MSM: "IAEA Plans New Inspections After Talks With Iran - U.S. Cries Wolf" [02/03/12]
[4:28]
"Robert Parry, investigative journalist with the Consortium News web site talks to RT suggesting the warning that Iran could attack the US is "overplayed". He adds Iran can in fact retaliate if it comes to believe that the "US really engages in attacks inside Iran." [...]"
MSM: "Governors of Mexican Border States Investigated For Aiding Drug Cartels" [02/03/12]
"The real Mexican Drug War is a political war between the federal government, led by the National Action Party (PAN) and the state governments, mostly led by the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI). The most powerful drug cartel in Mexico (the Sinaloa Drug Cartel) has ties to the CIA and corrupt elements of the PAN party. The rest of the cartels are Sinaloa’s competitors that have aligned themselves with the PRI in state and municipal governments throughout Mexico. Calderon’s government is going after Sinaloa’s competitors and PRI governors, knocking two birds with one stone. [...]"
MSM:
"Mossad Chief Secretly Met With Top U.S. Officials Including Sitting Senators" [02/03/12]
"A clandestine Washington visit by Mossad Chief Tamir Pardo, in which he privately met with multiple Senators and other top officials, was revealed in testimony during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence attended by CIA director David Petraeus and Intel Chief James Clapper.
Apparently Pardo and the Senators who secretly met with him believe it imperative to met in secret to discuss Americas backing of an Israeli strike on Iran regardless of the opinion of the American people.
Israeli mainstream media giant Haaretz recently reported on these startling revelations: Mossad chief Tamir Pardo held secret talks with top U.S. officials in recent days, cursory comments made during a public Senate hearing indicated on Tuesday. The clandestine Washington visit was exposed during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which was participated by CIA Director David Petraeus, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate panel. During the meeting, Feinstein asked Clapper whether or not Israel intended to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, with the top U.S. intelligence official answering that he would rather discuss the issue behind closed doors. Feinstein then indicated that she had met Mossad chief Pardo earlier in the week in Washington, with Petraeus adding that he too met Pardo and cited what he called Israel’s growing concern over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. [...]" 
Note: Sitting senators with no standing. Double entendre, at
least.
Propaganda
Theatre: "Israel
Vice PM: Military Strike Can Hit All Of Iran's Nuclear Facilities" [02/03/12]
"Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has a lot on his mind these days, from cutting the defense budget to managing the drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. But his biggest worry is the growing possibility that Israel will attack Iran over the next few months.
Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June — before Iran enters what Israelis described as a “zone of immunity” to commence building a nuclear bomb. Very soon, the Israelis fear, the Iranians will have stored enough enriched uranium in deep underground facilities to make a weapon — and only the United States could then stop them militarily. [...]"
Related: "Israel's
Military Leaders Warn Against Iran Attack" 
"Almost the entire senior hierarchy of Israel's military and security establishment is worried about a premature attack on Iran and apprehensive about the possible repercussions, a former chief of the country's defence forces told The Independent yesterday.
The risks of military action underlined by the highly decorated former commander show the apparent divisions within the establishment over the best way to combat Iran's nuclear programme. The Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Mr Barak are reported to be veering towards military action while fellow ministers as well as the defence and intelligence communities have reservations about this path.
General Lipkin-Shahak stressed he had no idea what decision the security cabinet would reach. He said the current Chief of General Staff (CGS), Lt-Gen Benny Gantz, and Mr Dagan's successor at Mossad, Tamir Pardo, would offer advice. "We have to remember that the CGS and the head of Mossad are there to serve the State of Israel, they are not party political. They will no doubt offer judgement and advice on what is best for Israel," he said. "In the past the advice of the head of the IDF and the head of Mossad had led to military action being stopped." [...]"
MSM: "Israel's Lieberman To Meet With Clinton In Washington Next Week" [02/03/12]
"For the first time since 2010, Foreign Minister (and former nightclub
bouncer) Avigdor Lieberman will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington next week.
This is only the second time that Lieberman will be visiting the United States capital since he assumed the position of foreign minister almost three years ago. He is due to depart for the U.S. on Monday, and will be meeting with senior officials in Congress and leaders of Jewish organizations. [...]"
MSM: "Senate
Approves Bill Banning Insider Trading By Lawmakers, 96-3" [02/03/12]
"The Senate voted 96 to 3 Thursday to prohibit members of Congress from using non-public information for personal financial gain but beat back a slew of amendments to further limit congressional perks.
