Tag Archives: ows

Technology, U.S.

U.S. Education front for child porn industry? Idaho education official admits to producing more than a terabyte of child porn!

A 45 year old Meridian Middle School counselor (in Idaho) admitted to police that he had more than one terabyte of child pornography on dozens of computers in his house.  According to Ada County prosecutor, the school counselor also told cops he produced some of the porn.

A boy was found in his home and claimed to have been molested many times by the school official.

The counselor was arrested 18 August 2012, after police spent most of Friday night searching his home. He was arraigned in an Idaho court on 20 August.  He faces 10 counts of sexual exploitation and is being held on a $1 million USD bond.

The counselor says he is part of an internet group that produces and trades child porn. Despite his admissions to police, the Meridian School District continues to employ him, he is currently on administrative leave (although it appears they have removed his name from their website).

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. occupation of Afghanistan; 17 Aug – 20 Aug. Green on Blue attacks continue to increase. More Kiwis killed. U.S. incompetence, kills people who caught a murderer with drone strike!

20 August 2012

USA (USA without periods means United States Army) General Martin Dempsey is in Afghanistan to find out why so many Afghan government forces are getting pissed off enough at U.S. forces that they open fire upon them.  Dempsey is meeting with USMC General John Allen.

ISAF stated: “An International Security Assistance Force service member died when an individual wearing an Afghan Uniformed Police uniform turned his weapon against ISAF service members in southern Afghanistan today.”

In Paktiya Province, a convoy belonging to an advisor to President Hamid Karzai, ran over a mine: “Mriza Ali Zadran, brother of Amanullah Khan Zadran, his uncle and his nephew were killed following the blast.”-Rohullah Samoon, governor of Paktiya

19 August 2012

ISAF stated: “Three International Security Assistance Force service members died following an improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan today.”

ISAF claims they killed a “leader” in Kunar Province, using a NATO airstrike.

In Bamiyan Province, at least four New Zealand Kiwi troops were killed, after crossing a road where Mujahideen planted a mine.

Afghan police officials in Kandahar Province claim a policeman shot and killed a U.S. led occupying soldier. They say the shooting took place inside a police station.

USMC General John Allen met with President Hamid Karzai, to discuss the increasing Green on Blue attacks.  This after numb nuts U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta demanded Karzai do something about such attacks.

In Kunar Province, villagers caught a murderer.  The man was convicted of killing another man from a rival family.  But at the execution, where about 80 people had gathered, the United States launched a drone strike, killing about 60. ISAF said this about the drone strike:   “…there are no civilian casualties…”  ISAF swears all the people present were Mujahideen planning an attack.

18 August 2012

In Kunar Province, local government officials say the United States killed four civilians during an airstrike.

In Helmand Province, U.K. Ministry of Defence says one of their occupying Red Coat soldiers was killed.

17 August 2012

In Kandahar Province, two U.S. occupying personnel were wounded by an Afghan government soldier.

ISAF stated: “Two U.S. Forces-Afghanistan service members died this morning as a result of an insider threat attack in Farah province, Afghanistan today. A member of the Afghan Local Police turned his weapon against two USFOR-A service members. The attacker was shot and killed.”

In Faryab Province, an Afghan politician was assassinated. He was shot while walking out of a Mosque.

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: United Nations threatens investigation into U.S. drone strikes!

“…users of targeted killing technology should be required to subject themselves, in the case of each and every death, to impartial investigation. If they do not establish a mechanism to do so, it will be my recommendation that the UN should put the mechanisms in place through the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly and the Office of the High Commissioner.…..The Obama administration continues formally to adopt the position that it will neither confirm nor deny the existence of the drone program, whilst allowing senior officials to give public justifications of its supposed legality in personal lectures and interviews. In reality the administration is holding its finger in the dam of public accountability. There are now a large number of law suits, in different parts of the world, including in the U.K., Pakistan and in the U.S. itself, through which pressure for investigation and accountability is building.”-Ben Emmerson, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism

In the past week more than 27 people were killed by U.S. UAV strikes, in Pakistan.  The victims included women and children.

