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.

"Netanyahu Was Imported by GOP to Ensure a War With Iran"

WAR WITH IRAN Israel’s Netanyahu Was Imported by GOP to Ensure a War With Iran Posted on Jan 22, 2015 By Juan Cole This post originally ran on Juan Cole’s Web page. Republican House Majority leader John Boehner secretly invited Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Washington to address Congress and then once it was set up he let Barack Obama know about it. The reason for bringing Netanyahu is that Boehner wants to craft a super-majority in Congress that can over-ride Obama’s veto of new sanctions on Iran.  He doesn’t have enough Republican votes to do so, but if he can get Democrats beholden to the Israel lobbies of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to join the veto over-ride effort, he might succeed. Obama has spent a great deal of time and effort trying to negotiate with Iran over its civilian nuclear enrichment program, intended to allow Iran to replicate the success of France and South Korea in supplying electricity.  (That would allow Iran to save gas and oil exports for earning foreign exchange). Because nowadays producing enriched uranium for fuel via centrifuges is always potentially double use, this program has alarmed the US, Europe, and Israel.  Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has given several fatwas (akin to encyclicals) orally in which he forbids making, storing or using nuclear weapons as incompatible with Islamic law (a position also taken by his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini).  So maintaining that Iran is committed to making a nuclear bomb is sort of like holding that the Pope has a huge condom factory in the basement of the Vatican. [LOL.  Pope strikes again.] But, there are no doubt Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders and maybe some engineers and scientists who really wish Khamenei would change his mind (he won’t). So if you wanted a compromise between Iranian nuclear doves (the hard line leadership) and Iranian nuclear hawks (the subordinates who have to take orders from the doves), what would you do?  You’d keep options open.  And keeping options open also has a deterrent effect, so it is almost as good as having a nuclear bomb.  That is, if Iran has all the infrastructure that would be needed for a nuclear weapons program but didn’t actually initiate such a program, you’d put enemies on notice that if they try to get up a war on you the way Bush-Cheney got one up on Iraq, they could force you into going for broke and abruptly making a bomb for self-defense.  This posture is called in the security literature “nuclear latency” or colloquially “the Japan Option” (we all know Tokyo could produce a bomb in short order if they felt sufficiently threatened). [Japan as well?  Wow.] I started arguing that this policy was what Iran was up to some 7 or 8 years ago, and I think it is now widely accepted in policy circles. So the point of the UNSC plus Germany negotiations with Iran is really about how long Iran would take to break out and produce a bomb.  Will it be 3 months or one year?  Iran wants a shorter timeline (for maximum deterrence, since they already saw what happened to Baghdad).  The P5 + 1 want a much longer timeline.  They would also like to spike the centrifuges and make sure there is no heavy water reactor (plutonium builds up on the rods). [So negotiations are about bomb producing potential timelines?] If the two sides can reach an acceptable compromise, sanctions would be lifted, Iran would run its Russian-built reactors to produce electricity (though likely within a decade they will be undercut in price by solar panels; still, solar doesn’t have deterrent properties), and there would be thorough frequent UN inspections of its enrichment facilities (plutonium leaves a signature).  It isn’t really possible to have a big nuclear facility hidden from US satellites; the US spotted Fordo immediately.  You need a lot of water, truck traffic, etc. [Fordo = village in Iran.] But Iran would have latency and therefore deterrence and I suppose might be emboldened that Israel wouldn’t dare nuke it because it might well be able to nuke back some months later. US hawks in both parties and the Israeli political right wing want to prevent Iran from having any nuclear enrichment program at all, so as to prevent Iran from having the security that comes from the deterrence Lite produced by latency. The US Joint Chiefs of Staff looked at this issue and have decided that only an Iraq-style invasion, occupation and regime change could hope to abolish the nuclear enrichment program. If that is what it takes, the US and Israeli hawks are perfectly all right with it.  It would be good times for the military-industrial complex, and Israel’s last major conventional enemy (though a toothless one) would be destroyed.  An irritant to US policy and a threat to Wahhabi Saudi Arabia, our big volatile Gasoline Station in the Sky, would also be removed. Iran is three times as populous and three times as large as Iraq.  So I figure this enterprise would cost at least 15,000 troops dead, 90,000 seriously wounded, and altogether $15- 24 trillion dollars over time (including health care for the 90,000 wounded vets).  Given the size of the country and the nationalism of the population, it could be much more like the US war in Vietnam than Iraq was, i.e. it could end in absolute defeat.  Russia and China would almost certainly aid insurgencies to weaken the US. And that is what the right wing psychopaths in Washington DC and Tel Aviv have planned for us.  