AggroGator

WWH/CJE Citizen Journalist, Dr. John Konopak, unpacks the conditions and hjistorical influences which have left the "Average American" virtually helpless before the power of "public relations."

ShareThis

U.S. should hit 'pause' button on billions more in Afghan aid: watchdog --U.S. 'reconstruction' aid to Afghanistan approaching $100 billion 13 Feb 2013 The U.S. government should reconsider whether to spend more on reconstruction aid in Afghanistan, the U.S. watchdog that monitors the funds said on Wednesday, citing Afghanistan's persistent corruption and inability to manage projects as U.S. troops withdraw. John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghan reconstruction, said $20 billion in U.S. assistance for Afghanistan had been appropriated but not yet spent. Nearly $10 billion more in aid may soon be approved by Congress. Sopko asked whether any of this money should be released... The subcommittee chairman, Republican Jason Chaffetz (UT-3), said it was especially distasteful for Washington to be sending taxpayers' money to "the most corrupt government on the face of the planet" in a time of fiscal scarcity at home. [$100 billion to pretend to rebuild that which we destroyed. But we can't get a road built in the US due to the 'deficit.' US corpora-terrorists, mercenaries and drug lords are the biggest beneficiaries--so by all means, let's cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid--but keep the CIA's opium and gas routes fully funded!]

ShareThis

Roof collapses at Chernobyl nuclear plant: Ukraine 13 Feb 2013 A section of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine collapsed under the weight of snow, officials said Wednesday, raising new concerns about the condition of the facility that was the site of the world's worst nuclear accident. There were no injuries after Tuesday's accident nor any increase in radiation from the reactor that exploded in 1986, the country's emergency agency said. French construction firms Vinci and Bouygues said Wednesday they had evacuated as a precaution around 80 employees working on a new protective shelter from the site.

ShareThis

US drone operators, cyber troops to get distinguished medal: Pentagon 14 Feb 2013 The Pentagon says it is creating the Distinguished Warfare Medal that can be awarded to those US troops who launch assassination drone strikes and direct cyber attacks. The outgoing US Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, said on Wednesday that the US drone operators and those who direct cyber attacks would be eligible to receive the medal for their direct impact on a US military operation from afar.

ShareThis

Terrorism watchdog questioned 'bewildering' array of terror powers 14 Feb 2013 The terrorism watchdog yesterday criticised the "bewildering" range of anti-terror powers in the UK and said he wished the "evocative" phrase had never entered the law. David Anderson QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism laws, questioned the need for specific powers to tackle suspected terrorists, brought about in nine separate pieces of legislation in just over a decade. He said no matter how serious or unique "terrorism" offences were it did not necessarily follow that specific powers were needed.

ShareThis

Former UVA Professor Arrested at Protest Outside White House 13 Feb 2013 Former University of Virginia professor and civil rights leader Julian Bond was arrested Wednesday outside the White House. Bond was with a group of prominent activists including actress Daryl Hannah and former Congressman Robert Kennedy Jr. They were protesting to send a message to President Obama. The group wants the president to block the [deadly] Keystone XL pipeline project, which would carry oil from Canada to Texas.

ShareThis

Activists arrested at White House protesting Keystone pipeline 13 Feb 2013 When President Obama spoke about climate change global warming in the State of the Union address Tuesday night, he failed to mention the proposed Keystone XL pipeline [of course], which aims to transport heavy crude oil from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast and which needs his approval for a construction permit. But that controversial project -- which ranks as one of the top climate decisions the president will have to make this year -- took center stage Wednesday as 48 activists engaged in civil disobedience at the gates of the White House. Shortly after noon, D.C. police began arresting the protesters.

ShareThis

Attorney-client meeting room was bugged, Navy lawyer testifies at Guantánamo --A Navy lawyer testified that there was a listening device in a room where defense attorneys met with their clients but said no one was eavesdropping. [LOL!] 12 Feb 2013 The military had a hidden microphone in a room where defense attorneys met detainees prisoners awaiting death-penalty trials, a senior prison official disclosed at the war court Tuesday. But, eavesdropping equipment aside, nobody was using it to listen in on the confidential conversations prisoners have with their lawyers or the Red Cross, Navy Capt. Thomas Welsh, the prison camps' chief staff attorney testified. Welsh said he discovered the eavesdropping capability in January 2012, after eight months on the job at Guantánamo, by spotting a "law enforcement official" listening in on a meeting between a detainee, prosecutor and defense lawyers. They were discussing a possible plea deal inside Camp Echo, a compound of huts.

Christopher Dorner: Gravedigger in Uniform
www.submedia.tv This Week: 1. Greece's civil war rages on 2. Egypt's Black Bloc 3. Steven Seagal joins la migra, well sort of 4. Camover Berlin's counter-surveillance game 5. Anonymous Pwns the Federal Reserve **Music Break: NWA's "100 Miles and Runnin'** 6. Christopher Dorner: Gravedigger in Uniform From: stimulator Views: 679 36 ratings Time: 01:01 More in Nonprofits & Activism

ShareThis

At Least 20 CIA Prisoners Still Missing 13 Feb 2013 In one of President Barack Obama first acts in the White House, he ordered the closure of the CIA's so-called "black-site" prisons, where terror suspects had been held and, sometimes, tortured. The CIA says it is "out of the detention business," as John Brennan, Obama's pick to head the agency, recently put it. But the CIA's prisons left some unfinished business. In 2009, ProPublica listed more than thirty people who had been held in CIA prisons and were still missing. Some of those prisoners have since resurfaced, but at least twenty are still unaccounted for.

