Weekly News Archive

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CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH

MONDAY JANUARY 30, 2012

News Alert: Pentagon Seeks Mightier Bomb vs. Iran

WASHINGTON -- Pentagon war planners have concluded that their largest conventional bomb isn't yet capable of destroying Iran's most heavily fortified underground facilities, and are stepping up efforts to make it more powerful, according to U.S. officials briefed on the plan.
The 30,000-pound "bunker-buster" bomb, known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), was specifically designed to take out the hardened fortifications built by Iran and North Korea to cloak their nuclear programs.
But initial tests indicated that the bomb, as currently configured, wouldn't be capable of destroying some of Iran's facilities, either because of their depth or because Tehran has added new fortifications to protect them.
Doubts about the MOP's effectiveness prompted the Pentagon this month to secretly submit a request to Congress for funding to enhance the bomb's ability to penetrate deeper into rock, concrete and steel before exploding, the officials said.
The push to boost the power of the MOP is part of stepped-up contingency planning for a possible strike against Iran's nuclear program, say U.S. officials.
The Defense Department has spent about $330 million so far to develop about 20 of the bombs, which are built by Boeing. The Pentagon is seeking about $82 million more to make the bomb more effective, according to government officials briefed on the plan.
Some experts question if any kind of conventional explosives are capable of reaching facilities such as those built deep underground in Iran. But U.S. defense officials say they believe the MOP could already do damage sufficient to set back the program . . . .
According to Air Force officials, the 20.5 foot-long MOP carries over 5,300 pounds of explosive material. It is designed to penetrate up to 200 feet underground before exploding. The mountain above the Iranian enrichment site at Fordow is estimated to be at least 200 feet tall.

Source:    wsj.com  MORE

U.S. sets May as tentative date for clash with Iran ... Floating SEALs base for Gulf

A hurried decision not to de-commission the USS Ponce helicopter marine carrier after duty in Libya - but to refit it for deployment by May in the Persian Gulf as a floating base for commando teams - was confirmed by the US Pentagon and Navy Sunday, [January] 29. This transportable floating base will expand the commandos' range in coastal areas, [supporting] counter-measures against mines which Iran has threatened to plant in the Strait of Hormuz in reprisal for the US-EU oil embargo. The [Navy] SEALs will also take on Iran's menacing fleet of military speedboats. DEBKAfile reports Tehran operates four different kinds of these craft in the Persian Gulf:
(1) Small, fast vessels, each armed with a small missile for striking tankers and coastal oil targets around the Gulf region, such as export terminals. Earlier this month, Tehran claimed to have developed stealth cruise missiles capable of disabling aircraft carriers with a single shot.
(2) Small, extra-fast boats armed with torpedoes. Iranian publications claim several such boats are capable of stealing up on US aircraft carriers and large warships from several directions without being detected and cause serious damage.
(3) Floating bombs for kamikaze missions. These fast boats cannot be deflected after locking in on target, whether on sea or shore, and explode on contact . . . .
(4) Boats carrying teams of Iranian marine frogmen trained for secret suicide underwater missions: One member of the boat's three-man crew dives close to the targeted ship and attaches a magnetic bomb to its hull.
Iran has scattered hundreds of speedboats of different types around uninhabited islands off the Iranian mainland, tucking them out of sight in well-hidden inlets and bays. The US commando teams based on the Ponce platform will have the task of ferreting out and destroying this fleet.
The US Defense Department aims to get the Ponce ready for its new mission as a floating commando base with all possible speed. To save time, the US military published one no-bid contract for the engineering work, waiving normal procurement rules on the grounds that any delay presented a "national security risk."
The contract carries pointers to the timeline expected in Washington for a military confrontation to erupt between the United States and Iran, as well as the form it may take, say DEBKAfile's military sources.
The target date for deploying the commando platform in the Persian Gulf in four or five months indicates Washington is preparing for military clashes to blow up with Iran in the late spring or early summer.
But according to DEBKAfile's Iranian and military sources, the Iranian administration has expressed its determination to respond instantly to any diplomatic or military move or action of an offensive nature against the Islamic Republic. And so confrontation may come earlier than anticipated.
Sunday, the Iranian parliament was due to vote on a motion to cut off oil supplies to Europe in response to the EU embargo declared last week. Tehran has made it clear it has no intention of standing idle until US and European oil sanctions go fully into effect on July 1 and is fully aware that EU nations are not set up to forego 400,000 barrels of oil a day right now.
Saudi Arabia, which pledged to make up the shortfall arising from oil sanctions against Iran, will not have the missing quantities on stream until around May – at about the same time as the Ponce and its complement of SEAL commandoes are due to take up position in the Persian Gulf. Tehran may decide not to wait until then and opt for letting its speedboats loose to try and pre-empt American and European plans.

Source:     debka.com  MORE

Note: see these related items:

Navy Wants Commando 'Mothership' In Middle East - The documents posted by the Military Sealift Command in December specify that the mothership will be rebuilt so that it can also serve as a docking station for several small high-speed boats and helicopters commonly used by Navy SEAL teams  LINK

Commentary: Iran War: The EU Oil Embargo: Setting The Stage For Military Escalation? - "Tehran has repeatedly said that it would close Hormuz only if - and we should repeat - only if Iran is blocked from exporting its oil," Asia Times warned  LINK

Assad contains Syrian uprising for now … with credits for Russia and Iran

Ten months after the Syrian people launched an uprising against its ruler, Bashar Assad, if not yet safe in the saddle, has recovered the bulk of his army's support and his grip on most parts of the country
Protesters have mostly been pushed into tight corners in the flashpoint towns and villages, especially in the north, hemmed in by troops and security forces loyal to the president.
Monday, January 30, Syrian forces were close to purging the suburbs and villages around Damascus of rebel fighters. The operation began Sunday with 2,000 troops backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers. Six soldiers were killed when their vehicle blew up on a roadside bomb near Sahnaya, east of the capital.
The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and opposition groups continue to report heavy fighting in the Damascus area, and especially the international airport where they claim to have prevented Assad's wife and children from fleeing the country. However, military watchers do not confirm either the fighting or the Assad family's attempted flight.
While both sides spin propaganda, the extreme hyperbole of opposition claims attests to their hard straits and the Syrian president's success in weathering their efforts and the huge sacrifices in blood paid by the people (estimated at 8,000 dead and tens of thousands injured) to oust him.
Having got rid of the Arab League monitoring mission, which gave up in despair of halting the savage bloodbath, Assad will shrug off the Arab-Western backed motion put before the UN Security Council calling on him to step down and hand power to his vice president Farouk a-Shara. He will treat it as yet another failed effort by the combined Arab-Western effort to topple his regime.
The conflict is not over. More ups and downs may still be to come and there are signs of sectarian war evolving. But for now, Assad's survival is of crucial relevance in seven Middle East arenas:
(1) The Tehran-Damascus-Hizballah bloc is strengthened, joined most recently by Iraq.
(2) Iran chalks up a first-class strategic achievement for counteracting the US and the Saudi-led Gulf Arab emirates' presentation of the Islamic regime as seriously weighed down under by the crushing burden of crushing international sanctions imposed to halt its drive for a nuclear bomb.
(3) Hizballah has won a chance to recover from the steep slide of its fortunes in Lebanon . . . .
(4) It is hard to calculate the enormous extent of the damage Saudi Arabia and Turkey have suffered from their colossal failure in Syria. The Palestinians too have not emerged unscathed.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and their security agencies, which invested huge sums in the Syrian rebellion's removal of the Assad regime, were trounced by Syria's security and intelligence services and the resources Iran provided to keep Bashar Assad afloat.
The Arab League, which for the first time tried its hand at intervening in an Arab uprising by sending observers into Syrian trouble spots to cut down the violence, watched impotently as those observers ran for their lives. Assad for his part first accepted than ignored the League's peace plan.
Turkey, too, after indicating its military would step across the border to support the Syrian resistance and giving the FSA bases of operation, backed off for the sake of staying on good terms with Iran.
(5) Russia and China have gained credibility in the Middle East and points against the United States by standing up for Assad and pledging their veto votes against any strong UN Security Council motions against him. Moscow's arms sales and naval support for the Assad regime and China's new military and economic accords with Persian Gulf emirates have had the effect of pushing the United States from center stage of the Arab Revolt, held in the Egyptian and Libyan revolutions, to the sidelines of Middle East action.
(6) The Syrian ruler has confounded predictions by Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak that he can't last more than a few weeks. His survival and the cohesion of his armed forces have contributed to the tightening of the Iranian military noose around Israel.
The Syrian army was in sustained operation for almost a year without breaking and suffered only marginal defections. It is still in working shape with valuable experience under its belt in rapid deployment between battlefronts. Syria, Iran and Hizballah have streamlined the cooperation among their armies and their intelligence arms.
(7) The Palestinian rivals, Fatah and Hamas, have again put the brakes on the on-again, off-again reconciliation after it was galvanized by Hamas' decision to create some distance between Iran and the embattled Syrian regime. Seeing Assad still in place, Hamas' Gaza prime minister Ismail Haniyeh will visit Tehran this week and Meshaal may delay his departure from the Syrian capital.

Source:     debka.com  MORE

Americans will be transferred to foreign prisons under Indefinite Detention act

If you’re upset that congressional approval of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 can send you away to military prisons and be tortured in America, don’t worry - it could be worse.
The US could send you somewhere else.
No, really. They could. And they can. Anywhere else, too. Really.
While the bill that left Capitol Hill last week and awaits authorization from US President Barack Obama [Note: It was signed on December 31. -Ed.] allows for the United States to indefinitely detain and torture American citizens suspected of aiding enemy forces, one provision in the bill specifies that that detention doesn’t necessarily have to occur domestically - nor does it have to be in a foreign prison run by the US.
The ongoing detention of foreign terror suspects at the US base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has been a hot topic since the War on Terror began, with American military authorities torturing could-be criminals without ever bringing them to trial. An exposé years earlier on the Abu Ghraib facility in Iraq revealed how American troops were subjecting detainees to disgusting, inhumane conditions; conditions which left some dead without ever going to trial. While Abu Ghraib has since been shut down, Guantanamo Bay continues to hold suspected criminals despite a promise [by] Obama to shut it down.
When the commander-in-chief inks his name to NDAA FY2012, Americans can be on their way to the same torture cells that have kept al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked terrorists for the last decade. It’s now been revealed, however, that US citizens and anyone suspected of a crime against America can be sent all over the world.
Under the legislation, the president has the power to transfer suspected terrorists "to the custody or control of the person's country of origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity."
China? Sure. Iran? Why not! North Korea? That’s a possibility too. David Glazier, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, tells Mother Jones that this was an authority that the president has had before, but only under the new NDAA is the legislation endorsed and insured that it could be applied to Americans.
"If the president could lawfully transfer a German prisoner of war to a foreign country, then in theory he could do the same thing with an American prisoner of war," Glazier says.
Under the Feinstein Amendment imposed under NDAA FY2012, the Democratic senator from California proposed a law which would not change “existing law” with regards to detaining Americans. As Mother Jones notes, however, the jury is still out on what exactly “existing law” is when it comes to the topic, with those suspected of hostilities against America already being imprisoned without trial - citizen and otherwise . . . US-born Bradley Manning has been under military watch, isolation and torture for nearly two years, and the same has applied to a countless number of suspected terrorists at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib.

