statism watch

Here we go again – another pair of angry young men radicalized under the patronage of the secret police and ready to jet off to some mythic shining world of jihad to fight epic battles of good and evil (in their view). It’s already a matter of public record that this fits the pattern of previous state-run terror cells with manipulable misfits inducted in the ways of terror paintball and wild boasts of violence. Almonte and Alessa were certainly big talkers and the police had been crawling all over them for four years. The question here is, was it the police informant that was encouraging their youthful, fevered dreams as in the cases of the Oz 5, 4 New Yorkers in May 2009, the Fort Dix plotters, and our own Toronto 18 – to name a few? It has come out that he hosted hand-to-hand combat training sessions at his home in New Jersey. But he may not have even had to do the heavy lifting to drive these two towards militancy, as they were apparently fans of Adam Gadahn and Anwar al-Awlaki. Pages could be written here about Gadahn and Awlaki, but suffice it to say that Gadahn (grandson of an ADL director, he beat up muslims in his youth yet experienced a dramatic conversion to Islam a couple of years back only to be trumpeted as the ‘American Al-Qaeda’ in the media) and Awlaki (who, despite his connections to the 9-11 hijackers experienced an amazing freedom of movement in the US and London, including having a warrant for his arrest rescinded upon being caught at JFK in 2002 and passed over for extradition when Yemen offered him up in 2006) are suspect in their own right. This is already shaping up to be a cookie-cutter case of manufactured terror for the domestic press. How long, do you figure, before the Pentagon cranks up its presence in Somalia? Stay tuned…

Related: Homegrown terrorist threat to be part of new US National Security Strategy | Jordanian teen to plead guilty in Dallas bomb case | Alt-Media Predictions Borne Out: FBI Agent Discovered at Center of Alleged Hutaree Conspiracy | Times Square Bomber Linked With CIA-Controlled Terror Group | Toronto 18 star witness grilled (again), accused of egging on gullible youngsters | Alleged second NYC subway bomb plotter Ahmedzay to plead guilty | Mumbai Terrorist Headley Was US Agent | Undercover policeman reveals how he infiltrated UK’s anti-racism activists | Arrested Terrorist Leader Exposes Extensive CIA Connections | Toronto 18 conspirator Shareef Abdelhaleem ‘not entrapped’, despite evident entrapment: judge | 5 Muslims jailed for Australian terror plot | Crotch Bomber Mutallab’s Visa Approved by State Department | Authorities Quietly Reverse Underwear Bomber Official Story | Walkom: Mole crucial to terror trial | Mumbai suspect is US double agent, India claims | Sears Tower ‘bomb plot’ ringleader sentenced to 13 years | Despite provocation taint, absence of plan, five men convicted of ‘terror plot’ in Australia’s longest trial | Links to ‘Al-Qaeda’, Pakistani training camps linger after ‘Toronto 18′ member imprisoned | Australian Army Base Terrorism Case ‘Exaggerated’ | Evasive Australian police quizzed whether covert operative was planted among terror suspects | ‘Imminent’ terror strike foiled in Australia | How MI5 blackmails British Muslims | New York “Terror Plot” Another Government Provocateured Set-Up | All 11 men arrested during anti-terror raids released without charge | Toronto 18 Terror case: RCMP agent Shaikh was instigator who broke law: defence | Five muslims face life for Fort Dix ‘terror plot’ orchestrated by FBI | Third Mole Surfacing in Toronto Terror Trial? | Australian ‘Terror Plot’ Case Bears Remarkable Similarities to ‘Toronto 18′ | FBI Informant in British terror trial given immunity, proceedings raise question of what MI5 knew about 2005 London bombings | Terror accused refuses to discuss links to Pakistan secret service, family threatened | British ‘Terror Suspects’ Were in Contact With MI5

Bruce Shipkowski, Matt Apuzzo, The Associated Press
June 6, 2010

Officials stop two New Jersey men bound for Somalia at New York’s JFK Airport

They were recorded talking jihad against their fellow Americans. But they hadn’t talked the jihadists into accepting them.

When the two New Jersey men tried to fly out of New York’s Kennedy Airport in hopes of getting terror training in Somalia, investigators who had been following them for years were waiting for each of them at the gate, officials said Sunday.

Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, 20, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 24, were arrested Saturday before they could board separate flights to Egypt and then continue on to Somalia, federal officials in New Jersey and the New York Police Department said.

They are the latest of several U.S. Muslims accused of joining or trying to join terrorist groups, radicalized with help from fellow Americans preaching violent jihad over the Internet.

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The timing of this article is interesting, coming as it does during a major surge in the US towards taxation and restriction of the online alternative media in favour of the dead-tree distribution model. This is bigger than just some hand-wringing over comment moderation – and the Globe’s comments section usually have a high level of discourse, depsite what this article may lead you to think. There’s a chill in the air over free speech online, and Ms. Jutras’ article plays tothat zeitgeist.

Related: US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | China Imposes New Internet Control | Death Of The Internet: Censorship Bills In UK, Australia, U.S. Aim To Block “Undesirable” Websites | We’re no thieves — despite what Rupert Murdoch claims, says Google | Google allows publishers to limit free content | FOX News owner’s media empire could block Google searches entirely | US Spec Ops operates psychological warfare websites targeted at UK | Murdoch CEO Labels Bloggers “Political Extremists” | Reuters Steps Up; Says Linking, Excerpting, Sharing Are Good Things For The News | Associated Press Tries To DRM The News | Should linking be illegal? | Bad news bearers warned to zip it by Kremlin | Italian Judge: Blogs are Illegal

Lisan Jutras, The Globe and Mail
June 6, 2010

On-line flamers are the cost of free speech, right? Or maybe we’ve had enough

It’s no surprise to anyone at this point that the Internet seethes with examples of people behaving badly. Psychologists even have a name for it: the online disinhibition effect, the result of a medium that encourages speed over reflection, and frequently goes hand-in-hand with anonymity and a lack of real consequences for bad behaviour.

But rude commenters are not just YouTube’s purview any more. Last week, while browsing my colleagues’ writing online in this paper, I stumbled across comments that a sixth grader might find a bit juvenile, including insults directed at the writer’s mother.

Two questions popped into my head immediately. One: Is this really what, underneath it all, people are like? And two: Does that somehow justify publishing it?

It’s not just me. We seem to have collectively reached the limits of our tolerance for flame wars and sub-par wisecracks. Where once free speech in comment sections was the rule, it may soon be the exception: Two weeks ago, the Regina Leader-Post switched to a more heavily moderated model of commenting. The New York Times and Washington Post both recently did the same.

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Bill Gates attended this year’s conference under the pretext of going to a health conference in Europe, which in fact turned out to be a sham – Gates admitted he was attending Bilderberg (along with his CTO) under questioning by Barcelona media. Did Stephen Harper’s European trip include a side trip to his old Bilderberg haunts? Canadians officially in attendance are noted by boldfaced text below. Included: CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge, TD Bank officials, the CEO of Metrolinx, and Heather Reisman (as usual). As Bilderberg writes in their press release (a recent innovation), The Conference will deal mainly with Financial Reform, Security, Cyber Technology, Energy, Pakistan, Afghanistan, World Food Problem, Global Cooling, Social Networking, Medical Science, EU-US relations.

Related: Bilderberg Agenda Revealed: Globalists In Crisis, Supportive Of Attack On Iran | Bilderberg 2010: Why the protesters are your very best friend | Bilderberg 2010: The security lockdown begins | Secretive Bilderberg Club ready for protests | Dublin Trilateral attendees let slip need for world govt, war with Iran, Bilderberg oversight | Tucker: Bilderberg To Meet in Spain, Prolong Global Financial Recession For Another Year

