Argentina - Dissolution of Intelligence Secretariat

ARGENTINA / INTELLIGENCE SECRETARIAT THE GUARDIAN ARTICLE The shady history of Argentina’s Intelligence Secretariat The agency, which president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner wants to dissolve, runs domestic spying on a scale to rival the communist bloc Tuesday 27 January 2015 13.28 AEST On Monday night, Argentina’s president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, took the bold step of announcing a plan to dissolve the country’s Intelligence Secretariat and send to congress a draft bill for the “reform of Argentina’s intelligence service” in the wake of the death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman nine days ago. A possible explanation for Nisman’s death, which came only days after he announced charges that aimed to put Fernández on trial for an alleged conspiracy with Iran, seems to be hidden inside a complex saga of mind-boggling intrigue involving the intelligence agency she now intends to reform. Created as the Information Division (División Informaciones) by Argentina’s strongman General Juan Perón in 1946, the service’s first task was to arrange the postwar transport of Nazi war criminals to Argentina, some of whom then went on to serve in Perón’s intelligence agency. Since then, the service has changed its name a number of times, its latest incarnation being the Intelligence Secretariat, better known by its Spanish-language acronym SI. Under Fernández, Argentina’s secret service is alleged to have been involved in domestic spying on a scale rivalling that in Eastern European nations before the fall of the Berlin wall. [Meanwhile, let's forget about NATO's stay-behind paramilitary in Europe, Operation Gladio, and let's forget about contemporary NSA worldwide MASS surveillance, involving FVEY/Five Eye (UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand & USA); reporters both sides of Atlantic either bribed or otherwise used, or spied on & harassed; RIPA powers abused UK; political groups and various protesters harassed & spied on both sides of Atlantic and so on. What's with 'Eastern European' rubbish when one need not look any further than home for examples of 'communist bloc' spying  -- and much, much worse?] Nisman’s connection at the SI was Antonio, aka “Jaime” Stiuso, an enigmatic figure who for years reputedly ran a vast eavesdropping network that made him the most feared man in Argentina. Few details about the man are in the public domain. He is a 61-year-old communications expert who joined the service in 1972 at 18 years of age. He has three daughters (for whom he reportedly sought security protection from a Buenos Aires court recently) and is reputedly extremely charming. “He’s charismatic, very relaxed, he laughs a lot,” says Rodis Recalt, a journalist from Noticias magazine who interviewed him last month. “After months of tracking him, he called me. I never saw him face to face.” [Charming, charismatic, jolly ... combined with 'most feared man in Argentina' running a vast eavesdropping network?  Sounds like a sociopath.] Under Férnandez in recent years, and under Néstor Kirchner, the president’s now-deceased husband and predecessor, Stiuso’s power is alleged to have grown exponentially, thanks to the extensive wiretapping services on political opponents that he allegedly carried out for the Kirchners.  [But is he *really* a Kirchner man?] “But last October, when Fernández found out through military intelligence that Nisman was preparing charges against her for an alleged cover-up of Iran’s role in the bombing, she became understandably furious that Stiuso had not alerted her,” an intelligence source told the Guardian. [An unnamed source.  Eyeroll.  Sounds like a case of military intelligence versus Intelligence Secretariat in Argentina and Intelligence Secretariat versus Argentine government?  That naughty Stiuso ... might be up to no good.] By late December, when she began to suspect that it was actually Stiuso who had poisoned Nisman against her, she fired Stiuso and began preparing to dismiss Nisman as well. “She was doubting between replacing Nisman completely, or appointing two assistant prosecutors by his side to neutralise him,” the source maintains. The president’s alleged fury was fuelled by the extensive use of wiretaps provided by Stiuso that Nisman made in his 300-page accusation against her. In an long statement posted to her website last week, Fernández seemed to make the case that Nisman’s accusation was actually written by Stiuso, and that Nisman was then killed by the same people who convinced him to present the charges. “They used him alive and then they needed him dead,” Fernández wrote. “As sad and as terrible as that.”  [To be fair, Stiuso does sound like a right piece of work.] Former president Kirchner introduced Nisman to Stiuso 11 years ago, when Kirchner put the prosecutor in charge of solving the 1994 bombing of the Amia Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people, the deadliest terrorist attack in Latin America. “The two developed a father-son relationship,” says the intelligence source, who knew both men well.  [Intelligence source who knew both Nisman and Stiuso?  Is that it?  C'mon, that's pretty broad. Skipping the misty-eyed father and son relationship scenario (or is that Puppet Master and Puppet?), wonder if the intelligence source 'who knew both men well' is Stiuso himself ... or maybe even the CIA, judging by information from other sources: Argentina's Foreign Minister has accused those in the intelligence agency of fabricating the complaint: statement by Foreign Minister Hector Timerman against Prosecutor Alberto Nisman describing his complaint as a fabricated product of a manoeuvre by Intelligence Service agents who have been removed from their positions [here] Another article reports that Nisman's Iran & Hezbollah accusations are based almost wholly on information from intelligence services -- and that the US embassy is responsible for pushing Nisman in that direction: Nisman is a prosecutor who devoted the past 10 years to push the accusations against the Iranian regime and Lebanon’s Hezbollah for the AMIA bombing, almost completely based on information provided by intelligence services. The US Embassy was the one that pushed Nisman toward that approach, at the expense of probing any other possible foreign or local responsibilities, as was exposed in the WikiLeaks cables. That thesis is also favoured by the Israeli government and the leadership of the Argentine Jewish community. In particular, the latter tried to lobby before the Embassy in favour of former DAIA President Rubén Beraja, who was convicted and then acquitted of perjury charges to cover up the attack, among other judicial proceedings against him. [here] ] Only the security cameras on the front gate and an Argentinian flag draped from a white metal pole above the entrance indicate the location of the Judicial Observations Department on Avenida de los Incas 3834, a six-storey redbrick building in the upscale neighbourhood of Belgrano. An endless series of press articles and books allege, and at least one court raid has proven, that housed inside are a vast array of computers and recorders continually monitoring the activity of Argentina’s politicians, judges, prosecutors and journalists. Court-ordered wiretaps are also carried out there, since by law only the SI is permitted to intercept calls in Argentina. Nisman made extensive use of the powerful eavesdropping capabilities of the facility while investigating the Amia blast. It was while poring over calls between Argentina and Iran that Nisman says he discovered the secret offer by Argentina’s government to shield Iranian officials from his arrest warrants, in return for Iranian oil. The calls were made to Iranian offical Moshen Rabbani in the city of Qom, who, as the former Iranian cultural attache in Buenos Aires at the time of the bombing, speaks perfect Spanish, the language used in all the transcribed calls.  [As only the intelligence service of Argentina is 'permitted to intercept calls', one would think that any intercepted calls Nisman 'pored' over, would have been done alongside his Intelligence Secretariat 'Daddy', Stiuso.] Stiuso’s name was known to only a select few until 2004, when justice minister Gustavo Beliz, a politician with a reputation for honesty in a political arena widely considered to be mired in corruption, unmasked him. Beliz displayed a blurry photo of Stiuso on television and accused him of having mounted “a kind of Gestapo” to coerce politicians and journalists to follow the bidding of his political masters. Far from being rewarded for his courage, the minister was fired by Kirchner.  [Turns out Gustavo Beliz was acquitted of charges that appear to have been brought about by Stiuso and the same court that acquitted Beliz ordered an investigation into Stiuso - referred to in this post.] Beliz went into self-imposed exile in the United States and Uruguay, unable to return to public office. His withdrawal into silence is considered a testament to Stiuso’s far-reaching secret network.  [Wow, I wonder what the choice of 'retirement' locations is testament to?] But not everybody has such a negative vision of the man who reputedly pulled the secret strings of power in Argentina. “You should have seen how well received he was at the CIA and the Mossad,” says another intelligence source who worked closely with Nisman and Stiuso on the Amia case. The two men became convinced, partly on the basis of intelligence provided by the United States and Israel, that Iran had been behind the blast. The biggest advance in the case came in 2007, when Interpol agreed to issue international “Red Notices” for the arrest of their five main Iranian suspects, Rabbani chief among them.  [Two men?  Take it that's Nisman and Stiuso? LOL ... 'partly' or 'almost WHOLLY', as per other sources. While the issue of an Interpol Red Notice may be described as the 'biggest advance' in the AMIA case, the issue of a Red Notice itself is no indicator of the merits of a case. Extracts of The Guardian's own article about Red Notice misuse: Red notice alerts are meant to be used to combat international crime but their credibility is being undermined, Fair Trials International maintains, because they are being misused by some of the 190 participating states to pursue exiled political opponents. In the UK, Benny Wenda, a West Papuan freedom fighter who escaped from prison in Indonesia and was granted asylum as a political refuge, was pursued by a red notice obtained by Indonesia based on politically-motivated charges. It was deleted following intervention by Fair Trials. In a more recent case, the report documents, a 28-year-old British woman who worked for an airline's cabin crew "had her life turned upsidedown and her employment terminated when she was the subject of an red notice based on an unpaid debt in the Middle East." The notice was belatedly deleted. Source:  The Guardian ] Note also Britain's very own political prisoner, Julian Assange, whose political asylum has been blocked by Sweden, by Red Notice, by European Arrest Warrant, by the threat of extradition to the USA and by the threat of arrest by British police, who have been stationed inside and outside the Ecuador embassy for over 2 years now, at an astonishing cost of nearly US$15 million to the British tax-payer.  No mention of Sweden and Britain abusing the Interpol notice system or US, Sweden and Britain abusing human rights (Take a pick:  Assange or renditions, anyone?), while the establishment accepted targets do get a Guardian mention:  Russia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Belarus, Indonesia, Iran and Venezuela. But when Argentina and Iran, as a result of the alleged secret negotiations Nisman uncovered, signed a public memorandum in 2013 to set up a joint “Truth Commission” to investigate the blast, effecitvely killing Nisman’s investigation, Stiuso and Nisman became disenchanted with Fernández. The slowly widening rift could explain Nisman’s decision to press charges against her, perhaps with Stiuso’s support, as Fernández seems to feel.  [2013 Iran and Argentina sign a Memorandum.  And this is supposed to have derailed the 10-year investigation and supposed to have been the catalyst for Stiuso and Nisman putting their heads together?  Would have to do some reading to find out more about that.] “Stiuso is an intelligence officer who follows commands to the letter,” says the intelligence source who worked on the Amia case. “But he was not prepared to betray his geopolitical alliance and put in jeopardy the great prestige he enjoyed with the western intelligence services.” [Bullsh*t.  Stiuso sounds more like a power crazy sociopath who does what he wants.  Rather than following 'commands to the letter', sounds like Stiuso is dancing to his own tune ... or that of a foreign interest.  And how does his 'own' (ie personal) geopolitical alliance even come into the equation if he's one to 'follow commands to the letter'?  What commands?  Only those that fit his personal agenda?  Why is this 'intelligence source who worked on the AMIA case' trying to sell us a snake in the grass Stiuso?] From 2013 onwards, the sources agree, Stiuso’s disenchantment with Fernández led him to feed information to the courts and to journalists related to some of the numerous cases of corruption that have made headlines in Argentina in the last two years. [Stiuso was at it WAAAAAAY before 2013, as accuser of the former Justice Minister Gustavo Beliz (acquitted) -- and it looks like he may have been involved in some kind of extortion of a judge, Norberto Oyarbide - here] Sounds like Stiuso could be our unnamed but solid leaker to journalist Damian Pachter or even the unnamed intelligence source in this Guardian piece, if prior form is anything to go by.   