Obama Regime Claiming The Authority To Assassinate US Citizens On US Soil Without Charges Or Trial?

– ?Obama admin won’t say if they claim authority to assassinate US citizens on US soil without charges (End The Lie, Feb 22, 2013):

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the Obama administration’s assassination program is the fact that they simply refuse to address if they claim the authority to kill Americans on US soil without charge or trial.

While they clearly claim the authority to kill Americans abroad without requiring any clear evidence based on secret meetings and a classified legal justification, they dodge any and all questions around assassinations on US soil.

Individuals in the Obama administration – including Obama himself – have chosen to simply answer a question that was never asked when they are confronted with the issue.

This recently came up in a series of written questions and answers (original without notes here) from Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to John Brennan, Obama’s nominee for the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

“Could the Administration carry out drone strikes inside the United States?” asked the Committee.

“This Administration has not carried out drone strikes inside the United States and has no intention of doing so,” Brennan responded.

No one asked Brennan if the Obama administration has carried out drone strikes in the United States or if they have the intention to do so. The question was if they could carry out such a strike. This was not answered.

When asked, “Could you describe the geographical limits on the Administration’s conduct drone strikes?”

Brennan responded that the Obama administration does not “view our authority to use military force against al-Qa’ida and associated forces as being limited to ‘hot’ battlefields like Afghanistan.”

“Al-Qa’ida and its associates have in the recent past directed several attacks against us from countries other than Afghanistan. The Government has a responsibility to protect its citizens from these attacks, and, thus, as the Attorney General has noted, ‘neither Congress nor our federal courts has limited the geographic scope of our ability to use force to the current conflict in Afghanistan,’” Brennan wrote.

“This does not mean, however, that we use military force whenever or wherever we want,” he continued. “International legal principles, such as respect for another nation’s sovereignty, constrain our ability to act unilaterally. Using force in another country is consistent with these international legal principles if conducted, for example, with the consent of the relevant nation – or if or when other governments are unwilling or unable to deal effectively with a threat to the United States.”

Unfortunately, this answer does not rule out assassinations on US soil in any way.

Glenn Greenwald, writing for the Guardian, further points out that Obama has also dodged the question when it was posed to him in a Google hangout, of all places.

Read moreObama Regime Claiming The Authority To Assassinate US Citizens On US Soil Without Charges Or Trial?

America’s Tragic Future In One Parabolic Chart

America’s Tragic Future In One Parabolic Chart (ZeroHedge, Feb 23, 2013):

When it comes to forecasting the long-term trajectory of the US economy, things usually get very fuzzy some time after 2020 because, as even the most hardened optimists, the “impartial” Congressional Budget Office have recently admitted, America has at best 3-4 years before everything falls apart due to the unsustainable demographic crunch that will wallop the US entitlement state as demographics suddenly becomes a four letter word. Beyond that, not even the CBO dares to plot a straight line as to what happens should America not get its fiscal house in order.

Read moreAmerica’s Tragic Future In One Parabolic Chart

When The Federal Reserve Has To Print Money Just To Print Money

When The Fed Has To Print Money Just To Print Money (ZeroHedge, Feb 23, 2013):

While the topic of net Fed capital flows, and implicit balance sheet risk has recently gotten substantial prominence some three years after Zero Hedge first started discussing it, one open question is what happens when we cross the “D-Rate” boundary, or as we defined it, the point at which the Fed’s Net Interest Margin becomes negative i.e., when the outflows due to interest payable to reserve banks (from IOER) surpasses the cash inflows from the Fed’s low-yielding asset portfolio, and when the remittances to the Treasury cease (or technically become negative). To get the full answer of what happens then, we once again refer readers to the paper released yesterday by Morgan Stanley’s Greenlaw and Deutsche Bank’s Hooper, which discusses not only the parabolic chart that US debt yield will certainly follow over the next several decades, but the trickier concept known as the Fed’s technical insolvency, or that moment when the Fed’s tiny capital buffer goes negative. In short what would happen is that the Fed will be then forced to print money just so it can continue to print money.

