Video: Drones Spying On Americans! Why Does The Government Want To Spy On Us Like This?

(FoxNews) – Freedom Watch – Judge Napolitano –

Dozens of U.S. Citizens on Assassination List, White House Adviser Hints

REPOST – (AlterNet) – When it was confirmed last winter by then-Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair that the Obama administration had authorized the assassination of American citizens working with terrorist groups overseas, it appeared that no more than three Americans were being targeted in this manner.

In an interview last week with the Washington Times, however, Deputy White House National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John O. Brennan suggested the number might actually amount to “dozens.” Read More Here

Imaging, Spy-Cams and Drones: The New Hi Tech Homeland Security State – Tom Burghardt

(AntiFascistCalling) – As “gee-whiz” high-tech wonders seamlessly morph into “your papers, please!,” more often than not in “new normal” America science and technological innovation are little more than deranged handmaids serving corporate crime and political power.

In the interest of “keeping us safe,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled a spiffy new surveillance cam “that puts others to shame,” CNET breezily reported last week.

Coming Soon: Unmanned Aircraft All Over U.S. Skies

See Also: (RawStory) – FAA under pressure to open US skies to drones – Read More Here

(FreePressInt) – The Federal Aviation Administration has been asked to issue flying rights for pilotless planes of all sizes. They range in size from an airliner to a bee, believe it or not.

There are two types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s): Drones, which are automated planes pre-programmed to fly and UAV’s that are remotely controlled by someone on the ground.

Some of the uses include Tornado research, monitoring pipelines, and search and rescue.

State police hope to send them up to capture images of speeding cars’ license plates and tracking fleeing suspects. This is where UAV’s could be easily abused by government.

Another concern is lost communication between unmanned aircraft and the operators who remotely control them.

Planes entering low flying areas are not required to have warning systems or transponders. It’s done visually

UAV’s are already being used for border patrol and can fly for 20 hours without refueling. Which begs the question, Why do we need a fence if we have UAV’s. Something not quite right there? – Source: Free Press International

World War

(IraqWar) – Hezbollah warns Israel over gas fields‎

With Israel set to lay claim to natural gas fields recently discovered in the Mediterranean, the resistance movement of Hezbollah moves to warn Tel Aviv against extracting from Lebanon’s resources. Read More Here

(AP) – Official: 30 killed in Kyrgyzstan village – Read More Here

(Akhbar) – Massive arms deals between Russia and “Israel” – Read More Here

(Guardian) – Death toll grows as Kyrgyzstan ethnic violence escalates

Interim government gives police shoot-to-kill powers as death toll exceeds 100 in Uzbek-Kyrgyz clashes Read More Here

(JPost) – Israel, US hold joint strike drill

IAF says it has increased overseas exercises by 40 percent. Read More Here

(AsiaTimes) – Neo-cons lead charge against Turkey – Read More Here

(PressTV) – Kyrgyz riot police authorized to kill

A government decree on Saturday authorized lethal force to repel attacks against the authorities, stop the destruction of government and private property, and protect civilians, AFP reported. Read More Here

(PressTV) – ‘US troops attack Iraqi home, kill 5’

Five Iraqis, including 2 who were standing on their rooftop witnessing the arrival of US infantrymen, have lost their lives after their house was attacked by the troops. Read More Here

(Aangirfan) – CIA SEEKS CHAOS IN KYRGYZSTAN?

Creating chaos in Kyrgystan seems to suit the drugs trade.

It also suits the USA which does not want Kyrgyzstan to become a strong and stable partner of Russia. Read More Here

(PressTV) – Russia assures Iran over S-300 deal

Russia’s Foreign Ministry says Moscow is not obliged to freeze a deal to deliver the S-300 missile defense system to Iran under the newly imposed UN sanctions.

Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said Thursday that the deal is not referenced in the fourth round of UN sanctions imposed against Tehran which mainly target financial and military sectors. Read More Here

REPOST – (AntiWar) – Russia Moves Forward on Defense Missiles, Nuclear Plants for Iran

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced today that they are in new talks with Iran on construction of additional nuclear power plants in the nation, and that they may still deliver the S-300 Missile Defense System to Iran, though no date was given for this delivery. Read More Here

(TimesOnline) – We want troops out as soon as we can, says Cameron

David Cameron promised yesterday that British troops would not remain in Afghanistan a day longer than necessary as he flew into the country for the first time as Prime Minister. Read More Here

(AFP) – Obama has made ‘big mistake’ with Iran: Ahmadinejad – Read More Here

(PressTV) – ‘US cannot garner support for Iran war’

A former chief UN weapons inspector says the UN Security Council would never approve an attack on Iran, amid US efforts to punish the country for its nuclear work. Read More Here

(PressTV) – More US missiles kill 18 in Pakistan

Another US missile strike has killed at least 18 people and wounded dozens in a tribal area in northwest Pakistan, officials say.

