U.S.

May 22

Eric Holder Admits To First Americans Killed By Drone Strikes

- Eric Holder Admits To First Americans Killed By Drone Strikes (ZeroHedge, May 22, 2013):

In a letter to Congress (below), AG Eric Holder admitted that the administration deliberately killed American Anwar al-Awlaki (the radical Muslim cleric) in a drone strike in September 2011 adding, as the NY Times reports, “the decision to target Anwar al-Awlaki was lawful, it was considered, and it was just.” As RT notes, there was collateral damage, as it has been widely reported but rarely acknowledged in Washington that two other US citizens – Samir Khan, and al-Awlaki’s teenage son, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki – were executed in that same Yemen strike. With Holder’s latest admission, however, a fourth American – Jude Mohammed – has also been officially named a casualty of America’s continuing drone war; bringing the total ‘known’ Americans killed under the US Drone War to 4 since 2009.

Via NY Times,

One day before President Obama is due to deliver a major speech on national security, his administration on Wednesday formally acknowledged that the United States had killed four American citizens in drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan.

…

The American responsibility for Mr. Awlaki’s death has been widely reported, but the administration had until now refused to confirm or deny it.

The letter also said that the United States had killed three other Americans: Samir Khan, who was killed in the same strike; Mr. Awlaki’s son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, who was also killed in Yemen; and Jude Mohammed, who was killed in a strike in Pakistan. Continue reading »

Tags: Barack Obama, Drones, Global News, Government, Obama administration, Politics, Terrorism, U.S.

May 22

Homeland Security: Selling Counterfeit Goods Is Now ‘TERRORISM’

Global News, Politics No Comments »

- Department of Homeland Security: Selling Counterfeit Goods is Now “Terrorism” (Liberty Blitzkrieg, May 22, 2013):

If the IRS scandal wasn’t enough to convince you that bloated, corrupt, bureaucratic government institutions pose a greater threat to our freedoms than any terrorist attack ever could, this story should settle it once and for all. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not only wasteful, power hungry, and entirely unnecessary, it is also rapidly transforming itself into the Vampire Squid of government. In light of the fact that pretty much every terrorist plot the U.S. government has “thwarted” since 9/11 has been either FBI or CIA hatched schemes rooted in entrapment, the DHS has a lot of spare time on its hands to hunt frightening acts of “domestic terrorism.” You know, like fake Gucci bags. This story is beyond unacceptable. Continue reading »

Tags: Crime, DHS, Global News, Government, Homeland Security, Politics, Society, Terrorism, U.S.

May 22

America’s Giant Bubble Economy Is Going To Become An Economic Black Hole

Economy, Global News No Comments »

- America’s Bubble Economy Is Going To Become An Economic Black Hole (Economic Collapse, May 22, 2013):

What is going to happen when the greatest economic bubble in the history of the world pops? The mainstream media never talks about that. They are much too busy covering the latest dogfights in Washington and what Justin Bieber has been up to. And most Americans seem to think that if the Dow keeps setting new all-time highs that everything must be okay. Sadly, that is not the case at all. Right now, the U.S. economy is exhibiting all of the classic symptoms of a bubble economy. You can see this when you step back and take a longer-term view of things. Over the past decade, we have added more than 10 trillion dollars to the national debt. But most Americans have shown very little concern as the balance on our national credit card has soared from 6 trillion dollars to nearly 17 trillion dollars. Meanwhile, Wall Street has been transformed into the biggest casino on the planet, and much of the new money that the Federal Reserve has been recklessly printing up has gone into stocks. But the Dow does not keep setting new records because the underlying economic fundamentals are good. Rather, the reckless euphoria that we are seeing in the financial markets right now reminds me very much of 1929. Margin debt is absolutely soaring, and every time that happens a crash rapidly follows. But this time when a crash happens it could very well be unlike anything that we have ever seen before. The top 25 U.S. banks have more than 212 trillion dollars of exposure to derivatives combined, and when that house of cards comes crashing down there is no way that anyone will be able to prop it back up. After all, U.S. GDP for an entire year is only a bit more than 15 trillion dollars.

But most Americans are only focused on the short-term because the mainstream media is only focused on the short-term. Things are good this week and things were good last week, so there is nothing to worry about, right?

Continue reading »

Tags: Bill Gross, Bonds, Bubble, Collapse, Debt, Derivatives, Derivatives market, Economy, Fed, Federal Reserve, GDP, Global News, Japan, PIMCO, Stock Market, U.S., Wall Street

May 22

Official Story Has Odd Wrinkles: A Pack Of Questions About The Boston Bombing Backpacks

Global News, Politics No Comments »

- Official Story has Odd Wrinkles: A Pack of Questions about the Boston Bombing Backpacks (WhoWhatWhy, May 20, 2013)

Tags: Boston, Crime, Global News, Government, Politics, Terrorism, U.S.

May 22

Man Killed While Being Questioned About Links To Boston Marathon Bombings By FBI

Global News, Politics No Comments »

- FBI says man shot dead while being questioned about Boston bombings (Reuters, May 22, 2013):

ORLANDO, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An FBI agent shot and killed a man of Chechen origin who turned violent while being questioned on Wednesday about his connection to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of two Chechen brothers suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings.

A friend of the dead man identified him to local media as 27-year-old Ibragim Todashev, who had previously lived in Boston and knew Tsarnaev, the older of the two brothers suspected of planting two bombs at the marathon on April 15. Three people were killed and 264 injured in the attacks.

The shooting occurred in an apartment complex near the Universal Studios theme park, where the FBI and members of other law enforcement agencies including the Massachusetts State Police were interviewing the man about the marathon bombing.

“A violent confrontation was initiated by the individual,” the FBI said. A special agent, it said, “acting on the imminent threat posed by the individual, responded with deadly force. The individual was killed and the special agent was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”

Continue reading »

Tags: Assassination, Boston, Crime, FBI, Global News, Government, Politics, Terrorism, Terrorists, U.S.