If they can over-ride Obama’s veto and scuttle the negotiations, they set us up for a war down the line, as Obama warned in the SOTU. In contrast, professional Israeli intelligence analysts are warning against new sanctions and any torpedoing of the Iran talks.  Because they deal in the coin of pragmatism and the real world. [Mossad opposition has been refuted, but I haven't checked on that widely.] Readers should please let their congressional representatives know they would prefer not to be subjected to this disaster. That Netanyahu is an unreliable narrator should be obvious by now: I wrote in 2012 :     Israeli PM Binyamin “Chicken Little” Netanyahu tried to scaremonger about Iraq in 2002, as his contribution to the Anglo-American war of aggression on that country.  “there is no question whatsoever,” Netanyahu said, “that Saddam” was seeking nuclear weapons. He said that Israeli intelligence reported to him that Russian scientists and North Korea were on site and actively aiding this phantom nuclear weapons program.     There was no Iraqi nuclear weapons program in 2002; it was dismantled in the early 1990s by United Nations inspectors.  There were none of the chemical or biological weapons Netanyahu spoke of.  No Russians.  No North Koreans. Bupkes. Netanyahu also warned that Iraq would give nuclear warheads (which it did not have) to “terrorist groups.” He also argued that no inspections could possibly find “mobile weapons sites” (which are impossible), implying that invasion and occupation was the only course open. Netanyahu proved that neither he nor the Israeli intelligence organization, Mossad, had the slightest actual intelligence on Iraq, and that neither should be trusted to provide such intelligence to the US.  Clearly, some right wing Israeli leaders always want the US entangled in regional wars in the Middle East, insofar as they are seeking US support in a hostile region.  They therefore habitually exaggerate the dangers, and are little more than bullshit artists. Netanyahu’s comments on Iraq are almost verbatim what he is now saying about Iran. The Mainstream Media never calls Netanyahu on his bull crap. SOURCE - TRUTHDIG - HERE. COMMENT Back to thinking 'We're doomed!' An interesting read and it should be interesting to see if the Congress numbers are there to override the Presidential veto and set up a potential Iran war US military industry bonanza. Don't know how binding a fatwa is in Iran.   Fatwa = legal opinion on Islamic law binding precedent to those bound to the scholar *but not universally binding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatwa May be more binding than elsewhere because they're all under the one religious leader, I think. But it doesn't matter, because it sounds like they may be after the deterrent factor of potential for weapons, rather than weapons, and the only thing being negotiated is the lead time on making weapons? Seems a good article.

Netanyahu Israel Re-Election Moves

ISRAEL - USA - IRAN Feeling somewhat sheepish after my 'Iran has long-range missiles, wants nukes & we're all doomed' panic attack. Not good at weighing up the political scene or various stories that I come across.  Tend to imagine we're on the verge of war.  Seriously.  Convinced, yesterday, that it's a war with Iran that everyone's really been planning.  Sounds like a dumb conclusion today.  Good thing I'm not in charge of defence.  LOL Fury in Israel Over Obama's Mossad 'Lies' / Mossad Head denies that Mossad opposes Iran sanctions >>> http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/190364 Mossad Head Tamir Pardo Israel also not happy re leaking of Mossad Head (Tamir Pardo) statements (even if falsified) / serious breach / unfriendly Report in Bloomberg re Mossad sanctions 'opposition' denied  =  #Obama admin's “revenge” re Bibi's invitation to Congress (unnamed source) Mossad says [nukes] agreement that is being formed with Iran is bad & could lead to a regional arms race Netanyahu out in the cold in USA over proposed Congress speech.  But relations cosy with Canada.  http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/netanyahu-trip-exposes-frosty-relationship-with-u-s-president-1.2201819 … Netanyahu running a nationalism + national security re-election campaign Turns out there is no 'rogue' Mossad opposition to sanctions. The claim is reportedly a US administration leak and a dirty trick ('revenge' tactic) against Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is running for re-election and it looks like it's on a nationalism and national security platform, so the whole thing with Iran and the US Congress speech could just be part of bolstering his electoral appeal in Israel, rather than cause for serious concern about Iran and Middle Eastern affairs. Not really sure what the go is with the European foreign ministers publicly appealing for no further sanctions on Iran, unless they're trying to help Netanyahu's election campaign moves. I feel ripped off.  I believed all the crap that was in the news and thought we were all heading for disaster.  LOL

Iran - Sanctions vs Nuclear Negotiations

