VIDEO: Wikileaks reveals Sony & US State Dept. mutual effort aimed at ISIS, Russia

Wikileaks reveals Sony & US State Dept. mutual effort aimed at ISIS, Russia SOURCE:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EMSkkT9mPVM Close ties between Sony & US State Dept exposed. WikiLeaks Sony archive belongs in public domain because:  archive shows inner workings of an influential multinational corporation; it is newsworthy & at centre of geopolitical conflict. That %$#$ Harf US State Dept spokesperson referring to 'a very high level of Russian propaganda' to 'hide' what Russia is doing in Ukraine ... errr, ... never mind the CIA coup in Ukraine and what the imperialist US is doing in Ukraine (and all over the WORLD) - including decades long dissemination of poison: US propaganda - makes me want to puke all over the keyboard. US State Dept attitude, as conveyed by Harf, summed up by reporter: US government in talks with entertainment giants to promote US foreign policy can be summarised in two words:  so what. Richard Stengel is not the first US official to put Russia and ISIL in one list of 'challenges'.  FAIR USE COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. That's Obama in Brisbane, Australia, vilifying Russia (by linking Russia to the 'fight' against ISIL, America's terrorist proxy in the Middle East) and calling on the 'international community' (but, really, his corporate serving allies), sounding off about the 'fight to destroy the terrorist group ISIL and opposing Russia's aggression against Ukraine," in the same breath. Thus Obama smears and vilifies Russia, while writing off the ethnic-Russian people of what is now eastern Ukraine (historically a territory of the Russian Empire), dismissing their legitimate struggle for their very lives and for independence from US installed and backed Ukraine fascists that have attacked these civilians with US and European Union backing and blessing. Support for Obama's aggression against the people of eastern Europe is a stain on every government and people that has supported this US aggression, and the insatiable American political-corporate-military drive for domination and exploitation of Europe. Yet this imperialist aggressor paints the Russians as a 'threat'; which is the standard tactic for this lying, despicable, imperialist invader. Check this out: FAIR USE COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. FAIR USE COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. The US imperialist is aiming to invest millions in 'countering' what it calls Russia's drive to reclaim lost territories.  Never mind the US drive to claim territories on Russia's doorstep, eh?  And this from the hypocrite US government that declared the Monroe Doctrine, basically claiming control of North America and South America (entire continents, Hello????), functioning as a declaration of US hegemony (see Chomsky). Note that this is a priority over countering ISIL propaganda.  Of course it is; ISIL serves their purpose in the Middle East. What is of utmost priority to the US, is US propaganda funding to sell US incursions into eastern Europe. Note also, that propaganda funding amount referred to above is trifling, compared to the US Broadcasting Board of Governors' annual US taxpayer funded propaganda budget: SOURCE - http://bbgwatch.com/bbgwatch/ FAIR USE COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. The 2014 Broadcasting Board of Governors budget was:  $733 million Loosely quoting Richard Becker, Answer Coalition: This is a revival of the cold war, particularly in the field of culture (see book:  The Culture of Cold War).  USA - for decades - used reporters, film companies, radio broadcasting - all different forms of communication & culture to promote the cold war against the Soviet Union, and now they are doing the same.  It has never stopped, really. The Broadcasting Board of Governors has funded anti Cuba propaganda by paying journalists & creating radio & TV stations (spending 100s of millions of dollars over the years), so the notion that has been presented by the US State Dept. spokesperson (ie Harf above) that this isn't something that the US government engages in or that it's up to the entertainment company is COMPLETELY FALSE. This is a COLLABORATIVE effort and IT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR DECADES, and now it has been revived in a big way against Russia as well as against others. US propaganda can be produced for the State Dept by Hollywood as follows:  TV shows, movies, music video ... list goes on and on; Sony (and they're not the only ones approached) is an extremely large corporation and have many means by which to propagate a narrative that shows them as a bastion of democracy, while whoever they're targeting is portrayed in the worst possible way. Presenter:  [If we look at the WikiLeaks Sony archive revelation] ... it shows us a case of private companies becoming an arm of US interests ... Richard Becker: These entertainment corporations are huge capitalist corporations and they have a government that is very much on their side along with other big corporations, so there's nothing really new about this.  But after the end of WWII (70 years ago), this collaboration was exponentially intensified to turn the big media - newspapers, movies, TV, radio etc - into ARMS OF THE GOVERNMENT and, in effect, they serve that purpose as arms of the government. [Cooperation between movie companies, the US government and the US military] has been going on for a very long time ... most people are hearing about that for the first time, but in reality the Pentagon and the military - again, going back to the time of WWII - have collaborated with the film studios and TV production and other forms of media, when they were doing programming that the military / the Pentagon felt was helpful to the US wars around the world.  