US court claims Iranian 9/11 link (video)
RT
December 16, 2011
A US court has won a default judgement that Iranian officials, including its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, provided help to the 9/11 hijackers behind the worst terror attack on American soil. The lawsuit was filed by the families of the atrocity’s victims. There was no Iranian representation in court. RT talks to Michel Chossudovsky, Director of the Center for Research on Globalization.
Nigel Farage: Bully Boys in Brussels Building Europrison (video)
RT
December 14, 2011
The Greek economy – already teetering on the brink – has taken another turn for the worse. That’s the verdict coming from IMF officials. Austerity inspectors visited the country to check whether it’s meeting the conditions set up by international creditors. If the demands aren’t fulfilled, Greece won’t get a second lifeline of one hundred and thirty billion euros. And another debt-ridden Eurozone economy – Italy – is undergoing a further round of belt-tightening, as its lower house of Parliament is about to vote for more austerity measures. Nigel Farage, MEP and leader of the UK independence party, says the hands of Eurozone strugglers are tied while they are trapped within the bloc.
Russia puts new draft resolution on Syria to UNSC
by Madison Ruppert
End the Lie
December 16, 2011
Russia, surprisingly to Western powers, has put forward a UNSC resolution on Syria, calling on the Syrian parties to end violence and start talks. Meanwhile, Syria’s vice-president is visiting Moscow to discuss peaceful solutions for the crisis.
The Kremlin’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin, who holds the council presidency for the month in December, did not disclose the exact contents of the text, saying it will be discussed by the 15 council members in the coming days.
He expressed his hope the balanced draft would be passed, calling the UN Security Council’s reaction to it “constructive”.
“We made no secret of the fact and it is reflected in the text that we call on violence to be stopped from all sides. We are concerned about weapons smuggling, the armed groups operating in Syria. As you know from the outset our assessment of the situation is that various violent groups there are taking advantage of peaceful demonstrators in order to pursue their agenda. So those concerns are reflected in the draft resolution,” Churkin said.
The draft resolution proposed by Russia endorses efforts by the Arab League to resolve the crisis in Syria and welcomes plans to deploy a monitoring mission in the country as clashes between the Syrian army and the opposition continue.
In response to Russia’s move, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indicated that Western nations would try to work with Russia in a bid to pass a first Security Council resolution on the crackdown, which the United Nations says has left more than 5,000 dead.
“Hopefully, we can work with the Russians who, for the first time, at least are recognizing that this is a matter that needs to go to the Security Council,” Clinton said at the State Department in Washington. “It is just that we have differences in how they are approaching it, but we hope to be able to work with them.”
However, Clinton said that though she had not seen the draft and had it just briefly described to her, there are some issues in it that the US “would not be able to support.”
As a key ally of Syria, Russia has been actively trying to mediate a peaceful solution for months. With China, it vetoed a council resolution proposed by European nations in October condemning President Assad’s actions.
Syria’s Vice-President Farouk al-Sharaa has arrived in Moscow where he will hold talks with officials in Moscow on Friday.
The Free Syrian Army claims to have more than 25,000 members fighting to bring down President Assad.
Western nations still refuse to acknowledge that anti-regime protesters are armed.
US-based military whistleblower Sibel Edmonds says Washington is siding with the opposition to force regime change.
“They have had this division that ran the rebels there. They also help the rebels to smuggle arms into Syria, but also they have a communication division there in order to actually increase the number of defectors of the current Syrian army,” she said.
Source – http://rt.com/news/syria-russia-resolution-draft-963/
Short URL: http://EndtheLie.com/?p=31518
Video: Tens of thousands gather for Moscow ‘vote fraud’ protest
RT
December 10, 2011
The biggest opposition rally in recent Russian history has taken place in the capital. The protest against the results of Russia’s December 4 parliamentary election has drawn an estimated turnout of between 25,000 and 40,000. The rally has been held on Bolotnaya Square, in Central Moscow, on December 10 between 2 pm and 6 pm.
Congress tries to pull a fast one: SOPA markup not delayed until 2012 after all
Lamar Smith: fighting to censor the internet, after all if China can do it why can't we?
by Madison Ruppert
End the Lie
December 17, 2011
I must admit, I was excited when I read that the House Judiciary Committee was postponing wrapping up the markup process of the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, which I have previously shown to be a wildly dangerous bill.
Many observers, myself included, assumed that Lamar Smith would continue to push the Judiciary Committee in the SOPA markup process until they could muster a vote.