ShareThis

Waco, redux: Fugitive ex-Los Angeles cop believed dead after gun battle, fire 13 Feb 2013 A fugitive ex-cop accused of a grudge-fueled killing spree targeting police officers and their families is believed to have died in a mountain cabin that burned down [by law enforcement] in the climax to a massive weeklong manhunt across Southern California, authorities said on Wednesday. Police were awaiting forensic analysis to confirm that charred human remains found in the smoldering ruins of the cabin were those of the 33-year-old fugitive, Christopher Dorner. Authorities including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the man, who had barricaded himself inside the cabin during a standoff with police on Tuesday in the snow-swept hills of the San Bernardino National Forest, was almost certainly Dorner.

ShareThis

Italian ex-spy chief gets 10 years in CIA case 12 Feb 2013 Italy's former military intelligence chief was sentenced to 10 years in jail on Tuesday for his role in the kidnapping of an Egyptian Muslim cleric in an operation organized by the United States. An American former CIA station chief was this month sentenced in absentia to seven years in jail after imam Abu Omar was snatched from a Milan street in 2003 and flown to Egypt for interrogation torture during the United States' "war on terror". The Milan appeals court sentenced Niccolo Pollari, former head of the Sismi military intelligence agency, to 10 years in prison and his former deputy Marco Mancini to nine years.

ShareThis

Anonymous fails to shut down live streams of Obama address 12 Feb 2013 Despite Anonymous's vows to block Web broadcasts of tonight's State of the Union address, the hacktivist collective failed to disrupt the president's speech. Declaring that "there will be no State of the Union Address on the Web tonight," the loose-knit group announced earlier today its intention to block live streams of the address in protest of the president not mentioning issues during his speech that are important to Anonymous. However, live streams originating from the White House's Web site and YouTube appeared unaffected during the president's speech. Anonymous, which is famous for using distributed denial-of service attacks to jam Web sites, was protesting a variety of issues, including the prosecution of Web activist Aaron Swartz, the long detention of alleged WikiLeaker Bradley Manning, wireless wiretapping, the targeted killings of U.S. citizens by drones, and the National Defense Authorization Act, which it calls "an act of outright tyrannical legislation."

ShareThis

Source: Body found in rubble of burned cabin 12 Feb 2013 The extraordinary manhunt for the former Los Angeles police officer suspected of three murders converged Tuesday on a mountain cabin where he was believed to have barricaded himself inside, engaged in a shootout that killed a deputy and then never emerged as the home went up in flames. A single gunshot was heard from within, and a charred body was found inside.

ShareThis

Christopher Dorner shootout: Smoke, flame amid 'tactical operation' 12 Feb 2013  Smoke and flames were visible from the area where fugitive former law enforcement officer Christopher Jordan Dorner was holed up in a Big Bear-area cabin after gun battles with law enforcement officers. Law enforcement sources said "a tactical operation" was underway at the cabin but did not provide further details. A tall plume of smoke was rising from the area where the standoff occurred. Hundreds of law enforcement personnel swooped down on the site near Big Bear following the gun battles between Dorner and officers that broke out in the snow-covered mountains where the fugitive had been eluding a massive manhunt since his truck was found burning in the area late last week.

ShareThis

Anonymous intends to block Webcasts of State of the Union 12 Feb 2013 The online hactivist collective Anonymous intends to block Webcasts of President Obama's State of the Union address this evening because of what it calls a lack of attention to issues important to the group. "There will be no State of the Union Address on the Web tonight," the group said today in a blog post announcing the effort, which it has code named #opSOTU. Specifically, the group says it objects to Obama not addressing the prosecution of Web activist Aaron Swartz, the long detention of alleged WikiLeaker Bradley Manning, wireless wiretapping, the targeted killings of U.S. citizens by drones, and the National Defense Authorization Act, which it calls "an act of outright tyrannical legislation." In the post, Anonymous said it planned to cut off the Capitol from the Internet during the president's address.

ShareThis

Dow closes at highest of the year, nearing record 12 Feb 2013 The Dow is closing at its highest level of the year, coming within one percent of its record reached in October 2007. The latest gain was powered by impressive results from two big consumer brands, Avon and luxury clothing maker Michael Kors. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 47 points to 14,018 Tuesday, putting it within 146 points of its record high of 14,164.

ShareThis

Hagel Nomination Clears Panel After Combative Debate 13 Feb 2013 After a combative two-hour debate, the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday approved the nomination of former Senator Chuck Hagel as defense secretary, sending it to the full Senate. But the 14-to-11 vote, which broke down entirely along partisan lines, was just the beginning of a process this week that seemed certain to further expose a deep rift between Republicans and Democrats over President Obama's foreign policy prerogatives. Senator [terrorist] James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the senior Republican on the committee, has vowed to use a procedural tactic to slow the Senate’s consideration of Mr. Hagel, a step that would require 60 votes for confirmation instead of the usual simple majority of 51.

ShareThis

Dorner gun battle: 2 officers shot, 'deputies are everywhere' 12 Feb 2013 Fugitive former police officer Christopher Dorner allegedly shot and wounded at least two San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies during a shootout with authorities in the Big Bear area Tuesday afternoon, sources said. Dozens of law enforcement officers were racing to the last reported scene of a gun battle near the 7 Oaks cabin area near Big Bear. "There are deputies everywhere on the ground and on foot," said Cindy Bachman, a San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman.

ShareThis

Breaking: Cops exchange gunfire with wanted ex-cop --Area in lockdown --4 schools in full lockdown --Man 'matching Dorner's description' was in area [?!?] --1 Officer wounded in gunfight over Highway 38 in search for Christopher Dorner 12 Feb 2013 Fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner has reportedly exchanged gunfire with federal authorities in California's Big Bear Lake area. [I wonder how many more civilians the LAPD/Feds will slaughter in their hunt for Dorner?]