French defense ministry officials have said that at least 1,000 troops will remain after the conclusion of 2013 to serve as trainers for the Malian army and to work in conjunction with a UN peacekeeping force, numbering nearly 13,000 scheduled to take control of the country beginning on July 1.
The French National Assembly and Senate voted on April 22 to extend its occupation of Mali. There was no opposition to the plan by any political party within the legislative body. (Center for Research on Globalization, May 7)
When members of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa(MUJWA) and the Signatories in Blood staged a joint attack in two locations within neighboring Niger against the French-owned Areva uranium mining facilities and the local military on May 23, France took the lead in so-called counter-insurgency operations. Over two dozen Niger troops were killed in the attacks which the government claims was organized from southern Libya.
Since the attacks on French interests in Niger, France has called for military operations in southern Libya to ostensibly prevent further attacks. The United States has also dispatched at least 100 Special Forces in Niger where it is establishing a drone station in the uranium-rich nation.
Despite the presence of French and U.S. forces in Niger, on June 1, an attack on a prison in the capital of Niamey resulted in the deaths of two guards and the wounding of 10 others. Reports indicate that inmates held in the facility are from the Boko Haram group that is operating in northern Nigeria as well as others designated as “terrorists” from throughout West Africa. (Daily News & Analysis, June 1)
Abayomi Azikiwe via Pan African Newswire and The 4th Media
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UKIP and European Parliament Member, Gerard Batten attended the Bilderberg 2013 protest and was interviewed about Tony Blair’s Bilderberg attendance and corruption. He also spoke about his discontent with the secrecy of Bilderberg, how he became interested in it, what is possibly spoke about in the meetings and his multiple attempts at getting some transparency from those who have attended.
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Turkish demonstrators attack a police water cannon truck June 8, 2013, intervening to clear thousands of protesters gathering on Kizilay square in Ankara (AFP Photo / Marco Longari)
Police have deployed tear gas and water cannons to quell more than 10,000 protesters that gathered in downtown Ankara. This comes as officials claim the protests are under control and the process is “becoming normalized and in line with common sense.”
The rally in the Turkish capital started peacefully in the early hours of the morning, reports the Hurriyet Daily. As the protesters arrived at the Kizilay Square in late afternoon, police there made calls to disperse in order to not block car traffic.
The police then started “a sudden and unexpected intervention” as the protesters ran to the narrow streets surrounding the square.
According to witness reports on twitter police were targeting and detaining “random” youth in the crowd.
By Timur Moon
SyriaNews
Friends of Syria