I believed that they would continue to press on even if it meant extending their session late into the night, but I was clearly wrong.
Smith adjourned the debate, which continued past 9 PM, despite what The Hill called, “his intent to plow ahead with the bill regardless of the objections and concerns raised.”
The Hill points out that an extended delay will likely be a boon for the many opponents to SOPA who have been rallying support and informing the public, especially amongst the online community.
They rightly point out that not only does SOPA have strong support on the House Judiciary Committee from both parties, but also some powerful lobbies as well.
They briefly mention these “influential interests” which have been behind the constant push of SOPA and the sister legislation, the PROTECT IP Act, or PIPA.
The Hill includes “the entertainment industry, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and organized labor,” but this minimizes just how powerful and massive the pro-SOPA/PIPA lobby really is.
Some of the other influential interests include, the National Governors Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Conference of Legislatures, the National Association of Attorneys General, the Better Business Bureau, the AFL-CIO along with over 20 other unions, the National Consumers league, and many major corporations.
This backing is daunting, to say the least, but the true internet pioneers stand united in opposition to the draconian SOPA/PIPA legislation.
As I have previously noted, the opposition to the bill includes internet giants like, “Facebook, Google, Yahoo, eBay, Twitter, Craigslist, Flickr, PayPal, Reddit, AOL, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Tumblr and others.”
They all point to the fact that SOPA will stifle creativity and innovation on the internet, one of the few sectors of the American economy that couldn’t be easily shipped overseas or regulated out of existence – until now.
Unfortunately it appears that the proponents are winning, at least that is the impression given by The Hill in writing, “The legislation still appears likely to pass the Judiciary Committee by a two-to-one margin.”
Hardly a comforting thought for those of us who value the freedom of the internet and the ability to operate our websites without fear of being targeted for harassment or shutdown.
TechDirt published that with Smith bringing the meetings to a close, they likely wouldn’t begin the discussions again “until late January.”
They, like me, considered it a representation of “a very brief, but significant, victory for those in favor of internet freedom and against internet censorship in the US.”
They rightly point out that the pro-SOPA/PIPA lobby is not going to stop pushing “very, very, very hard” to get it passed as hastily as possible, just as all destructive legislation is pushed through before people can properly analyze and debate it, as evidenced by the PATRIOT Act.
TechDirt also seems to share my amazement at how quickly the grassroots opposition to this censorship legislation has cropped up and how an otherwise obscure issue has been brought to the forefront with alacrity.
They point to the constantly growing popular opposition which is coming from wildly varied sectors and is only increasing in strength as the days go by.
This is likely why the Judiciary Committee decided to continue the markup this coming Wednesday, instead of allowing a break and thus additional time for the opposition to gain support by making the reality of this restrictive legislation known to the public.
Instead of convening in late January as they would have otherwise, they will be making the rather unusual decision to return next week, which is odd given that the corrupt politicians in Washington tend to do everything possible to avoid actually working.
TechDirt points to this ad evidence of “just how desperate Hollywood is to pass this bill as quickly as possible, before the momentum of opposition builds up even further.”
I just hope that the realization of what this legislation really means will begin to reach a kind of critical mass and grow exponentially from there.
If not, we will see yet another liberty-stripping bill get disgusting levels of support from our so-called Representatives who continue to do a bang-up job of proving that they work for their corporate financiers and not the people of the United States.
Short URL: http://EndtheLie.com/?p=31637
US Clumsily Covers Tracks in Russian Sedition
Wall Street Propagandists Scramble To Cover US Ties to Russian Protesters.
by Tony Cartalucci
Land Destroyer Report
December 11, 2011
As the evidence begins to mount pointing the accusing finger at the increasingly illegitimate corporate-financier occupiers of the West’s governments as having built up Russian opposition movements and being behind the current unrest filling Russia’s streets, the corporate media has already started to rewrite events as they unfold.
An amazing piece of mid-event revisionism titled, “Moscow braces as election protest goes viral,” desperately attempts to portray the protests as “leaderless” even as the article itself interviews “organizers.” Quoting unnamed, and most likely nonexistent protesters, the article featured in the Sydney Morning Herald insists protesters claimed, “I came on my own. I learnt about it on the web.” But the article then states (emphasis added), “and last night, thanks to the web, organisers were expecting more than 30,000 people to demonstrate against what they see as the rigged results of last Sunday’s elections, because that’s how many have committed themselves to a sign-up sheet on Facebook.”