The Senate action puts pressure on House Republicans to pass similar legislation to quell allegations of congressional self-dealing at a time when Congress’s approval rating is at an all-time low.
[...]"
Related:
"House Votes to Freeze Congress, Federal Pay"
" House lawmakers have voted in favor of a pay freeze for themselves and millions of other people whose paychecks come from Uncle Sam. The House voted 309-117 in favor of extending President Obama's 2-year pay freeze for federal employees, reports the Washington Post. Obama has called for an 0.5% cost-of-living increase for federal workers, and the Senate is expected to reject the House's measure. [...]"
Note: They can do anything they want, now, to give the
impression of ethical behavior ... here they are closing the barn door after
the horses have already run away. It doesn't matter any more.
Commentary: "Convincing People Into Believing There Is Real Choice In Politics" [02/03/12]
[0:00]
" ... we find ourselves locked in a two-party system where the status quo is maintained even though that status quo doesn’t work for the vast majority of us. It is doubtful that much will be different regardless of the outcome of the current election cycle here in the United States. At the margins perhaps there will be some small differences in policy between an Obama administration and a Romney administration just as there were some small differences at the margins between the Bush administration and the current one. But, the influence of Wall Street will continue unabated, just as we will have continued military misadventures abroad, an expansion of the bi-partisan surveillance state, a continuation of the failed policy called the Drug War, continuing and growing deficits, and a continuation of the standard of living for most American even though nearly all of us agree that these are not the things we want.
This will happen in large part because people will vote for one of two false options based upon what they believe, or rather, what they’ve been conditioned to believe through the process of perception management. A while back, Metanoia films put up a fascinating documentary about how we got to this point where public relations, media, advertisers and lobbyists control not only what we think, but how we think. Our suggestion at TPR is that without a new way of thinking, we cannot change the path on which we find ourselves. And, before we can change our way of thinking, we must first come to understand why we believe what we do. As a first step in that direction, we can recommend Metanoia’s film Psywar which you can stream for free on their website. Instead of spending today watching a “reality” TV show or being distracted by a video game, Hollywood gossip or some other entertainment, perhaps a little time trying to gain some understanding might be better spent. [...]"
Related: "Psywar: The Real Battlefield is the Mind"
[100:00]
MSM: "TSA
Agent Charged With JFK Theft, Latest In Series" [02/02/12]
"Authorities say a TSA agent stole $5,000 from a passenger as he was going through security at Kennedy Airport.
Police and the Transportation Security Administration say Alexandra Schmid took the cash from a passenger’s jacket as it went along an X-ray conveyor belt around 8 p.m. Wednesday in JFK’s Terminal 4.
Police spokesman Al Della Fave (fahv) says surveillance video showed Schmid wrapping the money in a plastic glove and taking it to a bathroom.
He said the money has not been recovered. Police are investigating whether Schmid gave it to another person in the bathroom.
Schmid was arrested on a charge of grand larceny. The name of her attorney was not immediately known. [...]"
Related: TSA Agent Steals 8 iPads From Travelers"
"A TSA agent at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport is suspected of stealing iPads from fliers over the past year. Clayton Keith Dovel,
35, who works in the airport's "Resolution Room" (where checked bags are screened by hand), reportedly stole eight iPads from travelers' checked bags.
One of the victims tracked his stolen iPad, leading authorities to Dovel's home, the station reports.
In a statement to the station, the TSA said: "The action of one individual in no way reflects on the outstanding job our more than 50,000 security officers do every day."
Dovel is currently out on administrative leave, WNEM.com reports. In July 2011, a TSA worker at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International was charged with two counts of grand theft for stealing more than $50,000 worth of electronics from passengers over a six-month period. That same month, a Los Angeles Airport TSA officer was indicted for stealing roughly $23,000 worth of watches from passengers' bags and listing them on eBay. [...]"
Note: So, it's not one individual ... it's really hundreds or
thousands of individuals .... out of 50,000 .... who are ethically
bereft.
MSM: "Detroit Drug Ring Bust Charges Former State Rep Kenneth Daniels, 11 Others In Conspiracy" [02/02/12]
"A coalition of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies announced the indictment of 12 alleged members of a metro Detroit drug ring Wednesday. Former state Rep. Kenneth Daniels, a Democrat who represented Detroit's District 5, was among those charged with money laundering and illegal drug distribution.
Authorities say the operation sold drugs purchased in Mexico and Arizona in the Detroit area. [...]"