IRAN Germany, France, UK tell Congress to hold back on Iran legislation WASHINGTON -- Top diplomats from Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the European Union are asking Congress to refrain from passing new nuclear-related legislation on Iran, warning a bill could derail negotiations over its nuclear program. In an op-ed published Thursday in the Washington Post, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and EU high representative for foreign affairs Federica Mogherini say a new bill would give Iranian opponents of a comprehensive nuclear accord "new arguments" for subterfuge. http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Germany-France-UK-tell-Congress-to-hold-back-on-Iran-legislation-388602 "Israeli TV Shows Satellite Imagery of New Iranian Long-Range Missile On the Launch Pad - January 22, 2015... http://tmblr.co/ZC3D0x1bMbiCF " [via Matthew Aid] Give diplomacy with Iran a chance By Laurent Fabius, Philip Hammond, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federica Mogherini January 21 at 8:27 PM  [...] Our objective remains clear. We want a comprehensive solution that both recognizes the Iranian people’s right to access peaceful nuclear energy and allows the international community to verify that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon. Any agreement must provide concrete, verifiable and long-lasting assurances that Iran’s nuclear program is and will remain exclusively peaceful. Nothing less will do. It is now up to Iran to make a strategic choice between open-ended cooperation and further isolation. To be sure, difficult challenges lie ahead, and critical differences between Iran and the international community must be addressed. That is why we extended the negotiating window until later this year. In this context, our responsibility is to make sure diplomacy is given the best possible chance to succeed. Maintaining pressure on Iran through our existing sanctions is essential. But introducing new hurdles at this critical stage of the negotiations, including through additional nuclear-related sanctions legislation on Iran, would jeopardize our efforts at a critical juncture. While many Iranians know how much they stand to gain by overcoming isolation and engaging with the world, there are also those in Tehran who oppose any nuclear deal. We should not give them new arguments. New sanctions at this moment might also fracture the international coalition that has made sanctions so effective so far. Rather than strengthening our negotiating position, new sanctions legislation at this point would set us back. [...] EXTRACTS - FULL @ WASHINGTON POST - HERE. COMMENT This isn't looking all that good for the West. France, UK, Germany and the EU are virtually publicly begging for no disruption of the Iran nuclear negotiations. Meanwhile, Iran's got some kind of massive long-range missile (middle article). And US Congress is running amok. At this point, I'm spooked and would go with anything Israel decides because they're probably better at assessing the pros and cons than anyone else. ---------------------------------------------- PS The European politicians could have done a direct appeal to the US government, without doing the dramatic public appeal in Washington Post. Is all this drama in Israel, in the US Congress and among European foreign ministers, just a bit of a show they're putting on?

HIT SQUADS, MUTINY, LOBBY-TOYS, A DEAD POPE, MORAL OUTRAGE -- WHAT 'FREE PRESS'? -- AND MOSSAD

HIT SQUADS, MUTINY, LOBBY-TOYS, A DEAD POPE, MORAL OUTRAGE -- WHAT 'FREE PRESS'? -- AND MOSSAD Started my browsing adventures off with looking for evidence of Iranian hit squads, cos I'm on a half-hearted mission to figure out who's knocked off Argentina's prosecutor, Alberto Nisman. Yet to find Iranian hit squads ... but I've been distracted by this find:  a hilarious 2011 article on Libyan & Iranian 'Greatest Hit Squads' in America: Libyan Phantoms & Iranian Assassins: Greatest Hit Squads 1981-2011 By Mark Ames If you’re feeling like you’re being taken for a ride with all this nonsense about Iranian-Narco-Mexican terror hit-squads infiltrating this great nation, read on… Think this is the guy who's written about American support for Chechen extremists. Yeah, checked and confirmed it's the same guy that wrote the Chechen article I liked.  Posted in relation to it here.  Remember also liking the humour that came across. Anyway, as I get distracted easily, the very next thing, I'm getting blown away by the news that John Boehner and Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer have teed up a Benjamin Netanyahu Congress speech on February 11th, having cut out the main man, Obama, and having seemingly rigged up a scandalous (and mutinous?) scenario, where Bibi gives a speech rebutting US foreign policy. Behind Obama's back: How Netanyahu's US trip was cooked up << Boehner initiated >>  http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.638396 > departure from protocol - Israel ambassador Ron Dermer & speaker John Boehner cook-up > Prevent Iran nuclear weapons shared goal John Boehner’s Bibi invite sets up showdown with White House >>> http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/john-boehner-invites-benjamin-netanyahu-congress-iran-114439.html <<< "Republicans & Democrats in the Capitol seem more closely aligned with Netanyahu than with Obama" >>> Bibi’s Congress speech Feb 11 = foreign leader, blocks from WH (invitation of Congress) to rebut the US foreign policy!! Boehner: "serious threat that exists" "serious conversation" "how serious the threat is" >> Going with 'serious threat', eh? The news seemed massive to me and I got super excited ... but nobody else seems as excited as I was. Just checked to see if it was reported elsewhere and found that The Guardian has also reported on Boehner's moves, rather coolly: John Boehner invites Netanyahu to address Congress on Iran next month   http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jan/21/boehner-netanyahu-invite-congress-iran-obama However, that's a rather mild take on what seems to be going on, when you consider that the authority of the President of the United States is being challenged here by some lobby-toy politican, Boehner. The Guardian continues: Invitation, provocative move by House speaker, came hours after Obama threatened during State of the Union address to veto any Iran sanctions bill 'Threatened'?  