Also in the past week, at least eight civilians were killed, and 30 wounded, by U.S. drone strikes in Somalia.  At least three people were killed by U.S. drone strike in Yemen.

On 15 August 2012, Pakistan’s Senate Committee on Defence and Defence Production released their own study on just who the victims of drone strikes are. They concluded that increasingly the victims are not combatants!

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: South America united against British Empire! UNASUR 7 point resolution demands U.K. obey international laws, hopes for peaceful settlement

Declaration of Guayaquil
IN SUPPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR
THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF UNASUR

The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of UNASUR extraordinary meeting in the city of Guayaquil, on August 19, 2012, considering:

That the Minister of Foreign Trade and Integration of Ecuador, informed the Council that the citizen Julian Assange, requested on 19 June 2012, political asylum in the Embassy of Ecuador in London, a matter on which the Governments of Ecuador, the U.K. and Sweden, have been holding diplomatic talks about the demands for the extradition of Mr. Assange and the request for asylum;

That Ecuador was considering the request for asylum in accordance with the principles of protection of human rights and international law;

On 15 August, the Government of the Republic of Ecuador was notified in a U.K. memorandum a threat to “take action to arrest Mr. Assange in the current facilities of the Embassy” by invoking its national law on facilities diplomatic and Consular of 1987 (diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987);

That pursuant to Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, of which the U.K. is a signatory, “premises of the mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them without the consent of the Head of Mission” and that “the premises of the mission, their furnishings and other property thereon and the means of transport of the mission may not be immune from search, requisition, attachment or execution”;

That according to the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, states must refrain from the threat or use of force or to act in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations in international relations, and solve their differences peacefully.

That the Security Council of the United Nations, in SC/10463 press release of November 29, 2011, condemned in the strongest terms violations of diplomatic immunity and recalled the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic missions states consular receptors in relation to the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

UNASUR declaration:

1. Express its solidarity and support to the Government of the Republic of Ecuador to the threat of violation of local diplomatic mission.

2. Reaffirm the sovereign right of states to grant asylum.

3.  Strongly condemn the threat of use of force between states and to reiterate the full observance of the principles enshrined in international law, respect for sovereignty and the faithful observance of international treaties.

4. To reaffirm the fundamental principle of the inviolability of the premises of diplomatic missions and consular offices and the obligation of the receiving states, in relation to the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

5. Reaffirm the principle of international law under which no law can be invoked for failure to complete an international obligation, as well is reflected in Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969.

6.  Reiterate the relevance of institutions of asylum and refuge to protect the human rights of people who believe that their life or limb is threatened.

7.  Urge the parties to continue dialogue and direct negotiations in search of a mutually acceptable settlement under international law.

Guayaquil, August 19, 2012, 21:30 hours

Union of South American Nations are: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela

International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: South America gettin’ riled ’bout Julian Assange. Bradley Manning international hero!

“Inside this embassy in the dark, I could hear teams of police swarming up into the building through its internal fire escape……. If the U.K. did not throw away the Vienna Conventions the other night, it is because the world was watching.”-Julian Assange, 19 August 2012 statement from Ecuadorian embassy in London

“We are continuing to seek a diplomatic solution. We remain ready to continue the conversations we have had, but that is now a question for the Ecuadorians.”-British government statement

“We warn the government of the United Kingdom that it will face grave consequences around the world if it directly breaches the territorial integrity of the embassy of the Republic of Ecuador in London!”-Bolivian Alliance for the People of Our America

“I ask President Obama to do the right thing. The United States must renounce its witch hunt against WikiLeaks. The United States must dissolve its FBI investigation. The United States must vow that it will not seek to prosecute our staff or our supporters. The United States must pledge, before the world, that it will not pursue journalists for shining a light on the secret crimes of the powerful!”-Julian Assange, 19 August statement from Ecuadorian embassy in London

“We believe this is a bilateral issue between Ecuador and the United Kingdom and that the OAS [U.S. created Organization of American States] has no role to play in this matter.”-U.S. State Department statement

“They’re [United Kingdom] out of touch. Who do they think they’re dealing with? Can’t they see that this is a dignified and sovereign government which will not kneel down before anyone?”-Rafael Correa, President of Ecuador