Bilderberg Meetings
June 6, 2010

Sitges, Spain 3-6 June 2010
Final List of Participants

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Related: Freedom flotilla assault timeline unclear, Israel holding confiscated video evidence | Israel’s seizure of Gaza aid boat Rachel Corrie sparks further condemnation | Autopsy: Gaza flotilla activists were shot in head at close range | Gaza flotilla activists unarmed: Canadian | Gaza flotilla attack: British activists tell of abuse by Israelis | Israel to reject UN call for flotilla raid probe, MV Rachel Corrie under steam | IDF: ‘Activists threw stun grenades’ | Israel to deport all detained aid flotilla activists by end of day | Ex-Mossad agent: Gaza flotilla raid ’so stupid it’s stupefying’ | Knesset member and eyewitness: Israel fired before boarding ship | Protests in Middle East, Europe, follow deadly Israeli attack on flotilla as UN convenes emergency session | Israeli troops attack ship carrying aid to Gaza killing 16 | Israeli navy prepares for action as activists’ flotilla nears Gaza | George Galloway, on aid mission to Gaza, is deported from Egypt | Cynthia McKinney Demands Immediate Release After Her Gaza-Bound Boat is Seized by Israeli Navy | Israeli troops kill apartheid wall protester | Gaza relief boat carrying former Congresswoman rammed by Israelis | Former US congresswoman, presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney barred from boarding plane to human rights conference

The Canadian Press
June 6, 2010

Ottawa criticized for ‘shameful’ stance

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists took to the streets across Canada on Saturday, angry at what they call the federal government’s tepid response to Israel’s blockade and raids on ships carrying aid for Gaza.

Protesters marched through Montreal’s downtown core with Palestinian and Turkish flags held high. They chanted “Free Palestine” and “Boycott Israel” and halted traffic.

Laith Marouf, a long-time pro-Palestinian activist and one of the organizers of the protest, accused the Conservative government of taking orders from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The Canadian government’s stance has been very disturbing,” he said. “It is unfortunate the Canadian government does not stand up for international law.”

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Most governments (excepting, perhaps, Dubai) would provide a glossy brochure, but no, we have to build a scale replica of Muskoka. If it’s fun and artifice they wanted, why didn’t they just hold the G20 at Canada’s Wonderland. Then they could have had rollercoasters and a waterfall, too. What a debacle.

Related: Toronto police show off G20 summit security | 1,100 private security guards to work G8-G20 summits | Toronto Police to take up to $100-million of G20 security funds | Toronto police buy four ’sound cannons’ for G20 | Toronto and Muskoka G8/20 Summit security costs hit $1.1B | Toronto streets get 77 more surveillance cameras for G20 | Fighter jets buzz Toronto, Muskoka in G20 test runs | Small army to protect Toronto during G20 summit | RCMP needs 5,500 rooms during G20 summit | G8/G20: Gearing up for the biggest security event in Canadian history

The Canadian Press
June 6, 2010

Reporters covering this month’s G20 and G8 summits in Ontario will be able to take a break at an artificial lake, without leaving the air conditioned splendour of the media centre in Toronto.

It’s part of what summit organizers call the “Canadian corridor,” described as a “powerful exhibit” that will showcase Canadian investment opportunities and local points of interest.

Design photos show a lake surrounded by fake canoes and lawn chairs while another exhibit in the corridor shows a mock TSX.

According to a document from summit organizers, the rustic northern scene is a way to showcase Ontario’s Muskoka region, where the G8 is being held, to the many reporters who won’t get out of the Toronto media centre.

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Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist the Mavi Marmara was full of terrorist sympathizers spoiling for a fight as he rejects an international inquiry into the events of that bloody morning. Iran, meanwhile, has stupidly offered military escort to any future aid convoys to Gaza, fueling paranoia that Gaza will become a beachhead and weapons drop for Iranian forces. Bay of Pigs, anyone?

Update: It came to light today as well that Israel has admitted to editing (not doctoring) the audio released of ship-to-ship communications prior to the attack. Sharp-eared citizens online had already commented on the audio disconnects between communications of known persons on the aid flotilla and anti-semitic comments, which Free Gaza accuses the Israeli government of inserting. While Israel denies this, it admits it is unable to confirm the source of the comments since the channel used was an open channel, and so any vessel in the water, or anyone on land within range, could have jumped in with a comment.