No indication if Stiuso was in still in Argentina when Pachter was fed the scoop of the century, but even if he was in the US at that stage, it's not difficult to imagine a Stiuso proxy feeding the media in his absence.  And look (below) where Stiuso headed:  USA.] According to one of these sources, Stiuso has left Argentina for the United States. “He called me from the US a few days ago,” the source says. “He told me he was sickened by what is happening at the intelligence service, particularly by the firing of his 20 closest collaborators.” [LOL ... it's a Stiuso PROXY!!!   Yeah, Stiuso's sickened -- particularly sickened by his OWN firing.] In the face of the failed memorandum of understanding with Iran and the fact the “Red Notices” from Interpol are still standing, at least one former secret service chief has worries that extend far beyond the Nisman case.  [How has the Memorandum failed?  It is a memorandum of understanding -- it is an agreement reached after a decade-long investigation that led nowhere.  Oh, here we go.  Yet another intelligence source stirring up 'worries'. ] “The purge of the service’s best anti-terrorist experts and the failure of the agreement with Iran has left Argentina open to another Amia-style bombing,” says former Intelligence Secretariat chief Miguel Ángel Toma, who knew Stiuso and is also a firm believer that Iran had a hand in the bombing. “We managed to find even the exact date and hour at which the decision to bomb the Amia was taken in Qom,” Toma says. “I am extremely worried.” [The real worry for these guys is the PURGE of the Argentine intelligence service.  Best anti-terrorist experts, my ass.  More like the best CIA/Mossad/MI6 puppets in the country, now scaremongering ... to pressure and destabilise the current Argentine government.] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/27/argentina-intelligence-secretariat-shady-history COMMENT The mark text in red above is obviously my commentary. Where did The Guardian find all these blabbing, whining and badmouthing, Stiuso proxy and CIA snakes for their article?

Scoop Journalist Damian Pachter - Flight from Argentina - Alberto Nisman Death

Argentina /Alberto Nisman Damian Pachter Article Why I fled Argentina after breaking the story of Alberto Nisman’s death In an exclusive column, Jewish journalist Damian Pachter – who first reported on the death of the special prosecutor – recounts the intimidation, the sleepless nights, the agent who stalked him and his ultimate decision to head for Israel. By Damian Pachter | Jan. 25, 2015 So here they are, the craziest 48 hours of my life. When my source gave me the scoop on Alberto Nisman’s death, I was writing a piece on the special prosecutor’s accusations against President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, her (Jewish) Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman, two pro-Iran “social activists” and parliamentarian Andrés Larroque. I learned that Nisman had been shot dead in his home. The vetting process wasn’t too tough because of my source’s incredible attention to detail. His name will never be revealed. Two things stood in my mind: my source’s safety and people’s right to know what happened that day, though not necessarily in that order. Of course, for both speed and the contagion effect, Twitter was the way to go. The information was so solid I never doubted my source, despite my one or two colleagues who doubted me because I only had 420 Twitter followers — a number now eclipsing 10,000. As the night went on, journalists contacted me in order to get the news from me even more directly. The first to do so was Gabriel Bracesco. Once I tweeted that Nisman had died, hundreds of people quickly retweeted the news and started following me. That was my first of many sleepless days. “You just broke the best story in decades,” lots of people said. “You’re crazy,” was another take. Either way, nobody questioned that the situation was very grave. The following days were marked by a government trying to create an official story. First, the head of state suggested a “suicide hypothesis,” then a mysterious murder. They of course were not to blame. In anything. That week I received several messages from one of my oldest and best sources. He urged me to visit him, but in those crazy days I underestimated his proposal. On Friday I was working at the Buenos Aires Herald.com newsroom when a colleague from the BBC urged me to look at the state news agency’s story on Nisman’s death. The piece had some serious typos but the message was even stranger: The agency quoted a supposed tweet of mine that I never wrote. Bus to nowhere I cursed in anger, adding amid the profanity: “I’ll tweet this and then they’ll see.” But I waited a few minutes to cool down and realized that this tweet was a kind of coded message. So I bounced it off my friend, who said: “Get out now and go to Retiro,” Buenos Aires’ central bus station. “And come visit me. You have to leave the city.” It was around 8:30 P.M. I was very lucky: When I arrived a bus would be leaving in two minutes. Where that bus was going I’ll never reveal either. After several hours on the road, I arrived at the bus station, where I remained for a couple of hours. It turns out this was a big mistake: I think that was the place someone started watching me. But I didn’t realize it back then. I didn’t want to stay too long in any one place, so I walked over to a gas-station joint nearby. My friend contacted me and said: “I’ll be there in 20 minutes.” I was sitting around there for two hours or so when a very strange person came in. He wore jeans, a jeans jacket and Ray-Ban sunglasses. I noticed him immediately but stayed where I was. He was sitting two tables from me. Suddenly I felt a finger on my neck and jumped like I never did my whole life. “You’re a bit jumpy son” — it was my friend making one of his jokes. “You’re under surveillance; haven’t you noticed the intelligence guy behind you?” “The one with the jeans and Ray-Bans?” “Yeah.” “What does he want?” “Stay calm and look into my camera,” my guy said as he took my picture. Well, actually he took a picture of the intelligence officer, who left five minutes later. I have that picture here with me. I then had to consider the best thing to do, because when an Argentine intelligence agent is on your tail, it’s never good news. He didn’t just want to have a coffee with me, that’s for sure. Montevideo and Madrid In any case, the decision came quick: I had to leave the country immediately. So I contacted one of my best friends, who got scared but understood the situation. We had to do it quickly, and I’m sure his efficiency saved my life. I will forever be grateful to him. So I did it: I bought a ticket from Buenos Aires, to Montevideo, Uruguay, to Madrid to Tel Aviv. I had to keep a low profile in order to get by the security forces. So I went back to the Retiro bus station — the scariest part of that long day. I was sure that if something happened, it would happen at the train station, a very dangerous place at night. I had the feeling someone was after me and I’d