From Crunch Time: Fiscal Crises and the Role of Monetary Policy, first the big picture:

Read moreWhen The Federal Reserve Has To Print Money Just To Print Money

Matt Taibbi: Rationalizing Drone Attacks Hits New Low (Rolling Stone)

At Least We’re Not Measles: Rationalizing Drone Attacks Hits New Low (Rolling Stone, Feb 14, 2013):

Read an absolutely amazing article today. Entitled “Droning on about Drones,” it was published in the online version of Dawn, Pakistan’s oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper, and written by one Michael Kugelman, identified as the Senior Program Associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

In this piece, the author’s thesis is that all this fuss about America’s drone policy is overdone and perhaps a little hysterical. Yes, he admits, there are some figures that suggest that as many as 900 civilians have been killed in drone strikes between 2004 and 2013. But, he notes, that only averages out to about 100 civilians a year. Apparently, we need to put that number in perspective:

Read moreMatt Taibbi: Rationalizing Drone Attacks Hits New Low (Rolling Stone)

China Admits Pollution Has Caused ‘Cancer Villages’

Related news:

China admits to existence of ‘cancer villages’ sprouting up due to extreme pollution, chemical exposure

‘Organic’ from China exposed: The shocking truth about ‘organic’ foods grown in the world’s worst environmental cesspool


China admits pollution has caused ‘cancer villages’ (Telegraph, Feb 22, 2013):

The Chinese government has admitted for the first time that decades of reckless pollution have spawned a string of toxic “cancer villages”.

The admission by China’s Environment ministry came in a five-year plan on tackling pollution.

“In recent years, toxic and hazardous chemical pollution has caused many environmental disasters, cutting off drinking water supplies, and even leading to severe health and social problems such as ‘cancer villages’” the document says.

Environmentalists have long campaigned for the government to recognise and help the hundreds of cancer clusters caused by poisoned soil, water or air. In 2009, Deng Fei, an investigative journalist helped to plot some of the worst-hit villages on a Google map.

UK May Divert Billions In Foreign Aid To Military

UK may divert billions in foreign aid to military (RT, Feb 21, 2013):

David Cameron announced on Wednesday that he was ‘very open’ to the idea of channeling billions of pounds from the UK’s foreign aid budget in to military defense and ‘peacekeeping’ operations, in an attempt to avoid further defense cuts.

Money previously intended for overseas development and aid could be diverted into military operations deemed ‘peacekeeping’ by the British government. Funds from the Department for International Development (DFID) may be poured into the Ministry of Defense if the British PM has his way, and the idea is gaining momentum with the ruling party.

Read moreUK May Divert Billions In Foreign Aid To Military

Obama Dispatches 100 US Troops To Niger To ‘Support Predator Drone Base’

Related info:

French Troops Protecting Niger Uranium Mine: Fight For Security In Africa Or …?


Obama Dispatches 100 US Troops To Niger To “Support Predator Drone Base” (ZeroHedge, Feb 22, 2013):

As we speculated from the very beginning, and as was reaffirmed in “Is Nigeria, And Its Light Sweet Crude, About To Be Drawn Into The Mali “Liberation” Campaign?”, the “French” (with complete and fully-comped US support) Mali campaign is slowly but surely migrating to its intended target: Nigeria, and rather its holdings of light sweet crude. And while the US presence in this latest resource land grab, this time in Africa, was so far rather stealthy, it appears the time for foreplay is over and moments ago Obama told congress has has dispatched 40 more American troops to Niger this week, bringing the total U.S. military presence in the west African country to 100. Let’s hear it for the full retroactive transparency demanded by the War Powers Resolution.

The Hill reports: “The troops have been deployed to support the intervention in neighboring Mali, where French troops have been helping local forces rout Islamist militants from the country’s north since last month.  The Obama administration is also planning to build a base in Niger for unarmed Predator drones to conduct surveillance on militants in the region, The New York Times reported last month. On Wednesday, “the last elements of a deployment of approximately 40 additional U.S. military personnel entered Niger with the consent of the Government of Niger,” Obama wrote to the House and Senate leaders.” Next: extensive weapons of mass destruction are discovered in Abuja while Al Qaeda terrorists are seen making threatening gestuers and using harsh language at Nigerian oil rigs which is the international acknowledged symbol that the US has to do its sworn globocop duty and liberate all that oppressed Nigerian crude.

More importantly, China is surely delighted over what as everyone can now understand, is an imminent confrontation over who owns what in Africa.

