UKRAINE - Progress Report

UKRAINE PROGRESS REPORT

Netanyahu on Iran

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

HYPOCRISY - WESTERN ELITES, OIL & CONTROL OF MIDDLE EAST

HYPOCRISY - WESTERN ELITES, OIL & CONTROL OF MIDDLE EAST Britain British Heir to Throne, Prince Charles Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 Whitehall’s King Abdullah half-mast flag tribute criticised by MPs Decision to mark Saudi royal’s death at parliament and Westminster Abbey called ‘extraordinary misjudgment’ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/23/king-abdullah-half-mast-flag-tribute-mps Most fawning quotes about King Abdullah  http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/the-most-fawning-quotes-about-king-abdullah--ekPWXs_Hoe   Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 https://twitter.com/HansdeBoer18/status/559013408939704320/photo/1   Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 https://twitter.com/OnlyTheTruthNow/status/558951368795635712/photo/1 Australia Tweet containing photo of a lashed female back (as per topmost of the UK trio directly above, reportedly of a lashed rape victim in Saudi Arabia).   Tweet expressed disapproval that the Australian flag had been lowered: https://twitter.com/Ms_Mosman/status/558837274050183168/photo/1pic.twitter.com/QHuqfW2zxQ That tweet appears to have been blocked:  Tweet https://twitter.com/Ms_Mosman/status/558837274050183168/photo/1pic.twitter.com/QHuqfW2zxQ  re #SaudiArabia flogging & Aussie flag half mast  appears BLOCKED by @twitter  #TonyAbbott complain? #auspol  .............................. Australian rationale for flag lowering: Liberals following British protocol  http://www.smh.com.au/national/flags-at-halfmast-to-mark-death-of-saudi-arabias-king-abdullah-20150124-12xg8o.html  .............................. Checked internet to find out more about that flogged woman photo: Saudi Arabia: Moroccan Woman Flagellated Over Prostitution Charges Rabat -A Moroccan woman has been sentenced to flogging and imprisonment after she has allegedly been caught by Saudi Arabian police while offering sex services for money. http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2014/08/137434/saudi-arabia-moroccan-woman-flagellated-over-prostitution-charges/ From the Moroccan newspaper article, that photo on Twitter  isn't what it purports to be, which is very annoying (and which probably explains why the tweet/post may have been blocked or deleted). However, the flogging and imprisonment of individuals who offer sexual services isn't exactly a humane act and religious (or moral) police isn't really a democratic ideal.  .............................. Here's an example of a Saudi Arabia flogging, from DailyMail: Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 Source:  Daily Mail Blogger sentenced to ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes set to be publicly flogged in Saudi Arabia for 'insulting 'Islam' A Saudi blogger will be publicly flogged tomorrow as part of his 10-year jail term for 'ridiculing Islamic religious figures'. Raif Badawi, who co-founded the Free Saudi Liberals website, was arrested in 2012 and sentenced to 1,000 lashes and a decade in prison for insulting Islam on his online forum.  His corporal punishment will be carried out after Friday prayers, outside the Al-Juffali mosque in Jiddah, which has earned the grisly nickname 'Chop Chop Square' as the site of executions. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2902014/Saudi-blogger-publicly-flogged-insulting-Islam.html  .............................. There's also a photo of a recent public beheading of a woman in Saudi Arabia currently doing the rounds.  The leaked video was removed from YouTube, which I think is wrong.  Removing that type of content is taking part in whitewashing what is really taking place, and I think that's wrong & what becomes public should remain public and should be available to those that wish to witness it (however appalling the content).   Below is an article on the subject published in Daily Mail: Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 Step-mother screams her innocence before being beheaded for murdering and sexually abusing six-year-old daughter in leaked footage that has outraged Saudi Arabia  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2916583/Step-mother-screams-innocence-beheaded-murdering-sexually-abusing-six-year-old-daughter-leaked-footage-outraged-Saudi-Arabia.html To an outsider who has encountered some of these beheading photos online, it looks as if the authorities just take people out to car parks or beaches or other public places and lop their heads off with swords. Find this really disturbing, so I haven't looked closely at the beheadings (which are quite a common occurrence).  ..............................   