World’s Richest Nations Continue to Shower Public Money on Fossil Fuels Companies

Published on 7 Dec 2015 | TRNN Correspondent Dimitri Lascaris speaks with Alex Doukas, Senior Campaigner of Oil Change International, who says the governments of wealthy nations are giving far more public money to fossil fuel companies than to the renewable energy industry or to developing states that are struggling to adapt to climate change.

The Islamic Countries that Buys Our Weapons?

Published on 6 Dec 2015 - Last year, Saudi Arabia became the United State's largest purchaser of arms, enshrining the untouchable status of a ruling monarchy that many accuse of fanning the flames of extremism in the Middle East

Here’s why some Brazilians want their country to lose the World Cup

ENLARGE

For love of country, hate of state. (Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images)

The heresy on the street is: ‘I’d love to see the Brazil team lose every game.’

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — When Brazil was awarded the 2014 soccer World Cup, it seemed a no-brainer that it would please the nation known as the most skilled and passionate in the world at “the beautiful game.”

Brazil’s love and mastery of the ball has won a record five World Cups, and it’s often described in religious terms, as “a mecca for football,” or simply the “pais do futebol” — "soccerland."

Past victories have been greeted with 

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CORPORATOCRACY!

Against Fascism: The Separation of Business and State.

The problem of the corporate/government revolving door is so blatant, so obvious, so out in the open that even its opponents readily admit to its existence. And yet it continues without significant opposition from the public.

When - will the USD collapse?

Published on Feb 14, 2014 | A look at petrol dollars, why it is in demand, how it has assist US economy and the rationale how it will collapse.

Possessive individualism or greed?

Housing rules drive up fake divorces:

 Published on 1 Nov 2013 | The divorce rate in China's capital has soared by a staggering 41 percent since last year. Does that mean a sudden rise in unhappy families, or is something else driving up the divorce rate? At least some people in the cities are faking their divorces over housing. Beijing residents Xiao Hui and Xiao Ming, who only spoke to us on the condition of anonymity, divorced each other to buy a second apartment.

Wine made from "chicken-claw grain", a Tibetan speciality

Published on 22 Oct 2013 | Medog, a county in the southeast of the Tibet Autonomous Region, was the last without road-links in China. With the opening of the Galung La tunnel at the end of 2010, Medog welcomed in a new era. Some local entrepreneurs are placing their hopes on a unique alcoholic drink called "chicken claw wine" made in the region, to help put Medog on the map.

Krokodil crosses over to U.S. from Russia

Published on 11 Oct 2013 | Krokodil, a cheap heroin knockoff drug known for causing scaly, rotting skin, is gaining popularity in the U.S.

Trapped & Terrified: Workers' misery 'turns World Cup in Qatar into shame'.

Published on Oct 17, 2013 | Trapped and terrified - migrants in Qatar have been speaking about the desperation they're enduring. There are more than 80 million in the country - many of whom are working flat-out to get the prestigious World Cup event ready. Tesa Arcilla was in Qatar and has more on how the World Cup focus is drawing the world's eyes to migrant suffering.

Motorway built around home in China

Published on Nov 23, 2012 by itnnews : A couple from China are refusing to leave their half-demolished house, which has since had a motorway built around it.

DynCorp Gets $72.8 Million Contract Despite Negative Reviews and History of Child Trafficking.

By JG Vibes & Alex Thomas
theintelhub.com | November 8, 2012

DynCorp is one of the most lucrative and infamous military contractors in the world, perhaps only surpassed by Halliburton. They both have a documented history of gunrunning, drug dealing, and human trafficking.

In addition, the actual work that they do on the record is sub par and their rebuilding efforts have gotten terrible reviews, especially DynCorp.

Despite this history of nefarious behavior and poor work, Dyncorp was just awarded a brand new $72.8 million dollar contract by the US government. Not only that, but they have also been given an advance exoneration from any liability.

That’s right, our wonderful government has just given DynCorp almost $73 million to continue what many believe will be shabby work that may only be used as a front for more sinister operations.

According to AllGov.com:

“DynCorp of West Virginia, one of the largest military contractors in Afghanistan, was awarded a $72.8 million contract to train pilots for the Air Force about one week after the special inspector general for reconstruction called the company’s earlier work at the Kunduz army base “unsatisfactory.”

