Paving the Way for a U.S.-Canada Economic and Security Perimeter
by Dana Gabriel
Be Your Own Leader
July 18, 2012
Over the past several months, the U.S.-Canada Beyond the Border action plan has taken significant steps forward. This includes efforts to modernize and expand infrastructure at key land ports. In a move that went largely unnoticed, both countries also recently agreed on a statement of privacy principles that will guide information sharing across the border. Meanwhile, a separate joint initiative has been announced which addresses energy and environmental issues.
President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched the U.S.-Canada Clean Energy Dialogue (CED) in 2009 to promote new ways to reduce greenhouse gases and combat climate change. The CED Action Plan II released last month, outlines the next phase of activities both countries will undertake. This includes continued work on carbon capture and storage, as well as integrating the electricity grid. In a press statement, Canada’s Minister of the Environment Peter Kent explained that the CED, “strengthens our efforts to collaborate on innovative clean energy solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” He also commented on how “It is our hope that the transformation of our economies and our joint work will identify clean energy solutions that will contribute to making sustainable energy a reality for all.” Whether real or exaggerated, environmental issues are also advancing North American integration. If you look at some of the words being used and the goals being pushed, they are tied to Agenda 21. Under the guise of protecting the environment, many solutions being offered are in the form of more taxes and control over our lives.
In June, Canada reached an agreement with the State of Michigan to build a second bridge between Windsor and Detroit which is one of North America’s busiest land crossings. A press release described how, “The new Detroit River International Crossing will facilitate the movement of people and goods between Canada and the U.S. by ensuring that there is sufficient border crossing capacity to handle projected growth in cross-border trade and traffic.” It goes on to say that the, “announcement demonstrates that the Government of Canada is working to advance the goals of the Action Plan on Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness.” During a speech, Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the new bridge, “an investment in the future of the North American economy, of North American trade and of North American manufacturing.” With the existing Ambassador Bridge being privately owned, motivation for the project is largely based on being able to further control border trade and traffic in the region. It is also part of the necessary transportation infrastructure needed for a trade corridor that would span from Windsor, Ontario to southern Mexico.
The U.S. and Canada recently issued a Statement of Privacy Principles that will shape information sharing arrangements under the perimeter security deal. The charter covers areas such as oversight, accountability, redress, retention, data quality and information security. Attorney General Eric Holder acknowledged in a Department of Justice news release that “These privacy principles reflect the shared commitment of the United States and Canada to implement our Beyond the Border Action Plan.” The Freedom of Information and Privacy Association warned that, “What the government just announced will certainly provide more access to Canadians personal information to the U.S. and other governments.” The Canadian Civil Liberties Association have also voiced concerns on privacy safeguard provisions that were not included which, “may permit the lowest standard between the two countries to prevail.” Ever since the perimeter security action plan was first unveiled in December 2011, there have been fears associated with personal data collected and exchanged at the border. This latest announcement has done little to ease these worries with respect to privacy rights and civil liberties.
As part of their commitment under the Beyond the Border agreement, both countries have also announced the establishment of Joint Port Operations Committees at eight Canadian airports that offer U.S. pre-clearance service. The move is designed to, “help facilitate legitimate cross-border trade and travel and promote collaboration on overall port management.” In June, the Beyond the Border Executive Steering Committee met to oversee progress on the implementation of the action plan. They announced that in the interest of transparency and accountability, a joint public report will be issued in December. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews also recently gave an update on other aspects of the perimeter security deal. He stated, “We are making great progress. We have, for example, added NEXUS lanes, made air cargo screening programs mutually recognizable and installed new passenger screening machines to end duplicate screening in Canadian airports.” Toews added, “More work continues every day to fully implement this new shared vision that represents the most significant step forward in Canada-U.S. cooperation since the North American Free Trade Agreement.”