Related: Israel’s seizure of Gaza aid boat Rachel Corrie sparks further condemnation | Autopsy: Gaza flotilla activists were shot in head at close range | Gaza flotilla activists unarmed: Canadian | Gaza flotilla attack: British activists tell of abuse by Israelis | Israel to reject UN call for flotilla raid probe, MV Rachel Corrie under steam | IDF: ‘Activists threw stun grenades’ | Israel to deport all detained aid flotilla activists by end of day | Ex-Mossad agent: Gaza flotilla raid ’so stupid it’s stupefying’ | Knesset member and eyewitness: Israel fired before boarding ship | Protests in Middle East, Europe, follow deadly Israeli attack on flotilla as UN convenes emergency session | Israeli troops attack ship carrying aid to Gaza killing 16 | Israeli navy prepares for action as activists’ flotilla nears Gaza | George Galloway, on aid mission to Gaza, is deported from Egypt | Cynthia McKinney Demands Immediate Release After Her Gaza-Bound Boat is Seized by Israeli Navy | Israeli troops kill apartheid wall protester | Gaza relief boat carrying former Congresswoman rammed by Israelis | Former US congresswoman, presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney barred from boarding plane to human rights conference

Catrina Stewart, The Independent
June 6, 2010

Protesters say Israel had an assassination list. Israel says soldiers fired only in self-defence. So what really happened on 31 May?

Jamal Elshayyal, a journalist with al-Jazeera, woke with a start to the opening salvos of an Israeli assault that would transform the decks of the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish vessel bound for Gaza, into a bloodbath.

From the ship’s position deep in international waters, satellite images of Israeli speedboats and helicopters approaching the vessel were beamed across the globe before communications were abruptly cut off, leaving the events on the Marmara to unfold away from the eyes of the world.

Six days after the bloody assault that left nine foreign protesters, mainly Turks, dead, nobody can recount with any conviction precisely what happened that night. The convoy of ships, whose passengers included writers, politicians and journalists, had been expected for weeks, with organisers loudly broadcasting their plans to run Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip and draw international attention to the situation there.

From the beginning, it was clear that Israeli forces were concentrating in their largest numbers on the Marmara, a ship carrying some 550 peace activists. The remaining five boats were much smaller and easily commandeered. After the Marmara was subdued, the passengers silenced, and their recording equipment confiscated, Israel disseminated a carefully choreographed account of the events that night that would dominate the airwaves for the first 48 hours.

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Do MEPs extend to Access to Information requests? The arduous MEP process would explain some of the delay that has been plaguing the Access to Information process. The Privy Council Office, the bureaucratic and logistical centre of operations for the Federal government, was recently in the news as overseeing control of the Afghan detainee documents as well.

Related: Prime Minister’s Office tells Tory MPs not to answer Citizen reporter’s questions on expenses | Canada’s new information czar vows to take on delays in access system | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Cabinet ministers’ offices regularly interfere in access to information requests, says Tory staffer | Conservatives accused of hiding information | Aspiring government economists must reveal views on stimulus plan | Ottawa won’t budge on secrecy laws | McGuinty won’t deny political interference with Freedom of Information requests | Canadian media watched closely in Afghanistan | Information commissioner quits, Ottawa chided for lacking ‘guts’ | Canadian Parliament Threatens People For Posting Video Of Proceedings Online | Government secrecy ‘grim,’ watchdog says | Watchdog alarmed by Harper’s information clampdown | Listeria files withheld due to ’systemic’ problems with access to information | Public access vs. government secrecy the issue in Supreme Court of Canada case | Radical change needed in privacy protection, Ont. watchdog says | Files tagged as `sensitive’ cause unfair delays, watchdog says | Tentacles of Secrecy Grip Tightly | Parliament losing power, author says | Over 100 complaints about access to govt. info on Afghan mission: report | Information lockdown: How Harper Controls the Spin | Tories kill access to information database | Harper to create government-run media centre: report

Mike Blanchfield, Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press
June 6, 2010

An MP’s Sunday afternoon visit to a seniors’ home. The federal purchase of powerful new military aircraft. A journalism student’s innocuous query about Africa.

One thing connects them all – the Conservative government scripted each event using a potent but little-known communication tool called the Message Event Proposal.

The Canadian Press has obtained almost 1,000 pages of MEPs from several government departments, including the Privy Council Office, under the Access to Information Act. The PCO, the bureaucratic nerve centre of Ottawa, has been conscripted by an increasingly powerful Prime Minister’s Office to vet requests for public events across the federal government.

The MEPs have blurred the time-honoured separation of non-partisan public servants and political staffers and sidelined seasoned government communicators, sapping morale across the civil service.

They have become the political tool for literally putting words in the mouths of cabinet ministers, federal bureaucrats, low-profile MPs on the barbecue circuit, and seasoned diplomats abroad.

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