That's been going on a long time and it's good that at least some of the population here is finding out about this. [Segment concludes] LOOK-UPS RICHARD STENGEL FAIR USE COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. "Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs" must mean under secretary for propaganda. Politico reported: At the State Department, Stengel will find himself in the company of other veteran journalists. Last week, as first reported by The Huffington Post, the White House announced that Douglas Frantz, late of The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, has been named the State Department’s assistant secretary for public affairs. Glen Johnson, formerly The Boston’s Globe’s political editor, took a position as a senior state department advisor earlier this year. Source:  http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/richard-stengel-leaving-time-state-department-96732.html So judging by the US State Dept. appointments from the commercial sector, there's also a cross-over between corporate journalism and the US State Dept. RICHARD BECKER Richard Becker West Coast Coordinator at ANSWER Coalition     San Francisco Bay Area     Political Organization [linkedin] Monroe Doctrine The Monroe Doctrine was a U.S. foreign policy regarding European countries in 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression, requiring U.S. intervention. Criticism Critics of the Monroe Doctrine, such as Noam Chomsky, argue that in practice the Monroe Doctrine has functioned as a declaration of hegemony and a right of unilateral intervention over the Americas  ... [wikipedia] MORE ON US PROPAGANDA USA 'MINISTRY OF TRUTH' 'Freedom News Network' House Measure to Change Voice of America’s Mission Is Drawing Intense Debate By RON NIXON   MAY 20, 2014 EXTRACTS WASHINGTON — A bill to overhaul Voice of America has prompted an intense debate among supporters of the legislation who say it will better enable the broadcast news service to counter Russian disinformation and opponents who say it will turn the service into an American propaganda tool. The legislation, which recently passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee with bipartisan support, would make changes to the mission of the government-financed Voice of America that its sponsors say would more clearly define its role in support of the United States. Specifically, the bill revises the language of Voice of America’s mission to explicitly state that the outlet has a role in supporting American “public diplomacy” and the policies of the government. Walter Isaacson, a former chairman of the Board of Governors as well as a former chairman and chief executive of CNN, said that the legislation was a response to changing times and that Voice of America should have a dual mission to clearly present American policy as well as provide objective news.  LMAO!!! Inside Voice of America, the legislation has created widespread fear among staff members who have long considered themselves professional journalists rather than spokesmen for government policy. During a recent staff meeting, journalists angrily voiced their concerns to managers. One journalist said the broadcast network could see a mass exodus if the legislation passed. Dan Robinson, who worked at the service for more than two decades before retiring this year, said the legislation would create additional problems if passed into law: It could endanger the lives of journalists and broadcasters who work abroad. “So do foreign governments now start seeing journalists from V.O.A. as agents of U.S. policy rather than as journalists?” he said. “That’s a real concern.” But Helle C. Dale, a senior fellow for public diplomacy at the Heritage Foundation, who supports changes to overhaul Voice of America and other international broadcasting, said such claims were absurd. “It’s not like people don’t already know,” she said. “It’s completely funded by the U.S. government, and it’s called the Voice of America. How does this legislation change this reality?” In addition to Voice of America, the federal government runs Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. Under the legislation, those broadcast outlets would be reorganized into a single organization called the Freedom News Network. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/21/us/politics/house-measure-to-change-voice-of-americas-mission-is-drawing-intense-debate.html  Director of Voice of America Is Planning to Step Down By RON NIXON   APRIL 7, 2015 EXTRACTS  WASHINGTON — David Ensor, who as director of the Voice of America has presided over significant growth in the news agency’s audience despite budget cuts, announced Tuesday that he was stepping down. According to survey data prepared for the board, the Voice of America’s international radio, television and online audience has reached 172 million people a week, an increase of 49 million during Mr. Ensor’s tenure. Mr. Ensor, 64, a former reporter for NPR, ABC News and CNN, was the director of communications and public diplomacy at the United States Embassy in Afghanistan before joining the Voice of America. The House passed a bill last year saying that the Voice of America should support American “public diplomacy” and policies. The move set off a revolt among staff members, who said the change would affect their editorial independence. The Senate did not take up the measure. It is expected to be introduced again in the House. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/director-ofvoice-of-america-is-planning-to-step-down.html?_r=0  CONCLUSION The entire entertainment industry & corporate media, as well as the US state funded media, is a propaganda arm of the US government ... EDIT - LOL, I WRITE BADLY ... SO MELODRAMATIC MELODRAMA IN PICTURES IS AT LEAST FUNNY BAD WRITING IS ... BORING YAAAAWN!