Despite some minor setbacks with regards to bilateral relations, Canada has moved closer to its American partner under Prime Minister Harper. The Beyond the Border deal provides the essential framework for U.S.-Canada integration with the action plan being incrementally implemented. This piece by piece approach has allowed many different initiatives to go unnoticed and fly under the radar. Some of these individual steps may seem insignificant, but combined together they are further merging economic and security ties between both countries. This is paving the way for a North American security perimeter which would mean sacrificing what is left of our sovereignty and independence.
Related articles by Dana Gabriel
Using the TPP to Renegotiate and Expand NAFTA
Laying the Foundation for a North American Security Perimeter
Implementing Beyond the Border Perimeter Security Initiatives
The Transformation of the U.S.-Canada Border
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
Israel Likely Behind Bulgaria False Flag
By Stephen Lendman, Contributor
theintelhub.com
July 20, 2012
Israel’s history is odious. State terror is policy. It’s a dagger pointed at humanity’s heart. False flags and targeted assassinations are specialties.
Mossad and Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) have notorious terrorist histories. Bet on either organization’s dirty hands behind the latest Bulgaria attack.
Fingers point the wrong way. Israel blames Iran for its own crimes.
Unindicted war criminal Netanyahu said “Israel will respond forcefully to Iranian terror.” At issue is a Bulgarian Sarafovo airport bomb attack. It’s located in Burgas. It’s a popular Black Sea resort destination. Israeli tourists and others were killed.
On July 19, Reuters headlined “Bulgaria says suicide bomber blew up airport bus,” saying:
A bus carrying Israeli tourists and others was attacked. Eight deaths were reported. Around 30 others were injured. According to Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov:
“We have established a person who was a suicide bomber in this attack. This person had a fake driving license from the United States.”
It wasn’t coincidental that the attack came on the anniversary of the 1994 AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) Buenos Aires bombing. It killed 85 and injured hundreds. Argentina has Latin America’s largest Jewish population. It numbers around 200,000. Israel falsely blamed Iran.
Its officials jumped on the latest attack. Defense Minister Ehud Barak pointed fingers the wrong way, saying:
“The immediate executors are Hezbollah people, who of course have constant Iranian sponsorship.”
A White House statement stopped short of blaming Iran and/or Hezbollah, saying:
Obama “strongly condemns today’s barbaric terrorist attack on Israelis in Bulgaria….As Israel has tragically once more been a target of terrorism, the United States reaffirms our unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security, and our deep friendship and solidarity with the Israeli people.”
Hillary Clinton issued a similar statement.
America, Israel, and key NATO partners are responsible for more global terrorism and deaths than the rest of the world combined and then some.
Mossad specializes in targeted and larger scale killings. Car bombs are a favorite tactic. Assassinating former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was classic Israeli state terror.
Compelling February 2005 visual and audio evidence revealed real time intercepted Israeli aerial surveillance footage of routes he used on the day he was killed.
Israel was clearly involved. Syria initially was blamed. Hezbollah was later falsely named and indicted. It was typical Mossad targeting. No one at the time knew for sure. A powerful car bomb caused a 30 foot crater. Over 20 were killed and over 100 injured.
No evidence whatever proved Hezbollah’s involvement. It had nothing to gain but plenty to lose. Israel and Washington greatly benefitted.
Mossad’s dirty hands were responsible like for many dozens of other incidents. Israel and America perfected the art of killing. They’re also expert at pointing fingers the wrong way. Victims often are blamed.
On July 19, Haaretz headlined “Israel has no doubt about who is behind the deadly attack in Bulgaria.”
Neither do independent observers familiar with its odious terrorist history. Netanyahu spuriously blamed Iran. Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force General Qassem Suleimani was named. No corroborating evidence whatever was cited because there is none.
Netanyahu falsely claims Iran spreads terror worldwide. He also blames Hezbollah.
The New York Times outrageously said if Israel’s accusation is true, “the Bulgarian blast would be the first successful attempt by Iranian operatives to kill Israelis in attacks abroad after a string of failed bomb plots targeting Israeli diplomats in Georgia, India and Thailand this year.”
