USA - NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY - Leaker #2

http://goo.gl/l9SCsG


Another NSA leaker.

Snowden was first. This is Leaker #2.

#2 Leaker is allegedly passing information to journalists.

Bloomberg View (link above) reports:

The blogger Cory Doctorow was the first to suggest there's a second NSA leaker. Last month, one of his sources told him that a story on the German site Tagesschau was not based on documents from Snowden's trove. The article dealt with the NSA's spying on the anonymous Tor network, the backbone of the "Dark Web" that intrigues the intelligence services of many countries.  

Hey, Tor gets a mention.

Was going to use Tor the other day when I couldn't access Twitter for some reason ... but I couldn't even get Tor up.  Kinda odd.  Is Tor blacklisted these days?


Anyway, this is a bit of interesting news on the NSA front.  I've not followed the links but anyone who wants more info can.

OBAMA - QUIT MEDDLING IN RUSSIA-UKRAINE - MARKET FORCES WILL SORT IT OUT

The US Needs to Stop Meddling in Russia-Ukraine Politics EconMatters Aug. 6, 2014, 10:13 PM It is ironic that President Obama in his West Point speech posited that the US couldn`t be the world`s police, and intervene in every single dispute all over the globe; and yet his foreign policy approach has ended up getting involved in every single dispute all over the world. The worst possible approach is to give Putin more credibility at home by leveling sanctions and upping the stakes politically for Putin for staking American interests with Ukraine`s independence from Russian influence. If an Enemy is Self-Destructive, Don`t get in their Way! If Russia is stupid enough to get heavily involved in trying to dictate Ukraine’s future, then let him get all bogged down with this scenario as eventually market forces will determine the course for Ukraine. Just like the US in Vietnam, Russia in Afghanistan, or the breakup of the former U.S.S.R. eventually market forces will win the day if left alone, and even if not left alone, getting in the way just prolongs the inevitable because of ‘sunk-cost’ issues that slow down market forces that would otherwise prevail. But by the US giving all this attention to the issue, and showing that this means so much for our interests this just reinforces Putin`s thinking that Ukraine is one heck of a key strategic piece that he must put more resources and energy towards trying to secure or align with Russia`s future status on the world stage.  [Actually, it IS one heck of a US strategic grab.] Cost/Benefit for Putin has Changed because of US Involvement  If left alone to his own devices, he will find the headache is not worth all the time and energy, not to mention scarce Russian resources, when the US just says fine you can have Ukraine if you want, we don`t care, knock yourself out Putin, get bogged down in a civil war with Ukraine, good luck with that!  It is reverse psychology at its finest, the more premium you place a ‘value of importance’ on an issue, in this case Ukraine being aligned with Europe and the US, the more Putin wants to ensure that this doesn`t happen, and his cost/benefit analysis has entirely different dimensions and inputs.  It has gotten to the point that Putin now calculates many scenarios where it is worth his time to be bogged down in the Ukraine conflict which just a year ago wouldn`t have been near as attractive for him. He remembers the breakup of the Soviet Union, he remembers Afghanistan, and he understands these types of ‘fighting against market forces campaigns’ that just eat up valuable resources year after year where no real political progress is ever made. He wasn`t waking up early each morning thinking to himself, ‘Gee I cannot wait to get bogged down in a civil war with Ukraine’! [CIVIL WAR IN UKRAINE WAS ENGINEERED BY US.  OTHERWISE, UKRAINE WOULD HAVE HAD THEIR ORIGINAL ELECTED PRESIDENT AND WOULD HAVE UPHELD UKRAINE AGREEMENTS SIGNED UP WITH RUSSIA (INSTEAD OF THE US/EU/NATO SNATCH OF UKRAINE THEY ENGINEERED.  LOL] Ego shouldn`t dictate Best Foreign Policy Approach or Re-Approach! The President will never do it because it might make his ego look bad regarding his prior strategy, but Russia isn`t the same as the Iran situation, Ukraine is right in their proverbial backyard and sanctions are a waste of time here. It actually would be brilliant by Obama if he just changed course and said fine, after careful consideration if Russia is that interested in getting bogged down in Ukrainian politics, while the rest of the world is interested in growing their economies, then go for it as the US will no longer be invested in whatever market forces prevail in the region.  In other words, the US devalues the strategic importance of Ukraine overnight, and eventually Russia discovers that trying to fight against Ukrainian independence isn`t all it’s cracked up to be! It’s not like Ukrainian independence has ever been that strategically important currently versus the last 50 years of history, it really isn`t that strategically valuable to the United States compared to all the bluster, hype, sanctions, and drama that this administration has projected onto this issue!  President Obama only has himself to blame on this one, and hopefully he doesn`t double down from an ego perspective and make the situation worse, drama often creates drama where it wouldn`t otherwise be – remember the Middle East Spring and all that created drama, left alone things went back to normal as market forces dictated that pretty much business went back to usual in the region, and nothing really changed once people got bored with protesting and rioting as a profession.  Reverse Psychology and Market Forces Just leave market forces to decide the fate of Ukraine President Obama you might just be surprised how the outcome that the US wants in the region comes to fruition much sooner by being left to its own devices – that’s the beauty of market forces.  The Vietnam outcome was always going to be the same because the true market forces were always going to prevail, the US and Russia just delayed the inevitable outcome in the region. If President Obama wants to deescalate the Ukrainian-Russia conflict he should just back off and completely reverse course on the sanctions, it is reverse psychology at play, the analogy is one of a girlfriend who dumps the guy, and the guy goes overboard trying to get her back, this only reinforces in her mind that he is a ‘loser’, and she must be so much more ‘valuable’ on the open market if he is so distraught over the breakup! President Obama through his actions has created a market where it previously didn`t exist from a value standpoint in the Ukraine, and now he and the United States are the ones bogged down in the conflict, and not Russia. Russia in effect through Obama`s actions have realized ‘found value’ right in their backyard – shoot Ukraine used to just be a headache for Russia, now it is a headache with global strategic value thanks to the United States. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-needs-to-stop-meddling-in-russia-ukraine-politics-2014-8?IR=T