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) wrote a scathing report in 2010 and a followup this year which found “serious soil stability issues . . . structural failures, improper grading, and new sink holes” that threatened the well-being of troops stationed there.

One sink hole was found near an electrical power transformer, whose failure “would result in a loss of electrical power over a large portion of Camp Pamir, causing significant financial loss and increasing the risk of injury through fire and electrical shock,” the report said.”

more here from original >> 

“On Psywar against the Innocent”

When freedom of expression is used to incite the public to hatred of a national, religious, racial or ethnic group it becomes a crime. According to Article 20 of the U.N.’s “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” :

1. Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.

2. Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.

                This doesn’t contradict rights of freedom of expression. It attempts to constrain agendas of hatred. It is possible that any program of military propaganda or psywar against groups or nations is fundamentally illegal. Attempts to defend extreme hate crimes as within our rights of free speech encourages censorship, which encourages repression.

A video of U.S. origin, “Innocence of Muslims,” the trailer to a film defaming and sexually deriding the Prohet Mohammed, has of course resulted in protest by Muslims worldwide. Why isn’t everyone protesting ? The trailer is intensively offensive to human values, lacks redeeming artistic merit, and is recognizably propaganda. In California a judge refused to ban “Innocence of Muslims” from youtube, on the grounds that suppression would violate U.S. guarantees of free speech.

In France Charlie Hebdo has published on its cover a cartoon caricature depicting Islam’s Prophet naked in a distorted sexual posture. The effect is despicable and intended. The original issue sold out and despite the anxiety of the country’s 4 million Muslims, Charlie Hebdo ran the cartoon again. While France is sensitive to religious laws (abortions don’t appear in French literature), it hasn’t charged the editors of Charlie Hebdo with a hate crime, and instead closed French embassies and schools in twenty countries. Domestically any protests against the Charlie Hebdo cartoon, or against the American video/film, are banned.  In Germany there are debates about whether the film should be allowed at cinemas or not.

original source  >>>

Private Prisons Spend $45 Million On Lobbying, Rake In $5.1 Billion For Immigrant Detention Alone

Nearly half of all immigrants detained by federal officials are held in facilities run by private prison companies, at an average cost for each detained immigrant is $166 a night. That’s added up to massive profits for Corrections Corporation of America, The GEO Group and other private prison companies:

A decade ago, more than 3,300 criminal immigrants were sent to private prisons under two 10-year contracts the Federal Bureau of Prisons signed with CCA worth $760 million. Now, the agency is paying the private companies $5.1 billion to hold more than 23,000 criminal immigrants through 13 contracts of varying lengths.

CCA was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2000 due to lawsuits, management problems and dwindling contracts. Last year, the company reaped $162 million in net income. Federal contracts made up 43 percent of its total revenues, in part thanks to rising immigrant detention. GEO, which cites the immigration agency as its largest client, saw its net income jump from $16.9 million to $78.6 million since 2000.

As the AP explains, these remarkable profits come in the wake of an equally remarkable lobbying campaign. In the past decade, three major private prison companies spent $45 million on campaign donations and lobbyists to push legislation at the state and federal level. At times, this money has gone to truly nefarious legislation. A 2011 report found that the private prison industry spent millions seeking to increase sentences and incarcerate more people in order to increase the industry’s profits. 30 of the 36 legislators who co-sponsored Arizona’s now mostly invalidated immigration law — which would have landed many more people in detention — received campaign contributions from private prison lobbyists or companies, including CCA and GEO. According to a report released last year, CCA spent over $900,000 on federal lobbying and GEO spent between $120,000 to $199,992 in Florida alone during a short three-month span in 2011. $450,000 went to the Republican national and congressional committees, while Democrats received less than half that number. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) were also among the private prison lobby’s top benefactors.

Private prisons have also been found guilty of abuses ranging from understaffing facilities tobribing judges to sentencing juveniles with minor offenses to disproportionately long terms in privately-owned correctional facilities. A recent report found a Georgia prison run by CCA charges detainees $5 a minute for phone calls while paying them just a dollar a day for menial labor that keeps the facility running; immigrants in civil detention centers have been exploited by the same program.

view from source  |   By Aviva Shen on Aug 3, 2012

Mapping Drone Proliferation: UAVs in 76 Countries

The main international agreement that controls the transfer of drones is the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)

A new US Congress report on the proliferation of drones has confirmed a huge rise in the number of countries that now have military unmanned aerial systems.  The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has published an unclassified version of its February 2012 report on the proliferation of UAVs.  The report examines both the proliferation of UAVs, commonly known as drones, and examines US and multilateral controls on the export of drone technology.  