According to Pakistani security officials, a drone fired six missiles 50 kilometers west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan on Friday. They say a house in Bahadar Khel village was the target of the attack.

Reportedly, the previous drone strike killed three people late Thursday at a house in the village of Khaddi, 15 kilometers east of Miranshah.

Almost 1000 Pakistanis have been killed in US drone strikes since 2008.

The issue of civilian casualties has strained the Islamabad-Washington relations.

Washington claims the attacks target militants whereas most of them have killed civilians.

Islamabad has repeatedly called for an end to the attacks, saying they violate Pakistan’s sovereignty. – Source: PressTV

World War

(Uruknet) – “Perfectly Safe: It Just Kills Plants … ” – Agent Orange and the Third Generation

It is not news that American troops fighting for the U.S. military in Vietnam were told by their commanders that the defoliants and herbicides sprayed by the U.S. Air Force were “perfectly safe…[they] just kill plants.” Read More Here

(AP) – NATO general in Afghanistan: Taliban train in Iran

The commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan said Sunday there is “clear evidence” that some Taliban fighters have trained in Iran. Read More Here

(Haaretz) – Report: Gaza aid flotilla changes course to avoid confrontation with Israeli warships

Israel Navy ships reportedly made contact earlier with the six-ship flotilla, which is carrying 10,000 tons of supplies. Read More Here

(WPost) – Analysts question Korea torpedo incident

How is it that a submarine of a fifth-rate power was able to penetrate a U.S.-South Korean naval exercise and sink a ship that was designed for anti-submarine warfare?

Such questions are being fueled by suggestions in the South Korean and Japanese media that the naval exercise was intended to provoke the North to attack. The resulting public outcry in the South, according to this analysis, would bolster support for a conservative government in Seoul that is opposed to reconciliation efforts. Read More Here

(CounterPunch) – Vietnam MIAs: Ghosts Return to Haunt McCain and the US Press

The ghosts that haunt Senator John McCain are about 600 in number and right now they are mustering for an onslaught. Read More Here

(LewRockwell) – Is the U.S. Government Planning War to Quell the Tide of Economic Unrest?

In my opinion and in a word: Yes!

Headlines:

* “READY FOR WAR,” “U.S. Military told to get ready in Korea Standoff, Obama orders commanders to prepare ‘to deter future aggression.’” By Drudge and MSNBC
* “U.S. Begins Massive Military Build Up Around Iran, Sending Up To 4 New Carrier Groups In Region” by Tyler Durden
* “Clinton: Korea Must Face ‘Consequences’ For Sunken Warship”
* Homeland Security, Northeast Intelligence Network: “The Syrian Missile Crisis: Threat of War Very Real”
* “The Expanding U.S. War in Pakistan” by Jeremy Scahill
* “Yemen, Latest War Front?” by CBS News
Read More Here

(IrishTimes) – Predators, Warriors and Ravens: the CIA Drones Wage War

With 5,456 US servicemen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Afghan war going badly, the US military celebrates what it can. Unmanned Aircraft Systems, also known as Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles but referred to as drones, are the military’s most important technological asset. Last year the CIA’s director, Leon Panetta, called the Predator drone programme “the only game in town”. Read More Here

(C4L) – Too Many Wars Waged

The “War on Drugs,” like the “War on Terror,” ends up being an undertaking with no definable victory in sight. No matter how vigorously the federal government prosecutes its “war” on drugs, people will still use drugs. No matter how vigorously the federal government pursues the “war” on terror there will still be those who want to commit terrorist acts to get their points across.

Thus, we have two “wars” with infinite reach that use the threats engendered by their very own existence to justify their actions. Read More Here

(RussiaToday) – Video: “Attack against South Korean ship looks like false flag operation” – Wayne Madsen

While international investigators have accused North Korea of sinking a South Korean patrol corvette in March, China has taken a more cautious position.