Source:     rt.com (12-21-11)  MORE

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NEWS BRIEFS
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Iran hits back at EU with own oil embargo threat

TEHRAN (Reuters) -- Fighting sanctions with sanctions in a test of strength with the West over its nuclear ambitions, Iran warned on Friday it may halt oil exports to Europe next week in a move calculated to hurt ailing European economies.  MORE

Note: see also News Update: Iran Delays EU Oil Ban As Suppliers Eye Turkey  LINK

Iran moving closer to stage where it will be too late to destroy nuclear facilities, Israel warns

Reviving Western concerns that his government is still contemplating unilateral military action against Iran, Ehud Barak gave one of the clearest signs yet that Israel's support for new US and EU sanctions remains strictly limited. "We are determined to prevent Iran from turning nuclear," he told the World Economic Forum in Davos. "And even the American president and opinion leaders have said that no option should be removed from the table. "It seems to us to be urgent, because the Iranians are deliberately drifting into what we call an immunity zone where practically no surgical operation could block them." Although Israeli intelligence and military officials have privately spoken of Iran's nuclear programme entering a "framework of immunity", it is the first time that a senior figure in Benjamin Netanyahu's government has done so in public. Israel's fears that it might soon be too late to launch military action were bolstered earlier this month when Iran announced that it had begun to enrich uranium at its Fordow plant, which is buried so deep within a mountain it may be impossible for Israeli warplanes or missiles to destroy.  MORE

U.N. nuclear team arrives in Iran

TEHRAN, IRAN -- A U.N. nuclear team arrived in Tehran early Sunday for a mission expected to focus on Iran's alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons . . . During their three-day visit, the IAEA team will be looking for permission to talk to key Iranian scientists suspected of working on a weapons program, inspect documents related to such suspected work and secure commitments from Iranian authorities to allow future visits to sites linked to such allegations. But even a decision to enter a discussion over the allegations would be a major departure from Iran's frequent simple refusal to talk about them.  MORE

Arabs suspend observer mission ... Syria deaths spike

DAMASCUS -- The Arab League suspended its controversial observer mission in Syria on Saturday as the bloodshed in a crackdown on anti-regime protests spiked and the death toll in four days topped 210. The announcement came as the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) said its leader would travel to New York to press the UN Security Council for protection from President Bashar al-Assad's regime. SNC chief Burhan Ghaliun's trip comes amid a new bid by Arab and European states for UN action, opposed by staunch Syria ally Russia, over the nearly 11-month-old deadly crackdown on dissent. It also comes as Gulf states and Turkey called in Istanbul for global efforts to bring the bloodshed to an "immediate end" and pave the way for a political transition. Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said "the decision to suspend the observer mission was taken after a series of consultations with Arab foreign ministers because of the upsurge of violence whose victims are innocent civilians." He said it also came "after the Syrian government chose the option of escalation, which increased the number of victims."  MORE

Israeli paratroopers prepare for airborne strikes

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (UPI) -- The Israeli military has conducted its first full-scale parachute exercise for its airborne brigade in 15 years as part of military preparations for "any possible scenario" and "potential regional changes," including long-range assaults. Amid the tensions sweeping the Middle East, and the possibility of a war involving Israel against Iran and Syria plus their allies Hezbollah and Hamas, that suggests the Israelis could be thinking of using paratroopers to hit key targets, such as missile launch sites and depots, inside hostile territory. At least 1,000 paratroopers took part in the drop in the Jan. 17 Negev Desert in southern Israel, the army said. "We're restoring a capability that we once had," the airborne brigade commander, Col. Amir Baram, declared ahead of the mass jump from U.S.-built C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. "We can't know what will happen in the changing Middle East and every Western military which respects itself needs to know how to parachute large forces, bring them together and then launch an attack." The last time the paratroop brigade had a full-strength training drop was in 1997. The last time the brigade went into combat in force by air was in the 1956 Sinai Campaign against Egypt, when paratroopers seized the Mitla Pass on the western side of the peninsula ahead of ground forces . . . Underlining the urgency of military preparations to deal with this onslaught, the mass parachute drop was conducted at night, giving weight to the supposition that a surprise air assault by hundreds of elite troops may be under consideration.  MORE

Pentagon Unable to Account for Missing Iraqi Millions

The Pentagon doesn’t know what happened to more than $100 million in cash held at Saddam Hussein’s palace in Baghdad during the Iraq war, according to a new report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq. What’s more, the Pentagon can’t find documents to explain what it spent as much as $1.7 billion on from funds held on behalf of the Iraqi government by the New York Federal Reserve, the report says. The missing records raise new questions about how the US government handled billions of dollars in Iraqi funds during the war.  MORE

LAPD And Special Forces Conduct Military Maneuvers In The Skies Above Downtown Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (CBS) -- The Los Angeles Police Department teamed with military special operation forces Wednesday evening to conduct multi-agency tactical exercises in the skies above downtown LA. Many questioned what was going on Wednesday night as a Black Hawk helicopter and four OH-6 choppers – or “Little Birds” – flew over the city, at one point hovering just above the US Bank building downtown and later flying low over the Staples Center as the Lakers played inside.  MORE

New Jersey Assembly Committee To Consider Ammo Ban In The Name Of Police Safety

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY (Ammoland.com) -- Common hunting, target, and self-defense ammunition would be subject to ban under A588, along with BB’s, airgun pellets, and plastic airsoft pellets! Additional legislation being considered (A1013) could land gun owners in jail for refinished or damaged firearms that might be deemed “defaced” On Monday, January 30 at 2:00 p.m. the New Jersey Assembly Law & Public Safety Committee is scheduled to consider A588, legislation that would enable the Attorney General to ban all handgun and most rifle ammunition if he unilaterally determines that it “poses a threat to the safety and well being of law enforcement officers.” Cleverly disguised as police safety legislation aimed at armor piercing ammunition (which is already prohibited under federal and state law), the measure actually opens the door to a sweeping ammunition ban by an unelected public official by executive fiat. Common hunting, target, and self-defense ammunition would be subject to ban, along with BB’s, airgun pellets, and non-metallic ammunition like plastic airsoft pellets, if the Attorney General decides that they pose a threat to the safety and well being of law enforcement. Although the bill only mentions handgun ammunition, it is in fact not limited to handgun ammunition, and would apply to all rifle ammunition for which a handgun if ever made. As an increasing number of gun manufacturers make handgun models that shoot rifle caliber ammunition, the line between “handgun” vs. “rifle” ammunition has become blurred, and the New Jersey State Police have already begun treating rifle ammunition in this category as if it were handgun ammunition for regulatory purposes.  MORE

Arresting Christians costs U.S. city $100,000 (Michigan)
Judge orders officials to pay up in stunning dispute

A judge in Detroit has ruled that the decision by police in neighboring Dearborn to arrest a Christian pastor who wanted to hand out Christian tracts at the city’s Arab fest in 2009 will cost the city some $100,000. That’s the decision following a request from the pastor’s attorneys that the losing side in the First Amendment argument over expressing religious perspectives on city streets be required to pay them for their work on behalf of Christian Pastor George Saieg. Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen said his recommendation for fees and costs totaling $103,401.96 be awarded in the case that was handled by attorney Robert J. Muise . . . “The award of attorney fees in this case,” [Muise] said, “is critical in the lawfare against civilization jihad and dhimmitization, or subjugation, of an entire municipality in Michigan. Dearborn has a long record of this kind of illegal, heavy-handed treatment of Christians as an attempt to placate Dearborn’s Shariah-faithful [Muslims]. The court’s ruling today demonstrates that this kind of behavior will come at great cost.”  MORE

Pope: Some U.S. Cultural Trends 'A Threat Not Just to Christian Faith, But Also to Humanity Itself'

(CNS News) -- Pope Benedict XVI warned a group of Catholic bishops from the United States in a speech at the Vatican last week that some cultural trends in the U.S. are “a threat not just to Christian faith, but also to humanity itself.” . . . “For her part, the Church in the United States is called, in season and out of season, to proclaim a Gospel which not only proposes unchanging moral truths but proposes them precisely as the key to human happiness and social prospering,” the pope said. “To the extent that some current cultural trends contain elements that would curtail the proclamation of these truths, whether constricting it within the limits of a merely scientific rationality, or suppressing it in the name of political power or majority rule, they represent a threat not just to Christian faith, but also to humanity itself and to the deepest truth about our being and ultimate vocation, our relationship to God,” said the pope. “When a culture attempts to suppress the dimension of ultimate mystery, and to close the doors to transcendent truth," the pope said, "it inevitably becomes impoverished and falls prey, as the late Pope John Paul II so clearly saw, to reductionist and totalitarian readings of the human person and the nature of society.” In the same address, the pope noted that: “Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion.”  MORE

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MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY
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Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of Christian Media Daily or our host - Christian Media Network. Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

Commentary: Return of the Gold Standard Imminent (Anthony Migchels)

Excerpt:
What has been in the cards for decades is now fully on the agenda: the return of the Gold Standard. Gold as currency is a weapon. It is a wealth transfer to those holding Gold, which is not the 99%, and will precipitate a massive deflation. The ensuing chaos will help usher in their coveted New World Order and World Currency.
Numerous stories pertaining to Gold as currency have appeared recently. Last week alone, it was reported that India will pay Iran in gold for their oil imports. In another development, China, Japan, Russia, France and a number of Arab states will pay each other with a basket of currencies, including Gold.

Source:     henrymakow.com  MORE

Commentary: INTERNET FREEDOM ... ACTA: Worse Than SOPA and PIPA (Stephen Lendman)
ACTA tramples on national sovereignty and personal freedoms

Excerpt:
Internet freedom's on the line. SOPA and PIPA threatened Net Neutrality and free expression. So does ACTA. More on it below.
For now, the largest online protest in Internet history got Congress to abandon SOPA and PIPA for now but not permanently. Expect resurrection in modified form. Language may change but not intent. ACTA's worse.
Launched on October 23, 2007, America, the EU, Switzerland and Japan began secretly negotiating a new intellectual property enforcement treaty - the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
Other nations got involved, including Canada, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Singapore, and the UAE. Ostensibly for counterfeit goods protection, it's about fast-tracking Internet distribution and information technology rules at the expense of Net Neutrality, privacy, and personal freedoms . . . .
On April 22, 2010, Electronic Frontier Foundation writer Gwen Hinze headlined, "Preliminary Analysis of the Officially Released ACTA Text," saying:
"The text (leaves no doubt) that ACTA is not just about counterfeiting." It's far more. It covers copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property forms, including the Internet.
It's also about the ability of users to "communicate, collaborate and create" freely. In addition, it imposes obligations (on) Internet intermediaries (and, requires) them to police" cyberspace and its users. As a result, it raises serious questions about open affordable access, free expression, personal privacy, and "fair use rights."

Source:     globalresearch.ca  MORE

Note: see also Commentary: ACTA: 'Usurps Congressional Authority', 'Threatens Numerous Public Interests', 'Backroom Special Interest Deal', A 'Masquerade' - As awful as ACTA is, there are other horrible bills such as the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement waiting in the wings … which may be even worse than ACTA  LINK

Commentary: Nigeria: Thrown into Chaos and a State of Civil War: The Role of the IMF (F. William Engdahl)

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and its largest oil producer, is from all evidence being systematically thrown into chaos and a state of civil war. The recent surprise decision by the government of Goodluck Jonathan to abruptly lift subsidies on imported gasoline and other fuel has a far more sinister background than mere corruption, and the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) is playing a key role. China appears to be the likely loser along with Nigeria’s population . . . .