The market forces determining the outcome works fine maybe in the long run -- like decades.  

But Obama/US want what Ukraine has and what Ukraine can enable them to have; it's a pawn and there's energy, militarily strategic advantage, supply to Europe, new markets etc at stake.

US/Corporate America has invested far too much to back off -- and its partners in crime (big economy NATO allies) are just as invested.

Corporate America wants this and Obama is owned; a puppet of corporate imperialism.  LOL

IRAQ - CHALDEAN CATHOLICS - LOBBY OBAMA FOR US ASYLUM & DRONE STRIKES

San Diego Chaldean business leader cancels Washington trip Posted: Aug 07, 2014 1:20 PM Updated: Aug 07, 2014 1:20 PM SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A San Diego business leader who sounded the alarm over the persecution of Christians in northern Iraq decided Wednesday to cancel a trip to Washington, D.C., where he was set to meet with top administration officials. Mark Arabo, CEO of the Neighborhood Market Association, leads a coalition of people who represent Chaldean Catholics in the Middle East. The coalition is still scheduled to meet with National Security Advisor Susan Rice on Thursday, but Arabo decided to stay home and participate by phone, a spokesman said. He said Arabo had traveled a lot recently and was pleased with a United Nations resolution this week to condemn the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, known as ISIS. Coalition members plan to tell Rice that they hope President Barack Obama will recognize the situation in Iraq as a refugee crisis, to immediately increase visas and to raise the annual asylum ceiling for Middle Easterners from 10,000 to 40,000. They will also ask for targeted drone strikes against ISIS. Thousands of Christians fled the Iraqi city of Mosul, where they traditionally live side-by-side with Muslims, after being threatened with death by the fundamentalist Islamic fighters. ISIS swept through northern Iraq in late May and early June and were advancing on Baghdad before their offensive stalled. Witnesses said ISIS has instead imposed strict Islamic law in the regions they control. ... http://www.kusi.com/story/26218551/san-diego-chaldean-business-leader-cancels-washington-trip

Chaldean (Iraq Catholic) lobby urging US drone strikes.
Wonder if Obama will go for it.