While the article claims that no political party is recruiting protesters, earlier reports out of the Western media contradict this entirely, with the London Telegraph reproducing a blog post by US NED-funded opposition leader Boris Nemtsov stating before the December 10 protests, “I am talking about pickets at Petrovka 38 (the main police station) and on Simferopol Boulevard where the detained are being held, and other actions too. We start from today. I will take part in all this myself. On Saturday, December 10, a general meeting will be held on Revolution Square (in Moscow) at two o’clock to protest against these false elections. ”
The Daily Mail has also reported,”and Moscow rally organiser, opposition politician Vladimir Ryzhkov, has announced there will be another protest on December 24, which he says will be twice as large,” and RIA Novosti News reporting, “on a stage emblazoned with the logo “Return Power to the People” Russia’s best known opposition figures, from cultural leaders like Navalny and opposition music critic Artemy Troitsky to opposition politicians Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Ryzhkov and Solidarnost youth leader Ilya Yashin, addressed the hyped-up crowds.”
Images: Opposition leader Vladimir Ryzhkov’s movement is not only a beneficiary of US funding, but Ryzhkov himself is a card-carrying member of the US NED World Movement for Democracy (WMD). The WMD “About Us” page clearly indicates that the group is a subsidiary of the US State Department funded National Endowment for Democracy. (click to enlarge)
It should be noted that Boris Nemtsov’s political adviser, Vladimir Kara-Murza, is also a member of “activist” Ilya Yahsin’s Solidarnost group, and an attendee of a recent NED-funded seminar titled, “Elections in Russia: Polling and Perspectives.” Ilya Yahsin’s Solidarnost group helps head the US-NED funded “Strategy 31″ campaign in tandem with the Moscow Helsinki Group, a NED, Ford Foundation, USAID, and Soros’ Open Society-funded NGO. Also noteworthy is Alex Navalny’s ties to the National Endowment for Democracy, as he is one of the co-founders of the NED-funded DA! (Democratic Alternative) activist movements, as stated in his Yale World Fellows bio.
Image: A screen shot from the “Moscow Helsink Group” clearly subsidized from abroad. The significance of this group & its affiliates leading protests, indicates nothing less than foreign-funded sedition unfolding in the streets of Russia. (click to enlarge)
Hardly leaderless, hardly unorganized, hardly even indigenous, the presence of stages and opposition leaders as well as calls for future protests already being made by the likes of US NED-funded Wold Democracy Movement steering committee member Vladimir Ryzhkov and his partner Boris Nemtsov, casts very serious doubts not only on the Sydney Morning Herald’s nonsensical claims of the protest’s spontaneous nature and its legitimacy, but on the Herald’s journalistic integrity itself for finding such nonsense fit for print. At the bottom of the article, the Herald writes “Washington Post,” a name already synonymous with propaganda and compromised interests entangled with the agenda of the corporate-financier elite of Wall Street and London.
And even as the Sydney Morning Herald and Washington Post attempt to portray the Russian protests as spontaneous, apolitical uprisings against electoral fraud “exposed” by USAID and US NED-funded Golos, a poll monitor who now has been caught sending e-mails back and forth to its US sponsors, conspiring against Russia’s leadership, the very real, centralized leadership of these clearly politically motivated protests are already calling for another round of unrest on December 24. Not only are the protests and their US-funded leadership illegtimate, but by shamelessly twisting public perception to see them as anything but foreign-funded sedition, the corporate media has once again failed the public in pursuit of carrying out Wall Street and London’s corporate-financier driven agenda.
Image: A screenshot from US National Endowment for Democracy’s (NED) website indicating its funding for “independent” poll monitor Golos. USAID also funds Golos. Golos’ shrieking accusations of electoral fraud have been cited as the rhetorical justification for NED’s troupe of foreign-funded opposition groups to flood into Russia’s streets. (click to enlarge)
Beware of these revisionists and the increasingly unsubstantiated, even flat-out ridiculous claims being made by the media. Name names, follow the affiliations, research the organizations, click on “About Us,” follow the money, and discover the truth the corporate media is willfully hiding from the public. Expose both this duplicitous agenda being pursued in Russia, as well as the disingenuous liars throughout the Western media’s press peddling it. And above all, boycott and replace the corporate interests driving this agenda to begin with.
Thousands Strong: Biggest rally in years hits Moscow (video)
RT
December 10, 2011
25 thousand people have given voice to a peaceful opposition rally in the heart of the Russian capital. The call to arms was issued after Sunday’s parliamentary election that the opposition claimed was rigged. RT’s Anissa Naouai has the details.