Nigeria today is one of the world’s most important producers of light, sweet crude oil - the same high quality crude oil that Libya and the British North Sea produce . . . .
Ironically, despite the fact that Nigeria has abundant oil to earn dollar export revenue to build its domestic infrastructure, government policy has deliberately let its domestic oil refining capacity fall into ruin. The consequence has been that most of the gasoline and other refined petroleum products used to drive transportation and industry, has to be imported, despite the country’s abundant oil. In order to shield the population from the high import costs of gasoline and other refined fuels, the central government has subsidized prices.
Until January 1, 2012, that is . . . .

What has been buried from international accounts of the unrest is the explicit role the US-dominated International Monetary Fund (IMF) played in the situation. With suspicious timing IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde was in Nigeria days before the abrupt subsidy decision of President Jonathan. By all accounts, the IMF and the Nigerian government have been careful this time not to be blatant about openly announcing demands to ends subsidies as they were in Tunisia before food protests became the trigger for that country’s Twitter putsch in 2011 . . . .
The IMF knows well that the elimination of subsidies will do nothing about corruption in high places.
Were the IMF and World Bank genuinely concerned with the health of the domestic Nigerian economy, they would have provided support for rebuilding and expanding a domestic oil refinery industry that has been let to rot so that the country need no longer import refined fuels using precious state budget resources to do so. The easiest way to do that would be to expedite a two-year-old deal between China and the Nigerian government to invest some $28 billion in massive expansion of the oil refinery sector to eliminate need for importing foreign gasoline and other refined products.
Quite the opposite - the criminal cabal inside NNPC and the Government making huge profits on the old subsidy system are suddenly making double and potentially triple more to maintain the old corrupt import system, and, of course, to sabotage Chinese refinery construction that could put an end to their gravy train.

Rather than benefit ordinary Nigerians as the IMF proclaims to want, the elimination of the subsidies has further pauperized the 90 per cent living on less than $2 a day, according to Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Nigerian Central Bank governor. An estimated 40 million Nigerians are unemployed in the country of 148 million.
Because transport costs are a significant factor in delivery of food to the cities, food price inflation has soared along with costs of public transportation for the majority of poorer Nigerians. According to the Nigerian Leadership Sunday, “prices of commodities which shot up as a fallout of the fuel pump price increase have refused to come down.” Everything from street vegetable sellers to carwashes to roadside photographers are feeling the shock of the rise in fuel prices. Unemployment is rising as small businesses fold.
The argument of the IMF and the Jonathan Administration is that by freeing fuel prices, funds would be available to [provide] more social services and rebuild Nigeria’s “infrastructure.” Both the IMF and the Government know it would have been far more economically viable to replace the current corrupt system of importing refined gasoline and fuels with investing in rebuilding Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity . . . .

One major geopolitical factor that is generally ignored in recent discussion of Nigerian oil politics is the growing role of China in the country. In May 2010 only days after President Jonathan was sworn in, China signed an impressive $28.5 billion deal with his government to build three new refineries, something that in no way fit into the plans of either the IMF or of Washington or of the Anglo-American oil majors . . . .
The IMF and Washington pressure to lift subsidies on imported fuels is at this point in question as is the future of China in Nigeria’s energy industry. Clear is that lifting subsidies in no way will benefit Nigerians. More alarming in this context is the orchestration of a major new wave of terror killings and bombings by the mysterious and suspiciously well-armed Boko Haram.

Source:     globalresearch.ca  MORE

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ADDITIONAL NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Syrian forces battle to retake Damascus suburbs  LINK

Syrian forces tighten grip on Damascus outskirts  LINK

'Assad's family attempts to escape Syria'  LINK

[analysis]: Proxy War in Syria Threatens Catastrophe for the Middle East  LINK

Bahrain Detained Protesters to Begin Hunger Strike  LINK

Yemen's Saleh heads for U.S.  LINK
Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is due to step down next month, headed for medical treatment in the United States on Saturday after a stopover in Britain, Yemeni and British officials said
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OBAMA ELIGIBILITY COURT CASE … BLOW BY BLOW  LINK

Georgia judge considered 'default' against Obama  LINK
Ruling could have brought immediate recommendation to remove name from ballot

Results Of Obama's Eligibility Hearing In Georgia  LINK

[analysis]: FULL ANALYSIS OF OBAMA ELIGIBILITY HEARING  LINK

Video Of Entire Georgia Obama Eligibility Hearing  LINK
[Unfortunately, the audio is terrible. -Ed.]
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Postponed Israel-U.S. Drill to be Held in October  LINK

High-tech Israeli drone crashes on test flight  LINK

Iran would consider Russian proposal aimed at ending nuclear dispute  LINK

[analysis]: IRAN OIL EMBARGO: Asia challenges U.S., Europe over Sanctions  LINK
China and India reiterate their determination not to support the embargo ... Europe might face quite a headache as its oil refineries were designed to refine Iranian oil and, what’s more, a particular brand of it

Turkey, Russia converge on Syria and Iran crisis  LINK
They held the second meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group on Wednesday, saying Russia and Turkey were holding such meetings to converge on their positions

[analysis]: U.S., Europe choose risky strategy with sanctions on Iran  LINK

[analysis]: Israel 'master of puppets' in U.S. Iran onslaught  LINK

Philippines studying U.S. offer to deploy spy planes  LINK

Thousands back Putin in 'Russian workers' protest  LINK

Boko Haram rejects talks, threatens fresh attacks (Nigeria)  LINK

[South Florida] Police roll out video surveillance truck called 'The Peacemaker' (Video)  LINK
Warning: You are under video surveillance," reads the bold message on the side of the truck ... From the front bumper of the menacing vehicle, another sign taunts: "Whatcha gonna do when we come for you?" ... The truck is a new weapon for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department in the fight against drugs and neighborhood nuisances, and it looks like a Winnebago on steroids

[analysis]: War for Total Control: Planning the Ultimate 'Big Brother' Surveillance Society  LINK

Pigs At The Trough Alert: Congress tries to police itself on insider trading  LINK
A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of registered voters found 56 percent of them favor replacing the entire 535-member Congress ... Other polls this year have given Congress an approval rating between 11 percent and 13 percent, while disapproval percentages have ranged from 79 percent to 86 percent

Harassment Alert: Legal team tells Census Bureau to back off  LINK
Accusing the U.S. Census Bureau of “stalking” and “harassment” against dozens of Americans, officials with the Rutherford Institute have asked the federal agency to explain how its “American Community Survey” questions related to information the government is authorized to request

U.S. crackdown against Occupy protesters leads to another 400 arrests  LINK

New U.S. home sales in 2011 called the worst in history  LINK

Obama-backed car battery maker goes bankrupt  LINK
Ener1 subsidiary EnerDel received a $118 million stimulus grant from the Energy Department in 2009

[analysis]: China And Japan Currency Swap: Nail In U.S. Dollar's Coffin  LINK

[analysis]: Greece - Between Iran and a Hard Place  LINK

Smallest U.S. cattle herd in 60 years warned may raise beef prices  LINK

60 lightly injured in [magnitude 6.3] Peru earthquake  LINK

Starbucks: Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage 'Is Core to Who We Are and What We Value'  LINK

HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS: Join the Sound Body Yahoo group (part of the Christian Media ministry) to receive regular health eblasts  LINK

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"It does not require a majority to prevail but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set bush fires in people's minds."
Samuel Adams, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers
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CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH

TUESDAY JANUARY 31, 2012
- no news edition -

CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2012

U.S., allies urge U.N. action to end violence in Syria

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Vowing to avoid "another Libya," the U.S. and its allies challenged Russia on Tuesday to overcome its opposition to a U.N. draft resolution demanding that Syrian President Bashar Assad yield power and end the violence that has killed thousands.
"It is time for the international community to put aside our own differences and send a clear message of support to the people of Syria," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the U.N. Security Council in backing an Arab League plan for the country.
Russia, one of Assad's strongest allies, has signaled it would veto any U.N. action against Damascus, fearing it could open the door to eventual international military involvement, the way an Arab-backed U.N. resolution led to NATO airstrikes in Libya.
But Clinton said U.N. action in Syria would not involve military intervention, unlike the NATO-led efforts that resulted in the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi.
"I know that some members here may be concerned that the Security Council is headed toward another Libya," Clinton said. "That is a false analogy."
The top diplomats from Britain, France and [the] Arab League pressed the same point: The objective of the draft resolution was not military involvement and a continued delay would come at the cost of the lives of innocent civilians.
"We all have a choice: Stand with the people of Syria and the region or become complicit in the continuing violence there," Clinton told council members.
"Despite its ruthless tactics, the Assad regime's reign of terror will end and the people of Syria will have the chance to chart their own destiny," she said. "The question for us is: How many more innocent civilians will die before this country is able to move forward toward the kind of future it deserves?" . . . .
Russia has stood by Assad as he tries to crush the uprising. In October, Moscow vetoed the first Security Council attempt to condemn Syria's crackdown and has shown little sign of budging in its opposition.
Moscow's stance is motivated in part by its strategic and defense ties, including weapons sales, with Syria. Russia also rejects what it sees as a world order dominated by the U.S.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Moscow "would never allow the Security Council to authorize anything similar to what happened in Libya."
Saying the U.N. should not choose sides, Lavrov told the ABC that all parties should cease violence and engage in dialogue. Russia "would not support anything that would be imposed on Syria," he said.

Source:     Associated Press / myway.com  MORE

Note: see also UN Urged To Endorse Syria Transition Plan - Western diplomats are hoping for a vote this week but negotiators will have to weigh whether to risk a Russian veto or agree to dilute the current text  LINK

[Note: Also see several related stories on Syria at the top of today's News Briefs section.]

Iran, perceiving threat from West, willing to attack on U.S. soil, U.S. intelligence report finds

U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Iran is prepared to launch terrorist attacks inside the United States in response to perceived threats from America and its allies, the U.S. spy chief said Tuesday.
Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. said in prepared testimony that an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington that was uncovered last year reflects an aggressive new willingness within the upper ranks of the Islamist republic to authorize attacks against the United States.
That plot “shows that some Iranian officials - probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei - have changed their calculus and are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime,” Clapper said in the testimony, which was submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee in advance of a threat assessment hearing Tuesday. “We are also concerned about Iranian plotting against U.S. or allied interests overseas.”
The assessment signals a potentially dire new direction in the adversarial relationship between the United States and Iran, at a time when there are indications that a covert campaign is already underway to thwart Iran’s alleged ambition to develop a nuclear weapon.
Clapper’s warning about Iran was delivered as part of the U.S. intelligence community’s annual overview of the nation’s most serious national security concerns. As the hearing got underway, Clapper signaled that the United States is seeking to avoid a violent confrontation with Iran, instead pushing for more and more sanctions while also monitoring the possibility of a preemptive strike by Israel.
“Our hope is that the sanctions ... would have the effect of inducing a change in Iranian policy toward their apparent pursuit of a nuclear capability,” Clapper said. “Obviously this is a very sensitive issue right now. We’re doing a lot with the Israelis.”
Clapper’s testimony also calls attention to a heightened concern over cyber-related threats, as well as the diminished but persistent danger to the United States posed by al-Qaeda . . . .
. . . Clapper said in the testimony, the United States is entering a “critical transitional phase for the terrorist threat,” in which smaller-bore strikes from regional nodes are more likely than elaborate, mass-casualty plots.