The report states that between 2005  and December 2011, the number of countries that posses drones rose from 41 to 76 (see here for full list).

(Countries that have drones according to GAO report)

According to the report:

“The majority of foreign UAVs that countries have acquired fall within the tactical category. Tactical UAVs primarily conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions and typically have a limited operational range of at most 300 kilometres. However, some more advanced varieties are capable of performing intelligence collection, targeting, or attack missions. Mini UAVs were also frequently acquired across the globe during this period.”

It should be noted that currently only the US, UK and Israel are known to have used armed UAVs.

The report goes on: “Currently, there are over 50 countries developing more than 900 different UAV systems. This growth is attributed to countries seeing the success of the United States with UAVs in Iraq and Afghanistan and deciding to invest resources into UAV development to compete economically and militarily in this emerging area.”

While the report fails to highlight the danger of growing drone proliferation to global peace and security it does emphasize the danger of drone proliferation to “US interests”.  The report states that “the use of UAVs by foreign parties to gather information on U.S. military activities has already taken place” and “the significant growth in the number of countries that have acquired UAVs, including key countries of concern, has increased the threat to the United States.”

Despite this, the report states “the U.S. government has determined that selected transfers of UAV technology support its national security interests”, thus highlighting the contradiction at the heart of current arms control measures.  ‘Private sector representatives’  told the reports authors that “UAVs are one of the most important growth sectors in the defense industry and provide significant opportunities for economic benefits if U.S. companies can remain competitive in the global UAV market.”

Table 1: US drone sales Fiscal Year 2005-2010

source here | Sept 18,2012  >>>

US accused of creating three more computer super-viruses.

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images / AFP

Two independent teams of researchers studying the Flame computer virus believe that the maker of the malware — all but certain to be the United States — has architected three additional programs to conduct clandestine cyberwar or espionage.

Both Symantec Corp of the United States and Kaspersky Lab of Russia acknowledged on Monday that their research of Flame has led them to believe that whoever had a role in creating that virus has also put their efforts behind three other similar programs.

A team of engineers at Kaspersky released new information on Monday collected during forensic analysis of Flame command-and-Control servers that were examined with the assistance of Symantec, ITU-IMPACT and CERT-Bund/BSI. Researchers had first disclosed in May that Flame, a sophisticated espionage virus, targeted computer systems in Iran and was likely the product of a nation-state, specifically the US. With this week’s update, however, it appears as if the United States’ endeavors in cyberwar may have stretched past even what researchers had imagined.

“Based on the code from the servers, it can be said that they were working with at least three other programs similar to Flame. The code names of those programs are IP, SP and SPE,” Kaspersky Lab chief security expert Aleks Gostev told RT. 

Although the United States government has not gone on the record to take credit for either Flame or Stuxnet, a similar computer worm that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities first discovered in 2010, experts have long maintained that the US is involved in both viruses, perhaps even enlisting Israeli scientists for assistance.

Speaking at a TED Talk in 2011, researcher Ralph Langner said, "My opinion is that the Mossad is involved but that the leading force is not Israel. The leading force behind Stuxnet is the cyber superpower – there is only one; and that's the United States."

In January of this year, Mike McConnell, the former director of national intelligence at the National Security Agency under George W Bush, told Reuters that the US had indeed attacked foreign computer systems at one time or another, and confirmed that America has “the ability to attack, degrade or destroy” the e-grids of adversaries. When the New York Times followed up with a report of their own only five months later, members of US President Barack Obama’s national security team admitted on condition of anonymity that the White House continued cyber-assaults on Iran’s nuclear program through Stuxnet, which Mr. Obama himself endorsed.

Once compared with coding from Flame, security experts saw an immediate correlation.

“Stuxnet of 2009 had a large piece of code similar to that of Flame, so apparently creators of Stuxnet and Flame were working in close collaboration,” Gostev from Kaspersky Lab said. 

With America all but confirmed as the culprit behind both viruses, this week it’s revealed that the United States may have crafted another three coded programs to target Iran and its allies. Speaking to Reuters, researchers involved in the latest analysis say they are still trying to figure out the basic facts about the three new viruses, but believe that the same entity responsible for Stuxnet and Flame are at it again.