Iran, of course, had nothing to do with any of them. Blaming Tehran didn’t pass the smell test. Last October, Iranians were falsely accused of trying to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington. The charge resembled a bad film plot. It was baseless, and officials pointing fingers the wrong way knew it.
Last February, Israel again levied false charges. India and Georgia incidents were cited. Allegedly Israeli embassy workers in both countries were targeted. One injury was reported. No one was killed.
A Bangkok, Thailand incident happened around the same time. Iranians were detained after an explosion damaged their rented house. Despite no credible evidence, they were suspected of targeting Israeli diplomats.
Iran threatens no one. It painstakingly avoids provocations. It has everything to lose and nothing to gain from them. Israel benefits greatly. The above incidents and many others bore classic Mossad fingerprints. So does Bulgaria.
Israel and Washington wage covert and low-level hot war on Iran.
Tactics include computer viruses, other cyber attacks, bombings, sabotage, multiple rounds of sanctions, attempts to cripple its central bank and oil exports, targeted assassinations, satellite, drone, and other type spying, bogus accusations, a partial isolating blockade, and saber rattling stopping short of bombs away.
Both countries menace humanity. Iran threatens no one. Its neighbors know it. It hasn’t attacked another country in over 200 years. No evidence suggests it’s developing nuclear weapons.
Washington and Israel specialize in false flags, war, other belligerence, targeted killings, and state terror as official policy.
They’re advancing the ball for war on Syria. They’re itching for pretexts to attack Iran. One observer called Tehran a war looking for an excuse. They’re easily instigated or invented.
Days before the Bulgaria incident, a Lebanese man was detained in Cyprus. Based on Israeli intelligence allegations, police connected him to Hezbollah.
Cypriot authorities claimed “possible charges pertaining to terrorism laws.” He was accused of having photographs of “Israeli targets,” El Al Airlines flight schedules, and tour bus information.
He was a tourist. Visitors take photos. They also have airline schedules and use buses for sightseeing. Relating this information to alleged terrorism doesn’t wash.
Police claimed they found “documents” linking him to a “terror cell” planning attacks on Israeli targets. Blowing up a plane or bus was charged.
Unexplained was precisely what was found and why someone plotting these things would allegedly carry around indictable evidence.
No weapons or explosives were found. Charges don’t hold water. Without clear corroborating evidence, there’s no plot, no crime, or intention to commit one.
Bulgaria’s bus attack was criminal. No evidence links Iran and/or Hezbollah. It bears classic Mossad fingerprints. Perhaps CIA operatives were also involved.
Both organizations are linked to assassinating Iranian scientists. They stay unaccountable while Iran and Hezbollah face repeated false charges.
Expect one or more future false flags to be pretext for war. Syria tops Washington’s queue, then Iran. It’s just a matter of time until full-scale intervention targets both countries.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is titled How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/
Syria and Bulgaria: U.S. Double Standards on Terrorism
Voice of Russia
July 20, 2012
New confirmation of US double-standard policy
Konstantin Garibov
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“The US has once again confirmed its position regarding the priorities of its foreign policy. It supports its ally on any issues and ignores the negative events their opponents live through. This time Washington repeatedly made it clear that it would not revise its foreign policy. Actually it never did so in its history. The goals and priorities of US foreign policy on the Middle East are unchangeable and they won’t change. It sounds trivial but it is so. The US reaction to the events in Burgas and Damascus has confirmed it.”
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On July 20, the mandate of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria expires. After the intrigue regarding the mission’s prolongation lingered in the UN Security Council, now it looks like 300 unarmed servicemen will stay in that country.
It is quite likely that on Friday the UN Security Council will approve the resolution on the technical prolongation of the mission for 30 more days. By now the mission has worked for 90 days in Syria. Russia’s permanent ambassador in the UN Vitaly Churkin expressed confidence that the mission would be prolonged. The diplomat also welcomed Pakistan’s intention to submit its draft on the technical prolongation of the mission to the UN Security Council.
Russia plans to increase its monitoring mission in Syria by 30 servicemen. President Putin signed a ruling to that effect about Russia’s willingness to dispatch up to 30 liaison and staff officers, as well as military observers to the UN monitor mission at the expense of the United Nations.