Investigative journalist and RT contributor Wayne Madsen says it is because Beijing suspects there was greater deception at work.

“The Cheonan [navy corvette] was sunk by this torpedo that was later to be discovered to have been of German manufacture. Germany said it sells no military weapons to North Korea. This thing is starting to look like a classic false flag operation,” Wayne Madsen says.

“Kim Jong-Il who very rarely travels – and when he does, he only travels by train – went to Beijing. My sources in Beijing say that he went to Beijing, that Chinese authorities said that North Korea did this, he denied it. They were satisfied with his response,” Madsen adds. “Now the Chinese are very suspicious of the US’ intentions in richening things up in the Korean peninsula.”

Video: Big Brother in the Sky – Drones and spy cams to watch over 2014 Olympics

(RussiaToday) – Security levels at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics will be sky high – literally. Unmanned drones are keeping a bird’s eye view of the proceedings. It’s all part of the elaborate security system designed to protect the Black Sea resort from any threat.

MSM: Interview with Defense Expert P.W. Singer ‘The Soldiers Call It War Porn’

(Spiegel) – US defense expert P.W. Singer from the Brookings Institution talks to SPIEGEL ONLINE about the stresses that drone pilots are subjected to and the risk of emotional exhaustion and burnout. The whole experience of war is being changed by the new technology, he argues.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Singer, are drones becoming the new form of combat?

P.W. Singer: Until recently, people looked at this as something abnormal. But drones and robotic warfare in general are actually the new normal now. We’ve gone from using a handful of these systems to now having around 7,000 in the air. And the US is not the only country flying them. There are drones from 43 other countries, including Great Britain, Germany and Pakistan.

The Rogue Nation

(AntiWar) – In spite of the fact that the United States faces no enemy anywhere in the world capable of opposing it on a battlefield, the Defense budget for 2011 will go up 7.1 percent from current levels. A lot of the new spending will be on drones, America’s latest contribution to western civilization, capable of surveilling large areas on the ground and delivering death from the skies. It is a peculiarly American vision of warfare, with a “pilot” sitting at a desk half a world away and pressing a button that can kill a target far below.

World War

(GlobalResearch) – US-NATO versus Russia: Towards a Regional War in the Caucasus?

Georgia is eager for another war, but there are other fires there which refuse to die — Russia’s battles with terrorism and separatists and Azerbaijan’s bleeding wound in ethnic Armenian Nagorno Karabakh. Read More Here

(RickRozoff) – Decade Of The Drone: America’s Aerial Assassins

2010 is the tenth and deadliest year in Washington’s use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for targeted assassinations and untargeted “collateral damage.” Read More Here

(TomDispatch) – The New Jim Crow – How the War on Drugs Gave Birth to a Permanent American Undercaste

Ever since Barack Obama lifted his right hand and took his oath of office, pledging to serve the United States as its 44th president, ordinary people and their leaders around the globe have been celebrating our nation’s “triumph over race.” Obama’s election has been touted as the final nail in the coffin of Jim Crow, the bookend placed on the history of racial caste in America. Read More Here

(InfoClearingHouse) – Video: Breaking Iraq: Who Benefits? – An Interview With Dr. Dahlia Wasf

Who benefits from invading and occupying Iraq? Are Americans defending U.S. national security, or the security of our colonial outpost in the Arab World? View Video Here

(JPost) – Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran ‘4-8 Weeks Left for Diplomacy on Iran’

Four to eight weeks remain to test the option of diplomatic engagement as means of stopping Iran’s nuclear program before sanctions will likely be imposed, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told an audience of foreign military officers and government officials in Herzliya on Monday. Read More Here

Conquest and Censorship

(GlobalResearch) – After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror’s army buried its fallen comrades, but left the corpses of the English defenders to rot in the fields where they lay.
Such is the brutal nature of war: the victor inflicts all manner of suffering and humiliation on the vanquished.

Surveillance Drones To Zap Protesters Into Submission

(PaulWatson) – Illustrating once again that the prison planet being built around us far outstrips anything Aldous Huxley or George Orwell ever imagined, a Wired News report details how police forces worldwide are preparing to unveil drone aircraft that can not only conduct surveillance of protesters, but also zap them into submission with non-lethal weapons.

Are they prepping for 9/11 PT 2?