The Ford Foundation and the CIA - Financing and Manufacturing "Dissent"

Financing and Manufacturing "Dissent" in America:  The Ford Foundation and the CIA by James Petras Rebelión, 5 December / decembre 2001. Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG),  Centre de recherche sur la mondialisation (CRM),  globalresearch.ca ,  18  September/ septembre 2002 Introduction The CIA uses philanthropic foundations as the most effective conduit to channel large sums of money to Agency projects without alerting the recipients to their source. From the early 1950s to the present the CIA's intrusion into the foundation field was and is huge. A U.S. Congressional investigation in 1976 revealed that nearly 50% of the 700 grants in the field of international activities by the principal foundations were funded by the CIA (Who Paid the Piper? The CIA and the Cultural Cold War, Frances Stonor Saunders, Granta Books, 1999, pp. 134-135). The CIA considers foundations such as Ford "The best and most plausible kind of funding cover" (Ibid, p. 135). The collaboration of respectable and prestigious foundations, according to one former CIA operative, allowed the Agency to fund "a seemingly limitless range of covert action programs affecting youth groups, labor unions, universities, publishing houses and other private institutions" (p. 135). The latter included "human rights" groups beginning in the 1950s to the present. One of the most important "private foundations" collaborating with the CIA over a significant span of time in major projects in the cultural Cold War is the Ford Foundation. This essay will demonstrate that the Ford Foundation-CIA connection was a deliberate, conscious joint effort to strengthen U.S. imperial cultural hegemony and to undermine left-wing political and cultural influence. We will proceed by examining the historical links between the Ford Foundation and the CIA during the Cold War, by examining the Presidents of the Foundation, their joint projects and goals as well as their common efforts in various cultural areas. Background: Ford Foundation and the CIA By the late 1950s the Ford Foundation possessed over $3 billion in assets. The leaders of the Foundation were in total agreement with Washington's post-WWII projection of world power. A noted scholar of the period writes: "At times it seemed as if the Ford Foundation was simply an extension of government in the area of international cultural propaganda. The foundation had a record of close involvement in covert actions in Europe, working closely with Marshall Plan and CIA officials on specific projects" (Ibid, p.139). This is graphically illustrated by the naming of Richard Bissell as President of the Foundation in 1952. In his two years in office Bissell met often with the head of the CIA, Allen Dulles, and other CIA officials in a "mutual search" for new ideas. In 1954 Bissell left Ford to become a special assistant to Allen Dulles in January 1954 (Ibid, p. 139). Under Bissell, the Ford Foundation (FF) was the "vanguard of Cold War thinking". One of the FF first Cold War projects was the establishment of a publishing house, Inter-cultural Publications, and the publication of a magazine Perspectives in Europe in four languages. The FF purpose according to Bissell was not "so much to defeat the leftist intellectuals in dialectical combat (sic) as to lure them away from their positions" (Ibid, p. 140). The board of directors of the publishing house was completely dominated by cultural Cold Warriors. Given the strong leftist culture in Europe in the post-war period, Perspectives failed to attract readers and went bankrupt. Another journal Der Monat funded by the Confidential Fund of the U.S. military and run by Melvin Lasky was taken over by the FF, to provide it with the appearance of independence (Ibid, p. 140). In 1954 the new president of the FF was John McCloy. He epitomized imperial power. Prior to becoming president of the FF he had been Assistant Secretary of War, president of the World Bank, High Commissioner of occupied Germany, chairman of Rockefeller's Chase Manhattan Bank, Wall Street attorney for the big seven oil companies and director of numerous corporations. As High Commissioner in Germany, McCloy had provided cover for scores of CIA agents (Ibid, p. 141). McCloy integrated the FF with CIA operations. He created an administrative unit within the FF specifically to deal with the CIA. McCloy headed a three person consultation committee with the CIA to facilitate the use of the FF for a cover and conduit of funds. With these structural linkages the FF was one of those organizations the CIA was able to mobilize for political warfare against the anti-imperialist and pro-communist left. Numerous CIA "fronts" received major FF grants. Numerous supposedly "independent" CIA sponsored cultural organizations, human rights groups, artists and intellectuals received CIA/FF grants. One of the biggest donations of the FF was to the CIA organized Congress for Cultural Freedom which received $7 million by the early 1960s. Numerous CIA operatives secured employment in the FF and continued close collaboration with the Agency (Ibid, p. 143). From its very origins there was a close structural relation and interchange of personnel at the highest levels between the CIA and the FF. This structural tie was based on the common imperial interests which they shared. The result of their collaboration was the proliferation of a number of journals and access to the mass media which pro-U.S. intellectuals used to launch vituperative polemics against Marxists and other anti-imperialists. The FF funding of these anti-Marxists organizations and intellectuals provided a legal cover for their claims of being "independent" of government funding (CIA). The FF funding of CIA cultural fronts was important in recruiting non-communist intellectuals who were encouraged to attack the Marxist and communist left. Many of these non-communist leftists later claimed that they were "duped", that had they known that the FF was fronting for the CIA, they would not have lent their name and prestige. This disillusionment of the anti-communist left however took place after revelations of the FF-CIA collaboration were published in the press. Were these anti-communist social democrats really so naive as to believe that all the Congresses at luxury villas and five star hotels in Lake Como, Paris and Rome, all the expensive art exhibits and glossy magazines were simple acts of voluntary philanthropy? Perhaps. But even the most naive must have been aware that in all the