The intrigue regarding the mission’s prolongation lingered after Russia and China vetoed the draft resolution on Syria proposed by the UK. That draft contained a proposal to prolong the UN mission but also an initiative to introduce tough sanctions against the regime in Damascus and an option to use military force if Damascus did not withdraw troops from Syrian cities. Russia and China’s veto of that unilateral resolution suspended the question about the mission’s technical prolongation. However, right after the vote the ambassadors of Russia and China in the UN Vitaly Churkin and Li Baodong said that they would vote for the prolongation.
The US reaction to it was inadequate. Washington said that it would support the prolongation of the mission’s mandate only if a tough anti-Syrian resolution is approved, in other words a resolution aimed at overthrowing Bashar Assad’s regime. In fact the UN supervision mission served as a bargaining chip for US plans on Syria. Later the US position slightly changed. Washington made a statement that it was ready to consider the mission’s prolongation.
The US reaction to the terrorist attacks in Damascus, in which three generals were killed including Syria’s Defense Minister, was quite remarkable. The US statement did not contain any condemnation of the attacks. Moreover Barack Obama accused Bashar Assad of what had happened, saying that the assassinations of the ministers were the consequences of his policy.
At the same time Barack Obama condemned the terrorist attack in Bulgaria where a suicide bomber carried out an attack that killed eight people in a bus transporting Israeli tourists, because that attack concerned Israel’s international image. Obama’s statement expressed firm determination to support its Mideast ally. Again the US activates its double-standard policy mechanism, fighting terrorism when it is targeted against its allies and ignoring attacks when the targets are US opponents. We hear from Sergey Demidenko, an analyst at the Institute of Strategic Studies.
“The US has once again confirmed its position regarding the priorities of its foreign policy. It supports its ally on any issues and ignores the negative events their opponents live through. This time Washington repeatedly made it clear that it would not revise its foreign policy. Actually it never did so in its history. The goals and priorities of US foreign policy on the Middle East are unchangeable and they won’t change. It sounds trivial but it is so. The US reaction to the events in Burgas and Damascus has confirmed it.”
Meanwhile reports about ongoing military actions in Syria are controversial. The opposition claims that it has taken control over all the checkpoints on the border with Iraq and two check points on the border with Turkey. The authorities deny this information. It has been rumored that Damascus is preparing repressions in response to the murders of Bashar Assad’s associates. The authorities have warned the population that in some regions the insurgents dressed in the uniforms of government troops are going to perpetrate massacres and later shift the blame onto the military.
Dr. Bashar Al Jaafari speech – Russia and China veto resolution on Syria at UN [video]
Friends of Syria
July 19, 2012
To Whom It May Concern
Friends of Syria
July 19, 2012
Damascus, Syria
07/19/2012
My name is Bassam Al-Kadi (48 years old), a Syrian human rights activist, especially the rights of women and children.
I opposed the Syrian regime since 1982 for justice, freedom and democracy, and I was arrested four times (1985 to 2012), including a total of 7 and a half years.
I supported the Syrian civil movement for freedom and democracy until it turned into a battle waged by criminal fundamentalist forces aiming to divide Syria and transfer it into terrorist emirates subjected to Israel and US
I declare the following:
In the light of Foreign Military threats against my country, under the pretext of security situation, I assure that I will immediately become a suicide bomber to kill all those who contributes in any military action against my country, whether by a single country or a group of states, whether by a Security Council decision or the United Nations or NATO or any other party.
I assure that every diplomat and politician in the enemy states that are involved in the attacks on Syria, including of all civilians in those countries who support the attack on my country, and every facility I can access in the countries that participated in the invasion, are legitimate targets for me.
All written laws of earth and heaven have ensured the people’s right to defend their country, and I am going to exercise this right against you without hesitation, and with me hundreds of thousands of Syrians who are willing to sacrifice their bodies and their lives in defense of Syria.