Here’s the full letter:

Read moreObama Dispatches 100 US Troops To Niger To ‘Support Predator Drone Base’

Europe is Safe … Just Ask Spanish Depositors … Who Have Lost EVERYTHING

Europe is Safe… Just Ask Spanish Depositors… Who Have Lost EVERYTHING (ZeroHedge, Feb 22, 2013):

Anyone who wants to get an inside look at both the European banking system and the politicians in charge of fixing it need to only look at Spain’s Bankia.

Bankia was formed in December 2010 by merging seven totally bankrupt Spanish cajas (regional banks that were unregulated). The bank was heralded as a success story and an indication that European Governments could manage the risks in their banking systems.

Indeed, in 2011, Bankia even reported a profit of €41 million. And in April 2012, it was proposing paying a dividend. Then, in the span of two weeks, the bank revised its 2011 profit to a €3.3 billion LOSS, requested a formal bailout from Spain, and had to be nationalized.

Read moreEurope is Safe … Just Ask Spanish Depositors … Who Have Lost EVERYTHING

Mission To Transport 23,000 Liters Of Bomb-Grade Uranium From Canada To US

Mission to transport 23,000 liters of bomb-grade uranium from Canada to US (RT, Feb 21, 2013):

Up to 76 truckloads of radioactive waste could soon be crossing into the US from Canada, local media reveal. Relocating the weapons-grade uranium (HEU) in liquid form would be the first operation of its kind, and is set to cost $60 million.

The trips may kick off in August, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) documents suggest. Up to 76 trucks will be utilized in the operation, the Ottawa Citizen estimated. Each cask would carry up to 257 liters and contain approximately 175kg of HEU, which would be enough to produce nearly seven nuclear bombs.

The potential transfer of the weapons-grade uranium liquid (HEU) was first revealed in documents from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) a week ago, with more details emerging on Thursday.

Read moreMission To Transport 23,000 Liters Of Bomb-Grade Uranium From Canada To US

Al-Qaeda’s 22 Tips For Evading Drones

Al-Qaeda’s 22 Tips For Evading Drones (ZeroHedge, Feb 22, 2013):

This document is one of several found by The Associated Press in buildings recently occupied by Al-Qaeda fighters in Timbuktu, Mali. Written by Abdullah bin Mohammed, apparently with God’s help, with the goal “of disabling the new strategy of the American army at the medium or long-range levels,” through three methods: the formation of a public opinion to stand against the attacks, deterring of spies, and tactics of deception and blurring.

These 22 tactics are as follows…

Read moreAl-Qaeda’s 22 Tips For Evading Drones

Radioactive Waste Is Leaking From Washington’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation

Radioactive Waste Is Leaking From Washington’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation (ZeroHedge, Feb 22, 2013):

And now for a quick lesson in government spending: in the 1940s the federal government created the now mostly decommissioned Washington’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation as part of the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. During the Cold War, the project was expanded to include nine nuclear reactors and five large plutonium processing complexes, which produced plutonium for most of the 60,000 weapons in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Sadly, many of the early safety procedures and waste disposal practices were inadequate, and government documents have since confirmed that Hanford’s operations released significant amounts of radioactive materials into the air and the Columbia River.

The weapons production reactors were decommissioned at the end of the Cold War, but the decades of manufacturing left behind 53 million US gallons of high-level radioactive waste, an additional 25 million cubic feet of solid radioactive waste, 200 square miles of contaminated groundwater beneath the site and occasional discoveries of undocumented contaminations that slow the pace and raise the cost of cleanup. The Hanford site represents two-thirds of the nation’s high-level radioactive waste by volume. Today, Hanford is the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States and is the focus of the nation’s largest environmental cleanup. The government spends $2 billion each year on Hanford cleanup — one-third of its entire budget for nuclear cleanup nationally. The cleanup is expected to last decades. It turns out that as Krugman would say, the government was not spending nearly enough, and moments ago Governor Jay Inslee said that six underground radioactive waste tanks at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site are leaking.

Read moreRadioactive Waste Is Leaking From Washington’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation

FBI Terrorism And The False Flag War Against America (Veterans Today)

FBI And False Flag War Against America


The scene of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City 

FBI Terrorism and the False Flag War (Veterans Today, Feb 19, 2013):

“Terrorism isn’t just bombs. It is also the pre-staging of the public through game theory warfare, a subset of chaos theory. The public is propagandized and indoctrinated, not just through media, entertainment and news, but through control of education and the internet.”