get shot from some strange angle. But then I suspected my taxi driver even more. I figured he’d stray and take me off somewhere. Meanwhile, text messages were sent to my two best colleagues, a friend and my mom. They were told where we would meet: Buenos Aires Airport. I couldn’t spend any time on the phone because I was being surveilled. When my mother arrived she of course cried but remained calm. We discussed a few things and I told her to leave. Then my journalist friends came and we did an interview that has already hit Argentina’s top newspapers. I was flying back home, to Tel Aviv, as I always wanted to. I have no idea when I’ll be back in Argentina; I don’t even know if I want to. What I do know is that the country where I was born is not the happy place my Jewish grandparents used to tell me stories about. After I left Argentina I found out that the government was still publishing wrong information about me on social media. The Twitter feed of Casa Rosada, the Argentine presidential palace, posted the details of the airline ticket I had bought, and claimed that I intended to return to Argentina by February 2 — in other words, I hadn’t really fled the country. In fact, my return date is in December. A tweet from the Presidential Palace showing Pachter's flight itinerary. Argentina has become a dark place led by a corrupt political system. I still haven’t figured out everything that has happened to me over the past 48 hours. I never imagined my return to Israel would be like this. http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/.premium-1.638933 COMMENT Writer is telling us: ^^ An unnamed source gave him the Nisman death scoop ^^ Never doubted the source because of 'solid' information ^^ Source didn't have to be vetted, b/c of 'incredible attention to detail' ^^ Source:  'his' name will never be revealed. Reference to 'attention to detail' and 'solid', convincing information, would indicate a source that had access to the crime scene, as that would be the 'detail' of relevance. Reference to 'his name', would indicate a male source. Mention of non-vetting of the source would perhaps indicate it is an untested (or new) source. Guessing source is:  male, with access to crime scene & not previously known to Damian Pachter.  Alternatively, this is merely what Pachter wishes to convey and the source could be anyone but the unknown male with crime scene access.  LOL. ^^ For speed and contagion got scoop out on Twitter ^^ Journalists would call the writer for information on the scoop Therefore the writer has become the central 'source' or central broadcaster, on behalf of whoever has given the information.   What is puzzling is that the writer hadn't bashed out the massive scoop and published it himself, before the Twitter broadcast. ^^ Argentine state news agency:  "quoted a supposed tweet of mine that I never wrote." Frustrating that we don't know what this fake or erroneous message was. Even more frustrating when the writer asserts it was a 'coded message' but doesn't go on to convey what that message was. Yet this appears to be the catalyst for the writer's departure from Argentina? ^^ Lucky breaks. Bus to unknown destination that will not be revealed.  But suspects someone watching him @ bus station -- so why not reveal bus station location, if likely already known? ^^ Suspects gas station Argentine intelligence agent (Denim & Raybans) on his tail. ^^ Friend takes photograph that captures photographic image of this suspected 'Argentine intelligence agent' Hmmm .. why Argentine intelligence when it could be (a) just some guy (b) CIA (c) Mossad (d) Rogue Argentine intelligence (d) Perhaps other Argentine opposition player ... or (e) Some other player that is a stakeholder in the Nisman affair or fall of the Argentine government. As a colleague from BBC gets a mention, I'm going to wager there's MI6 all over Argentina as well. ^^ Avoids phone calls as he suspects being surveilled -- but sends text messages, which would presumably also be surveilled (and a working mobile phone can pinpoint location). A government agency would have no problems finding someone travelling with a mobile phone and/or texting whereabouts to friends/family members, or covering the finite number of international departure routes, I am guessing. ^^ Takes flight 'home, to Tel Aviv' - via Montevideo & Madrid Aren't there direct flights to Tel Aviv? --------------------------- Find it hard not to be sceptical. The guy receives the scoop of the century but he doesn't bang out a story to publish it in a national Argentine newspaper (although he is a professional journalist).  Instead, he tweets -- as you or I would do and, wittingly or unwittingly, becomes the broadcaster for whoever fed him the story -- but we don't know who that is and it looks like neither does he, as he's taken the source as 'solid' without vetting what is likely an unknown or new source. While the Nisman death information was most certainly solid, what remains unknown is the messenger and therefore the likely motive/agenda of the messenger -- if you're looking beyond just a report of a death. If the source is someone who had crime scene access, as I suspect, that source is not necessarily government -- as any agent can get a foot inside government agencies (or, alternatively, government agency employees bribed etc -- especially in Argentina, where it has been exposed that two judges offered bribes in relation to the Nisman matter). Actually, you probably don't even need to be at the death scene to get solid or detailed information.  USA's NSA gather data on everybody around the world.  Latin America's communications cables ALL go across USA, if I understand correctly.  So all you probably need is NSA contacts to have solid info on what goes on in Argentina and you don't even have to set foot on Argentine soil to have that information, although you can have agents on the ground receiving instructions. CIA, Mossad and MI6 would all be likely NSA clients and collaborators. So whoever broke ranks and broke the story via the writer could be controlled by anyone. If the Argentine government can't get their act straight, and are alternatively pointing to a 'suicide hypothesis' and then a 'mystery murder', and if they are tweeting a bunch of crap on social media, wouldn't that indicate that they may not be the criminal masterminds behind the Nisman killing because if they were, wouldn't they have planned a better stance and cover than a bunch of confused social media crap? All that being watched speculation could just be paranoia and, if the writer was being watched, it could be watched by anyone in a place like Argentina. I'd be looking at right-wingers, CIA, Mossad and MI6 possibilities. Also, while we're all enthralled by the drama of the flight of the scoop journalist away from Argentina, what is it that we're not examining in Argentina? These are just some of the thoughts and feelings I have on the subject, taking a questioning perspective on what's presented.

