statism watch

Aram Roston reports below that fully 10 percent of Pentagon logistics funds go directly to bribe the Taliban not to attack supply chains. See Jeremy Scahill – well known for his criticism of Blackwater – discuss this article on MSNBC. “We’re funding warlords, thugs,” says Scahill. That’s quite the cozy arrangement they’ve got over there. Hell, the US is funding Al-Qaeda in Iran, so why not the Taliban as well? It all begs the question – if American funds and weapons are killing Canadian soldiers, then what are we doing in the theatre? This story finally blows the lid off the lie. Are Canadians now going to figure out what a massive money-laundering scam this is before the war expands – or will we just keep supporting the lie and believing the propaganda because of the psychological block and trauma involved in facing up to the fact that our governments are a pack of criminals. And CSIS and the RCMP want more money to ‘fight terror’? Somewhere, the Comedian is laughing.

Flashback: Occupiers involved in drug trade: Afghan minister | Afghan leader’s corrupt brother paid by CIA, U.S. officials say | Pakistani Army working with ‘Good Taliban’ | French troops were killed after Italy hushed up ‘bribes’ to Taleban | Afghanistan Drug Raid Snares Border Police Commander | Afghanistan’s Hidden Heroin Addicts | Pakistani president Asif Zardari admits creating terrorist groups | Western Governments Funding Taliban & Al-Qaeda To Kill U.S. Troops, Destabilize Countries | Whistleblower Who Linked “Taliban” Leader To US Intelligence Is Assassinated | US arms sent to Afghan forces ‘in Taliban hands’ | Canada, allies will never defeat Taliban, PM says | Canadian troops could soon target Afghan drug trade: top soldier | Reports reveal concerns over drug use among Canadian military | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | Karzai’s kin linked to heroin trafficking | ‘Reconstruction’ efforts in Khandahar not apparent to Afghanis | Delta Force Officer: We Weren’t Allowed to Kill Osama Bin Laden | Afghani Narco-state Continues to Blossom under Puppet President | Report: U.S. Gave Green Light For Taliban Prison Attack | The Lies that Led to War | US Allowed Taliban, Al-Qaeda Airlift Evacuation

Aram Roston, The Nation
November 11, 2009

On October 29, 2001, while the Taliban’s rule over Afghanistan was under assault, the regime’s ambassador in Islamabad gave a chaotic press conference in front of several dozen reporters sitting on the grass. On the Taliban diplomat’s right sat his interpreter, Ahmad Rateb Popal, a man with an imposing presence. Like the ambassador, Popal wore a black turban, and he had a huge bushy beard. He had a black patch over his right eye socket, a prosthetic left arm and a deformed right hand, the result of injuries from an explosives mishap during an old operation against the Soviets in Kabul.

But Popal was more than just a former mujahedeen. In 1988, a year before the Soviets fled Afghanistan, Popal had been charged in the United States with conspiring to import more than a kilo of heroin. Court records show he was released from prison in 1997.

Flash forward to 2009, and Afghanistan is ruled by Popal’s cousin President Hamid Karzai. Popal has cut his huge beard down to a neatly trimmed one and has become an immensely wealthy businessman, along with his brother Rashid Popal, who in a separate case pleaded guilty to a heroin charge in 1996 in Brooklyn. The Popal brothers control the huge Watan Group in Afghanistan, a consortium engaged in telecommunications, logistics and, most important, security. Watan Risk Management, the Popals’ private military arm, is one of the few dozen private security companies in Afghanistan. One of Watan’s enterprises, key to the war effort, is protecting convoys of Afghan trucks heading from Kabul to Kandahar, carrying American supplies.

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Don’t these people know they’re complicit in twisting the culture of England into that of East Germany? Aren’t the thousands upon thousands of spy cameras in London sufficient? StatismWatch is keeping a focus on this issue because what’s adopted in London and New York eventually filters into Canada – unless we stop it. Look – there’s these creepy TV ads about spying on your neighbours to fight elder abuse. TAVIS police teams are already walking the beat in impoverished neighbourhoods, demanding ID from anyone they perceive to be loitering. . The TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) and Vancouver Olympic Committee are putting up posters exhorting citizen watchfulness. Because, you know, the terrorists and criminals and criminal terrorists and terrorist criminals are gonna getcha unless we lock the culture down. This is how it starts, people. Wake up.