A recent book has exposed the FBI as the world’s largest terrorist recruiting organization. However, evidence indicates that, not only is the majority of terrorism, “false flag,” but that creating and curing the “disease of terrorism,” has become one of the biggest rackets in the world.

The Case against the FBI

Trevor Aaronson’s exhaustive investigative work on the FBI role in creating terrorism, The Terror Factory has exposed, not just manufactured “false flag terror,” but opens the door to investigation of many other organizations as well, some operating around the world.

Read moreFBI Terrorism And The False Flag War Against America (Veterans Today)

Russia Sends 4 MORE WARSHIPS To Mediterranean Sea Near Syria

Flashback:

Russian Ships Park Off Syrian Coast As NATO Deploys Patriot Missiles In Turkey

Russia Sends Two Squadrons Of Ships To Syria

Russia Sends Three Warships To Syria Carrying Hundreds Of Marines


Russia sends four more warships to Mediterranean Sea near Syria (PressTV, Feb 20, 2013):

A flotilla of four Russian warships is heading to the Mediterranean Sea near the Syrian waters, Russian Defense Ministry says.

The ministry said in a statement to Russian media on Tuesday that the four warships will join an escort ship and smaller vessels, which are currently on duty in the area.

Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency quoted a military source as saying that the main task of the deployed ships could be participating in a possible evacuation of Russian nationals from Syria.

Read moreRussia Sends 4 MORE WARSHIPS To Mediterranean Sea Near Syria

Russia Begins Evacuating Its Citizens And Nationals From War-Torn Syria

Russia begins evacuating its citizens and nationals from war-torn Syria (Al Jazeera/AP, Feb 20, 2013):

Russia has started to evacuate Russian citizens and nationals from Syria after sending two planes to deliver humanitarian aid to the war-torn Middle East country.

The planes carried more than 40 tons of humanitarian aid, including food, tents and power generators. And 99 people who wanted to leave Syria have arrived in Moscow on Wednesday morning.

Read moreRussia Begins Evacuating Its Citizens And Nationals From War-Torn Syria

Russia Evacuates More Nationals From Syria

Russia Evacuates More Nationals from Syria (RIA Novosti, , Feb. 20, 2013):

MOSCOW – A Russian Emergencies Ministry aircraft has evacuated more Russians and nationals of other former Soviet republics from war-stricken Syria, the ministry reported Wednesday.

“An [Ilyushin] Il-62 [Classic] plane has landed in Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport,” a ministry spokesman told RIA Novosti.

Read moreRussia Evacuates More Nationals From Syria

Russia Warns Syria: ‘Two-Year Conflict Leading To Mutual Destruction’

‘Two-year conflict leading to mutual destruction,’ Russia warns Syria (Al Arabiya News, Feb 20, 2013):

Russia on Wednesday urged the regime and rebels in Syria to swiftly halt their almost two-year conflict, warning that seeking a military settlement risked leading to mutual destruction.

“It’s time to end this two-year conflict,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after a meeting with Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi and other top Arab diplomats.

“Neither side can allow itself to bet on a military settlement as this is a path to nowhere, a path to mutual destruction,” he said.

Read moreRussia Warns Syria: ‘Two-Year Conflict Leading To Mutual Destruction’

Pentagon Grounds F-35 Fighter Jet Fleet After Engine Crack Found

Pentagon grounds F-35 fleet after engine crack found (CBS News, Feb 22, 2013):

The Pentagon on Friday grounded its fleet of F-35 fighter jets after discovering a cracked engine blade in one plane.

The problem was discovered during what the Pentagon called a routine inspection at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., of an F-35A, the Air Force version of the sleek new plane.

The Navy and the Marine Corps are buying other versions of the F-35, which is intended to replace older fighters like the Air Force F-16 and the Navy F/A-18.

US: 60 Million People In Path Of Monster Winter Storm

60 million in path of winter storm (CNN, Feb 22, 2013):

A massive winter storm spanning 20 states dumped more than a foot of snow in some places Thursday and brought life to a standstill in parts of the central United States.About 60 million people — 20% of the U.S. population — were under winter weather warnings, watches and advisories in the 750,000 square miles affected.

Read moreUS: 60 Million People In Path Of Monster Winter Storm

RED ALERT: World’s Biggest Gold Storage Company Dumps US Citizens

From the article:

“If history is any guide, storing gold abroad is critical.”