Haaretz Article - Argentina’s Jews are serving the far right’s silent revolution | Argentina Undergoing Attempted Revolution

ALBERTO NISMAN / ARGENTINA Haaretz Article Argentina’s Jews are serving the far right’s silent revolution I ask myself how these wise and good-hearted people could have fallen into a trap and wound up on the same side as the country’s fascists. By Meir Margalit    Jan. 26, 2015 | 3:04 PM It has been proved once again that in Argentina truth is stranger than fiction. What appeared to be a conspiracy theory has taken on real form; who knows what monster is lurking. Dark forces from the past are returning, keen to reap vengeance on the Kirchner family because late Argentine President Néstor Kirchner, the husband of his successor Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, put them on trial for crimes against humanity. About a week ago I wrote in Haaretz’s Hebrew edition that the murder of prosecutor Alberto Nisman reeked of a well-timed right-wing conspiracy, in cahoots with former police and army officials, to overthrow the government and destroy Argentina’s democracy, still weak after 30 years. Indeed, as information leaks out, the conclusion that Argentina is undergoing an attempted revolution strengthens. This is an elegant, sophisticated and refined revolution. It’s being carried out not by tanks or attacks on the Casa Rosada, Argentina’s White House, but by stoking the kind of social and economic chaos that overthrew Chilean President Salvador Allende in 1973, which Naomi Klein described so well in her book “The Shock Doctrine.” And here, amid all the commotion, smoke and disinformation, surfaces the Jewish connection — mainly because the affair revolves around the 1994 terror attack on the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires — and the 85 victims who were buried underneath. Second, the journalist Damián Pachter who broke the news of Nisman’s death received death threats and fled to Israel, leaving behind a trail of speculation on his motives. Worse still is the role the Jewish community is unwittingly playing in this despicable affair as it protests the deal Argentina signed with Iran in the attempt to absolve Tehran of responsibility for the terror attack. This deal is controversial and problematic no doubt, but it does not measure up to Israel’s arms deals with Argentina’s junta during the dictatorship launched in 1976. In the 1970s, the number of Jews murdered by the junta by Israeli-made arms was several times greater than the number of Jews later murdered by Tehran’s minions in Buenos Aires. And the community doesn’t notice that the far right is latching onto the legitimate protest and building the revolution's foundations based on its criticism. Not only does this attempt not serve the Jews, but you don’t have to be a historian to know that it will target them sooner or later. Nisman, who was murdered a week ago, is an example of the Jewish drama in Argentina. He was infected by the obsession with Iran that infected the entire community. He was nourished by materials that Israel gave him (according to the local media), and was used by the right wing to promote a revolution he probably never wanted. In the end, he paid with his life. This is the story of Argentina’s Jews on a small scale. I ask myself how these wise and good-hearted people could have fallen into a trap and wound up on the same side as the country’s fascists. If that weren’t enough, there’s the Israeli connection. Israel has become an player in the Argentine drama, and not for the right production company. Argentines believe that it gave intelligence to Nisman, and now the reporter who broke the story has found refuge there. [ie in ISRAEL] Israel probably isn’t directly involved in the affair, but Argentines see it as an extremely powerful player making things complicated for two major reasons: first, because this is a chance to strike at Iran; second, because Israel has a score to settle with Latin America’s “left-wing” governments that embrace the Palestinians and vote against Israel at the United Nations. Even if this theory is far-fetched, the two reasons sound logical. As far as Israel is concerned, the Argentine right wing is more Zionist than the current government, and that’s enough reason to speed up regime change. So Argentina’s Jews, whose pain is real, have become pawns in the hands of foreign interests who have nothing to do with them. Worse, they are serving a historical process that has been timed by forces that not only care nothing about the Jews, but will settle accounts with them the first chance they get. Ironically, it seems that when Argentine Jews hit the streets last week to protest, holding signs reading “We are Nisman,” they knew what they were talking about. Dr. Meir Margalit, the coordinator of the Latin America desk at the Forum of Peace Organizations, heads the Center for Advancement in Peace Initiatives. http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.639110 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMENT Great article.  Lots of interesting things to think about. Dr Meir Margalit is an Israeli civil rights activist; a founder of the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolitions, among other things; PhD Haifa Uni; born Argentina, moved to Israel 1972 & did national service / injured Yom Kippur War 1973; Left-Wing Meretz Party 1998-2002; defender of Palestinian Jerusalem residents. Think he was also Jerusalem mayor, but not sure if that detail's significant. Anyway, thought I'd share this article because it offers another perspective when it comes to viewing and examining the recent (and distant) events in Argentina. [This is #2468A0 background]

Netanyahu on Iran