“And to the [U.S.] Army private who remains in military prison in Ft Leavenworth, Kansas, who was found by the United Nations to have endured months of tortuous detention in Quantico, Virginia, and who has yet, after two years in prison, to see a trial, he must be released.  Bradley Manning must be released!  If Bradley Manning did as he was accused, he is a hero and an example to all of us, and one of the World’s foremost political prisoners.  Bradley Manning must be released! On Wednesday Bradley Manning spent his 815th day on detention without trial. The legal maximum is 120 days!”–-Julian Assange, 19 August statement from Ecuadorian embassy in London

“This is a sort of declaration of war. The U.S. has degenerated into a rogue state. What the U.S. wants, the U.S. gets from its allies, regardless of if it’s legal or if it’s ethical or in breach of human or legal rights. We’re all lackeys.”-Christine Assange, mother of Julian Assange

“This is not a bilateral dispute between two countries, it is about respect for international law, respect for humanitarian law and respect for embassies and diplomatic corps!”-Nicolás Maduro, Chancellor of Venezuela

“This Friday, there will be an emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of Latin America, in Washington DC, to address this very situation.”-Julian Assange, 19 August statement from Ecuadorian embassy in London

“Britain….is wrong. The threat is not only an aggression to Ecuador, it’s against Bolivia, it’s against South America, against the whole of Latin America!”-Evo Morales, President of Bolivia

“To my family, and to my children who have been denied their father: Forgive me, we will be reunited soon.”-Julian Assange, 19 August statement from Ecuadorian embassy in London  (see video of speech here)

International, U.S.

World War 3: South America’s ALBA issue declaration against United Kingdom, in support of Julian Assange

IX Declaration of the ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) Political Council

1. We reject intimidation threats uttered by government spokesmen in the U.K. of Great Britain for violating the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, and the principles of international law.

2. Categorically reaffirm our support for the sovereign right of the Government of Ecuador to grant diplomatic asylum to citizen Julian Assange.

3. We express our opposition to the U.K.’s position of trying to resolve in a manner contrary to international law, disputes with the nations of the world, particularly Latin America and the Caribbean.

4. We support the request for the invitation of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to discuss the hostile position of the Government of the United Kingdom against the Government of the Republic of Ecuador, and set a clear position of support for Ecuador.

5. We believe in promoting relevant United Nations a broad debate about the inviolability of diplomatic premises and full respect by all States of the principles of international law.

6. We warn the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain about the serious consequences that would be triggered worldwide, in case of a direct attack on the territorial integrity of the Republic of Ecuador in London.

7. We call on all governments in the world, Social Movements, the intelligentsia, to oppose this new claim of the British Government to impose by force its will on sovereign nations of the World.

8. We promise to do our best to give the widest publicity with this declaration.

Members of ALBA: Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Dominica, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Antigua & Barbuda.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

LIBOR: Japan orders investigation

17 August 2012, the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) ordered an investigation into TIBOR, or Tokyo Inter-Bank Offered Rate.

It’s a system similar to Britain’s LIBOR, and tries to regulate interest and currency rates.

18 financial institutions in Japan have been ordered to reveal their TIBOR operations. Specifically the FSA is looking for evidence that bank employees unfairly manipulated rates.  FSA is concerned about the credibility of the TIBOR system.

The Japanese Bankers Association gave an immediate response to the order, saying their were no TIBOR irregularities, despite the European and U.S. investigations into TIBOR.

U.S.

West Nile update, 17 August 2012: 80% of those infected don’t know they have it! Bees dying by the thousands! Union Pacific worker gets nearly $1 million! Drought to blame

“The higher the heat and the higher the humidity then the longer this will go.”-Phil Smith, Bucks County

More cases of West Nile virus being reported in the United States.

17 August, Bucks County, Pennsylvania reports first case for 2012.

17 August, New Haven, Connecticut reports first case for 2012.

17 August, Alabama officials reveal that at least six people have West Nile.

More mosquitoes were found infected with West Nile in Massachusetts.  Spraying to kill the blood suckers will begin in North Leominster on 20 August.