Congresses and journals the target of criticism was "Soviet imperialism" and "Communist tyranny" and "leftist apologists of dictatorship" -- despite the fact that it was an open secret that the U.S. intervened to overthrow the democratic Arbenz government in Guatemala and the Mossadegh regime in Iran and human rights were massively violated by U.S. backed dictators in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and elsewhere. The "indignation" and claims of "innocence" by many anti-communist left intellectuals after their membership in CIA cultural fronts was revealed must be taken with a large amount of cynical skepticism. One prominent journalist, Andrew Kopkind, wrote of a deep sense of moral disillusionment with the private foundation-funded CIA cultural fronts. Kopkind wrote "The distance between the rhetoric of the open society and the reality of control was greater than anyone thought. Everyone who went abroad for an American organization was, in one way or another, a witness to the theory that the world was torn between communism and democracy and anything in between was treason. The illusion of dissent was maintained: the CIA supported socialist cold warriors, fascist cold warriors, black and white cold warriors. The catholicity and flexibility of the CIA operations were major advantages. But it was a sham pluralism and it was utterly corrupting" (Ibid, pp. 408-409)." When a U.S. journalist Dwight Macdonald who was an editor of Encounter (a FF-CIA funded influential cultural journal) sent an article critical of U.S. culture and politics it was rejected by the editors, working closely with the CIA (Ibid, pp. 314-321). In the field of painting and theater the CIA worked with the FF to promote abstract expressionism against any artistic expression with a social content, providing funds and contacts for highly publicized exhibits in Europe and favorable reviews by "sponsored" journalists. The interlocking directorate between the CIA, the Ford Foundation and the New York Museum of Modern Art lead to a lavish promotion of "individualistic" art remote from the people -- and a vicious attack on European painters, writers and playwrights writing from a critical realist perspective. "Abstract Expressionism" whatever its artist's intention became a weapon in the Cold War (Ibid, p. 263). The Ford Foundation's history of collaboration and interlock with the CIA in pursuit of U.S. world hegemony is now a well-documented fact. The remaining issue is whether that relationship continues into the new Millenium after the exposures of the 1960s? The FF made some superficial changes. They are more flexible in providing small grants to human rights groups and academic researchers who occasionally dissent from U.S. policy. They are not as likely to recruit CIA operatives to head the organization. More significantly they are likely to collaborate more openly with the U.S. government in its cultural and educational projects, particularly with the Agency of International Development. The FF has in some ways refined their style of collaboration with Washington's attempt to produce world cultural domination, but retained the substance of that policy. For example the FF is very selective in the funding of educational institutions. Like the IMF, the FF imposes conditions such as the "professionalization" of academic personnel and "raising standards." In effect this translates into the promotion of social scientific work based on the assumptions, values and orientations of the U.S. empire; to have professionals de-linked from the class struggle and connected with pro-imperial U.S. academics and foundation functionaries supporting the neo-liberal model. As in the 1950s and 60s the Ford Foundation today selectively funds anti-leftist human rights groups which focus on attacking human rights violations of U.S. adversaries, and distancing themselves from anti-imperialist human rights organizations and leaders. The FF has developed a sophisticated strategy of funding human rights groups (HRGs) that appeal to Washington to change its policy while denouncing U.S. adversaries their "systematic" violations. The FF supports HRGs which equate massive state terror by the U.S. with individual excesses of anti-imperialist adversaries. The FF finances HRGs which do not participate in anti-globalization and anti-neoliberal mass actions and which defend the Ford Foundation as a legitimate and generous "non-governmental organization". History and contemporary experience tells us a different story. At a time when government over-funding of cultural activities by Washington is suspect, the FF fulfills a very important role in projecting U.S. cultural policies as an apparently "private" non-political philanthropic organization. The ties between the top officials of the FF and the U.S. government are explicit and continuing. A review of recently funded projects reveals that the FF has never funded any major project that contravenes U.S. policy. In the current period of a major U.S. military-political offensive, Washington has posed the issue as "terrorism or democracy," just as during the Cold War it posed the question as "Communism or Democracy." In both instances the Empire recruited and funded "front organizations, intellectuals and journalists to attack its anti-imperialist adversaries and neutralize its democratic critics. The Ford Foundation is well situated to replay its role as collaborator to cover for the New Cultural Cold War. James Petras is a Bartle Professor (Emeritus) of Sociology at Binghampton University, New York, and author of: Globalization Unmasked: Imperialism in the 21st Century with Henry Veltmeyer (Zed Books, 2001) James Petras is a frequent CRG contributor. His  web site in English is at: http://www.rebelion.org/petrasenglish.htm A superset list of his articles in Spanish is at: http://www.rebelion.org/petras.htm Copyright James Petras 2001,  For fair use only/ pour usage équitable seulement . http://globalresearch.ca/articles/PET209A.html COMMENT What a great article.  Glad I stumbled on this. Even though it dates back to 2001, an instrument of imperialism is hardly going to change its agenda.  LOL LINKS 1) James Petras website 2) Petras Articles @ voltairenet 3) Reviewing James Petras’ The Politics of Empire: The US, Israel and the Middle East No time to check out his other articles right now, but I'm sure to come back to him.  The Stephen Lendman review of the Petras book is contained in Part II of the article link (3) above.  Trouble finding it.  Good luck to those with more patience than I have.

