statism watch

by Todd Howe, We Are Change Toronto
August 8, 2011

“They have cast all the mysteries and secrets of government… before the vulgar (like pearls before swine), and have taught both the soldiery and people to look so far into them as to ravel back all governments to the first principles of nature…” Clement Walker, on the English Revolution, 1661

From Miami with Love

Something very interesting happened this past April in an El Paso courtroom. There, a verdict was returned in the case of one Luis Posada Carriles, a man that has notably been described as the “Osama Bin Laden of Latin America” and “one of the most dangerous terrorists in recent history”. [1]

The circumstances of the case and the details of Posada’s extraordinary biography could be mistaken for the plot of an international thriller — there’s ample evidence of a long career in the business of international terrorism, including declassified FBI and CIA documents [2] and Posada’s on-the-record admission of involvement [3] in a string of hotel bombings in Havana. Add to that terrorism convictions by multiple governments that have found themselves in Posada’s crosshairs, an outstanding INTERPOL warrant, sundry bombings and other paramilitary attacks within Cuba and abroad. He ran guns to the Contras during their cross-border war with Nicuaragua, as exposed during the Reagan-era ‘Iran Contra’ scandal hearings [4]. He was caught flying 200 lbs of C4 plastic explosive into Panama City and convicted of a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro [5]. He’s connected with the bombing of Cubana Flight 455 in 1976 and the immolation of 78 people. [6]

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Quick, check under the bed, bomb more Pashtun civilians, ohgodwhateverittakes please save us.

Related: Washington Post: CIA Psyops Unit Created Fake Bin Laden Video, Discussed ‘Gay Saddam’ Campaign | U.S. can’t confirm latest ‘bin Laden’ tape authentic | Bin Laden not in Pakistan, says prime minister | U.S. ‘missed chance’ to capture bin Laden in 2001 | Another dubious Bin Laden tape: Obama ‘powerless’ in Afghanistan | Has Osama Bin Laden been dead for seven years — and are the U.S. and Britain covering it up to continue war on terror? | A Sibel Edmonds Bombshell — Bin Laden Worked for U.S. Until 9/11 | CIA: Bin Laden still in Pakistan | Al-Qaeda Chief In Iraq: Captured, Killed, Never Actually Existed, Now Captured Again | IntelCenter Releases Video of Former CIA Employee Zawahiri Threatening America | Delta Force Officer: We Weren’t Allowed to Kill Osama Bin Laden | Purported bin Laden tape decries Israel’s anniversary | Benazir Bhutto: Bin Laden Murdered | New Bin Laden Video: 100% Forgery | U.S. Government Caught Red-Handed Releasing Staged Al-Qaeda Videos | Swiss scientists 95% sure that Bin Laden recording was fake

CBC News
June 27, 2010

CIA Director Leon Panetta says al-Qaeda is probably at its weakest since the Sept. 11 attacks because of U.S.-led strikes, with only 50 to 100 militants operating inside Afghanistan and the rest hiding in Pakistan’s mountainous western border region.

Panetta said Sunday the U.S. hasn’t had good intelligence on Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts for years and that the terrorist network is finding smarter ways to try to attack the United States.

Of greatest concern, he said, is al-Qaeda’s reliance on operatives without previous records or those living in the U.S.

“We are engaged in the most aggressive operations in the history of the CIA in that part of the world, and the result is that we are disrupting their leadership,” Panetta told ABC television’s This Week.

The rare assessment from the U.S. spy chief comes as President Barack Obama builds up U.S. forces in Afghanistan to prop up the government and prevent al-Qaeda from returning. About 98,000 U.S. troops will be in Afghanistan by fall.

Panetta initially said in the interview that the Taliban leadership was at its weakest point since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when it escaped from Afghanistan into Pakistan. He later corrected himself to say he was talking about al-Qaeda.

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Yes, Israeli insurgency against British occupation in land they considered it their G-d given right to hold (sound familiar?) was called terrorism in its day. Go look it up. The insurgents? terrorists? freedom fighters? of yesteryear are in power today in the Likud party, and practically every other state besides. Occupation. Apartheid. Insurgency. It’s the oldest game. Those who don’t learn from history (and can’t see the standard kneejerk tactic of established power in labelling all direct action as ‘terrorism’) are doomed to repeat it. And to wallow in ignorance besides.