(FederalJack) – It is interesting to have all these reports of crashing predator drones around the same time as the war drums are beating to attack Yemen and Iran, as well as the CIA telling congress that we are going to be attacked by Al-Cia-Ada within the next 6 months. The same thing happened before 9/11, two drones were said to have crashed so they were removed from the inventory list. If you have investigated 9/11 at all and seen the evidence about flight 77 not hitting the Pentagon then you are familiar with the concept of a drone such as a global hawk hitting the pentagon. My question is this: Are they prepping for 9/11 PT 2? Read More Here

What ’skeptics’ really believe about vaccines, medicine, consciousness and the universe – Mike Adams

(NaturalNews) – In the world of medicine, “skeptics” claim to be the sole protectors of intellectual truth. Everyone who disagrees with them is just a quack, they insist. Briefly stated, “skeptics” are in favor of vaccines, mammograms, pharmaceuticals and chemotherapy. They are opponents of nutritional supplements, herbal medicine, chiropractic care, massage therapy, energy medicine, homeopathy, prayer and therapeutic touch.

Video: Cindy Sheehan – No More CIA Drones!

Jason welcomes to the show, Cindy Sheehan. Jason & Cindy talk about Obama’s continue “Bush like War on Terror” around the globe, and the CIA Drones bombing women and children in Pakistan.

Ex-ISI chief sheds light on Blackwater role in Pakistan

(PressTV) – A former Pakistani intelligence chief confirms that the infamous US security contractor Blackwater (now known as Xe Services LLC) is involved in the US missile attacks on northwestern Pakistan.

Video: Police use Drones to Spy on Americans

(Fox) – January 2nd, 2010

Hackable Drones, Crumbling Empire

On the eve of the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, historian Chalmers Johnson observed in The Sorrows of Empire: “At this late date … it is difficult to imagine how Congress, much like the Roman senate in the last days of the republic, could be brought back to life and cleansed of its endemic corruption.”

In Nightmares Begin Responsibilities – Why War Will Take No Holiday in 2010

Excuse the gloom in the holiday season, but I feel like we’re all locked inside a malign version of the movie Groundhog Day. You remember, the one in which the characters are forced to relive the same 24 hours endlessly.  Put more personally, TomDispatch started in November 2001 as an email to friends in response to the first moments of our latest Afghan War.  More than eight years later… well, you know the story.

International Law: The First Casualty of America’s Drone War

ABSTRACT. This report utilizes well-established principles of both treaty and customary international law as a measuring stick for attempting to determine the legal and moral legitimacy of the covert U.S. policy of using drones to attack targets in Pakistan. This analysis is unique in that it uses both broad assessments as well as pertinent individual case studies with the purpose of chronicling the details of several drone attacks over a period of 45 months in the interest of legal evaluation. Drawing from a vast collection of reliable press reports, independent human rights testimonies, and the most prominent, mainstream studies, this report is quite possibly the most comprehensive analysis on the topic to date and likely the first of its kind to appear in the wake of the US-Pakistan drone controversy.

Drones, Cowboys and the Right to Surrender

(InfoWars) – Sci Fi warfare isn’t coming to our future, it is here. And there will be consequences for every human on the planet. A new battlefield has been created, one in which the odds are tipped decidedly in favor of technological prowess over and above humanity.

Obama quietly authorises expansion of war in Pakistan

(IndianExpress) – As the US announced deepening of its involvement in Afghanistan by despatching 30,000 more troops, President Barack Obama has quietly authorised an expansion of war against terrorism in Pakistan under which CIA would widen its campaign of strikes against militants by unmanned drones.

Drones and Democracy in Afghanistan

With elections just around the corner in Afghanistan, it might be timely to reflect on the US engagement with that stricken nation and consider just how much foreign intervention has contributed to the prospect and possibility of free and democratic elections. More, it is fitting to consider what kind of example the US and its allies have given to the people of Afghanistan, if they have bestowed any wisdom and guidance for a nation facing a turbulent and uncertain future, to say the least.

AF-PAK War And The Battle For Oil

When announcing his new Afghanistan and Pakistan policy on March 27, 2009, Obama vowed “to disrupt and dismantle” the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan and to “prevent their return to either country in the future.” But who are the Taliban? Any Afghan or Pakistani who resists the US-led occupation.