Socialist Perspective - Assange Hunted by Imperialist Powers to Disrupt WikiLeaks

ARTICLE Wikileaks, Sex & Imperialist Law http://www.bolshevik.org/1917/no35/ibt_1917_35_12_wikileaks-hands_off_assange.html COMMENTS Note the following re above article: a) Reference to 'charges' in two instances should read 'allegations' in lieu of 'charges', as there are no 'charges' to date (2015). b) Link to quoted material referred to in article (in text format) returns a 404 error. Valid link for Stratfor analyst remark:  here. c) Additional link to material quoted in article - Red Notice issue re sexual assault allegation anomaly & trying to disrupt WikiLeaks - here. Really good article by International Bolshevik Tendency (IBT) based on inspiring address by  Roxanne Baker, in support of Julian Assange.  So, there I was writing off the lefties (in general) as pseudo-lefties and corporate stooges, but that's not necessarily the case for all lefties. Wow, I think I really like the Bolshevik perspective. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What I got out of this: Largely hoovering references in the article - Persecution of Julian Assange is an attack on democratic rights, particularly press freedom Any differences on left, a matter of > subservience to ruling-class > acting as imperialist propaganda conduit Assange & WikiLeaks: challenged the powerful by exposing monstrous crimes committed in Iraq & Afghanistan Savage persecution of Chelsea (Bradley) Manning shows ‘enemies of the state’ USA ill treatment & erosion of democratic rights SW:  TERMINATED interview & REFUSED to READ or SIGN transcript on learning intent of Sweden police Sweden Police uploaded SW transcript to police data system & AMENDED transcript subsequently UNUSUAL intervention of Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny is possibly indicative of 'political string-pulling from high up'. AA = link w. US govt funded Ladies in White LIW is supported by CIA asset Luis Posada Carriles Carriles = terrorist & former CIA agent. Born in Havana. SEE also Carriles & CIA Cuba link: http://palgrave.typepad.com/yaffe/2011/03/cia-spies-and-videotapes-cuba-exposes-us-programme-of-subversion-.html Other interesting info - See also:  2009-10 Cuba - CIA USAID op undermines Cuba's hip-hop protest scene http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7c275c134f1b4a0ca3428929fcece82d/us-co-opted-cubas-hip-hop-scene-spark-change --- AA = brother in Sweden intelligence a liaison in WA to US intelligence services as referred to in above article: http://www.bolshevik.org/1917/no35/ibt_1917_35_12_wikileaks-hands_off_assange.html and as referred to in Counterpunch article, 2010: http://www.counterpunch.org/2010/12/07/information-terrorists/ -- Socialist Workers Party Alliance for Workers’ Liberty Naivety - given evidence that Sweden obliges CIA NO chance ‘fair trial’ prejudicial press / implacable hostility of ruling elites re WikiLeaks revelations On USA going after ASSANGE - Stratfor intelligence analyst: this is about trying to DISRUPT WikiLeaks Much discussion neglects to examine POLITICALLY motivated character of Sweden law enforcement allegations Assange - No chance fair trial high risk of extradition or rendition SOCIALISTS must oppose extradition Assange is being hunted by America for daring to shine a light on the crimes of IMPERIALISM USA conducting a witch-hunt against whistleblower publisher WikiLeaks, which remains active as at 2015. Julian Assange is an advocate of freedom of press & information, whose revelations have exposed lawlessness. Defending individual rights & liberties, such as those of Julian Assange (rights & liberties which ruling political elites seek to erase, in this instance and generally speaking) provides a BASIS for: 1) challenging a system of global oppression 2) challenging imperialist rule - the cause of such oppression 3) challenging an imperialist, oppressive rule that aims to SILENCE truth tellers Defending Julian Assange is defending civil liberties & challenging ruling elites - in what is a class struggle ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Note also: 1) Unsigned, unread statement - SW refused to sign or read, on learning of Sweden Police intent regarding Assange. 2) Transcript uploaded onto police database & SUBSEQUENTLY AMENDED. 3) AA could be described as highly instrumental - see source article. 4) The key police witness is compromised by her personal relationship with AA.  Furthermore, the telephone 'statement' taken by that police officer (and friend) of AA, was taken over the telephone, which I understand is a breach of police procedures. 5) Matter was dismissed by a senior prosecutor for lack of evidence, but was UNUSUALLY revived again - almost 500km away in Stockholm. 6) Interpol Red Notice issue is also unusual (as pointed out by the US private intelligence service, Stratfor - which is also known as a 'shadow CIA'). ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Anyway, they're just some things to think about. I'm off to find a home for my file-away marked up version of the article ... after I've checked all these links.  Excuse any typos - I'm in a mad rush.  Happy reading, Comrades.  ;) -------------------------------------------------------------------- QUICK LINKS: 1. WikiLeaks, Sex & Imperialist Law - here. 2. Ladies in White / Carilles - here. 3. AA - bother intelligence officer [Counterpunch] - here. 4. Example of USG / CIA subversive activity, Cuba - here. 5. Stratfor:  how to go after WikiLeaks - here. 6. Stratfor: Charges of sexual assault rarely Interpol Red Notice - Disruption of WikiLeaks quote - here. 7.  Women Against Rape For decades we have campaigned to get rapists caught, charged and convicted. But the pursuit of Assange is political"  - The Guardian - 23/08/2012  - here.