GAZA - PALESTINE - ISRAEL

HAARETZ Article In the July war Hamas fired 3,356 rockets at Israel, some of them short range, some long range, some medium range. But the most dangerous rocket Hamas launched in Operation Protective Edge was the 3,357th one. This invisible rocket was intercontinental. It struck hard at Israel’s most important support bases in five continents. It reached every home in America, caused huge damage in every European state and brought its deadly cargo even to South America, East Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Iron Dome failed to intercept the secret rocket. The air force did not succeed in diverting the destructive arrow head from its course. Neither the government nor the army knew how to block the blow that this rocket delivered to Israel’s strategic home front. They allowed the terrible sights of dead children, bombarded schools and shattered mosques to hand Hamas the biggest achievement – creeping delegitimization of Israel. We should not be confused. Israel was and remains in the right in this awful war. Hamas is a fascist organization, which attacked the neighboring democracy without justification, in a criminal attempt to kill Israeli citizens and cause the deaths of Palestinian residents. Israel did its best not to be embroiled in the violent struggle and to reduce to a minimum the harm to innocents during its course. So there’s no room for moral comparison between the two entities – one of them is moral and enlightened, the other tyrannical and murderous. But, regrettably, Hamas planned the campaign and prepared for it better than Israel in certain ways. It developed a malicious strategy intended to make Israel implement its terrifying power against itself. Since Israel had no decisive intelligence, it acted as Hamas expected it to act – it implemented its fire power in a way that harmed its international image. EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.609259

Looks like the Israeli's don't seem to get it.  Their focus appears very narrow and self-centred.

Israeli newspaper opinion seems to be that Hamas somehow waged a really good PR campaign, discrediting Israel internationally ... and even 'made' Israel 'implement' it's state of the art arsenal against itself, in some grand scheme to turn the tide against Israel (or something like that).

But it wasn't merely the evidence of the killings, injuries and damage done; it's the knowledge that the Palestinians are on the losing end, in every respect, in relation to Israel (with the blessings and support of the US and US allies) -- as they have been for decades -- and that the Palestinians really are open air prisoners of an occupation.

Anyway, that's how I see it.

IRAQ - TOWNS TAKEN BY ISLAMIC STATE - 1,500 DEAD - PANIC

1,500 Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered, Obama Administration Issued a Statement By Nina Shea National Review Online Posted 2014-08-07 03:01 GMT On Wednesday, Qaraqosh, the largest Christian town in northern Iraq's Nineveh province, came under assault from the Islamic State, and all 50 to 60,000 of its residents have fled to Erbil in Kurdistan. ... The enormity of the humanitarian crisis of the cascading exodus from Nineveh was overshadowed, though, by the early reports indicating genocide is taking place against the people of Sinjar, who are mostly followers of the Yazidi religion but also include some Christians. ... Meanwhile, 500 more Yazidi families were taken to Tel Afar, Iraq, where they are being used as human shields in the Qalaat Tel Afar (the city's old castle) and in schools. In response yesterday, U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power issued the highest level statement so far by the Obama administration on the two-month-long attack against non-Sunnis in Iraq by the Islamic State. Still relying on the formation of a new Iraqi government as the principal solution, she appealed to "all parties to the conflict," stating: We urge all parties to the conflict to allow safe access to the United Nations and its partners so they can deliver lifesaving humanitarian assistance, including to those Iraqi families reportedly encircled by ISIL on Mount Sinjar. The United States is committed to helping the people of Iraq as they confront the security and humanitarian challenges in their fight against ISIL. Iraq's leaders must move swiftly to form a new, fully inclusive government that takes into account the rights, aspirations and legitimate concerns of all of Iraq's communities. All Iraqis must come together to ensure that Iraq gets back on the path to a peaceful future and to prevent ISIL from obliterating Iraq's vibrant diversity. Meanwhile, I just received word that residents of Erbil are now fleeing in panic. My contact writes at 4:41 p.m. today: People now all leaving Erbil to go a bit more to the northeastern part of Kurdistan. There have been fight in Khabour for the last two days and apparently ISIS is winning, peshmerga is giving in, and they are closing on Erbil. People are freaking out and Security is on every other meter on the streets. Checkpoints everywhere and they are stopping everybody.  ... EXTRACTS ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE http://www.aina.org/news/20140806230136.htm

Looks like the US isn't going to intervene and they're hoping the Afghan government will come up with the solution?