My position, if you are interested to know, has nothing to do with neither the Syrian regime nor any of its apparatuses. Whether the regime decided to confront you or not, I will fight you without hesitation or mercy.
Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq and Libya will be nothing but a simple walk in front of what you will face if you think to take any military action against Syria.
Bassam Al-Kadi
Syrian Citizen
[Potent News Editor’s note: Let me be clear. I am not the author of this letter and I do not condone the killing of innocent civilians. I merely posted this Friends of Syria article because it illustrates the depth of the crisis that Syria (and the world) is facing at this critical juncture.]
Mysterious Substance Found Floating in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii – July 20, 2012 [video]
SheilaAliens.net
July 20, 2012
“A mysterious substance polluting Kaneohe Bay has residents concerned.
It has also drawn the attention of health officials and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Resident Dallas Williams, who lives near the bay, says he woke up Friday morning and he and his son immediately noticed a strange smell right outside their house.”
“We had a look to see what was going on and there was this sheen looked like oil, plexiglass or paint floating all over the water. Right away we said there was an environmental problem,” said Dallas Williams.
The sheen wasn’t the only thing strange floating on the bay. Floating along the water and into the shoreline was some type of stringy substance that Williams couldn’t really identify.” Read More
[Potent News Editor’s note: This mystery substance is no mystery for those of us who have been looking into the “covert” aerosol operations that are spraying the entire globe with nano-fibers (and aluminum, barium, strontium, blood cells, etc., as strange as that sounds). For more on that see “From Chemtrails To Pseudo-Life: The Dark Agenda Of Synthetic Biology” or head to the Morgellons category here at Potent News.]
Latest Syria “Massacre” – Goebbelsesque Propaganda
by Tony Cartalucci
July 14, 2012 – Surely if nothing “activists” have so far said about latest so-called “massacre,” in Tremseh, Syria can be verified, it is impossible to “blame” anyone for the alleged deaths that are said to have occurred. Nevertheless, the Associated Press, Reuters, AFP, and many other mainstays of the West’s corporate-run media machine ran with titles such as, “UN blames regime forces for Syria massacre” (AP), “Syrian regime condemned for Tremseh massacre” (Reuters), “Syria crisis: Tremseh ‘massacre’” (Guardian), and “Syria unrest: Kofi Annan shocked at Tremseh ‘atrocities’” (BBC).
Photo: Unarmed civilians? From the US State Department and outward through its tentacles across the corporate media, the so-called “Free Syrian Army” is continuously referred to interchangeably as “civilians” and “activists.” In reality they are heavily armed, foreign-backed, and include amongst their ranks a sizable proportion of foreign fighters – betraying the very name Free “Syrian” Army. Even by “activist” accounts however, the recent “massacre” in Tremseh, Syria appears to be in fact a battle militants lost, with the vast majority of the deaths being armed fighters, not civilians.
And even below these deceitful titles, clearly implicating the Syrian government and its security forces in what is portrayed as a callous act of mass murder against defenseless civilians, each report concedes, buried toward the end, that Tremseh was in fact the site of a vicious battle between heavily armed NATO-backed “Free Syrian Army” militants and the Syrian military. Under the deceitful headlines and beyond the first several paragraphs purposefully loaded with manipulative Goebbelsesque propaganda, what the Western corporate-media is actually reporting is terrorist forces being defeated by the Syrian military in violence growing SOLELY because the West continues to funnel cash, increasingly advanced arms, and even foreign fighters into the country.
BBC even went as far as literally admitting, after offering up another “Houla-style” narrative, that (emphasis added):
…later, activists told the AFP news agency that rebel fighters had attacked an army convoy, but were beaten back and many were killed in a counter-attack.
“At this stage, though we do not yet have the final count, the number of civilians killed by shelling is not more than seven,” said Jaafar, an activist from the anti-regime Sham News Network.
“The rest were members of the Free Syrian Army.”