NETANYAHU ON IRAN Israel PM Netanyahu's stated position on Iran nuclear: The red highlights are mine. Looks like he sees Iran nukes deal as a threat to Israel. Don't know about Iran having 'taken over' Syria and Lebanon.  Think they are friendly, co-operate and share the same beliefs (ie, I think they're Shia Muslims). An 'active front' in Golan Heights and in Southern Lebanon could maybe be a possibility.  The other day there was an Israeli bombing around Golan Heights. Source:  BBC Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 'Israel strike' kills Hezbollah men in Syria's Golan Heights An Israeli air strike has killed six members of Hezbollah in the Syrian sector of the Golan Heights, the Lebanese militant movement says. Among those reported dead were the son of a late military leader, a current commander, and at least one Iranian. Hezbollah's al-Manar TV said they were killed in Quneitra province "during a field reconnaissance mission". Israel said it would not comment, though unnamed sources confirmed an Israeli helicopter strike. They claimed those targeted were conducting reconnaissance for a Hezbollah attack. Those who died include Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of a top military commander killed in 2008, and Mohammed Issa, a Hezbollah field commander, Hezbollah officials said. EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE - BBC.  --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hezbollah in message to Israelis after Syria strike: Prepare your bomb shelters Thousands of mourners cried 'Death to Israel!' at funeral for Jihad Mughniyeh Hezbollah activists launched a propaganda campaign on social media Monday directed toward Israelis under the slogan: "In two words - prepare your bomb shelters."   EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE - i24News ............... The news source, i24News, is Israeli:  headquarters in Tel Aviv, broadcasts in English, French and Arabic and has a $50-million annual budget, according to this French Wikipedia entry. The retaliation referred to in social media probably doesn't mean much; it's social media, people say crap, and anyone can be behind the online posts. Of more concern would be the Hezbollah official response: Initial Hezbollah reaction was muted, with only one warning that it could prove costly for Israel, which is widely believed to have carried out the attack. But a retired senior Israeli general, who is running for the Knesset, suggested the missile attack was linked to the upcoming March 17 elections. The reference to the March 17 election surprised me.  The Israel election came to mind.  Not so much in relation to this incident, but just in terms of the strong Iran position PM may be taking.  But I dismissed thought of elections, only to have the elections pop up again. If I'm reading that right, the Israeli news source is saying that a retired Israeli general is suggesting the Golan missile attack by Israel is linked to the March elections? That's quite some statement to make.    The article goes on to say: Jihad Mughniyeh, 25, commanded a Hezbollah group fighting rebels trying to unseat President Bashar al-Assad. Unnamed Western intelligence officials cited by Israeli media said that Mughniyeh "plotted large-scale terrorist attacks against Israeli targets, including soldiers, citizens and whole residential areas, in the Golan Heights.” That's surprising.  Thought that Hezbollah was friendly with the Assad government.  But I'm new to looking at this stuff, so I probably had it wrong. Don't know about the merits of information from 'unnamed Western intelligence officials'.  Haaretz reported: The son of slain Hezbollah military leader Imad Mughniyeh ... Jihad Mughniyeh and the four others were killed when their convoy was hit. His father, who was on the United States’ most wanted list for attacks on Israeli and Western targets, was assassinated in Damascus in 2008. It is widely assumed that Israel planted the car bomb that killed him; Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied this.  What is interesting (given the current news on the Alberto Nisman investigation, sensational allegations against members of the Argentine government and Nisman's sudden death) is that there is an Argentina association here, in that the father of Jihad Mughniyeh, Imad Mughniyeh, is said to have been responsible for the Israel embassy bombing in Argentina 1992, as well as the AMIA bombing 1994.   Wikipedia on Imad Mughniyeh: Senior member of Hezbollah & Islamic Jihad Organisation ... indicted in Argentina for his alleged role in the 1992 Israeli embassy attack in Buenos Aires. ... was included in the European Union's list of wanted terrorists and had a US$5 million bounty on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. Mughniyeh was formally charged by Argentina for his alleged involvement in the 17 March 1992 bombings of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29 and the AMIA cultural building in July 1994, killing 85 people.  In March 2007, the Interpol issued "red notices" for his and others' alleged roles in the attack. [Most Wanted] Later the reward was increased to $25 million. Mugniyeh had been informed that he was at the top of a US military and CIA assassination list. For this reason, he was said to avoid certain areas of Beirut for fear of being killed by CIA operators. ... killed on 12 February 2008 by a car bomb that detonated as he passed by on foot, around 11:00 pm local time in the Kafr Sousa neighborhood of Damascus, Syria. According to The Sunday Times, Mughniyeh was at a reception marking the 29th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution hosted by the Iranian ambassador to Syria, Hojatoleslam Ahmad Musavi. Mughniyeh left the party shortly after 10:30 pm and walked to his Mitsubishi Pajero. The driver seat headrest had been replaced by one with a high-explosive, which detonated when Mughniyah entered the vehicle. The blast completely destroyed the car, left minimum damage on nearby buildings, and killed only Mughniyeh. A Syrian government investigation found that he was killed by a car bomb parked nearby and detonated by remote. Imad's younger son, Jihad Mughniyeh, was killed in an alleged Israeli air strike in the Syrian Golan sector, on January 18, 2015. Five other Hezbollah members and an Iranian Quds Force general were also killed in the attack. Mughniyeh senior was also accused of so many other things that it made him sound like a super villain, which makes you wonder about the accusations. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Looks like Rafah border may be closed for another 3 months:  #BreakingNews: Egyptian sources say curfew extended in northern #Sinai for three months [al Arabiya] Not entirely sure, as I still don't have my bearings in this region.  