More on beheadings in Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia steps up beheadings; some see political message Saudi Arabia beheaded 26 people in August, more than in the first seven months of the year combined. The total for the year now stands at 59, compared to 69 for all of last year, according to Human Rights Watch. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/20/us-saudi-execution-idUSKCN0I91G220141020 The figures referred to in the Reuters article (above) are figures for 2014, to publishing date:  20 October 2014.  Think the grand total for 2014 is in the high 80s.  Yep.  Saudi Arabia "executed 87 people in 2014" (Breitbart News-17 Jan 2015) OTHER [via @beyndfunds] All the garbage about #KingAbddullah being a reformer should read about what he did to his own daughters http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/24/reformer-late-king-abdullah-may-have-been-keeping-four-daughters-captive-for-talking-about-womens-rights … [via @lhbroch] The ‘jailed’ princesses of #SaudiArabia: The late King Abdullah allegedly kept four of his daughters in captivity. http://wpo.st/AZ820   .............................. 'They are hanging to life' - Saudi king's ex-wife speaks out Exclusive: in her first television interview, the former wife of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia claims her four daughters have suffered years trapped in the royal compound in Jeddah. http://www.channel4.com/news/saudi-arabia-king-abdullah-alanoud-al-fayez-daughters-jeddah   .............................. #FreeThe4 Protest for Imprisoned Saudi Princesses to be Staged at Saudi Embassy in London http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/freethe4-protest-imprisoned-saudi-princesses-be-staged-saudi-embassy-london-1461520   .............................. King Abdullah, a feminist? Don’t make me laugh Christine Lagarde has praised the Saudi despot’s contribution to women’s rights. But his record was dismal and the more we shout about it, the better  Christine Lagarde, the first woman to head the IMF, has paid tribute to the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. He was a strong advocate of women, she said. This is almost certainly not what she thinks. She even hedged her remarks about with qualifiers like “discreet” and “appropriate”.  [ . . . ]  Abdullah led a country that abuses women’s rights, and indeed all human rights, in a way that places it beyond normal diplomacy. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/23/king-abdullah-feminist-christine-lagarde-saudi-arabia-women  .............................. State Department reveals Hillary Clinton received $500K worth of jewelry from Saudi king Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was given a half-million bucks worth of diamond and ruby jewelry by Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and received $58,000 worth of bling from Brunei. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/state-department-reveals-political-swag-article-1.1441301   .............................. Hillary Clinton Photo:  Associated Press, Source:  DailyMail Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 Foreign leaders gave lavish gifts to a number of U.S. officials last year, including the Saudi Arabian king, who gave Hillary Clinton diamond-and-ruby-encrusted jewels worth half a million dollars. Clinton's gifts from King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz - which included a necklace, bracelet, earrings and a ring - were by far the most expensive items among the hundreds of gifts given to U.S. officials in 2012. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2406099/The-lavish-gifts-given-President-Obama-Hillary-Clinton-foreign-dignitaries.html COMMENT The West has some disturbing social issues of its own: Death Penalty - USA  According to a Sputnik article on the cruelty of lethal injections and US Supreme Court case on whether execution by lethal injection violates the US Constitution: The death penalty is authorized in a total of 38 US States. The death penalty is barbaric, whether carried out in America or in Saudi Arabia.  .............................. Ireland's lack of action on blasphemy law disappoints atheists and secularists Irish atheists and secularists have accused their government of breaking a promise to call a referendum over the Republic’s controversial blasphemy laws in the lifetime of the current coalition. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/30/ireland-blasphemy-law-inaction-disappoints-atheists For a civilised and presumably secular Western nation to retain a medieval blasphemy law is ridiculous beyond belief.  .............................. Last ditch bid to ban creationism in Scottish classrooms Last year, the Scottish Secularist Society (SSS) petitioned MSPs to urge the Scottish Government to bar the "presentation" of young earth doctrines as viable alternatives to the established science of evolution in the classroom. The SSS believes schools are being subjected to what they describe as an "attack" on established scientific theories from imported US doctrines known as creation science and intelligent design. However, School Leaders' Scotland (SLS), which represents secondary headteachers, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country's largest teaching union, and the Scottish Government all wrote to the committee outlining their objections. These organisations backed the long-standing principle that protection from extremist views in Scottish education relies on the professionalism of teaching staff and the regulatory role of bodies such as local authorities, the General Teaching Council for Scotland and the schools inspectorate. However, in a new submission to the public petitions committee the SSS said sufficient safeguards were not in place and creationism was "institutionalised". EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE  http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/education/last-ditch-bid-to-ban-creationism-in-scottish-classrooms.116556313  .............................. School chaplaincy program funding revised following High Court decision  The Federal Government has announced changes to its school chaplaincy program to get around a recent adverse High Court decision. In June, the court upheld a challenge to the National School Chaplaincy Program, saying providing funding directly to chaplaincy organisations was constitutionally invalid. The main question examined in the case was whether the executive government had the power to fund such programs directly through local organisations. As a result, the Government has now decided to ask state and territory governments to administer the program using Commonwealth funds. If they agree, the $250 million program - to run over four years - will remain open to chaplains of any faith as long as they do not attempt to convert students. EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-27/chaplaincy-program-revised-after-high-court-ruling/5701390  .............................. And religion is to be promoted in secular Australian schools, why? Being of the view that religion and the State (including services of the State, such as education etc) should be completely separated (and, in an ideal world, religiosity of any kind would be actively discouraged by government), the swing towards forcing religion in Western schools is disturbing.  .............................. Stop the Government paying for religion with your taxes! End the National Schools Chaplaincy Program now! That the Liberal government in Australia has bypassed the High Court and the Australian Constitution to sneak in religious mumbo jumbo while cutting funding for secular services should be a real cause for concern. This program should be opposed as direct government funding of religion bad public policy. Taxpayers' money spent in education should employ the best people available to help students, not just the religious.The preferencing of the religious, over the non-religious, for no reason other than their religiousness, is unacceptable in Government policy, particularly at a Commonwealth level. At the very least all schools should to given the choice employ non-religious counsellors or welfare workers under this program, not just those that cannot find a chaplain. The NSCP breaches the spirit of the Australian Constitution. It undermines the separation of church and state. EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE - http://www.stopthenscp.org/  .............................. Going through the above articles, one comes to the conclusion that Western ruling elites exhibit hypocrisy and a disregard for national symbols, which they cynically exploit without regard for public opinion or sentiment, to further corporate-imperialist and strategic aims in the Middle East, and it's a win-win for corporations and politicians in a corporate-political alliance that sees both players profiting handsomely. Meanwhile, if left to the devices of politicians, what freedoms we have in the West will be eroded by unscrupulous politicians, passing legislation to further the agendas of whoever has propped them up in politics. That the Liberal party in Australia has sidestepped a High Court ruling, and that it is willing to disregard the Australian Constitution by finding a by-pass that enables them to pursue the Liberal (and backer) agenda, should be of grave concern to the Australian public. There's probably a whole lot more that could be said, but I'm not much of a thinker or a blogger. This is just my overall opinion on current events, given my particular focus.   .............................. PS   Canada's Blasphemy Law - post.

CIA HISTORY OF IRAN COUP 1953

CIA HISTORY OF IRAN COUP 1953 Link:  http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB28/

Argentina - Nisman - Secret Passage

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

Pagina 12 - Alberto Nisman

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

"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.