Sounds a rather extreme way to describe what is a statement of Presidential intent made during the President's SOTU address, and presumably within the President's authority. An odd way to convey what seems to be the other way around:  Congress threatening to pass a sanctions bill that the President considers counter-productive to furthering negotiations with Iran, who may well choose to walk, rather than negotiate, at the end of the day. As for 'provocative move', I'd have called it an underhand, backstabbing, embarrassing mutiny.  So what gives? The White House, meanwhile, is downplaying this by calling it a "break of normal diplomatic protocol".  Yeah, I'll say.  If this was happening in Russia, can you imagine the screaming headlines? Anyway, I wanted to know a bit more about Boehner and I found this fantastic Rolling Stone article: The Crying Shame of John Boehner He's a lazy, double-talking shill for corporate interests. So how's he going to fare with the Tea Party? http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/matt-taibbi-the-crying-shame-of-john-boehner-20110105 written by Matt Taibbi, who turns out to be another really clever and funny guy, who's co-edited The eXile with Mark Ames (of the 'Greatest Hit Squads' article fame, above). Not only that, turns out Taibbi's written a piece that was denounced by US politicians and talking heads: "The 52 Funniest Things About the Upcoming Death of the Pope"  http://konformist.com/archives/2005/03-2005/kn4m0311.txt At first I was like, dude, this is a bit sick ... but then I got reading and saw the humour in it. Personal favourites: 28. Bears everywhere shitting in woods.  8. Bush continued: "He touched all of us in places no one else could reach." Sure, it may not be to everybody's taste, but so what? This is the condemnation bandwagon list: Hillary Clinton (US lawyer, politician) Michael Bloomberg (businessman, magnate, mayor of NYC) Matt Drudge (political commentator, creator of news aggregate site Drudge Report) Abe Foxman (Soviet-born, US lawyer, national director of Anti-Defamation League) Anthony Weiner (New York politician, House of Reps, sexting scandal) Perhaps others also complained, but from the above list of denouncers (referred to in Wikipedia), there's not a single Catholic among those that took umbrage, so what's the real agenda? In addition to a pious whinge-fest, "the editor who approved the column was fired". A look-up elsewhere indicates that the New York Press editor, Jeff Koyen, was given two weeks unpaid leave but chose to quit, and: Koyen called his former publisher "a spineless alt-weekly weenie" for not standing up to the harsh criticisms the article received. Criticisms came from a variety of people such as U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, a spokesman for New York City Mayor Bloomberg and former Mayor Rudolph Guliani. Koyen also reacted to statements made by Rep. Anthony Weiner who was quoted by the New York Daily News calling on New Yorkers to "exercise their right to take as many of these rags as they can and put them in the trash." Interrupting the distribution of a newspaper -- even by purchasing a large quantity of them and throwing them out -- is illegal, koyen noted.  Ooh, look, finally a (thrice-married) Catholic among the condemning mob, the toothy Guliani, who caused some controversy by supporting: People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK, also PMOI, MKO), from the United States State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The group was on the State Department list from 1997 until September 2012. They were placed on the list for killing six Americans in Iran during the 1970s and attempting to attack the Iranian mission to the United Nations in 1992. [Wikipedia] Cool, Iranian assassins is what I was originally looking for! Uncertain why a bit of satire caused such political outrage at the time (guessing nearing April 2005). There was four different incidents of US gun violence leading up to that time and 22 people were killed within a short amount of time, but I guess 22 people among a population of over 300 million doesn't upset things as much as it might in a smaller population. Well, not enough to challenge the armaments manufacturers and the gun lobby.  During 2005, USA was 2 years into the Iraq invasion and had been in Afghanistan since 2001. The other thing happening at that time was the final stages of the Terri Schiavo drama being played out.  Basically, heart attack and severe brain damage in 1990; kept on artificial supports until 2005, when feeding tubes were finally removed.  What is horrific is the amount of time this person had to linger in a vegetative state, as well as the amount of time (13 days, I think it was) it then took to die after removal of feeding tubes.  