Commentary:
"US,
Russia Clash Over Washington’s War Drive Against Syria" [02/02/12]
"The United States, France, Britain and the Arab League are pressing for the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution on Syria, while denying that the resolution is intended to pave the way for regime change and Western military intervention in Syria. [...]"
MSM: "Controversial Contractors Paid $2.4M By Canadian Forces
" [02/01/12]
"The Canadian Forces spent $2.4 million last year on training at a facility run by Xe Services, the U.S. private security company formerly known as
Blackwater. The company and its training facility were used to teach precision shooting and defensive driving, as well as VIP escort requirements and close quarter combat techniques, according to documents tabled Monday in the House of Commons.
It appears the training provided by Xe instructors was for precision shooting and defensive driving. The documents note much of the training in VIP escorting and close quarter combat was done by CF instructors and standards personnel.
Special forces members also had precision shooting and defensive driving training at the facility, although for operational security reasons the government wouldn't say how many trained there.
The Department of National Defence made 14 call-ups in 2011 against a standing offer arrangement with
Xe, for a total of $567,729, the documents say. Public Works, which is in charge of federal procurement, made another six call-ups and awarded one contract, spending $1,819,023.48. The total spent between the two departments in 2011 was $2,396,346.86.
The training provided at the facility is specialized and used primarily for snipers and soldiers who do close personal protection, as well as those who drive non-military vehicles like armoured SUVs while protecting VIPs or diplomats in hostile environments such as Libya or Afghanistan.
The facility is known in the defence community to be unique because of training involving live fire in a ship simulator or in a complex building structure, and driving courses that involve live fire. It's widely used by U.S. government and law enforcement, and is accredited by the U.S. government. [...]"
Commentary:
"US Intel Director Prepares Public for False Flag Event" [02/01/12]
"...it would be far more preferable if the United States could cite an Iranian provocation as justification for the airstrikes before launching them. Clearly, the more outrageous, the more deadly, and the more unprovoked the Iranian action, the better off the United States would be. Of course, it would be very difficult for the United States to goad Iran into such a provocation without the rest of the world recognizing this game, which would then undermine it. (One method that would have some possibility of success would be to ratchet up covert regime change efforts in the hope that Tehran would retaliate overtly, or even semi-overtly, which could then be portrayed as an unprovoked act of Iranian aggression.) " -- US foreign policy makers in the Fortune 500 funded Brookings Institution's "Which Path to Persia?" report, pages 84-85.
Considering that the Gulf of Tonkin incident was a deliberate fabrication to escalate the Vietnam War, one many members in Congress are shown to have acknowledged and debated even at the time, or the more recent Iraqi WMD hoax, there is certainly a historical precedence to create such provocations when targeted nations refuse to provide them.
With this in mind, and noting an overt, ongoing series of bold acts of war carried out by the US and Israel inside of Iran, along with sanctions and planned blockades, also acts of war, the corporate-financier oligarchs have been confounded by what seems to be infinite Iranian patience to endure such provocations. [...]"
Note: See related items in the January 2012 archive at
the top of this panel.
Interviews:
"Who Will Stop Obama’s Aggressive War on Iran?" [02/01/12]
[3:56]
"The United States and the European Union have recently slapped unilateral sanctions against Iran’s oil and banking sectors based on the unsubstantiated claim that Iran is trying to acquire a military nuclear technology.
The embargos came after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused, in its November 8 report, Iran of activities aimed at developing nuclear weapons before 2003 and speculated that these activities “may still be ongoing.”
This is while Iran has rejected the allegation and steadfastly insisted that the nature of its nuclear technology is purely civilian and expressed willingness to cooperate with the IAEA to resolve the issue about the country’s nuclear case.
The United States, Israel and their allies and have used the same allegation to impose four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions and more unilateral measures against the Islamic Republic.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Webster Griffin Tarpley, author and historian, to share his opinion on this issue. [...]"
MSM:
"Third Aircraft Carrier Group Coming To Iran" [02/01/12]
"For months now we have been following US naval developments and deployments in the Arabian Sea, which serve one purpose and one purpose only - to demonstrate US military strength in the Straits of Hormuz region and to keep Iranian 'offensive passions' subdued. Yet never has the US had a total of three aircraft carrier groups in the vicinity, always topping out at 2 in the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, most recently these being the CVN-70 Vinson and CVN 72 Lincoln, with a third boat present merely until a rotation in or out of the theater of operations was complete. That is about to change, and with it the prevailing price of Brent, which we are confident is about to take a new step wise price higher as the US makes it all too clear what the endgame is, because as Naval Today reports, the "US navy to deploy third carrier group to Persian Gulf", probably the CVN-77 George
H.W. Bush which departed Norfolk two weeks ago according to the most recent naval update, or any other Norfolk-stationed aircraft carrier: there is a wide selection to chose from. [...]"