Deal: United States soldiers will deploy to Colombia

(RawStory) – Chavez: ‘The winds of war [are] beginning to blow’
Some American troops will soon find themselves stationed at military bases scattered across the South American nation of Colombia with a mission to use advanced Predator drone technology to aid in fighting the drug trade and to combat terrorism, according to published reports Saturday.

Air Force Plans for All-Drone Future

(Wired) – Is the day of the hot-shot fighter jock nearly done? An Air Force study, released without much fanfare on Wednesday, suggests that tomorrow’s dogfighters might not have pilots in the cockpit.

Network-centric Warfare – Dominating entire societies Worldwide through ubiquitous surveillance

What Pentagon theorists describe as a “Revolution in Military Affairs” (RMA) leverages information technology to facilitate (so they allege) command decision-making processes and mission effectiveness, i.e. the waging of aggressive wars of conquest.

US killed 97 Afghan civilians in two days: Probe

A human rights group has confirmed that the United States used disproportionate force in its recent raids in Afghanistan and killed 97 civilians to get at two Taliban militants.

Obama: From Anti-war Law Professor to Warmonger in 100 Days

How long does it take a mild-mannered, anti-war, black professor of constitutional law, trained as a community organiser on the South Side of Chicago, to become an enthusiastic sponsor of targeted assassinations, ‘decapitation’ strategies and remote-control bombing of mud houses at the far end of the globe?

Watching Obama Morph Into Dick Cheney – Paul Craig Roberts

The change that we are witnessing is in Obama, not in policies. Obama is morphing into Dick Cheney.

From My Lai to Bala Baluk – Obama Takes Over Where Bush Left Off

Barack Obama is aggressively stepping up the war in Afghanistan. He’s intensified the cross-border bombing of Pakistan and he is doubling the number of U.S. troops to 68,000 by 2010. He’s also a strong proponent of pilotless drones even though hundreds of civilians have been killed in bombing raid blunders.

U.S. Stirs a Hornet’s Nest in Pakistan

Pakistan finally bowed to Washington’s angry demands last week by unleashing its military against rebellious Pashtun tribesmen of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) — collectively mislabelled “Taliban” in the West.

Neutralised and Obamatised – Where The Hell Is The Anti-War Movement?

Obama is not only Mr. [fake] Change, Mr. [fake] Hope and Mr. [fake] Yes-We-Can; he’s also Mr. Untouchable. Most of the anti-war ‘left’ bought the Obama propaganda down to the smallest syllable and they are either getting deeply embarrassed by now or resorting to cognitive dissonance to kid themselves they were right.

Afghanistan-Pakistan. The Drones Are Coming: New War on Civilians

US President Barack Obama took the podium in a White House press conference and stood with an all-embellished confidence that often accompanies new presidents. He was flanked by two leaders whose apparent grandeur barely reflected their embattled situations on the ground: Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

Obama’s 100 days – the mad men did well

In his latest column for the New Statesman, John Pilger describes the power of advertising – from the effects of smoking to politics – as he reaches behind the facade of of the first 100 days President Barack Obama.

Tiny Weapons, Jet Engines in Killer Drone Upgrades

Today’s killer drone is a slow-flying, easy-to-spot turboprop plane that drops relatively-crude munitions on its targets. Tomorrow’s killer drone could be a stealthy jet, firing off missiles “the size of a loaf of French bread.”

60 drone hits kill 14 al-Qaeda men, 687 civilians

Lahore: Of the 60 cross-border predator strikes carried out by the Afghanistan-based American drones in Pakistan between January 14, 2006 and April 8, 2009, only 10 were able to hit their actual targets, killing 14 wanted al-Qaeda leaders, besides perishing 687 innocent Pakistani civilians. The success percentage of the US predator strikes thus comes to not more than six per cent.

US Predators Provoke Pakistan

Commenting to the New York Times about the rapidly deteriorating situation in Pakistan, Admiral Dennis Blair, the Director of National Intelligence, admitted,  “No one that I have talked to has come up with a grand strategy for that area.”

U.S. seen weighing expanded covert war in Pakistan

President Barack Obama and his national security advisers are considering expanding the covert U.S. war in Pakistan far beyond the tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Afghanistan: A Surge towards Disaster

As United States President Barack Obama simultaneously escalates and crafts a new strategy for the US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led counter-insurgency war and occupation in Afghanistan, critics say that the “surge” will send the country toward an “unmitigated disaster”, the brunt of which will be borne by the civilian population.