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Ukraine - Roger Annis Articles - Socialist & Russian Perspectives

UKRAINE ROGER ANNIS - http://links.org.au/node/4057 Source for blogger remarks/tweets below is the above writer & article. #Ukraine govt is same group of representatives of Ukraine’s economic elite that in power when the previous *elected* President unseated! >> "only change has been the banning of the large Communist Party contingent" [Annis] ... and now PURGE civil servants Fascism & Ukraine Economic Elite The president of the country was elected in May, but the country’s parliament is the same group of representatives of Ukraine’s economic elite that was in power when the previous, elected president was overthrown in February of this year. The only change has been the banning of the large Communist Party contingent. This is one of the many, new measures against freedom of expression (inspired by Europe!) that have accompanied the war in the east, including the new law which authorises police to shoot on sight anyone suspected of conducting “separatist” activity, killings of journalists and harassment of news outlets. Above extract from:  http://links.org.au/node/4057 Amazing article by Roger Annis -- check it out! #Ukraine ................................   ................................ ROGER ANNIS - BORIS KAGARLITSKY   http://www.rogerannis.com/ukraines-uprising-against-nato-neoliberals-and-oligarchs-an-interview-with-boris-kagarlitsky/ Boris Kagarlitsky on #Ukraine >> http://goo.gl/56pLJo  >> #EU Assoc Agreementt "crux of it is about closing down most of Ukrainian industry" Even under Yanukovych >> "Nato had already announced a tender for building its headquarters in Sevastopol" [Kagarlitsky] - !! Oligarchic rule, like a feudal country: #Poroshenko got the majority in the elections b/c those who opposed coup were not allowed to run!! #EU / West capitalists eye #Ukraine cheap labour (10,000 mobile unemployed) to undermine welfare states in the West!! #Ukraine - West supported Yanukovych but switched to supporting his adversaries!! .. once system collapsed, millions of ppl out of control #Poroshenko "spent x3 more money than everyone else put together, & it seems that he also bought the electoral committees." Kagarlitsky So the #EU open borders is designed for West / capitalists to exploit a mobile labour force & to undermine the welfare state. Narodnoe Opolcheniye or Opolchenie = people's (volunteer) militia >> First Narodnoe Opolcheniye, formed 1611 during Russo-Polish War 1605–18 >> Nothing's changed since 1600s .. Polish–Lith C'wealth, private armies & mercenaries led by the magnates (aristocracy) !!! >Hey, Carl was there, too >> "#Sweden also participated in the conflict during the course of the Ingrian War (1610–1617)" wikipedia ................................   ................................ COMMENT This guy is amazing.   Loved his article about Ukraine.