Know Rafah has been closed and they were looking at reopening (but only for student crossings, I think it was). The following article probably explains why the extension of closure: Egypt: 6 Shot Bodies Found in Arish - Sources North Sinai — North Sinai's al-Arish residents found on Saturday morning six unidentified bodies shot dead, security sources said. The deceased were shot in the head and body, the sources said, adding that they were taken to the Arish General Hospital. The number of security personnel and civilians killed in armed attacks by militants in North Sinai significantly surged during the past few months. Residents of the Sheikh Zuweid region found on August 20, 2014 the decapitated bodies of four civilians. In a video allegedly released in August by the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, Egypt's deadliest militant group, the group claimed responsibility for the beheading of the four civilians, accusing them of providing intelligence to Israel. EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE - allafrica. Online check of maps indicates Rafah in the Northern Sinai area, so I'd wager Rafah's closed: Map attributed to:  Mike King (on this site: http://www.sciy.org/?p=8669) Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 In Sinai: The Uprising of the Bedouin Gaza and Sinai had had the same overlords. Even in recent times—from 1917 until 1982—the British, Egypt, and finally Israel ... Source:  http://www.sciy.org/?p=8669 Really good article I've stumbled across.  Worth reading.  Very interesting. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, that's just a bit of info on the Middle East that I found interesting. This is probably about as much as I want to know about for this moment. Not sure what to make of it all.

Argentina - Nisman - Secret Passage

ARGENTINA - ALBERTO NISMAN Google Translation The secret passage Judicial investigators have found a private passageway floor Nisman. The front door and Service: Until the discovery, only two entrances to the house were known. It is a passageway that connects the home of a neighbor of foreign origin. The corridor is a narrow gorge, where they are located air-conditioning equipment, and has a protective barral. At either end of the corridor there are small metal doors. On the hallway floor researchers found a footprint of recent appearance and in the rod protection, a fingerprint. A specialist locksmith explained that the service door was not locked inside. So that anyone could hang out. "It took me a second to open".  Source:  http://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2015/01/21/54beb189e2704ed6628b457a.html COMMENT Looked at a couple more random articles and this information came up. Not the best of translations, but it should do. Anyway, that's one very strange 13th floor apartment:  with a back door and a secret passage. Something worth noting, I guess.

Pagina 12 - Alberto Nisman

Página / 12 Google Translation "He told me that Stiuso told him to be careful" Through a judge, sent his version to Página / 12. Ensures Nisman said that "the day before had called Stiuso" whose name first appears so designated by a direct protagonist. By Raul Kollmann The last man alive who saw Alberto Nisman, Diego Lagomarsino, was connected through another-a person magistrada- with Página / 12. "I'm not an agent Intelligence, I have nothing to do ever met Jaime Stiuso" sent word. The computer technician said that on Saturday called Nisman and asked the borrowed gun, "I said it was for security. The day before had called Stiuso and told him to take care of custody and also had precautionary safety of their daughters. " Lagomarsino reached the tower Le Parc de Puerto Madero, a place which normally would; guard consulted the prosecutor, it did happen and no checkup of any kind. Today, recapping what happened, says he feels guilt because then you will not occur to him that he should not pay a gun at someone in that pressure situation. Lagomarsino's version was transmitted to this newspaper through a friend Judge years Family computer technician. "It's a young, married daughters girls kid. It has a lot of work: you say 'Egghead' because fixes all problems on computers. I believe him, "said the judge. Obviously, this newspaper has no elements to believe or disbelieve the version of the computer technician. If it were true that transmits Lagomarsino version Pagina / 12, first appears directly appointed Antonio Stiuso in relation to the events of the last week. Former Director of Counterintelligence Intelligence Secretariat, fired last December when the President decided to change the leadership of the agency in recent years maintained a close relationship with the prosecutor Nisman, Judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral last week defined as subordination of the judicial officer as of the intelligence services. Since the filing of the complaint unusual prosecutor in the Justice everyone saw the hand of the spy in the initiative, as a form of revenge for his dismissal, and drew Stiuso as possibly responsible for the abrupt return of Nisman your vacation to present to next day his writing. But the version of Lagomarsino places it in close relationship with the prosecutor until the last moment. Página / 12 was based on objective facts that make Lagomarsino in a strange character but essential protagonist in the story of the death of the prosecutor: - It is the last to see him alive. - He facilitated the gun that came the shot that led to his death. That no doubt: the lead found in the skull of fiscal corresponds to the sheath found in the bathroom and that thing came out of the Bersa, 22 caliber pistol. - I had a very high contract prosecutors, 40 thousand pesos per month. Prosecutors consulted by this newspaper were surprised with such a figure: "For that money, that contract is not what it seems" they said. - I was seldom the prosecution. - In most occasions, looked to the prosecutor in the home, while at the Le Parc building. The version of Lagomarsino, as the judge said he spoke to this reporter, is that in the SHU AMIA other senior contracts had the same value. Lagomarsino says he copied and unlock files and performing backups of files that asked Nisman. Is not it a disproportionate number for that job? -Diego Says that sometimes the prosecutor cited the one o'clock on a Saturday. He must be ready all the time. It is true that the prosecution was little. He claims that most of the work was done remotely: files sent him and he unlocked or copied or made backups. Diego says he never knew the contents