From previous reports, US is quietly providing arms to the Kurdish side.

AFGHANISTAN - 'NATO MACHINE GUN' KILLING OF US MAJOR-GEN & WOUNDING AT LEAST 17 OTHERS, INCL GERMAN GENERAL

Big surprise: Fox News doofus blames Obama for death of U.S. general in Afghanistan Aug. 6, 2014 6:21 p.m. Steve Doocy, one of the dimmer bulbs on Fox News Channel (a distinction not easily achieved), is RESPONDING to a tragedy in Afghanistan exactly as he would be expected to: There was a tragic incident just outside Kabul yesterday at the National Military Academy of Afghanistan, where a man dressed in Afghan military uniform opened fire. At least 15 were injured and at least one American was killed: two-star Major General Harold J. Greene, who was there to help train Afghan soldiers… In an unusually callous display, Fox News’ Steve Doocy thought this morning would be a good time to suggest President Obama deserves the blame for the violence and Greene’s death… Does Doocy, or any other Republican for that matter, seriously believe that if Obama had committed to an indefinite war in Afghanistan, attacks like these wouldn’t happen? The way to prevent violent deaths in Afghanistan is for Obama to declare a war without end? http://www.jacksonnewspapers.com/article/20140806/BLOGS/308069981/-1/police%20fire

Fox News gets a rap on the knuckles from a commentator.

Washington Post:

Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene became the first U.S. general officer killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Known to his friends as Harry, Greene was recalled by colleagues yesterday as a family man who was an expert in logistics and wanted to be serving in Afghanistan. The Los Angeles Times reported that his wife, Sue Myers, is a retired Army colonel, and they have two grown children, Matthew and Amelia. Matthew is a lieutenant in the Army and a graduate of West Point.

“Whether it was [improvised explosive devices] or soldier protection or intelligence and surveillance, he always had a tactical view of research and development and acquisition,” Scales told Army Times. “When he was at Natick, he had a real sense of what was important. Harry was always the one who always understood the tactical needs of the close-combat soldiers.”

The attacker was armed with a machine gun, and surprised Greene and other officials who were visiting the academy, according to the Wall Street Journal. The use of a machine gun would in part explain the high number of casualties — 17 other troops were wounded, the newspaper said. Many other news accounts put the number of casualties at 15, plus Greene.

CBS News reported Wednesday that the attacker, identified as Rafiqullah, hid in a bathroom before the attack. It, too, reported the use of a machine gun, and said it was a NATO weapon. Two Afghan generals at the academy were wounded, the report said.

The Washington Post and others reported yesterday that a German one-star general was also among the wounded. He is Brig. Gen. Michael Bartscher, according to accounts by the Associated Press and others. The German defense ministry called it a “malicious and cowardly attack,” the AP said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/08/06/new-details-emerge-about-death-of-maj-gen-harold-greene-killed-in-afghanistan/

Washington Post provides some background detail.

US - HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON BENGHAZI

Full speed ahead on Benghazi probe GOP-led House Select Committee on Benghazi terror attack shows no sign of backing down UPDATED 10:44 AM HST Aug 06, 2014 ... A flawed process The committee report, according to Ruppersberger, found that "the process used to develop the talking points was flawed" and that they "reflected the conflicting intelligence assessments in the days immediately following the crisis." Like an earlier report by the House Armed Services Committee, the Intelligence Committee also found that there was no 'stand down' order issued by the U.S. military command in Tripoli, which sought to support Americans under fire in Benghazi. CNN reached out to Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers for comment on the panel's report but did not receive a response. Gowdy has said repeatedly that the House Select Committee will review what other congressional committees have found, but also seek testimony from those who haven't done so yet. Gowdy told his hometown newspaper, the Greenville News, "witnesses who were previously unavailable or not interested in cooperating are now interested in cooperating." He added that "the universe of witnesses is expanding." Gowdy also indicated that the Select Committee would hold its first public hearing in September to hear how the State Department is carrying out new efforts on diplomatic security. ... EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE http://www.kitv.com/politics/full-speed-ahead-on-benghazi-probe/27340108

This looks worth examining.

Beyond my comprehension ATM.

Not focused enough. LOL