Source:     washingtonpost.com  MORE

Note: see these related items:

Intelligence Chief: Growing Risk Of Iran Attacking U.S. Targets  LINK

Commentary: Iranian Aircraft Carriers In The Gulf Of Mexico: It Can't Happen Here  LINK

U.S. officials: Still chance for diplomacy with Iran

WASHINGTON -- Sanctions and diplomacy may yet persuade Iran to give up its nuclear program, as its leaders have shown a rational "cost-benefit approach" in their calculations, senior US officials said.
The top intelligence officials suggested Tuesday that military conflict with Iran was not inevitable, despite soaring tensions with Tehran and a war of nerves over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key oil trade choke point.
"We judge Iran's nuclear decision-making is guided by a cost-benefit approach, which offers the international community opportunities to influence Tehran," Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
"Iranian leaders undoubtedly consider Iran's security, prestige, and influence, as well as the international political and security environment, when making decisions about its nuclear program," he said.
He said economic sanctions were taking a toll and described a worsening rift between Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The overriding goal of Iran's leaders remained "regime survival," and it was too early to say how economic strains triggered by tougher sanctions would affect their decisions, CIA Director David Petraeus told the same hearing.
With a run on the Iranian currency, inflationary pressures and unemployment, the sanctions were "biting" more now than ever before, Petraeus said.
"I think what we have to see now is how does that play out. What is the level of popular discontent inside Iran? Does that influence the strategic decision-making of the supreme leader and the regime?" he said.
The comments by senior intelligence officials echoed President Barack Obama's assessment in his State of the Union address last week, when he said "a peaceful resolution" remains possible with Iran . . . .
The head of the Defence Intelligence Agency, Lieutenant General Ronald Burgess, told senators Iran had "the capability, we assess, to temporarily close" the channel, but he did not elaborate.
The US intelligence chiefs made clear their view of Iran's nuclear program had not changed since an assessment last year by all 16 spy agencies that concluded Iran's leaders are divided over whether to build nuclear weapons and have yet to take a decision to press ahead.
Asked what would be a signal that Iran had decided to build a bomb, Clapper suggested that highly enriched weapons-grade uranium would be one clear sign.
With protests and unrest sweeping Syria, Petraeus said Iran was worried about its ally and was working to prop up the embattled regime.
The fall of President Bashar al-Assad would deliver a major blow to Tehran, which relies on Syria as a logistics link to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, said the CIA director.
"Clearly, the loss of Syria as a logistics platform, a line of communication into Lebanon to support Hezbollah, would be a substantial setback for Iran in its effort to use Hezbollah as a proxy," he said.
"That's indeed why the (Iranian) Revolutionary Guard is so engaged in trying to prop up Bashar al-Assad right now."

Source:     AFP / channelnewsasia.com  MORE

Official: Gulf Arabs have plans against Hormuz closure

ABU DHABI (Reuters) -- Coastguards and naval forces of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) group of Arab countries have contingency plans for a possible attempt by Iran to shut the Strait of Hormuz, a Kuwaiti maritime official said on Monday.
Five of the six GCC members - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Kuwait - rely on the world's most important energy shipping lane being open to export most of their oil or gas.
Tehran has threatened to close the narrow shipping lane between Oman, the only GCC member which does not depend on Hormuz, and Iran if Western sanctions aimed at starving Iran's disputed nuclear program of funds stop it from selling oil.
The GCC members, which also rely on the four-mile-wide (6.4 kilometer) channel being open to import food for their growing populations, has now drawn up a contingency plan in case Iran acts on its threats.
"Exporting oil or importing goods and cargo through Hormuz is a main concern for the GCC," Commander Mubarak Ali al-Sabah chief of maritime operations at Kuwait's Coast Guard told Reuters in an interview.
"The GCC has a plan as a body - not just Kuwait separately or Bahrain or Saudi Arabia - we have a plan we just hope that everything stays safe," al-Sabah said, without giving details of the plans.
"Awareness and understanding of the consequences of it has increased," he said.
"We have plans how to deal with this but didn't do field exercises on it."
Al-Sabah said the planning included coordinating both between coastguards and navies of GCC countries and with Western naval forces patrolling the area - including U.S., Australian and French navies.
Kuwaiti and Iranian coastguards hold regular meetings on how to manage their shared maritime border, with the next one scheduled for next month.
"We don't go into politics or speak about other issues just what concerns the coastguards and how we can work it out," he said.
Oil tanker flows through the Strait of Hormuz are estimated at around 16 million barrels per day (bpd), or just under a fifth of global oil supplies.
A new pipeline from the UAE's oilfields to the Gulf of Oman could carry most of the Gulf OPEC oil producer's exports if Hormuz were to be blocked.
But even a brief disruption to shipping could stop most of the oil exported from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait and Iraq from leaving the Gulf, along with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from leading supplier Qatar.
In December, the U.S. Fifth Fleet said it would not tolerate any disruption of traffic in Hormuz but analysts say Iran might be able to hinder traffic transiting the Strait by scattering mines in it.
"In any navy plan that exists there would be plans for swift coordination to de-mine areas that might have been mined ... Or act in coordination preemptively or reactively to prevent Iranian small vessels disrupting shipping," Christian Le Miere, research fellow for naval forces and maritime security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies said.

Source:     Reuters / yahoo.com  MORE

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Russia resists U.N. drive to halt Syria 'killing machine'

UNITED NATIONS -- Western powers and the Arab League on Tuesday demanded immediate United Nations action to stop Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's "killing machine," but Russia refused to give its support . . . US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, backed by her French and British counterparts as well as Qatar's prime minister, led the charge for a tough UN resolution that would call on Assad to end the bloodshed and hand over power. "We all know that change is coming to Syria. Despite its ruthless tactics, the Assad regime's reign of terror will end," Clinton told the UN Security Council. "The question for us is: how many more innocent civilians will die before this country is able to move forward?" Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, speaking on behalf of the Arab League, said Assad's regime had "failed to make any sincere effort" to end the crisis and believed the only solution was "to kill its own people." "Bloodshed continued and the killing machine is still at work," he said. But Russia, a long-standing ally of Assad and one of the regime's top suppliers of weapons, declared that the UN body did not have the authority to impose such a resolution. China voiced support for Russia's position. Moscow's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, argued that Syria should "be able to decide for itself" and said the Council "cannot impose the parameters for an internal settlement. It simply does not have the mandate to do so."  MORE

Note: see also Russia, West Face Off On Syria At U.N.  LINK

Clinton Accuses Assad of Setting Syrian Minorities Against Each Other

(CNS News) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday accused the Syrian regime of a “divide-and-conquer strategy” aimed at setting the country’s religious and ethnic groups against each other. Addressing the U.N. Security Council, Clinton acknowledged the fears of minorities in Syria about what the future may hold, and laid the blame squarely at the feet of President Bashar Assad and “his cronies.” “Now, fears about what follows Assad, especially among Syria’s minority communities, are understandable,” she said. “Indeed, it appears as though Assad and his cronies are working hard to pit Syria’s ethnic and religious groups against each other, risking greater sectarian violence and even descent into civil war.” Many Mideast experts would agree that Assad – like the departed Libyan and Egyptian regimes – has stoked fear among religious and ethnic minorities about what will confront them if he is toppled, convincing them that he is the only alternative to chaos.  MORE

Gulf sources: Assad may start regional war if U.N. tells him to step down

In confidential conversations with his advisers, Syrian President Bashar Assad is reported by Persian Gulf sources Tuesday, January 31 to have threatened to start up armed hostilities in the region if the UN Security Council Tuesday night endorses the Arab League proposal for him to step down and hand power to his deputy. Those sources told DEBKAfile that the heads of the Syrian armed forces and intelligence have been given their orders and some units are on the ready. Other Middle East sources reported that the Lebanese Hizballah has also shown signs of military preparations in the last few hours. And the Russian flotilla berthed at the Syrian port of Tartus, led by the Admiral Kutznetsov aircraft carrier, also appears to be on the alert for ructions in the wake of the Security Council Syria session.  MORE

Assad masses loyal troops in Damascus after he was warned of a military coup

According to exclusive reports reaching DEBKAfile, President Bashar Assad Sunday, January 30, pulled in the Syrian Republican Guard and the 4th armored divisions commanded by his brother Maher Assad from the northern rebel centers and over to Damascus. He ordered them into battle positions in the capital for the first time in the ten month uprising after receiving an intelligence tipoff that western powers had won over one of the armored division commanders posted in the capital and persuaded him to stage a coup d'etat to topple him. The renegade general, whose identity is unknown, was reported to be planning to take advantage of the absence of the most trusted regime troops in trouble spots across the country to lead 300 tanks into the capital and seize power. The conspirators were planning to make their move on the night of Monday January 30 or early Tuesday January 31, just before the UN Security Council was to convene in New York and air plans for him to step down. The putsch would have presented its members with the accomplished fact of Assad's overthrow by the military . . . Forewarned, the Syrian ruler is making every effort to ward off the threatened coup.  MORE

IAEA inspector says still 'a lot of work' to do with Iran

VIENNA -- The chief UN nuclear inspector returned from a visit to Tehran on Wednesday saying there was still "a lot of work" to do, with Iran's foreign minister saying the team did not visit any atomic sites. "We had three days of intensive discussions about all our priorities. We are committed to resolving all the outstanding issues and the Iranians said they are committed too," Herman Nackaerts told reporters at Vienna airport. "But of course there is still a lot of work to be done, and so we have planned another trip in the very near future," said Nackaerts, one of six-person International Atomic Energy Agency team.  MORE

Mossad chief holds secret U.S. meetings on Iran nuclear threat, Senate panel reveals

Mossad chief Tamir Pardo held secret talks with top U.S. officials in recent days, cursory comments made during a public Senate hearing indicated on Tuesday. he clandestine Washington visit was exposed during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which was participated by CIA Director David Petraeus, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate panel. During the meeting, Feinstein asked Clapper whether or not Israel intended to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, with the top U.S. intelligence official answering that he would rather discuss the issue behind closed doors. Feinstein then indicated that she had met Mossad chief Pardo earlier in the week in Washington, with Petraeus adding that he too met Pardo and cited what he called Israel's growing concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions. The CIA chief also said that it was important to note that Israel considered a nuclear Iran as an existential threat.  MORE

Islamists block Egypt protest march

CAIRO -- Thousands of protesters marched on Egypt’s parliament Tuesday demanding a swift end to army rule, and some turned their anger on the leading Islamist movement they accused of doing the military’s bidding. Inside, army-backed Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri, 78, who served ousted President Hosni Mubarak in the 1990s, addressed the new parliament for the first time but faced tough criticism by Islamist and other deputies for the slow pace of reform. Some youth members of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose Freedom and Justice Party won nearly half the seats in the recent parliamentary election, formed a cordon in the street leading to parliament to prevent protesters from approaching the building. “The people want the fall of the Brotherhood,” protesters chanted, twisting a chant normally used against the army council that has held power since Mubarak was toppled in February. They also chanted against the army.  MORE