IRAQ - WASHINGTON CABAL - SECURE INTERESTS OF AMERICAN IMPERIALISM

The war cabal in Washington 11 August 2014 With a series of air strikes beginning Friday and continuing through the weekend, the United States has gone to war again in Iraq. This new imperialist military adventure has been launched in defiance of overwhelming popular opposition and without a shred of legal or constitutional authority. The decision to launch a new war was made by a handful of strategists of US imperialist policy within the military/intelligence apparatus, in league with the corporate and financial elite. It was made behind the backs of the American people, who have absolutely no say in the policies, including going to war, that impact their lives. President Obama’s Thursday night announcement authorizing the launching of air strikes and other actions against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) came just one day after Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies published an analysis calling for an escalation of US military operations in Iraq. Cordesman and his Washington DC think tank occupy a prominent place within the network of intelligence and military strategists who determine US foreign policy. Cordesman and his like are involved in a permanent conspiracy against the wishes and interests of the broad mass of the American people, in which the president serves as executor and front-man. Their decisions to launch wars and subvert targeted foreign governments are dutifully approved by the leaders of both big business parties in Congress. The corporate-controlled media is assigned the task of dispensing propaganda and disinformation in support of militarism and war. Opinion polls show that 71 percent of the American population regards the 2003-2011 Iraq War with hostility. But what the vast majority of the American people think and feel has no bearing on the policies and decisions of the key actors in Washington. There is no longer even the formality of public hearings, debate or a congressional vote. No explanation is offered as to how and why a country that had no Al Qaeda presence until the 2003 invasion, supposedly carried out to fight Al Qaeda terrorism, has been largely overrun by an Al Qaeda offshoot. There is no explanation for the terrible squandering of Iraqi lives, with over a million killed, and American lives, with tens of thousands killed and wounded, or the waste of trillions of dollars to finance the slaughter. The politicians and media are silent on the role of the CIA in promoting and aiding ISIS and similar Al Qaeda-linked forces and using them as proxy fighters in the US wars for regime-change in Libya and Syria. [...] Obama declared Saturday that the intervention in Iraq would go on for months, if not longer. It thus represents an open-ended commitment of the military and financial resources of the US government. Tens of billions of dollars will be thrown into the furnace of war to secure the interests of American imperialism in the vast oil resources of the region. [...] EXTRACT - FULL @ SOURCE SOURCE - WSWS - here.

No say about going to war?

Sounds about right.