Health officials in Virginia are warning that as many as 80% of those infected don’t know it, and that: “20% have West Nile fever. About 10% of that 20% will have West Nile virus encephalitis and this can be very very life threatening.”-Jorge Arias, Fairfax County Health Department

In Texas, a Union Pacific (UP) railway employee was awarded $980,000 USD, for getting infected with West Nile virus while on the job.  The jury decided UP was 80% responsible because they made employees work in a swampy area with no insect repellant.

Bee keepers in Texas are reporting that spraying to kill mosquitoes is killing thousands of honey bees: “They will share their food and within 24 or 48 hours, 80% of those bees have shared that and they will be gone like the ones that we have witnessed.”-Susan Pollard, The Texas Honeybee Guild

The Texas cities of Grapevine, Colleyville and Southlake all reported human cases of West Nile virus.  The city of Southlake is providing free larvicide on a first come first served basis.

Horses are also becoming infected: “The horse will become unsteady on his feet, maybe stumbling, acting weak on the feet, laying down and not able to get up, sometimes depressed at first, and not interested in their food.”-Will Hadden, Gresham Veterinary Hospital

Dogs can get infected as well, but there is no vaccine for dogs.

In Arkansas, officials expect West Nile cases to grow.  They have a new theory as to why, the country wide drought: “One possible explanation could be with water sources drying up, the sources that are where not only mosquitoes are concentrated but also birds are concentrated. It puts the vectors in closer contact with one another.”-Susan Weinstein, state public health veterinarian

Oregon health officials reporting that mosquitoes in Jackson and Malheur counties tested positive for West Nile.

The Minnesota Department of Health reports 18 human cases so far.

Caddo Parish, in Louisiana, reporting second highest number of West Nile cases in the state. Human infections in Louisiana now at 92.

North Dakota reports 14 human cases, five people hospitalized.  Horses and birds also infected (birds are actually the source for West Nile virus).  Officials are puzzled because the state is in a drought: “Normally, you would think in years when it’s wetter, like last year with all the flooding there would be more West Nile cases, because mosquitoes require water to breed.”-Alicia Lepp, North Dakota Department of Health

Michigan has reported their first death from the virus, they blame the drought: “The unusually hot and dry summer has favored the mosquitoes that transmit WNV. These same conditions have led to a reduction in the number of nuisance mosquitoes which are more abundant during wet summers, giving citizens a false sense of security.”-Corinne Miller, Michigan Department of Community Health

Indiana reported its first death due to the virus. A survivor describes what the symptoms are like: “It feels like somebody has lodged an axe in my brain. Just about the time I think I’m out of the woods, then something else comes along, and we have to fight that, too.”-Katharyn DeVille

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Ecuador to pursue legal action against Britain, over Julian Assange asylum

17 August 2012, Ecuadorian presidential staff adviser, Alexis Mera, announced: “We are open to discuss with Britain the solution to this problem, and if there is no diplomatic solution, we may resort to the International Court of Justice.”

Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patino, also said that the Swedish sex crimes trial is just a ruse, that Assange would be handed over to the United States as soon as he arrived in Sweden. This qualifies Assange for protection under the “fair trial” clause of the internationally accepted (excepted for the United Kingdom) asylum rules.

“They have to comply with diplomatic and legal obligations under the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and respect the sovereignty of a country that has granted asylum.”-Baltasar Garzon, Assange legal team

Fukushima

One Year Later: Japan to create Temp Towns to house victims of Fukushima Daiichi

17 August 2012, people forced to flee their homes, because of the General Electric designed nuclear disaster reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, have been living in temporary prefab homes.  Now the Japanese government wants to know if they will accept living in ‘temporary’ towns as well.

A year ago the ignorant Japanese government told nuclear evacuees that they’d be returning home in a few weeks or months.  It’s finally become clear to the exalted leaders that radiation contamination could last years. Some areas will exceed 20 millisieverts per year for at least a decade!

The Japanese government admits they are now considering the wishes of the evacuees for the first time!  At least 15,000 people can never go back to their homes, and the government says it is willing to build new villages for the victims.