Eligibility Alert: 'Green light' to see Obama's Hawaii files
'When somebody submits a copy … the other party has a right to examine the original'

An attorney who presented evidence to a Georgia judge last week on Barack Obama’s eligibility for the state’s 2012 presidential ballot believes she now has a right to demand to see his original Hawaii documents . . . California attorney Orly Taitz, who has brought a number of major legal challenges to Obama’s eligibility in various courts up to the U.S. Supreme Court, has told World Net Daily that when Obama and his lawyer wrote a letter to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp last week refusing to attend the hearing on Obama’s eligibility status, they included a copy of the image that the White House released last April. They also sent a copy to the court of Judge Michael Malihi, the hearing officer, whose ruling is expected to be made available in the next few days. That act, Taitz explained, effectively gave the court a copy of the White House documentation, and under ordinary rules of evidence the opposing side is supposed to have access to the original to verify the authenticity of the purported copy. “They submitted a copy and said this is a copy of the original birth certificate. Now the other party has a right to examine the original,” she said. Her next step was to ask Malihi for a letter to the courts in Hawaii seeking a subpoena for the records. When the judge responded that the issue probably was outside his jurisdiction as an administrative law judge, she received permission to take her request to the Fulton County Superior Court. [emphasis added]  MORE

Note: see also Obama Eligibility Challenges Spread To 6 States - Decision in Georgia case expected soon, but ballot concerns going viral ... Whatever the outcome in Georgia, the issue is gaining traction in other states, too, including Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona, New Hampshire, and even Illinois, Obama’s home political base  LINK

Darrell Issa threatens Eric Holder with contempt

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-California) threatened Tuesday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress if the Justice Department did not provide certain documents in response to the committee’s subpoena. In a letter to Holder, Issa wrote that “this committee will have no alternative but to move forward with proceedings to hold you in contempt of Congress” if Holder and the DOJ didn’t produce documents they demanded relating to the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal. Holder has until Thursday, February 9, to comply, according to Issa. Issa accused the Justice Department of trying to “obstruct our investigation and deceive the public” by withholding documents. “Your actions lead us to conclude that the department is actively engaged in a cover-up,” he said in a four-page letter.  MORE

Report: Four in 10 Illegal Aliens Caught by Border Patrol Did Not Face 'Enforcement With Consequences' in 2010

(CNS News) -- Around six out of every 10 illegals apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) in 2010 faced “enforcement with consequences,” according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). While a a significant improvement over the situation a decade earlier, this still means that about four in ten illegal aliens caught by USBP did not. “The ratio of aliens facing enforcement with consequences relative to USBP apprehensions increased from 1% in 1999 to 58% in 2010,” stated a January 2012 CRS report, entitled Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry.” “The number of immigration-related criminal cases more than tripled between 1999 and 2010 (from 28,764 to 84,388 cases), and USBP removals increased fourteen-fold from 12,867 to 189,653,” the CRS reported. The report said that “enforcement with consequences” has been “an additional component of DHS’ approach to border control over the last several years.” “Unauthorized aliens apprehended at the border may face federal immigration charges, but historically, most have not been charged with a crime,” it explained. “Historically,” the report said, unauthorized Mexican aliens apprehended at the southwest border were returned with “minimal processing.” In the case of non-Mexicans, apprehended authorized aliens were “allowed to remain at large in the United States pending a formal deportation or removal hearing.” . . . “Historically, most non-Mexicans apprehended at the border were placed in formal deportation or removal proceedings prior to being returned to their country of origin by airplane,” explained the CRS. “[B]ut backlogs in the immigration court system meant that most such aliens were released on bail or on their own recognizance with an order to reappear at a later date, and many failed to show up for their hearings.”  MORE

FBI Director Says Cyber-threat Will Surpass Threat From Terrorists

Threats from cyber-espionage, computer crime, and attacks on critical infrastructure will surpass terrorism as the number one threat facing the United States, FBI Director Robert Mueller testified today. Mueller and National Intelligence Director James Clapper, addressing the annual Worldwide Threat hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, cited their concerns about cyber-security and noted that China and Russia run robust intrusion operations against key U.S. industries and the government. “I do not think today it is necessarily [the] number one threat, but it will be tomorrow,” Mueller said. “Counterterrorism - stopping terrorist attacks - with the FBI is the present number one priority. But down the road, the cyber-threat, which cuts across all [FBI] programs, will be the number one threat to the country.” A report released in November by the National Counterintelligence Executive singled out Russia and China for their aggressive efforts to steal American intellectual property, trade secrets and national security information. “The cyber-threat is one of the most challenging ones we face,” Clapper said. “Among state actors, we’re particularly concerned about entities within China and Russia conducting intrusions into U.S. computer networks and stealing U.S. data. And the growing role that non-state actors are playing in cyberspace is a great example of the easy access to potentially disruptive and even lethal technology and know-how by such groups.” “We foresee a cyber-environment in which emerging technologies are developed and implemented before security responses can be put in place,” Clapper said. U.S. officials estimate that there are 60,000 new malicious computer programs identified each day.  MORE

Pythons apparently wiping out Everglades mammals

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA (AP) -- A burgeoning population of huge pythons - many of them pets that were turned loose by their owners when they got too big - appears to be wiping out large numbers of raccoons, opossums, bobcats and other mammals in the Everglades, a study says. The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that sightings of medium-size mammals are down dramatically - as much as 99 percent, in some cases - in areas where pythons and other large, non-native constrictor snakes are known to be lurking. Scientists fear the pythons could disrupt the food chain and upset the Everglades' environmental balance in ways difficult to predict . . . Tens of thousands of Burmese pythons, which are native to Southeast Asia, are believed to be living in the Everglades, where they thrive in the warm, humid climate. While many were apparently released by their owners, others may have escaped from pet shops during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and have been reproducing ever since. Burmese pythons can grow to be 26 feet long and more than 200 pounds, and they have been known to swallow animals as large as alligators. They and other constrictor snakes kill their prey by coiling around it and suffocating it.  MORE

U.S. Military Archbishop: Far Fewer Christians in Iraq Since U.S. 2003 Invasion

(CNS News) -- U.S. Military Archbishop Timothy Broglio said that the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has resulted in the persecution and widespread elimination of Iraq’s native Christian populations, a view that was affirmed by international human rights lawyer Nina Shea, who serves on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. “Yes, you can say in a certain sense that the invasion of Iraq did provoke this tremendous diminution of the Christian population in that country. And what the future holds, that still remains to be seen,” Broglio told the Catholic News Agency (CNA) on January 16 in Rome. Broglio said that before the invasion Iraqi Christians were a protected minority. Now, they are unprotected by the new Iraqi government . . . In an e-mail to CNS News, [Human rights lawyer Nina Shea, who serves on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)] said: “Yes, absolutely. They are the victims of a religious cleansing campaign and no longer viewed as ‘protected’ people. There’s only about a third of the pre-invasion Christian population remaining. This is why USCIRF has recommended that Iraq be designated a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ under the International Religious Freedom Act” The USCIRF warned in an October 2011 report that Iraq was the home of “systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.” The USCIRF report on the state of religious freedom around the world found that Iraqi Christians were the victims of targeted, violent attacks, threat, and insufficient government protection. “Members of the country’s smallest religious minorities still suffer from targeted violence, threats, and intimidation, against which they receive insufficient government protection. Perpetrators of such attacks are rarely identified, investigated, or punished, creating a climate of impunity,” USCIRF report said.  MORE

Asked About Plight of Syrian Christians, State Department Erroneously Blames Regime

(CNS News) -- Christians are under threat in Syria, but the Obama administration appears unaware of, or unwilling to acknowledge, the source of the danger facing the minority. Asked several times during a press briefing Monday about violence and threats facing Syrian Christians, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland appeared to blame the government – although Christians reportedly are at risk from elements among the anti-regime forces . . . A commonly repeated refrain is that Syrian Christians could soon face the same plight as their co-religionists in Iraq, where large numbers of Christians fled – many of them to Syria – in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003. After the head of Barnabas Fund . . . visited Syria and met with church leaders last month he explained that since Christians were well-treated under Assad, they are perceived by anti-Assad elements to be supporters of the regime. “And, as in other countries affected by the ‘Arab Spring,’ radical Islamists in Syria – with backing from Saudi Arabia – have seized the opportunity created by the unrest to pursue their agenda, increasing the danger for Christians,” said Patrick Sookhdeo.  MORE

News of Christian imprisonment in Saudi only now reaching U.S.

Thirty-five Christians have been jailed in Saudi Arabia for worshiping in their own homes according to a recent report. The news only surfaced this week that the Christians have been imprisoned for over a month. Jonathan Racho of International Christian Concern says it is no wonder that Christians there worship in their homes because of the danger they face. "In Saudi Arabia there is no church," says the ICC spokesman. "There is no other place of worship other than mosques - so the Christians in Saudi Arabia only gather at their private homes to worship. And when they worship, as you can see in this particular example, they could also be arrested." Racho was able to talk with one of the female prisoners by phone and explains that prisoners are suffering because of lack of proper medical attention. "They told me that especially the male prisoners have been assaulted by the Saudi officials," he shares. One of the prisoners told Racho that a Saudi official insulted them by telling them they are non-believers, animals, and supporters of America. He adds the Christians are waiting for justice, which to them means their release from prison and the ability to worship freely. [no further content]  LINK

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NATO: Pakistan helping Afghan Taliban

The Taliban in Afghanistan are being directly assisted by Pakistani security services, according to a secret NATO report seen by the BBC.
The leaked report, derived from thousands of interrogations, claims the Taliban remain defiant and have wide support among the Afghan people.
A BBC correspondent says the report is painful reading for international forces and the Afghan government.
A Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman called the accusations "ridiculous".
"We are committed to non-interference in Afghanistan and expect all other states to strictly adhere to this principle," Abdul Basit told the BBC.
"A stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in our own interests. We cannot indulge in any activity which takes us away from achieving that objective," he added.
The report alleges that Pakistan knows the locations of senior Taliban leaders.
"We have long been concerned about ties between elements of the ISI [Pakistan's intelligence service] and some extremist networks," said US Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby, adding that the US Defence Department had not yet seen the report . . . .
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul says the report - on the state of the Taliban - fully exposes for the first time the relationship between the ISI and the Taliban.
The report is based on material from 27,000 interrogations with more than 4,000 captured Taliban, al-Qaeda and other foreign fighters and civilians.
It notes: "Pakistan's manipulation of the Taliban senior leadership continues unabatedly".
It says that Pakistan is aware of the locations of senior Taliban leaders.
"Senior Taliban representatives, such as Nasiruddin Haqqani, maintain residences in the immediate vicinity of ISI headquarters in Islamabad," it said.
It quotes a senior al-Qaeda detainee as saying: "Pakistan knows everything. They control everything. I can't [expletive] on a tree in Kunar without them watching."
"The Taliban are not Islam. The Taliban are Islamabad."
Our correspondent says the report seems to suggest that the Taliban feel trapped by ISI control and fear they will never escape its influence.
However, it states: "As this document is derived directly from insurgents it should be considered informational and not necessarily analytical."
Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has explained Pakistan's closeness to the Afghan Taliban by pointing to infiltration of its army by the religious right, but he also says it is part of a grand strategy to increase leverage in the region via "proxies" . . . .
In a damning conclusion, the document says that in the last year there has been unprecedented interest, even from members of the Afghan government, in joining the Taliban cause.
It adds: "Afghan civilians frequently prefer Taliban governance over the Afghan government, usually as a result of government corruption."
The report has evidence that the Taliban are purposely hastening NATO's withdrawal by deliberately reducing their attacks in some areas and then initiating a comprehensive hearts-and-minds campaign.
It says that in areas where ISAF has withdrawn, Taliban influence has increased, often with little or no resistance from government security forces. And in many cases, with the active help of the Afghan police and army.