MSM: "U.S. Drones Patrolling Its Skies Provoke Outrage in Iraq" [02/01/12]
"A month after the last American troops left Iraq, the State Department is operating a small fleet of surveillance drones here to help protect the United States Embassy and consulates, as well as American personnel. Some senior Iraqi officials expressed outrage at the program, saying the unarmed aircraft are an affront to Iraqi sovereignty.
The program was described by the department’s diplomatic security branch in a little-noticed section of its most recent annual report and outlined in broad terms in a two-page online prospectus for companies that might bid on a contract to manage the program. It foreshadows a possible expansion of unmanned drone operations into the diplomatic arm of the American government; until now they have been mainly the province of the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency.
American contractors say they have been told that the State Department is considering to field unarmed surveillance drones in the future in a handful of other potentially “high-threat” countries, including Indonesia and Pakistan, and in Afghanistan after the bulk of American troops leave in the next two years. State Department officials say that no decisions have been made beyond the drone operations in Iraq. [...]"
MSM: "Israel
Demonizes Iran To Hide Crimes" [02/01/12]
"An Israeli newspaper says Israel uses Iran threat as a tool to divert international attention from Tel Aviv's settlement policy and perpetuate the occupation of the Palestinian territories.
The daily Haaretz wrote in its editorial that Israel and the Palestinians have missed the deadline of January 26, 2012 imposed by the Middle East Quartet (the United Nations, Russia, the United States, and the European Union) to clarify their position on security and the borders.
The report added that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is intentionally trying to bring the negotiations with the Palestinians to a complete halt by taking positions which would subvert any hope for achieving a peaceful solution to the problem.
“The general positions that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submitted last week through his envoy Isaac Molho during talks in Jordan are a blatant attempt to saddle the Palestinians with responsibility for the negotiations' failure,” it added.
Haaretz said Netanyahu knows his refusal to present a map based on the June 1967 borders and a realistic land-swap proposal is a recipe for a continued freeze in the negotiations.
As a result, the article went on, “Netanyahu...has turned the Iranian nuclear threat into an impressive ploy to distract attention from settlement policy and the perpetuation of the occupation.”
The report added that US President Barack Obama's preoccupation with the presidential elections and Obama's fear of the Jewish right has also helped Netanyahu in this regard. [...]"
Commentary:
"No
Exit For Bilderbergers – Why War Will Not Work Anymore" [02/01/12]
"Michael Hudson wrote Super Imperialism in 1972 describing how the United
States paid for its wars of aggression by printing dollars. Recently Dr Hudson
said Brazil, Russia, China, India and Iran (The Gang of Five) met two years
ago and devised a financial strategy to end forever America’s ability to
make people outside the United States pay for the invasions and occupations of
Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya not to mention threatening World War III over a
non-existent Iranian nuclear weapons program. [...]"
MSM:
"UK
Army Power Exposed As Myth" [02/01/12]
"Comments by the most senior British armed forces commanders depict a broken British army, with frustrated soldiers, in a clear contrast to London's hype about its military muscle.
London has been threatening Iran with a military response if it moves to close its territorial waters in the Strait of Hormuz to marine transit.
However, comments by chief of British armed forces' general staff, General Peter Wall, and former army chief general Michael Jackson have raised serious questions about Britain's ability to get involved in such a military adventurism.
Indeed, their remarks suggest Britain cannot even handle the Malvinas (Falklands) in case of an Argentinean attack due to low army morale, exposing the emptiness of British threats.
Wall told the British army's in-house magazine the Soldier that staff cuts, pension reforms and low accommodation quality are taking their toll on the armed forces morale, leaving the army short of essential military equipment and soldiers frustrated and unsettled. [...]"
MSM: "CBO: Taxes Will ‘Shoot Up by More Than 30 Percent’ Over Next 2 Years" [02/01/12]
"The amount of money the federal government takes out of the U.S. economy in taxes will increase by more than 30 percent between 2012 and 2014, according to the Budget and Economic Outlook published today by the
CBO. [...]"
Note: Fortunately, we won't be here. There is no end to the greed,
war and sequential predispositions.
Amended Often. Most Recent
items added on top.
Month begins on
bottom
"In politics, nothing
happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
“You Can Fool Some Of The People Some Of The Time, But Not All Of The People All Of The Time.” –Abraham Lincoln