It's like something out of a horror story. It's really doing my head in that something like that can happen to a person and that medical people are not permitted to step in to do the right thing and euthanase the vegetative person, who will exist (if supported) in a vegetative state (which nobody could possibly want as an existence) or otherwise die ... slowly. Anyway, there seems to be some interesting reflections of the past in the present. Currently there's a satire and freedom of press related hysteria that's done an outraged wave around the world (but not as much outrage at the barbaric slaughter of people who have a right to live, to express themselves politically or otherwise, and to work without the threat of violence or death).  The current touring Pope has tried to declare religion as off-limits (self-serving, or what?) and virtually justified the violence along the lines that it could be expected, given his rather stupid insult-my-mother analogy.  The mommy insult analogy makes it sound like some playground bit of bullying between children (unless his Holiness thinks it's fine for adults to go around assaulting or murdering one another because they don't like what's said).  Automatic weapons and a rocket launcher aren't a bit of school-yard 'you-said, so I'm getting even' bullying.  Why trivialise something so ugly and uncivilised that we should all despair for the future on this planet?  Opportunistic politicians and others have also tried to deny the right and merit of free speech, effectively blaming the victims of extremist violence.  A number of figures have also  tried to use this atrocity to further state control agendas of (a) suppression of free speech and (b) expansion of state controls, such as mass surveillance and denial of encryption services etc. Getting back to the Netanyahu and US Congress drama, a Bloomberg article indicates that Mossad has broken ranks with the Israeli PM, telling US officials that new Iran sanctions would 'tank' the nukes negotiations. Israeli Mossad Goes Rogue, Warns U.S. on Iran Sanctions http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-01-22/netanyahu-mossad-split-divides-u-s-congress-on-iran-sanctions Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee  -- supported by Republican Senators Lindsay Graham and John McCain -- is pushing for his own legislation on the Iran nuclear deal, which doesn't contain sanctions but would require that the Senate vote on any pact that is agreed upon in Geneva. The White House is opposed to both the Kirk-Menendez bill and the Corker bill; it doesn't want Congress to meddle at all in the delicate multilateral diplomacy with Iran. Israeli intelligence officials have been briefing both Obama administration officials and visiting U.S. senators about their concerns on the Kirk-Menendez bill, which would increase sanctions on Iran only if the Iranian government can't strike a deal with the so-called P5+1 countries by a June 30 deadline or fails to live up to its commitments. Meanwhile, the Israeli prime minister’s office has been supporting the Kirk-Menendez bill, as does the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, ahead of what will be a major foreign policy confrontation between the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government in coming weeks. Evidence of the Israeli rift surfaced Wednesday when Secretary of State John Kerry said that an unnamed Israeli intelligence official had said the new sanctions bill would be “like throwing a grenade into the process.” But an initial warning from Israeli Mossad leaders was also delivered last week in Israel to a Congressional delegation -- including Corker, Graham, McCain and fellow Republican John Barrasso; Democratic Senators Joe Donnelly and Tim Kaine; and independent Angus King -- according to lawmakers who were present and staff members who were briefed on the exchange. When Menendez (who was not on the trip) heard about the briefing, he quickly phoned Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer to seek clarification. OK, what's going on here?  How is who Israeli intelligence (or Israeli politicians) favour in the USA sphere of national sovereignty even relevant, and why are these American politicians -- who are answerable to the American voters -- even in Israel on a 'congressional delegation'?  Don't know why Obama doesn't just step down so Netanyahu can take his rightful place at the helm of US politics, if Israel is pulling that many strings in the US through its intelligence services addressing a visiting congressional delegation, as well as addressing politicians in the US, while Israel's Foreign Minister is making arrangements directly with Boehner (rather than Obama), and even the pro-Israel lobby group, AIPAC, happens to be playing some role in the decision-making process in the US, by the look of things. American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC Annual budget $67 million @ 2010 America's powerful Pro-Israel Lobby Critics have accused AIPAC of acting as agent of Israeli govt, with a "stranglehold" on the US Congress. [Wikipedia] All of this congress squabbling, and appearance of rogue senators and rogue Mossad, sounds like crap to me.  We wouldn't be privy to any of this if the politicians didn't want us to know about it. I'm going to take a guess and say this is some kind of smokescreen for something.  But I'm not sure what, seeing the final decision can only go as follows:  1) either the US goes with sanctions against Iran or it doesn't.  2) either the Senate gets to vote on the results of any Geneva agreement with Iran or it doesn't. Well, that's that.  But I still don't know what the Iranians get up to, I'm no closer to finding out who killed Alberto Nisman and no wiser about the sport of US Congress.