Source:     bbc.co.uk  MORE

Note: see also Pakistan Minister: Leaked Document Can Be 'Disregarded'  LINK

Commentary: TIM TEBOW EXPOSES HOW SHALLOW CHRISTIANITY HAS BECOME (Coach Dave Daubenmire)

"America! America! God shed His grace on thee; and crown thy good, with brotherhood …” [America The Beautiful]

. . . . Christian Tim Tebow has been causing quite a stir across the football world with his unashamed living out of the Gospel. His I-love-Jesus-more-than-anything approach to life has proved to be quite unsettling to those who are uncomfortable with his bold proclamation of Romans 1:16.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

In my lifetime I cannot name a single public figure, apart from those who make a living off of the Gospel, who has been as bold of a witness as Number 15 for the Denver Broncos . . . .
Former Super Bowl [quarterback] Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams claims Christ, yet he recently advised Tebow that he would be better off if he removed Jesus from his sleeve … or at least put a sweatshirt over the top of his arms.
[Warner said:] “But I’d tell him, ‘Put down the boldness in regards to the words, and keep living the way you’re living. Let your teammates do the talking for you. Let them cheer on your testimony.’
Yeah right Kurt. Hide that light under a bushel. That I’ll-show-them-Christ-by-the-way-I-live approach hasn’t gotten us very far in spreading the Gospel. America is a vast moral wasteland because we have hidden the light . . . .
The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. [Proverbs 28:1] . . . .

Tim Tebow is a mirror. He exposes how shallow most of our Christianity is. That’s what makes us so uncomfortable … "I am a Christian, but I am not as fanatical about it as Tebow is."
No kidding. I wonder which one is more like Jesus … you or Tim Tebow? Would Jesus tell Tim to “tone it down?” Would Jesus tell you to?
No. He doesn’t have to. You’ve already toned it down yourself. That’s why Christianity is so under assault in the culture. We are ashamed of the Gospel. We are ashamed to speak up for what is right . . . .
Silence isn’t golden … it is yellow. Our Christian-laryngitis has resulted in no prayer in schools; no Ten Commandments; sodomite-“marriage;” legalized baby-murder . . . .

In this age of self-centered narcissism Tebow carries a different message. The answer to America’s problems is not government. The problems in America are spiritual. Turn to Jesus and not to politics.
We must return to an America where good is crowned . . . .
. . . Tim Tebow has revealed something about us. For those who have eyes to see, God has used him to reveal a hunger for righteousness in the hearts of Americans . . . .
That’s Tim’s message, you know. Believe, not in yourself or your abilities, but in the One who makes all things possible.

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? [Romans 10:14]

Source: newswithviews.com  MORE

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ADDITIONAL NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Syria troops push back rebels as U.N. fight looms  LINK

Libya says it will investigate torture claims against former rebels  LINK
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IAEA to wrap up Iran visit ... U.S. eyes more sanctions  LINK

U.S. lawmakers to take up new Iran sanctions  LINK

CIA chief says appears Saudi oil 'ramping up'  LINK

Air raids on Qaeda bases in Yemen kill 15  LINK
The four raids appeared to have been carried out by US planes, one tribal official told AFP

Latest Congressional Budget Outlook For 2012-2022 Released, Says Real Unemployment Rate Is 10%  LINK

Homeownership rates fall to 66%  LINK

CBO: Taxes Will 'Shoot Up by More Than 30 Percent' Over Next 2 Years  LINK

[analysis]: Why Are the Chinese Buying Record Quantities of Gold?  LINK

[analysis]: How Google knows everything about you  LINK

[12-year old] Home-schooler is repeat Spelling Bee winner  LINK
At the end, winning word was 'precipice'

Researchers find cancer in ancient Egyptian mummy  LINK
This indicates the disease was caused by genetics, not environment

Pro-Life Groups Hail 'A Major Victory for Life'  LINK
Commending the "brave decision" of the Susan G. Komen Foundation to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood

[analysis]: Aborting reason  LINK

[analysis]: Was Lou Gehrig's ALS Caused by Drinking Water?  LINK
A toxic molecule found in pond scum may trigger neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Parkinson's ... A group of scientists could hold the key to a cure

HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS: Join the Sound Body Yahoo group (part of the Christian Media ministry) to receive regular health eblasts  LINK

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How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Romans 10:14-15 KJV
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CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 2, 2012
- no news edition -

CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2012

Israel: Iran's nuclear arms program is complete … its missiles can reach U.S.

Iran has completed the development of a nuclear weapon and awaits nothing more than a sign from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to start assembling its first nuclear bomb, said Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Major General Aviv Kochavi on Thursday, February 2. Assembling a bomb would take up to a year, Kochavi estimated. With 100 kilograms of uranium enriched to 20 percent grade and another 4 tons of uranium enriched to 3.5 percent already in stock, Iran would need another two years to make four nuclear bombs.
Therefore, by the end of 2012 or early 2013 Iran may have a single nuclear bomb, but by 2015 the figure would jump to four or five.
The officer was essentially amplifying the words of his predecessor, Major General (reserve) Amos Yadlin, who said on January 26 that as long ago as 2007 or 2008, Iran had already passed the point of no return in developing nuclear weapons. Kochavi agreed with him that none of the sanctions imposed thus far had persuaded Iran to slow down, [let alone] shut down, its drive for a nuclear weapon.
His comments coincided with the findings published Thursday by the Enterprise Institute, an American think tank, that Iran would be able to manufacture a 15-kiloton nuclear bomb as soon as August of this year, just seven months from now.
Also Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon disclosed that the big blast at the Iranian missile base near Tehran last November blew up a new missile system with a range of 10,000 kilometers, capable of targeting the United States.
Commenting on Iran's underground bunkers for nuclear facilities, the minister stressed that any facility built by man can be destroyed by man. "Speaking as a former chief of staff, I say none of Iran's installations are immune to attack," he said.
Major General Kochavi went on to say that if Iran had attained a nuclear capability, this meant that the US and Israel had failed to pre-empt this outcome . . . .
The various assessments of Iran's nuclear capabilities have faced serious credibility problems over the years, DEBKAfile's intelligence sources note.
Today, thanks to Kochavi and Yadlin, we know that the US National Intelligence Estimate of 2007 accepted by the Bush administration was wrong. Its main finding was that Iran had discontinued its military nuclear program in 2003. For five years, Western intelligence officials have given out misleading estimates to save their governments having to pursue direct action for pre-empting a nuclear Iran.
One school of thought claimed that Iran would not build a bomb until it had the resources to create an arsenal; another, that Tehran lacked the technology for weaponizing enriched uranium. Does the latest evaluation that the manufacture of a bomb awaits the decision of one man, the Iranian Supreme Ruler, fall into the same category as the others? Or is it another gambit to fend off a military strike against Iran for five more years?
How do the US and Israel know for sure that Khamenei has not given the order and that Iranian teams are not already busy assembling a bomb in some bunker?
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has maintained more than once that America has the resources for finding out about a decision by the Supreme Leader, but no American or Israeli intelligence officer can endorse this certainty.
It should be remembered, DEBKAfile's military and intelligence sources note, that when Western intelligence announced the discovery of the Fordo underground facility near Qom in mid-2009, construction had begun undiscovered at least eighteen months earlier.

Source:     debka.com  MORE

Note: see these related stories:

Iran Has Material For Four Nuclear Bombs, Says Israeli General  LINK

Israel, U.S. Divided Over Timing Of Potential Military Strike Against Iran  LINK

Israel sets up elite command unit to strike behind 'enemy' lines

Israel has set up a specialist commando unit designed to carry out missions deep inside enemy territory amid growing consensus in government circles that military strikes must be contemplated if economic sanctions do not halt Iran's nuclear programme.
The "Depth Corps" has been organised with the aim of coordinating deep penetration operations in other countries at a time when the defence ministry acknowledges that the number of covert Israeli operations abroad has increased significantly in the last year.
The unit, headed by Major General Shai Avital, a former head of an elite reconnaissance squad, was ordered by the head of Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to focus on undercover work. Defence ministry officials in Tel Aviv insisted that it was not "Iran specific" and is needed to coordinate a range of duties.
The Tehran regime has repeatedly claimed that Israeli, US and British agents are responsible for the assassination of six scientists involved in the country's nuclear programme – a charge refuted by London and Washington. Officials in Tel Aviv in general refuse to comment on covert action.
"Of course I see about the killings in the media. I see it happens", said Dan Meridor, the Minister for Intelligence and Nuclear Affairs. "Are they natural, are they unnatural? There are many stories coming from there."
"About these deaths of scientists, I don't know what to tell you. I do not know the effects of that. The fact that they continue to work on this programme despite sanctions means they want to get nuclear and are prepared to pay a heavy price," he said.
Mr Meridor stated that Israel will monitor the effects of the sanctions, including an oil embargo, imposed on Iran by the European Union as well as punitive measures taken by the US.
"Pressure is important here, to leave them in a state where they are on the threshold of getting nuclear weapons would be a mistake," he said.
While Israeli officials publicly say they are prepared to wait and see the effectiveness of the sanctions, many hold privately that they lack the bite to force Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. The decision by India and China to continue importing Iranian oil, around 35 per cent of the country's total sales, will seriously hinder the attempt to choke off the revenue stream of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime.
"It's definitely a blow," said David Hartwell, senior Middle East analyst at IHS Jane's, adding that Iran may have discounted prices to keep the Chinese and Indians on their side.
Israeli officials say that any military action must take place by the end of summer to prevent Iran moving more of its nuclear capabilities underground. They also point out that the Western powers which have imposed them are now fully aware of the dangers posed by the regime. Yesterday in Washington, James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, told a Congressional panel that Iran may launch terrorist attacks in response to a perceived threat. [no further content, emphasis added]

Source:     independent.co.uk  LINK

Former DEA Chief Says Hezbollah Terrorists Eyeing Southwest Border

(CNS News) -- The Iranian-supported Shi’ite terrorist group Hezbollah has spread its influence all the way to the U.S. border with Mexico, a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Iran’s influence in the Western Hemisphere heard on Thursday.
Michael Braun, a former chief of operations at the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), said Hezbollah had developed relationships with the powerful Mexican drug cartels to “move their agenda forward.” He cited a plot, recently uncovered by the DEA, involving an Iranian operative in Mexico allegedly planning to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, D.C.
“Hezbollah are absolute masters at forming close relationships with existing organized crime groups around the world that helps them facilitate what they need to do to move their agendas forward,” Braun told CNS News following the hearing. “And if anyone thinks for a moment that they don’t have their eye on the southwest border and all of our country, then they couldn’t be more wrong.”
In his prepared remarks Braun, who also served as interim director of the Department of Justice’s Drug Intelligence Fusion Center, said Hezbollah and other terrorist groups understand that the Mexican cartels are already operating successfully inside the United States.
“If anyone thinks for one moment that these terrorist organizations do not understand that the Mexican drug trafficking cartels now dominate drug trafficking in our country – reportedly in more than 250 cities – [then] they are very stupid or very naive,” he said.
“And these groups most assuredly recognize the strategic value of exploiting that activity, and all that has been built to support it, for moving their vision forward in this part of the world.”
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida), chairwoman of the committee, cited Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force and its connections to the Zeta drug cartel in the foiled assassination attempt on U.S. soil.
She asked Braun whether he believed Iran had “strategic interests” in Central America and the southwest border.
Braun said Quds Force and Hezbollah work “very, very hard” to develop relationships with criminal groups that already have in place systems for illegal activities, including drug and human trafficking, money laundering and forged document operations.
“And by developing those relations it provides them with the ability to operate far from home in our neighborhood and – as I said earlier – on our doorstep,” he replied . . . .
Ros-Lehtinen recalled what Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday, focused on global threats to the U.S.
“[Clapper] stated this week, ‘Iranian officials – probably including supreme leader Ali Khamenei – have changed their calculus and are now willing to conduct an attack in the United States.’”
Ros-Lehtinen said Iran’s alliances in Latin America provide it with “a platform in the region to carry out attacks against the United States, our interests, and allies.” [emphasis added]

Source:     cnsnews.com  MORE

[Report]: Is Israel preparing to attack Iran?