Flashback: UK University student fined £80 for dropping matchstick on Oxford pavement | Embryonic EU security office set up in secret talks under Lisbon Treaty | UK: Garbage spies alarm neighbourhood | US Homeland Security: Terror fight needs public’s vigilance | UK: Big Brother state wants even more spy powers | ‘AmeriCorps’ Domestic Paramilitary Propaganda Ad | Scouts Train to Fight Terrorists, and More | London Police Encourage Citizens To Inform on Neighbour’s Garbage | UK Home Secretary unveils civilian anti-terrorism security force | Pre-Olympic transit ads encourage citizen surveillance | US Congress passes mandatory national service bill | New World Order Crony Gary Hart Calls for “Civic Duty” | UK: Civil servants attacked for using anti-terror laws to spy on public |Justin Trudeau introduces National Voluntary Service motion | US Democrats Introduce Public National Service Bills | ‘Environmental volunteers’ will be encouraged to spy on their neighbours | ‘Our People’ stand up for Putin | Vladimir Putin sets up nationalist Russian Youth brigade

Katharine Barney, London Evening Standard
November 11, 2009

A London council is recruiting 2,000 residents to report on their neighbours and join a growing network of “citizen snoopers” in the capital.

“Neighbourhood Champions” will be expected to pass on evidence of graffiti, fly-tipping, litter and excessive noise.

They could eventually be trained to report child abuse, domestic violence, racial harassment and other “hate crimes”.

The plan is expected to be approved this week in Harrow. The council says the scheme, which has the backing of the Met commander for the borough, will increase pride in the community.

But critics today raised fears over civil liberties, warning that it is the latest example of a surveillance society.

Susie Squires, of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “Community spirit and looking out for your neighbours is one thing, but snooping is another. Residents are already able to report nuisances as part of normal procedure. Taxpayers are sick and tired of being spied on. This creates distrust.”

Harrow is the latest London borough to ask residents to report bad behaviour. Islington has been running an environmental watchdog scheme since 2002 — with up to 1,200 recruits including children. Hillingdon claims to have 4,800 volunteers.

Harrow’s volunteers will log on to a special website to report suspicions. Details will be passed to council departments and enforcement action could be taken against offenders. Participants will be vetted and trained with the help of the police and council. Councillor Susan Hall, Harrow’s spokeswoman for environment services and community safety, said: “This is about extending more influence to our residents to help us deliver cleaner and safer streets.

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Transport Futures is back with the study that the Federal Government cancelled in the days before the last Federal Election. The regime didn’t want Canadians to know that they were pressing for international-style road tolls – yet Transport Canada was, and still is, a major backer of this ‘non-partisan thinktank’. They just wanted to keep things quiet so you didn’t get too upset. Well, we’re safely past election season, everyone’s forgotten the linkage, and that cancelled report has now been bought, paid for, and delivered – and the experts all concur that, yes, you must be tracked, taxed, and micromanaged. Just like in (totalitarian) Singapore, London, Stockholm and an entire list of cities presently falling under the spell of total electronic surveillance. Toronto, it seems, must fall in line. So release the pundits! Let the media propaganda campaign begin! (And neveryoumind the inconvenient fact that the fuel tTransportation Futures is back with the study that the Federal Government cancelled in the days before the last Federal Election. The regime didn’t want Canadians to know that they were pressing for international-style road tolls – yet Transport Canada was, and still is, a major backer of this ‘non-partisan thinktank’. They just wanted to keep things quiet so you didn’t get too upset. Well, we’re safely past election season, everyone’s forgotten the linkage, and that cancelled report has now been bought, paid for, and delivered – and the experts all concur that, yes, you must be tracked, taxed, and micromanaged. Just like in (totalitarian) Singapore, London, Stockholm and an entire list of cities presently falling under the spell of total electronic surveillance. Toronto, it seems, must fall in line. So release the pundits! Let the media propaganda campaign begin! (And neveryoumind the inconvenient fact that the fuel tax we’re already paying at the pump was supposed to be going towards road maintenance and infrastructure instead of general revenue.)