ARGENTINA - Alberto Nisman

DAILY BEAST ARTICLE Did Iran Murder Argentina’s Crusading Prosecutor Alberto Nisman? An Argentine prosecutor died from a single gunshot wound to the head Sunday, hours before giving evidence about Iran’s involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center. PARIS — Since 2005 Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman has been crusading for his vision of justice in the horrific 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and injured hundreds more. He claimed that Iran was behind it and, more recently, that the Argentine government was trying to block his efforts to prove that. On Sunday night, Nisman was found dead in his apartment, only hours before he was set to testify before an Argentine parliamentary commission about his allegations.   [Accusations involved the President, the Foreign Minister and a phone tap (legal or not legal is open), as I understand.  Also, there has been something going on within the intelligence service of the country ... a new head was appointed.] The circumstances revealed thus far by the police suggest a suicide. The history of Iran’s operations overseas inevitably suggest otherwise. And there are disturbing echoes of the world 20 or 30 years ago when Tehran, often in league with its clients in Hezbollah, waged a global war on the enemies of the Islamic Republic, deploying hit teams second only to the Israelis in their skill at assassination.  [Not up on all of this.  Didn't think Iran was known for 'hit teams' ... thought that was Mossad.] First, let’s look at the official communiqué about Nisman’s death issued by Argentina’s Ministry of National Security on Monday morning, with the facts of the case as the ministry says they are known: Nisman’s lifeless body was discovered Sunday night in his apartment on the 13th floor of Le Parc Tower, which is part of a modern high-rise complex in the Puerto Madero neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Ten members of the Argentine Federal Police force had been assigned to him as bodyguards, but it seems they were not deployed when he was at home. According to the communiqué, members of the team alerted Nisman’s secretary on Sunday afternoon that he was not responding to repeated phone calls. When they learned that he was not answering the doorbell of his house either and that the Sunday newspaper was still on the step, they decided to notify his relatives. [Straight up, I'd be looking at the slap-dash security.  Why so loose?  Why leave openings?  Why so slow to react?] In the world of intelligence, as distinct from the world of criminal justice, there has been little question that Iran was behind the AMIA bombing. The bodyguards then collected Nisman’s mother at her home and took him to Le Parc. When they tried to enter, they found the door locked with the key on the inside. They called the building’s maintenance staff who then called a locksmith.  Nisman’s mother entered the apartment with one of the bodyguards, and they found Nisman in the bathroom, where his body was blocking the door when they tried to open it. They immediately called police crime scene investigators who entered the bathroom, apparently making as much effort as possible not to disturb the evidence. [Agile 'Houdini' assassin?] Nisman was on the floor with a .22 caliber pistol and one empty shell casing nearby. The official communiqué does not say explicitly that he died from a bullet wound to the head, but that has been widely reported in Buenos Aires, as has the detail that the documents for his testimony before parliament were arrayed on his desk. How a murderer might have staged this apparent suicide will doubtless be the subject of speculation and conspiracy theories for years to come, as, indeed, is the case with the investigation into the AMIA bombing itself. That never resulted in a single conviction and was called a “national disgrace” by the late President Néstor Kirchner in 2005. The former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, was among those who signed a petition ten years ago calling for justice, but to no avail. Nisman’s eventual focus on direct Iranian involvement, accusing Tehran of planning and financing the attack and Hezbollah operatives of carrying it out, was not universally supported, even by U.S. investigators who followed the case. “The guilt field was painted with a bit too broad a brush,” former FBI agent James Bernazzani told The New York Times in 2009. Bernazzani had led U.S. investigations of Hezbollah throughout the 1990s and said that while he was “convinced” of the group’s involvement, “we surfaced no information indicating Iranian compliance.” In the world of intelligence, however, as distinct from the world of criminal justice, there has been little question that Iran was behind the AMIA bombing in 1994 and the earlier car-bomb attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 that killed 29 people. [Surely, even in the world of intelligence, conclusion has to be based on available facts.  But law enforcement said there were none pinning it on Iran.  So, the intelligence that Iran was behind it would just be a best guess?] At the time, the Israelis were attacking Hezbollah leaders and Iranian clients in Lebanon, Hezbollah and Iran struck back wherever they thought they could. “It’s an ongoing game, playing by the rules of the Bible,” a senior official in Israeli intelligence told me at height of the carnage, meaning the rule of eye for an eye, “and at a certain point there is a balance of terror where everyone knows what’s expected.” The Iranians also targeted with a vengeance any opposition figures they thought might be dangerous. In 1991, after a failed attempt years before, they managed to talk their way into the home of Shahpour Bakhtiar, the Shah of Iran’s last prime minister. He thought they were friends. They were searched by police at the door. They killed him with a knife from his own kitchen. The younger brother of then-President Hashemi Rafsanjani was named as a suspect in the case.  [Doesn't sound too professional, although it's certainly merciless and barbaric.] Between 1987 and 1993, according a French government memo published in a very detailed study called Le Hezbollah Global, between 1987 and 1993 some 18 opponents of the Tehran regime were murdered in Europe, and the CIA estimated that between 1989 and 1996 the Hezbollah network carried out 200 serious attacks costing hundreds of lives.  [Can the French memo & CIA estimates be trusted?  As it's unlikely anyone else was knocking off opponents of Teheran, the French memo might get a pass but I don't know about the CIA estimate.] By the late 1990s, the Iranian government apparently decided to slow these operations after several of them started to bring down too much heat. The Germans conducted a relentless investigation of the murder of Kurdish leaders in Berlin in 1992, tracing them back to the then-head of Iranian intelligence, Ali Fallahian. The AMIA bombing in 1994 caused international outrage. And the bombing of the Khobar Towers apartments in Saudi Arabia in 1995, which killed 19 Americans, was eventually traced to another group of Iranian acolytes. [Kurdish targets sound more like something the Turkish would be involved in, rather than Iran.  Saudi Arabia and Americans I can't begin to decide.] Finally, Imad Mugniyeh, seen as the key Hezbollah operative in many of the group’s terrorist attacks, dating back to the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, was blown up with a well-placed car bomb in Damascus in 2008. The Israelis generally are credited with that hit.  [Read about this some time ago.  Sounds pretty much what I'd read elsewhere.] But by then, Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon had fought a successful war of attrition that led to Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory in 2000 after decades of occupation. Building on that victory, Hezbollah became, and remains, the most powerful political party in the country. Since then it has focused its actions on a sustained but relatively controlled standoff with Israel, apart from a brutal war in 2006 when it fought the vaunted Israeli army to a standstill. And in the last two years it has deployed in Syria to fight against the Sunni-led rebellion there, including the forces of al Qaeda and ISIS, that threaten the Assad regime. Iran, for its part, has been trying to show itself a reasonable member of the community of nations by negotiating with the Americans and Europeans about the future of its nuclear program. Yet there have been signs within the last few days that the game as old as the Bible continues, and may once again grow very dangerous. Last week, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah boasted that his organization now has weapons that can strike anywhere in Israel. “We have made all necessary preparations for a future war,” he said. Then on Sunday, Israeli forces killed Jihad Mugniyeh, son of the late mastermind, and several other Hezbollah officers who were operating in the Syrian sector of the Golan Heights. The Israeli press reported they had been planning attacks on Israeli targets. Was Alberto Nisman somehow caught up in this long war of assassinations? Or did he decide for reasons we probably cannot know to end his own life? The investigation will continue, unless somebody stops it.  [LOL ... who would be game to continue to investigate?] SOURCE:  The Daily Beast - here. COMMENT Chose this article randomly.  Another piece I'd read on Saudi Arabia challenged what I think is the present pro Saudi status quo, so I figured I'd check out another article by the same publication. Wondering if publication may have a pro-Israeli bias given the headline. The first thought I had on learning of  Nisman's death was, wow, Argentina's totally corrupt ... as I first assumed that someone within Argentina's government or intelligence was responsible.  Later, I wondered who might benefit from destabilising the government & maybe doing a frame that taints the government with suspicion of the killing as well as the cover-up accusation.  Only vaguely thought about Iran at some point, but dismissed it because it didn't seem like they had anything to gain. But ... my knowledge is very limited, so I could be wrong about that.  As I read the article I wasn't that convinced it had anything to do with Iran.  It was only when it got to the nuclear negotiations bit that had me wondering ... along the lines of maybe the motive being to preserve the edge Iran may presently have in negotiations.  But there's a warrant for eight Iranians (and one Lebanese) issued, so it isn't like this is something new and damaging to Iran.  Here's where it gets really interesting: Argentine government accuses prosecutor Nisman of working hand-in-hand with Jaime Stiusso, a former agent at Intelligence Secretariat (SI, formerly known as SIDE) who was reportedly removed when Oscar Parrilli was appointed to head the country’s intelligence services last month. Stiusso was said to be working behind the scenes against the memorandum of understanding —signed by the Kirchnerite administration and Iran in January 2013 to investigate the AMIA bombing. According to a Kirchnerite source, internal rifts within the SI started when the Federal Criminal Appeals Court declared unconstitutional the Memorandum in May last year. [mercopress] I had some other guy's name for the intelligence replacement:   intel head Héctor Icazuriaga replaced by Oscar Parrilli [here]. Sounds like the intelligence agency's been stirred up and it looks like the 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] The last bit of that paragraph doesn't mean much to me.  Who is this Beraja guy?  Quickie look:  businessman, Ruben Beraja, was president of the Delegation of Jewish Argentine Associations (DAIA). GreenLeft reported in 2011: The US pressured an Argentine prosecutor to halt investigations into former Argentine president Carlos Menem and a number of other officials suspected of being involved in a cover-up over the bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in 1994, Argentine daily Pagina/12 reported on February 27. [here] Article goes on to say that a 1997 report by Argentina’s National Academy of Engineers indicated that a car bomb wasn't the cause of the explosion, as the epicentre of the explosion was within the building.  Not sure which building.  Looks like they're talking about the AMIA building, but I think another article referred to the embassy. Here's where the story becomes totally twisted.  