Flashback:

Government Cracks Safe-Deposit Boxes

US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HAS TOLD BANKS – IN WRITING – IT MAY INSPECT SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES WITHOUT WARRANT AND SEIZE ANY GOLD, SILVER, GUNS OR OTHER VALUABLES IT FINDS INSIDE THOSE BOXES!

James G. Rickards of Omnis Inc.: Get Your Gold Out Of The Banking System


RED ALERT: World’s Biggest Gold Storage Company Dumps US Citizens (Sovereign Man, Feb 22, 2013):

ViaMat, a Swiss logistics company that has been safeguarding precious metals since 1945, is literally the gold standard in secure storage.

They have vaults from Switzerland to Hong Kong to Dubai, and they count among their clients some of the largest mining companies in the world. They know what they’re doing.

And now they’re dumping US citizens.

Read moreRED ALERT: World’s Biggest Gold Storage Company Dumps US Citizens

Farewell Eng£AAAnd: Moody’s Downgrades UK’s Credit Rating From AAA To Aa1

Farewell AAA: Moody’s Downgrades The UK From AAA To Aa1 (ZeroHedge, Feb 22, 2013):

Just the headline for now:

  • MOODY’S DOWNGRADES UK’S GOVERNMENT BOND RATING TO Aa1 FROM AAA

Someone must have clued Moody’s on the fact that the UK is about to have its very own Goldman banker, which means consolidated debt/GDP will soon need four digits. In other news, every lawyer in the UK is now celebrating because come Monday Moody’s will be sued to smithereens.

Cable not happy as it tests 31 month lows…

Full report below:

Read moreFarewell Eng£AAAnd: Moody’s Downgrades UK’s Credit Rating From AAA To Aa1

Scorecard: How Many Rights Have Americans REALLY Lost?


Painting by Anthony Freda: www.AnthonyFreda.com

Scorecard: How Many Rights Have Americans REALLY Lost? (Washington’s Blog, Feb 21, 2013):

How Many Constitutional Freedoms Do We Still Have?

Preface: While a lot of people talk about the loss of our Constitutional liberties, people usually speak in a vague, generalized manner … or focus on only one issue and ignore the rest.

This post explains the liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights – the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution – and provides a scorecard on the extent of the loss of each right.

Read moreScorecard: How Many Rights Have Americans REALLY Lost?

U.S. Drone Strikes Up Sharply In Afghanistan

U.S. drone strikes up sharply in Afghanistan (Los Angeles Times, Feb 21, 2013):

Their use rose 72% last year compared with 2011, and the trend is likely to continue as troops withdraw. But while the aircraft reduce risks to U.S. forces, mistakes are deadly for civilians.

KABUL, Afghanistan — One morning recently, a teenager named Bacha Zarina was collecting firewood on her family’s small farm in eastern Afghanistan. About 30 yards away, as family members recall, two Taliban commanders stood outside a house.

A missile screamed down from the sky, killing the two men instantly. Two chunks of shrapnel flew at Bacha Zarina and lodged in her left side.

Read moreU.S. Drone Strikes Up Sharply In Afghanistan

Nationalized Bankia To Post Largest Corporate Loss In Spanish History

Nationalized Bankia To Post Largest Corporate Loss In Spanish History (ZeroHedge, Feb 21, 2013):

Just in case anyone is confused about how fixed Europe is, insolvent Spanish TBTF megabank, which F’ed last year and had to be bailed out by the government, will post earnings (and in this case we use the term very loosely) next week at which time it will report the biggest corporate loss in Spanish history. From Telegraph: “On Thursday Bankia will report full-year earnings, including a €12.6bn provision taken at the end of last year. The writedown is a result of the lender moving assets into Spain’s “bad bank” at heavy discounts. Bankia, which is seen as a symbol of Spain’s financial woes, was created through the merger of seven smaller savings banks before being listed on Madrid’s stock exchange. When the company failed, hundreds of thousands of people who had been sold shares saw their savings wiped out. The collapse forced Spain to ask Europe for a bailout for its banking sector, which has meant the lender is subject to tight controls.  Bankia is trying to sell its 12pc stake in International Consolidated Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways, which is valued at about £510m, and 5.3pc of the power company Iberdrola, which is worth about €1.24bn.”

Read moreNationalized Bankia To Post Largest Corporate Loss In Spanish History