of those files. And how he got that job as well paid? -A Judge in San Isidro had problems in your home computer and turned to Diego. As always it happens, Diego fix the problems. I assure you that is a great guy. Nisman also had computer problems and this judge is recommended. Thus began the relationship. After Nisman asked him if he wanted a contract in the prosecution. He was not only responsible monotributistas enrolled. Diego said that the unit had AMIA other contracts that level. Consulted by Página / 12, in the administration insist that such a contract is by far the highest in the AMIA Unit, who handled the fiscal Nisman, and all prosecutors in general. They note that, at the time of its inception, Lagomarsino had only completed high school. How was he borrowed the gun? -Diego That Nisman telephoned him and as stated before the prosecutor, he borrowed the gun. He said in that conversation that Stiuso had called on Friday and told him he should be careful. They distrusted their custody and put them safely to their daughters. That's what I told Nisman Diego to justify asking him the gun. Today, Diego cries all day. It is destroyed and feels guilty. -why? Basically because he did not think at that time. You wonder how he did not realize that Nisman should be easy to get a gun and did not evaluate why it is called on it. Now also thought it was odd that he ask something up when had such custody. But, of course, Stiuso allegedly advised him to distrust the trustees. Still, spends the day crying. Today, believes Nisman had taken the decision (to kill) on Saturday night when Diego took the gun. Are you afraid? I'd say, most of all distress. Day crying is passed. When he learned in the early morning of Monday, he sought advice from another judge, because it found me. That judge advised him to appear immediately. It was only to testify Monday at 9am. Fein were the prosecutor and the judge Manuel Campos. Diego cried during the entire statement. 'You know what the relationship Lagomarsino with the prosecutor? Not in detail. Diego always said he had a relationship of trust, but always the prosecutor made him feel that he was the boss. Maybe give a pattern that, in recent months, said he had left Nisman therapy and who had chosen to be supported in the Art of Living (name of group self-awareness, yoga and meditation founded by guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, born in India ). How was the last meeting when he handed the gun? -Diego Said he was not very long. As usual, did enter through the back door. Nisman was alone in the apartment and invited him for coffee. He noticed that it had to prepare himself. They sat at the table and Diego says he saw him quiet. After a while he left, but this time through the front door, which was unusual. Also remember that the dismissal was without shaking hands because just the elevator, where there were women, and did not have time opened. It -¿Relató a previous meeting? I think you said earlier was just the day that the prosecutor was going to make the complaint, the 13. And that day I noticed a Nisman phrase: "Yo what I do, I have no alternative." Researchers believe that Lagomarsino had no direct connection with the death of Nisman in the sense that it was not in the building when the autopsy fixed schedule of death between 14 and 15 on Sunday. The computer technician was to give the gun at 20 on Saturday and left the building a while later. Your ingress and egress they were registered with the guard. Their participation, at least in so far there is in the case, was to render the gun. That is the reason the Fein tax not charged with a crime. After his statement on Monday, Lagomarsino promised tax would not talk to the media, why was not possible to engage him directly. However, he resorted to a judge known of his family, to leave the crossing Version Tuesday he adjudicated a possible link with some intelligence. In the administration yesterday was handed to tax the details of successive contracts signed, but beyond that, no data because Lagomarsino depended directly on Nisman. raulkollmann@hotmail.com Source - Pagina 12 {Spanish} - here. ^^^ COMMENT This is a poor Google translation.  Left it as is.  In a warped sort of way, it already makes sense -- sketchy, jumbled sense. As I read this: ^^ Computer technician Diego Lagomarsino is the last person to have seen Nisman alive. ^^ Lagomarsino delivered a .22 Bersa handgun to Nisman, on Nisman's request. ^^ Nisman had told Lagomarsino that the fired intelligence guy (Jaime Stiuso) had told him to be careful and, as I read above, had warned Nisman to be wary of protection retinue. ^^ Lagomarsino met Nisman through the recommendation of a judge Lagomarsino was providing computer tech services to. ^^ Lagomarsino's wages were unusually high. ^^ Lagomarsino's work was done on a remote basis & he was expected to be ready on-call, I think. ^^ On another site, it was noted that the two had met in 2007. ^^ Lagomarsino entered the apartment through the back door & (unusually) left via the front door. ^^ Lagomarsino and Nisman did not shake hands on parting, as the elevator opened unexpectedly and the departure was rushed (I think). ^^ Lagomarsino arrival & departure logged by guard ... but it looks like the retinue of guards were not there, which was unusual? ++ Some error:  Jaime Stiuso or Antonia Stiuso discrepancy in text above. If I understand correctly, this is a statement given by Lagomarsino to the reporter via a judge. Further: Initial test of Nisman’s hand showed no gunpowder residue [timesofisrael] Gunshot residue = GSR / depends on: >type weapon >number times fired >calibre of weapon [Ciolino & Castle] Revolver produces more GSR than automatic. 38 will produce more than a .22  gun fired more times produces more GSR GSR exceptions exist, depending on: >quality of gun >brand of ammo >amount wear & tear on gun Due to exceptions: .22 Rossi revolver may leave HEAPS more GSR than .44 Magnum Ruger Redhawk!!! [Ciolino & Castle] Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 SOURCE:  BERSA, Argentine arms manufacturer, located in the city of Ramos Mejia in Argentina The absence of gunshot residue would be unusual, seeing that even automatic weapons give off some residue. Intelligence service name discrepancy mystery solved.  Looks like guy goes by two names: Antonio Horacio Stiles (Jaime Stiuso) - here.