"We know that it is definitely out there. We just can't figure out a way to actually get our hands on it. We are trying,"Symantec researcher Vikram Thakur tells Reuters.

Also in their report, Kaspersy say that the heavy encryption and nature of the newest programs “fits the profile of military and/or intelligence operations."

source here  >>>

India gears up to order 22 Apache helicopters for $1.4 bn

India is getting ready to order 22 heavy-duty Apache helicopters for around $1.4 billion, in what will be yet another big defence deal to be bagged by the US.

The US has already made military sales worth over $8 billion to India over the last few years, despite it having lost out to France in the almost $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project to supply 126 fighters to IAF, which is in the final commercial negotiations stage.

In the battle for the attack helicopters, Boeing’s AH-64 D Apache Longbow met all air staff qualitative requirements during the field trials conducted by the IAF, while the Russian Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant’s Mi-28 Havoc failed to pass muster.

“It’s just a matter of time before the contract is inked for the Apaches after final commercial negotiations. Most of the hurdles have been cleared,” a defence ministry official said. The US and Russia are also locked in battle to supply 15 heavy-lift helicopters to IAF, with the Boeing-manufactured Chinooks pitted against the Russian Mi-26 choppers.

As first reported by TOI earlier, Indian armed forces are looking to induct as many as 900 helicopters in the coming decade, including 384 light-utility and observation, 90 naval multirole, 65 light combat, 22 heavy-duty attack, 139 medium-lift and 15 heavy-lift, among others, many of them from abroad.

The impending $1.4 billion deal for the 22 Apaches will also include the supply of 812 AGM-114 L-3 Hellfire Longbow missiles, 542 AGM-114 R-3 Hellfire-II missiles, 245 Stinger Block I-92 H missiles and 12 AN/APG-78 fire-control radars.

Among the other military aviation deals already bagged by the US are the $4.1 bn contract for 10 C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlift aircraft, $2.1 billion for eight P-8 I maritime patrol aircraft and $962 million for six C-130 J ‘Super Hercules” planes.

original >>

Syria: Shameful Performance of Western Media

The performance of the Western media (American, British, French and others) regarding the Syrian conflict has been quite shameful. One does not expect much from American media. Ill-informed foreign editors and correspondents and political cowardice turn American media into tools of US foreign policy.

This is especially true when it comes to coverage of the Middle East, where extra political courage and uncharacteristic level of knowledge and expertise are rather rare even though they are essential in challenging US foreign policy. But when it comes to Syria British media – including the liberal Guardian which has often been brave in challenging Western foreign policies and wars – have been indistinguishable from American media.

These media have failed their readers on many levels. Their shortcomings can be summarized as follows:

1. Resorting to methods of documentations that are never accepted when covering the Arab-Israeli conflict; like the reliance on accounts of people through skype and emails whose names are not obtained through a random process and the reliance on Saudi or Qatari press media offices.

2. Hiding behind the cliché that “the Syrian government does not allow journalists in” to justify the various anthologies of errors contained in media reports. Many journalists have either been allowed in or have managed to sneak in, so the general disclaimer used daily in the New York Times is inaccurate and misleads readers. Such a disclaimer is never used against Israel, which imposes rigid forms of censorship on reports emanating from Israel, especially when Israel is perpetrating its regular war crimes and massacres.

3. The reliance on exile Syrian opposition reports without any scrutiny or healthy skepticism.

4. The assumption that Saudi-funded or Qatari-funded media outfits don’t carry the agendas of those governments.

5. Obscuring on purpose the heavy role of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Syrian exile opposition in order to project a deceptive image of a secular opposition.

original report | 30 july 2012

Kidnap victim found in garage of New York police detective

Kidnap victim found in garage of New York police detective

Bound with zip ties and rope, a 25-year old man was kidnapped and held for $75,000 ransom in a garage belonging to a New York City police detective, who claims not to be involved.

The officer, Ondre Johnson, was taken into custody and suspended from duty though he was not held in prison and is not facing any charges, the NY Daily News reports. Johnson is a 17-year veteran of the New York Police Department and a member of a Brooklyn gang investigation unit.

The victim found in his garage had been kidnapped at gunpoint by a group of men in front of his home on Friday. He was thrown into an SUV with a T-shirt over his head. “Don’t try anything funny or I’ll shoot you,” threatened Jason Hutson, one of the kidnappers.