Flashback: Report suggests road tolls, parking and fuel taxes for GTA | EU urges use of tracking boxes for motorists | UK: Rothschild bank pitches motorway privatisation plan | Vancouver kicks off quest for ways to fund transportation system | Big Brother is watching: surveillance box to track drivers is backed | NY Times: Mileage Tax Would ‘Track Where Motorists Have Been’ | UK: ‘Spy-in-sky’ trials get the go-ahead despite Government promise to scrap road-pricing plan | Calls for GPS-tracked ’speed-limiting’ cars in UK | Oregon Governor Wants GPS-Tracked Vehicle Mileage Tax | Road tolls called ‘inevitable’ | Federal government stages another retreat on road tolls | Federal Road Toll Meeting Sponsorship Kept Quiet Until After Election | Metrolinx considering road tolls after all | GTA Transport Plan Defers Road Tolls, Focuses on Centralization, Intensification | Federal road-toll study announced, immediately cancelled on eve of election call | Global ‘Intelligent Transport’ initiative comes to your cellphone: Location data used to track traffic flow | GPS Mapping Systems Enable Police Tracking | Cities Debate Giving Away Public Infrastructure to Bankers | Bush Calls for New Highway Tolls, More Private Funding of Roads | Regional transit requires ‘good governance’ | Road tolls, a bitter pill that works | Is it time for toll roads? | Metrolinx Proposes Satellite Vehicle Tracking for Road Tolls | Vancouver to import road tolls from UK | UK proposes national road tolls to cut congestion | Motorists to pay London toll

Anna Mehler Paperny, The Globe and Mail
November 11, 2009

Options up for consideration at Transportation Futures conference include toll roads monitored by GPS and High Occupancy toll lanes

Innocent? They’ll only keep your DNA on file for six years. And if they want a piece of you indefinitely, then some legislative pretext will be found to label you a terror suspect – no trial, just by administrative fiat. How’s that for a compromise?

Flashback: UK: Home Office climbs down over keeping DNA records on innocent | UK: Police ‘must purge innocent DNA’ | UK: Police ‘arrest innocent youths for their DNA’, officer claims | UK: Fury as Commons denied vote on DNA database | UK: DNA details of 1.1m children on database | Controversial US measure would require DNA sampling at arrest | Police to demand blood, urine at roadside stops | Newborn Blood-Storage Law Stirs Fears of DNA Warehouse | Man spends 18 hours in police cell and has his DNA taken for ‘dropping an apple core’ | Widen DNA dragnet: Police Chief Blair

Alan Travis, The Guardian
November 11, 2009

Home Office says details of most other people arrested but not charged or convicted will be deleted after six years

Hundreds of suspects in terror and national security cases are to be excluded from plans to delete the DNA profiles of innocent people within six years of their arrest under Home Office plans announced today.

Instead, Home Office ministers are proposing that the suspects’ DNA profiles should remain on the national police database for life – a more draconian approach than the 12 years originally proposed.

“The reality is that many investigations of counter-terrorism actually take a very long time indeed. They have to be treated differently to other offences,” said the Home Office minister Alan Campbell.

The unexpected move on terror suspects came as the home secretary, Alan Johnson, confirmed he is proposing a retention period of six years for DNA profiles of those arrested by the police but not charged or convicted.

Previous proposals to keep DNA profiles of those arrested for serious violent and sexual offences for up to 12 years were withdrawn last month when they faced defeat in the House of Lords.

In the case of juveniles who are not cautioned or convicted of any offence, ministers are proposing those arrested for serious crimes have their DNA kept for six years, or three years for arrests over minor offences.

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