So despite even the “activists” themselves admitting they attacked the Syrian military first and simply lost the subsequent battle which appears to have led back to their base of operations in Tremseh, the Western media decided to spin it as a calculated, mass murder of civilians, as the Guardian puts it, “timed” for “boosting morale of Assad’s armed supporters and scuppering attempts to find a political solution,” quoting a member of the overtly Western-backed “Syrian National Council” (SNC).
Perhaps the most ridiculous display put on however, was performed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who claimed, “accounts of the attack on the village of Tremseh, including the use of artillery, tanks and helicopters, provide indisputable evidence that the regime deliberately murdered innocent civilians.” Clinton, unhindered by the fact that she herself used the word “accounts” rather than “documented evidence,” claims that the incident, described by even the rebels as a pitched battle between Syrian troops and FSA militants, was a deliberate mass murdering of civilians.
Clinton is attempting to solicit sympathy from the public over the defeat of her funded, armed, and propped up front of sectarian extremists, the FSA. The FSA who consist of Libyan mercenaries (and here), extremists fresh back from killing US and British troops in Iraq now employing their bombing tactics against the people of Syria (and here), and members of Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood who were approached as early as 2007 by the US, then under the Bush administration, to begin creating a violent front with which to overthrow the Syrian government.
These are militants who received Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) commander Abdul Hakim Behaj, and secured from him weapons, cash, and fighters despite to this very day, LIFG being listed by Hillary Clinton’s own US State Department, as a listed Foreign Terrorist Organization (#28) – thus making US funding and support for the FSA a violation of its own anti-terrorism laws.
The aim Clinton hopes to achieve is to stampede the latest US-British backed UN resolution through the Security Council, by shaming Russia and China for defending Syria regarding atrocities it never committed. The trick is to rush this propaganda ploy through before the facts of what actually occurred in Tremseh emerge.
A Threat to World Peace
There is indeed a grievous threat to world peace. It is not the Syrian security forces attempting to restore order for the vast majority of its people not engaged in violence and foreign-funded subversion. It is the West, particularly the governments and corporate-financier interests of the US, UK, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, along with their proxies not only employing a campaign of willful deceit to manipulate public perception, but demonstratively providing weapons, cash, and political support for terrorists they themselves have asked their populations for the last decade to shed their blood and treasure fighting in the so-called “War on Terror.”
As many others have repeatedly said, it is not that the Syrian people, or any other people around the world don’t deserve a better lot in life, it is the fact that this violence in Syrian unfolding now most definitely won’t lead to a better lot. It is a deception conducted by foreign powers seeking regional hegemony merely couched within rhetoric of “human rights,” “freedom,” and “democracy.” It is an orchestrated deception costing thousands of lives on both sides, and as seen in Libya, will leave the nation shattered, divided, destitute, and at the complete mercy of the West’s corporate-financier interests.
Image: A particularly relevant exhibit at the Washington D.C. Holocaust Museum. President Obama, has used the museum as a backdrop to set the stage for the continuation of Wall Street and London’s own crimes against humanity. Students of history however, will understand that Hitler’s Nazis weren’t pioneers of genocide and global domination, but merely clumsy imitators inspired by what the Anglo-Americans were already in the process of perfecting.
Joseph Goebbels, a Nazi propagandist whose deception laid the foundation of Adolf Hitler’s support, enabling him to carry out his vastly destructive campaign of military aggression stretching out across Europe, into Russia, and deep into North Africa and the Middle East, is remembered as a criminal war propagandist – the embodiment of the dangers of state propaganda. Others who assisted him were convicted during the Nuremberg trials for war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, and conspiracy to wage aggressive war -many were given lengthy jail terms, some some sentenced for life, some sentenced to death.
What the Western media is doing, and above all, what US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is promoting, is without a doubt criminal – with a historical precedent already set leveling serious charges and penalties against such intolerable activities. Just because a government with the perception of legitimacy claims something is true, that a war is necessary, that its intentions are good – doesn’t mean that it is so – for every brutal imperialist throughout history has in one way or another attempted to dress its naked military aggression, subjugation, and exploitation toward others with good intentions and just causes.
PN 