Caught on video: federal judge Juan Jose Galeano offering [car dealer] Telleldin a US$400,000 bribe in return for providing witness testimony implicating the police officers [ibid] But that's not all: The court found that federal judge Luisa Riva Aramayo also offered to pay Telleldin for testimony implicating a number of police officers allied to Menem’s political rival, Eduardo Duhalde. [ibid] How corrupt is Argentina?  That's just put me off Argentina.  Not somewhere you'd go to settle down to a quiet life, is it?  Sounds like a nest of vipers. Here's more on the nukes: In a November 2006 report for the Asia Times Online, Porter said “The indictment [by Nisman and Burgos] shows the US put strong pressure on the Menem government to terminate all nuclear cooperation with Iran.” [ibid] US seems to be highly involved in the goings on in Argentina: The WikLeaks revelations also included cables criticising the Argentine government and showing a close relationship between the US and right-wing opposition figures. [ibid] Now that I've trawled through all this stuff, I'm somewhat confused. Argentinian author Adrian Salbuchi argues that it is more plausible that Israeli intelligence services may be responsible for the attacks in Argentina [here]. Without knowledge of all the related events, it's hard to assess the merits of the timeline or the proposal that it may have been Israeli intelligence services. Initially I found that option hard to believe.  But then I remembered King David Hotel bombing.  Even though this was pre Israeli intelligence services days,  it's hard to dismiss when early Zionist paramilitary organisations that were responsible for the KDH bombing also produced a Prime Minister (Menachem Begin), then head of the organisation associated with the Deir Yassin massacre. If my understanding is correct, David Shaltiel, the guy who gave the Deir Yassin massacre the go-ahead (despite a non-aggression pact signed by the villagers) was a paramilitary commander, who went on to become an intelligence officer and an Israeli diplomat: In the years 1950-1952 Shaltiel served as military attaché of Israel in France, and later fulfilled several diplomatic charges - as Israel's plenipotentiary minister in Brazil and Venezuela (1952–1956), then in Mexico (1956–1959) and ambassador in Netherlands (1963–1966). [wikipedia] I'm now more blown away by this information than I am by the convenient death of Prosecutor Nisman. Reading further, I've discovered an early example of assassination by Zionist paramilitary:  that of Jacob Israel de Haan.  First political murder.  Killed 1924 Jerusalem.  Haan's view of a Zionist future (negotiation with Arabs) didn't fit with the paramilitary organisation's view. What blows me away is that those who participated in extremist violence in Palestine became mainstream (and presumably accepted) figures. Pope Francis (former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio) gets a mention for having signed a petition for AMIA justice 10 years ago. Italian descent, worked as a chemical technician and a bouncer. Religion creeps me out in a big way.  Not for one moment do I believe in do-gooder 'holiness'.  Nor the we-must-revere-religion stance. In terms of the church generally, if you want influence in a place like Latin America you would probably want to play with the church.  Looks like CIA's played with the church. Checking out the church, I've found this: "under Reagan, the CIA linked up with Pope John Paul II, and they attacked together, they attacked liberation theology based communities in Latin America and have really destroyed that whole movement" [Matthew Fox, Theologian] Oh, look.  Here's another article that links CIA with Pope John Paul II: John Paul II appears to have gone even further, allowing the Catholic Church in Nicaragua to be used by the CIA and Ronald Reagan’s administration to finance and organize internal disruptions while the violent Nicaraguan Contras terrorized northern Nicaraguan towns with raids notorious for rape, torture and extrajudicial executions. School of the Americas ('Coup School') got a mention in that one, as well. Must-read article by Robert Parry, investigative reporter, who broke Iran-Contra stories: Pope Francis, CIA and ‘Death Squads’ https://consortiumnews.com/2013/03/16/pope-francis-the-cia-and-death-squads/ Pope Francis & Hollywood   Hollywood meets Vatican Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 Pope Francis and actress, film-maker meet after the screening of 'Unbroken' at the Vatican. Perfection. WWII hero Hollywood flick, Universal Studios, Hollywood & UN heroine, the head of the Catholic Church (wow, somebody powerful is pulling strings and it's not god), the oft repeated "strength of the human spirit", a keepsake rosary ... an almost perfect PR trip, were this not such an absurd concoction. Hollywood Pictures.  Movies. Money.  Money.  Money. Corporate America Wall Street.  Power.  Elite. Myth-makers.  Dreams-makers. Lies.  Propaganda. Humanitarian mantra.  Appropriation for political ends.  Trojan horse. US empire Politics Pontiff, god, & glamour Holy spirit Sport. War. Hero. "strength of the human spirit" Or  indifferent chance? Rosary Blessing Affirming American Empire 2015 For me, the beauty lies in the absurdity of the concoction presented for consumption. ---------------------------------------------------- Various links: *http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/19/did-iran-murder-argentina-s-crusading-prosecutor-alberto-nisman.html *http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/179804/as-illconceived-as-it-sounds *http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/179518/gov%E2%80%99t-accusations-are-%E2%80%98ridiculous-inconceivable%E2%80%99 *http://en.mercopress.com/2015/01/19/d-day-for-argentine-prosecutor-who-charged-cristina-fernandez-with-iran-cover-up *https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/46996 *http://en.mercopress.com/2015/01/19/d-day-for-argentine-prosecutor-who-charged-cristina-fernandez-with-iran-cover-up *https://consortiumnews.com/2013/03/16/pope-francis-the-cia-and-death-squads/

Charlie Hebdo gunmen, Hollande & Assad

SYRIA Source:  Twitter Depicts the Charlie Hebdo gunmen, Hollande & Assad