Another kidnapper then proceeded to call a relative of the victim, demanding $75,000, but the relative recognized the kidnapper’s voice and called the police.

The police were able to trace the location of the phone to Officer Johnson’s home in Queens. After the officer answered the door, police soon found the victim tied up in the single-car garage, which is detached from the house at the end of a short driveway. But the detective denied any involvement in the crime, claiming that he shares his two-family home with his cousin and knew nothing of the kidnapping. Additionally, the cop said he had no access to the garage where the victim was being held.

Three men, including the alleged cousin of the cop, were charged with kidnapping, attempting to collect ransom and criminal possession of a weapon. In the area of the apartment reportedly used by the cousin, police also found a safe, containing materials needed to make fake credit cards. But although the crime took place in the cop’s garage, Officer Johnson was not charged or even locked up.

“A decision was made last night not to lock him up,” a law enforcement official told the New York Times on Saturday. “What you have is an enormous amount of suspicion, but not the hard evidence tying him into it.”

Currently, the officer is only facing suspension without pay, pending further investigation. But four men that were found at the house were all arrested. As of Saturday evening, two had been charged.

“Something is not right here,” a source told the NY Daily News. “They’re going to try to find out what [the cop] was doing there and how he knows these guys.”

source | 29 July 2012

Linda Chase, Michigan Woman, Faces Forgery Charge After Keeping Mummified Boyfriend

One woman's mummy dearest has her in some legal trouble. 

 Police charged Linda Chase, 72, with forgery after they found her mummified boyfriend, Charles Zigler, inside her Jackson, Mich. home. Chase previously admitted to cashing Zigler's benefits checks, but she said the only reason she allegedly kept the man's lifeless body for 18 months was that she was lonely. 

 "It's not that I'm heartless. It's just that after so many bad things happen to you, I don't know," Chase told MI Live earlier this month. "I didn't want to be alone. He was the only guy who was ever nice to me." 

 Prosecutors charged Chase with cashing $28,000 worth of fraudulent checks in Zigler's name, MI Live reports. Chase could face up to 14 years in prison, but likely won't see any jail time if convicted because she has no previous criminal record. 

 That doesn't sit well with Zigler's nephew, Aaron Dryer. "We're just stunned," he said. "I want her in jail. Our family wants her in jail." Prosecutor Hank Zavislak said he plans to take Chase's mental state into account, according to a press release obtained by WLNS. "This is a very unusual case," Zavislak said in the release. "Given the circumstances it is clear a comprehensive mental examination is in order. I would expect that to be ordered as the case progresses." 

 Jackson Police spokesperson Chris Simpson previously told The Huffington Post that Zigler was discovered by authorities after they received a call from one of his family members, who were concerned that they hadn't spoken to or seen him "for a long period of time." Zigler is believed to have died of natural causes.

Original report here | 28 July 2012 

Shock discovery: 248 human embryos found trashed in Russian forest

A fishing trip in Russia’s Urals ended with cries of horror as a man found canisters filled with human embryos, some already shaped to baby bodies.

Lids on the bright blue containers apparently unlocked as the canisters hit the ground, and many embryos spilled out. The little bodies, no longer than 15 centimeters, shrank, turning into mummies.

“A friend of mine called at night and said he went fishing and wanted to get some wood for his fire. He found some abandoned water canisters and wanted to take them for his house. And when he came up, he saw… little baby bodies,” a local told Russia’s Channel 4.

Arriving Monday morning, police found 248 embryos aged 12-16 weeks in and around the four canisters. Labels attached to tiny hands and legs listed family names of assumed mothers and some digit codes, which may refer to the pregnancy period, date of abortion or the hospital where the body originated from.

The 50-liter canisters filled with formalin seem to have been thrown out of a vehicle not far from a road leading to Nevyansk, a town on the slopes of the Ural Mountains.

Nevyansk authorities immediately said the canisters could not have originated in their town.

“Our area is too small; we can’t have so many stillborns, miscarriages or artificial abortions,” they said.

Later it was revealed that the horrifying content was “biological waste” from at least three hospitals in Ekaterinburg, the region’s major city.

“It appears a waste disposal company has failed to carry out its duties properly,” remark local authorities as the investigation continues. The Ministry of Health has been requested to determine which companies provide embryo disposal services to Ekaterinburg hospitals.

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