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has a lot on his mind these days, from cutting the defense budget to managing the drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. But his biggest worry is the growing possibility that Israel will attack Iran over the next few months.
Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June - before Iran enters what Israelis described as a “zone of immunity” to commence building a nuclear bomb. Very soon, the Israelis fear, the Iranians will have stored enough enriched uranium in deep underground facilities to make a weapon - and only the United States could then stop them militarily.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t want to leave the fate of Israel dependent on American action, which would be triggered by intelligence that Iran is building a bomb, which it hasn’t done yet.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak may have signaled the prospect of an Israeli attack soon when he asked last month to postpone a planned U.S.-Israel military exercise that would culminate in a live-fire phase in May. Barak apologized that Israel couldn’t devote the resources to the annual exercise this spring.
President Obama and Panetta are said to have cautioned the Israelis that the United States opposes an attack, believing that it would derail an increasingly successful international economic sanctions program and other non-military efforts to stop Iran from crossing the threshold. But the White House hasn’t yet decided precisely how the United States would respond if the Israelis do attack.
The Obama administration is conducting intense discussions about what an Israeli attack would mean for the United States: whether Iran would target U.S. ships in the region or try to close the Strait of Hormuz; and what effect the conflict and a likely spike in oil prices would have on the fragile global economy.
The administration appears to favor staying out of the conflict unless Iran hits U.S. assets, which would trigger a strong U.S. response.
This U.S. policy - signaling that Israel is acting on its own - might open a breach like the one in 1956, when President Dwight Eisenhower condemned an Israeli-European attack on the Suez Canal. Complicating matters is the 2012 presidential campaign, which has Republicans candidates clamoring for stronger U.S. support of Israel.
Administration officials caution that Tehran shouldn’t misunderstand: The United States has a 60-year commitment to Israeli security, and if Israel’s population centers were hit, the United States could feel obligated to come to Israel’s defense.
Israelis are said to believe that a military strike could be limited and contained. They would bomb the uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz and other targets; an attack on the buried enrichment facility at Qom would be harder from the air. Iranians would retaliate, but Israelis doubt that the action would be an overwhelming barrage, with rockets from Hezbollah forces in Lebanon. One Israeli estimate is that the Jewish state might have to absorb 500 casualties.
Israelis point to Syria’s lack of response to an Israeli attack on a nuclear reactor there in 2007. Iranians might show similar restraint, because of fear the regime would be endangered by all-out war. Some Israelis have also likened a strike on Iran to the 1976 hostage-rescue raid on Entebbe, Uganda, which was followed by a change of regime in that country.
Israeli leaders are said to accept, and even welcome, the prospect of going it alone and demonstrating their resolve at a time when their security is undermined by the Arab Spring.
“You stay to the side, and let us do it,” one Israeli official is said to have advised the United States. A “short-war” scenario assumes five days or so of limited Israeli strikes, followed by a U.N.-brokered cease-fire. The Israelis are said to recognize that damage to the nuclear program might be modest, requiring another strike in a few years.
U.S. officials see two possible ways to dissuade the Israelis from such an attack: Tehran could finally open serious negotiations for a formula to verifiably guarantee that its nuclear program will remain a civilian one; or the United States could step up its covert actions to degrade the program so much that Israelis would decide that military action wasn’t necessary.
U.S. officials don’t think that Netanyahu has made a final decision to attack, and they note that top Israeli intelligence officials remain skeptical of the project. But senior Americans doubt that the Israelis are bluffing. They’re worrying about the guns of spring - and the unintended consequences. [no further content, emphasis added]

Source:     washingtonpost.com  LINK

Note: see these related stories:

US Defence Secretary Says Israel Could Strike Iran In Spring  LINK

Israel Vice PM: Military Strike Can Hit All Of Iran's Nuclear Facilities  LINK

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NEWS BRIEFS
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[Missile coverage of Israel is complete]

[Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Major General Aviv Kochavi] painted a grim picture of 200,000 rockets and missiles of assorted types pointing at Israel. Wednesday, February 1, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz stressed that there is no longer any point on the Israeli map that is outside the range of enemy missiles. According to General Kochavi, Iran, Syria, Hizballah and Hamas are dispersing their missiles and rockets to sites deep inland and integrated in urban environments to minimize their vulnerability to IDF attack. He warned "the enemy" had prepared increasing numbers of its missiles for "depth strikes against Israeli population centers, their warheads more lethal than ever." "Every tenth residential house in Lebanon," he said, "harbors a missile arsenal or launching position. Their sheer volume has reached a strategic dimension with which Israel will have to deal." Tuesday, January 31, the IDF practiced mobilizing an armored division under war conditions, DEBKAfile's military sources report. The drill simulated moving the troops to conscription bases, arming them with equipment and weapons and getting them to battle lines – all under the heavy missile bombardment of military facilities, national highways and railway lines.  MORE

U.N. members mull new draft resolution on Syria

UNITED NATIONS -- UN Security Council members on Friday were considering a draft resolution condemning the bloody Syria crackdown that was amended in a bid to overcome Russian-led opposition. The latest draft does not explicitly call on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down or mention an arms embargo or sanctions, though it "fully supports" an Arab League plan to facilitate a democratic transition. Diplomats said Thursday that the new draft would be sent back to their governments for deliberations. It was not immediately clear whether it would be approved and sent back to the 15-member council for a vote. "Everyone will seek instructions from their capitals and we hope to be able to vote as soon as possible," Britain's UN ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, said. The latest attempt at consensus emerged after hours of talks stalled in the UN Security Council, with Russia leading the opposition to a tougher draft resolution authored by Western powers and the Arab League. The new draft "fully supports" the January 22 Arab League request that Assad transfer power to a deputy and a government of national unity within two months but does not call on him to step down, according to a copy obtained by AFP. Instead, it calls for a "Syrian-led political transition to a democratic, plural political system ... including through commencing a serious political dialogue between the Syrian government and the whole spectrum of the Syrian opposition under the League of Arab States' auspices, in accordance with the timetable set out by the League of Arab States." Like previous versions, the draft "condemns all violence, irrespective of where it comes from."  MORE

Note: see also U.S., Allies Drop Syria Sanctions Demand, Seek Deal With Russia At U.N.  LINK

Egypt marches planned as anger mounts against military

CAIRO -- Egyptian activists called for mass protests in Cairo on Friday to demand the ouster of the ruling military council, target of raging anger over the deaths of 74 people in football-related violence. Demonstrators were to stage marches from mosques across Cairo after noon prayer towards parliament, 28 pro-democracy groups said in statements on the Internet. They will demand that the military council, which took power when an uprising toppled veteran president Hosni Mubarak last year, step down, the statement said. The activists accuse the military of mismanagement of the fragile transition, and blame it for the deadly violence on Wednesday in the northern city of Port Said following a football match. The tragedy sparked protests in several cities overnight which deteriorated into violent clashes with police.  MORE

Arab Upheavals Leave Hamas Looking for New Home, Sponsors, Strategy

(CNS News) -- Hamas’ Gaza-based leader, Ismail Haniyeh, is due to visit Iran on Friday, further fueling some of the heaviest speculation in years about shifts in the terrorist group’s alliances and strategies resulting from the political upheavals in the Arab world. The Sunni group, a Palestinian offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, has found its loyalties tested as the violence in Syria worsens. On the one hand, Hamas sees fellow Sunnis in Syria, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood, embroiled in deadly conflict with the regime of President Bashar Assad; On the other hand, the Assad regime and its closest ally, Shi’ite Iran, have sponsored Hamas for years, with Damascus hosting the group’s political bureau and its overall leader, Khaled Meshaal. Angered by Hamas’ failure to support Assad more actively, Iran has reportedly cut off regular funding the group has enjoyed for years. Recent weeks have brought a stepped-up diplomatic drive, with both Haniyeh and Meshaal paying visits to Arab and neighboring countries.  MORE

Panetta: U.S., NATO will seek to end Afghan combat mission next year

BRUSSELS -- The United States hopes to end its combat mission in Afghanistan by the middle of next year, more than a year earlier than scheduled, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday. His remarks reflected a growing sentiment within the Obama administration that its approach to Iraq, where the official end of U.S. combat operations came 16 months before the final U.S. troop withdrawal in December, may provide a useful model for winding down operations in Afghanistan. Current NATO strategy, agreed to at a summit in Lisbon in November 2010, calls for coalition forces to gradually shift to a training, advisory and assistance role with the Afghan military on the way to withdrawing all combat troops by the end of 2014. The alliance has yet to agree on the pace of that process, however, and Panetta went further than what some in the administration were prepared to say publicly about their own deliberations. “Our goal is to complete all of that transition in 2013,” Panetta told reporters en route to a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. “Hopefully by mid- to the latter part of 2013 we’ll be able to make a transition from a combat role.”  MORE

Do You Like Online Privacy? ... You May Be a Terrorist

A flyer designed by the FBI and the Department of Justice to promote suspicious activity reporting in internet cafes lists basic tools used for online privacy as potential signs of terrorist activity. The document, part of a program called “Communities Against Terrorism”, lists the use of “anonymizers, portals, or other means to shield IP address” as a sign that a person could be engaged in or supporting terrorist activity. The use of encryption is also listed as a suspicious activity along with steganography, the practice of using “software to hide encrypted data in digital photos” or other media. In fact, the flyer recommends that anyone “overly concerned about privacy” or attempting to “shield the screen from view of others” should be considered suspicious and potentially engaged in terrorist activities. Logging into an account associated with a residential internet service provider (such as Comcast or AOL), an activity that could simply indicate that you are on a trip, is also considered a suspicious activity. Viewing any content related to “military tactics” including manuals or “revolutionary literature” is also considered a potential indicator of terrorist activity. This would mean that viewing a number of websites, including the one you are on right now (PublicIntelligence.net), could be construed by a hapless employee as an highly suspicious activity potentially linking you to terrorism. The “Potential Indicators of Terrorist Activities” contained in the flyer are not to be construed alone as a sign of terrorist activity and the document notes that “just because someone’s speech, actions, beliefs, appearance, or way of life is different; it does not mean that he or she is suspicious.” However, many of the activities described in the document are basic practices of any individual concerned with security or privacy online. The use of PGP, VPNs, Tor or any of the many other technologies for anonymity and privacy online are directly targeted by the flyer, which is distributed to businesses in an effort to promote the reporting of these activities. [no further content]  LINK