CARNAGE UNLEASHED ON PALESTINIANS DEPENDS ON WESTERN SUPPORT

Gaza is a crime made in Washington as well as Jerusalem The carnage unleashed on the Palestinians is part of a decades-old routine that depends on western support Seumas Milne The Guardian, Thursday 7 August 2014 ... while the overwhelming majority of Palestinian dead are civilians – 430 of them children – and 64 of the Israeli dead are soldiers, it is Hamas that is branded terrorist, rather than the Israeli armed forces armed with the most sophisticated targeting technology in the world. It’s only necessary to consider for a moment what the reaction would have been if the death toll had been the other way round to realise how loaded are the scales of western moral outrage and selective the appetite for action. And it’s only by ignoring the entire history of the conflict that it can be portrayed as the result of some wearisome ancient ethnic hatred. This week’s centenary of the outbreak of the first world war should help. David Cameron claims it was fought for freedom. In reality, it was a savage industrial slaughter perpetrated by a gang of imperial powers to carve up territories, markets and resources. Far from defending democracy or the rights of small nations, Britain and France ended the war divvying up the defeated German and Ottoman empires between them, from Iraq to Palestine. A century on, we’re still living with the consequences. ... a British foreign secretary had signed the Balfour declaration, which on behalf of one people promised to a second the land of a third. Palestine would be a “home for the Jewish people” provided that nothing would prejudice the rights of the “existing non-Jewish communities”, as the Palestinians were described. So began its full-scale colonisation by mainly European settlers – something that could have happened only under colonial rule – which three decades later would lead to the establishment of Israel and the dispossession or expulsion of the majority of the Palestinian people. Four Arab-Israeli wars on, the 44% of Palestine allocated to the Palestinian majority under the 1947 UN partition plan had been entirely occupied by Israel – and the Palestinians were fighting a guerrilla war for self-determination and the refugees’ right of return. The other day I came across a copy of Newsweek magazine from March 1978, with a picture of an Israeli tank on the cover under the headline “Israel strikes back”. Then it was south Lebanon that Israel was punishing, not Gaza – and the “terrorists” of Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organisation, not Hamas, that its forces were targeting. Israel staged an even larger-scale invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and occupied the south for another 18 years. Since the Oslo agreement of the early 1990s failed to produce the Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza it was supposed to, Israel has colonised, bombed and reinvaded the Palestinian territories it illegally occupies (along with Syria and Lebanon) time and again: in 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2012. The justification is always the same: the security of the occupier must be upheld against the resistance of the occupied and blockaded population. And at every stage Israel has had the military, financial and diplomatic support of the west, the US above all. Despite the hand-wringing, that backing has been unwavering throughout the past month’s devastation of Gaza. Not only is Israel’s right of “self-defence” in a territory it illegally controls upheld, while the same right is denied to the Palestinians, but the US, whose military aid to Israel runs to $3bn a year, has been re-supplying it with weapons as its troops and aircraft pulverised and massacred their way through an impoverished territory from which its captive people are unable to escape. Europe is in the same game. Britain has licensed the sale of a startling £8bn worth of military or dual-use equipment since 2010, and £42m of direct arms sales – including parts for drones and tanks used in the destruction of Gaza. ... EXTRACTS ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/06/gaza-crime-washington-jerusalem-carnage-western-support

Wow, good article from The Guardian.

Well worth a read.

Also gratified that the imperialist aims of WWI participants was mentioned.

Nothing has changed since WWI.  

US and its allies are bound to go to war for territories, market and resources -- just watch Ukraine.

Propaganda - Goebbel's Principles

PROPAGANDA GOEBBEL'S PRINCIPLES Hitler's Basic Principles These principles are abstracted from Jowett & O'Donnell.     Avoid abstract ideas - appeal to the emotions.     Constantly repeat just a few ideas. Use stereotyped phrases.     Give only one side of the argument.     Continuously criticize your opponents.     Pick out one special "enemy" for special vilification. Propaganda must label events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans.     They must evoke responses which the audience previously possesses.     They must be capable of being easily learned.     They must be utilized again and again, but only in appropriate situations.     They must be boomerang-proof. SOURCE - http://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/Propaganda/goebbels.html ................................................................. Should be a fun game picking off phrases and slogans. 'Boomerang proof' must be the final step, when everyone's sucked up the smear campaign, and they're ready to believe anything by virtue of the subject being the personification of 'evil'. Hey, check this out: Bush Copied Hitler’s Propaganda Technique The “preventive war” propaganda used by President Bush to justify his attack on Iraq in 2003 copied that used by Hitler when he invaded Russia in 1941. Starting a preventive war was a foundation of the “Bush Doctrine.” David Walsh, a contributor to the World Socialist Web Site, writes in a new book that the Nazi regime asked the German press to portray Hitler’s invasion of Soviet Russia as a “preventive war” that was “forced” on Germany. Walsh adds this propaganda tactic “did not originate with (George W.) Bush, (Dick) Cheney, or (Donald) Rumsfeld.” It was used by Hitler. ... [the media] long ago abandoned any sense of responsibility for educating and informing the public or carrying out the critical democratic function traditionally assigned to the ‘Fourth Estate’, i.e., serving as a watchdog and check on government abuses and falsifications.” Walsh goes on to say that, “Instead it (the media) slavishly carries out the function assigned it by the ruling elite: to confuse, terrorize and intimidate the American public.” He explains how the TV networks and major dailies “are the prime source of news and information for tens of millions of people in the U.S” and are “in the hands of giant firms, controlled by fabulously wealthy individuals who will stop at nothing to defend their profits and property. The corpses of thousands, or, if necessary, millions of Iraqis, Syrians, Iranians and others are a small price to pay, as far as the media billionaires are concerned, for achieving American military and economic domination of the globe.” [Source - VeteransToday - here] ................................................................. So are Obama's bosses planning on using the Hitler-GWBush technique on Russia? Check out what David Walsh has to say about media ownership and how the media's used by the elite. Think he might have a point. edit:  oops.   Looks like I forgot link the VeteransToday article those extracts are from.  Linked to article today (Sept 2015).