Note: see also Internet Cafe Flyer: 'Potential Indicators of Terrorist Activities'  LINK [pdf format]

Whistleblowers Expose FDA's Illegal Surveillance of Employees

As reported in today's Washington Post, six current and former employees of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have filed a complaint against the FDA in U.S. District Court. The employees are seeking an injunction to stop the agency from illegally spying on employees' private communications to Congress and other oversight agencies. Linked here are key documents related to this lawsuit and the FDA's spying program. The complaint details how the FDA targeted its employees with a covert spying campaign that lasted for two years. The FDA began the program after learning that the employees wrote a letter to President-Elect Obama and his transition team in early 2009 detailing government misconduct in approving unsafe medical devices. The Agency installed (or activated) spyware on their workplace computers and used other technology that to monitor their password-protected Gmail-to-Gmail communications. In addition to reading the whistleblowers' emails, the FDA took contemporaneous screen shots of the employees’ computer screens. Managers used the collected information to learn the identities of confidential whistleblowers and to obtain the details of the public health and safety concerns the whistleblowers intended to disclose to the Office of Special Counsel, Congress and the Agency's own Inspector General. The FDA also intercepted email communications to and from staff members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee.  MORE

Note: see also FDA Staffers Sue Agency Over Surveillance Of Personal E-Mail  LINK

Concerns grow over volcanic eruptions

Scientists have known for decades that hidden under those impressive vistas at sites such as Death Valley and Yellowstone National Park are magma pools that under the right conditions can trigger explosive eruptions. Now, new research is changing scientists' understanding of the timing of those eruptions, and prompting them to call for greater monitoring of sites to help save lives when the next big volcano explodes. Two recent papers highlight the shift. One looked at a Death Valley volcano thought to be 10,000 years old and found it last erupted just 800 years ago, and is still an eruption danger. The other found that large caldera volcanoes, such as the one under Crater Lake in Oregon, can recharge in a matter of decades, rather than the thousands of years previously thought. "The understanding of the timing of eruptions and the timing of the building up to eruptions is changing," says Margaret Mangan, the scientist in charge of volcano monitoring in California for the U.S. Geological Survey. "These two papers are very nice examples of good scientific work." One thing that's coming to light is that eruptions are often clustered, with "long stretches of inactivity punctuated by periods of activity that can go on for years," Mangan says . . . [Scientists] are calling for greater monitoring, including satellite surveillance, to detect ground swelling. There are several large and still active calderas in the United States, including the one under Yellowstone National Park. All are closely monitored. What worries the researchers are other unmonitored calderas around the world with the potential to send huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere, causing massive ecological and climate damage.  MORE

Farm State Outrage Intensifies Over Labor Department Proposal to Ban Children From Doing Some Chores on Farms

(CNS News) -- Farmers and congressmen from farm states continue to slam proposed U.S. Department of Labor farm regulations, which would bar farm children under 16 from operating tractors and other machinery and working with livestock. “This is what happens when big city bureaucrats try to craft policies for rural America,” Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Montana) said of the proposals. Rehberg, who has become of the proposal’s most ardent opponents, criticized the Labor Department for drafting regulations that he says are unnecessary. “(The) most effective way to become a safe and effective operator of farm implements is to learn at a young age under the guidance of a knowledgeable and careful instructor,” he said.  MORE

Sandia Labs' bullet doesn't miss

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) -- Engineers at Sandia National Laboratories have invented a bullet that guides itself to the target. Sandia has wide expertise at miniature technology, and the bullet works like a tiny guided missile. The patented design doesn't shoot straight. Instead of a spiral rotation, the bullet twists and turns to guide itself towards a laser directed point. It can make up to thirty corrections per second while in the air. Jim Jones, distinguished member of technical staff, and his team of engineers at Sandia Labs think the .50-caliber bullets would work well with military machine guns so soldiers could hit their mark faster and with precision. "We've tested gunpowders to see if we can get muzzle velocity for military interest," Jones said. "We've tested various electronic components to see if they would survive the launch." The team needs a sponsor to take the prototype and manufacture it on a commercial scale. Research and development grants have taken the project this far. Jones says it's about halfway through being fully developed for commercial use. [no further content]  LINK

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Commentary: Currency Warfare: What are the Real Targets of the EU Oil Embargo against Iran? (Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya)

. . . . Tehran has . . . warned the leaders of the EU countries that the new sanctions are foolish and against their national and bloc interests. But is this correct? At the end of the day, who will benefit from the chain of events that are being set into motion? . . . .

Iran can replace oil sales to the European Union via new buyers or by increasing sales to existing customers like China and India . . . Thus, the oil embargo against Iran will have minimal direct effects on Iran . . . .

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), both the U.S. dollar and the euro together constitute 84.4% of the world’s currency exchange reserves (end of 2011 date). The U.S. dollar alone, was the largest share of the world’s currency exchange reserves in 2011, namely 61.7%.
Energy sales are an important part of this equation, because the American dollar is tied to the oil trade.
Thus, oil trade, through what is called the petro-dollar, is helping sustain the American dollar’s international standing. Countries around the world have been virtually forced to use the U.S. dollar to maintain their energy and trade needs and transactions . . . .

Instead of military confrontation, Tehran is fighting back economically in several ways. The first step, which started before 2012, was Iranian international oil sales and trade were diversified in regards to their currency transactions . . . .
. . . Iran has [now] broadened its move away from the use of the U.S. dollar and the euro as policy in bilateral trade relations. Iran and India are talking about gold payments for Iranian oil. Iranian and Russian trade is conducted in Iranian rials and Russian roubles, while Iranian trade with China and other Asian countries is conducted using the Chinese renminbi, Iranian rial, Japanese yen, and other non-dollar and non-euro currencies . . . .

The end of Iranian oil exports to the European Union and the decline of the euro will directly benefit the United States and the U.S. dollar. What the European Union is doing is merely weakening itself and giving the U.S. dollar the upper hand in its currency rivalry against the euro. Moreover, should the euro collapse, the American dollar will quickly fill much of the void . . . .

[But] the rise in everyday prices, ranging from food to transportation, will not be limited to the European Union, but will have global ramifications. As prices rise on a global scale, the economies in Latin American, Caribbean, African, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Pacific countries will face new hardship, which the financial sector in the U.S. and several of its partners – including members of the European Union – could capitalize on by taking over certain sectors and markets. The IMF and World Bank, as the Bretton Woods proxies of Wall Street, could get into the mix and impose more privatization programs benefiting the financial sectors of the U.S. and its main partners . . . .

Much of the power of the U.S. is psychological and tied to fear. Like the geography of the Persian Gulf, time is on Iran’s side and working against the United States.
If Iran continues on its present course and is undeterred by sanctions, this will help break a critical psychological threshold, which around the world tends to discourage countries from confronting and opposing the United States.
Should many countries continue to refuse to bow down to the Obama Administration pertaining to the imposition of sanctions against Iran, this will also be a blow to the prestige and power of the U.S., which would also have economic and financial implications.

Source:     strategic-culture.org  MORE

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ADDITIONAL NEWS & ANALYSIS
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'Some progress' in U.N. talks on Syria resolution  LINK

U.S., allies exploring prospects for Assad exile  LINK

Egypt's army, police blamed for deadly soccer riot  LINK

In Clashes With Police, Egyptians Unleash Fury Over Soccer Riot Deaths  LINK
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Cite Obama with contempt, lawyers urge  LINK
Refusal to follow subpoena 'no less than declaration of total dictatorial authority' ... "Failure to respond to the defendant’s contumacious conduct would amount to an admission that this court and the judicial branch as a whole do not have the authority granted to them under articles III and IV of the Constitution”
___________

[analysis]: Fukushima - What Really Happened  LINK
As a hypothesis, Stuxnet explains why the generators failed ... It explains how the valves in the passive cooling systems got shut off

[analysis]: Why a Likely Natural Event Could Cause Nuclear Reactors to Melt Down and Our Grid to Crash  LINK
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[analysis]: Obama's Drift Toward War With Iran  LINK

[analysis]: U.S. encouraged to up the military ante against Iran  LINK

[analysis]: Middle East war on horizon?  LINK
A proxy war between Sunni and Shia Muslims, which could dramatically further destabilize the Middle East, may be about to erupt ... It would pit Iran, Syria’s regime and Hezbollah on one side and Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, other Arab states and Syrian rebel forces on the other

Terror leader with $5 million U.S. bounty on his head reported slain in Philippines  LINK

Kuwait vote hands Islamist-led opposition more seats  LINK

Royal Navy sends HMS Dauntless to Falkland Islands in warning to Argentina  LINK

Holder: No cover-up in 'Fast and Furious' ... no effort to hide details of the operation  LINK

Holder Admits There's 'Public Safety and National Security Crisis Along Our Southwest Border'  LINK

[analysis]: Is Obama Deceiving Us About Drone Strikes?  LINK

[analysis]: What was motivation for Fast and Furious?  LINK
How U.S. was made liable for Mexican drug-war violence

Paul: Immigration not solved by barbed wire, guns  LINK

U.S. No-Fly list doubles in 1 year  LINK
Jumped from about 10,000 known or suspected terrorists one year ago to about 21,000 ... About 500 are Americans

FBI Uses Chainsaw In Raid On Wrong apartment (Massachusetts)  LINK

U.N. panel says retool world economy for sustainability  LINK

U.S. airline giant American to cut 13,000 jobs  LINK

Banking giant accused of laundering billions  LINK
Ex-employee in New York has 1,000 pages of customer account records

[analysis]: The Top Ten U.S. Corporate Tax Avoiders  LINK

Home-schooling: Why Urban, Educated Parents Are Turning to DIY Education  LINK
They raise chickens ... They grow vegetables ... They knit ... Now a new generation of urban parents is even teaching their own kids

Australia kills 24,000 ducks in bid to stop bird flu outbreak  LINK

[analysis]: Diet Drinks: America's Passion for Poison  LINK
Aspartame does indeed convert to formaldehyde in the bodies of aspartame consumers, and many of the symptoms reported by victims of aspartame toxicity are indeed those associated with the poisonous and cumulative effects of formaldehyde

[analysis]: Male birth control: stopping sperm with ultrasound?  LINK
Among the 78 research projects to receive $100,000 grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation earlier this week is an effort by researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to develop a non-invasive, reversible form of birth control for men - using ultrasound

HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS: Join the Sound Body Yahoo group (part of the Christian Media ministry) to receive regular health eblasts  LINK

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"We are fast approaching the stage in the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest period of human history; the stage of rule by brute force."
Ayn Rand, Russian-American novelist, philosopher
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Worldwatch was edited this week by Editor Robert Ellis with help from Claire Mason.