Related: Bloody Sunday report released, UK soldiers may face prosecution over ‘72 massacre of Irish | Gaza flotilla attack: activist releases new footage | 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 | Finklestein: This Time We Went Too Far — Truth and Consequences in the Gaza Invasion | The truth about the Mossad | Dubai police call on Interpol to help arrest Mossad head | Terror of innocent Britons named as assassins: Why choose us, ask men whose identities were stolen during alleged Israeli hit on Hamas official | Chomsky says Israel, ‘US military base’ | New book details Mossad false flag assassination attempt on Canadian passports | UN body endorses Gaza war crimes report | Unusually Large U.S. Weapons Shipment to Israel | Israeli troops kill apartheid wall protester

Daniel Tencer, Rawstory.com
June 26, 2010

A little-noticed comment in a New York Times interview with Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni has critics arguing that it shows the media has a “double standard” when it comes to terrorism.

In an interview published Tuesday, Livni, the leader of Israel’s centrist Kadima party, boasted that her parents, both members of the Zionist militant group Irgun in the 1940s, were the first couple to be married in the newly-formed state of Israel.

“Both of them were in the Irgun,” Livni said. “They were freedom fighters, and they met while boarding a British train. When the British Mandate was here, they robbed a train to get the money in order to buy weapons.”

To which New York Times reporter Deborah Solomon responded: “It was a more romantic era.”

“I’ve met interviewer Deborah Solomon — smart lady,” writes Philip Weiss, who brought attention to the comment on his blog. “I wonder whether she was inoculated, as I was, by Zionism, and to what degree. This is typically one-sided.”

Weiss points out that Irgun, which was fighting for the creation of a Jewish state, was responsible for the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1946. That attack killed 91 people, including US and British nationals, and is believed to remain to this day as the most deadly militant attack in the history of the conflict between Israel and its neighbors.

Irgun’s membership was absorbed into the Israeli Defence Force after the creation of Israel. Its political arm is a predecessor to today’s Likud party, whose leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, is prime minister of Israel.

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So they packed this guy and his wife away for the weekend becausehis twitter feed was analyzing surveillance? Is that what we’re reading here?

Related: Man charged in G20 probe gathered makings for volatile explosives, police charge | Police arrest ‘middle-aged white guy’ in G20 security raid | For more, see the G20 Coverage page feature

Anna Mehler Paperny, The Globe and Mail
June 25, 2010

Byron Sonne and Kristen Peterson make a most unlikely security threat

Byron Sonne and Kristen Peterson are life partners leading very different lives.

Mr. Sonne is a computer expert whose job is to delve deep into the realm of complex electronic security networks; in his spare time, he frequents “hackerspaces” and derides the way people are monitored in their everyday lives.

Ms. Peterson’s world is more creative: A visual artist with multiple degrees under her belt, she has become known for creating multimedia installations that make normal structures — a wall, a doorway — seem like what they’re not.

If he’s the daredevil hacker, she’s the one neighbours see gardening outside, who ensures he comes home on time.

Now both Mr. Sonne and Ms. Peterson are accused of planning ambitious, potentially deadly attacks just as Toronto launches headlong into the largest security undertaking in its history.

The charges police laid out against the couple this week accuse both of collecting ingredients to make powerful explosives commonly associated with terrorist bombings, as well as possessing potato guns with the aim of endangering the public. Mr. Sonne is also accused of mischief and two rare charges of intimidating members of the justice system.

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Related: Obama secretly deploys US special forces to 75 countries across world | White House approves assassination of cleric linked to Christmas bomb plot | Terror of innocent Britons named as assassins: Why choose us, ask men whose identities were stolen during alleged Israeli hit on Hamas official | Obama Making Plans to Use Executive Power | Dick Cheney ‘hid plans to kill al-Qaida operatives abroad’ | Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh describes ‘executive assassination ring’ that reported to Cheney | New book details Mossad false flag assassination attempt on Canadian passports

Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com
June 25, 2010

When The Washington Post‘s Dana Priest first revealed (in passing) back in January that the Obama administration had compiled a hit list of American citizens targeted for assassination, she wrote that “as of several months ago, the CIA list included three U.S. citizens.” In April, both the Post and the NYT confirmed that the administration had specifically authorized the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki. Today, The Washington Times‘ Eli Lake has an interview with Obama’s top Terrorism adviser John Brennan in which Brennan strongly suggests that the number of U.S. citizens targeted for assassination could actually be “dozens”:

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Related: Sacco and Vanzetti in Ottawa: How Media and Police are Politicizing the RBC Arson Case | Police push ahead with firebombing investigation | Three held in bank firebombing may face terrorism charges | Ottawa RBC firebomb case: I’m not linked to the attack, ex-government worker who rented SUV says | Bank firebomb suspects hung out briefly at Ottawa cafe | Toronto banks review G20 security after Ottawa RBC fire | RBC firebombed as protest, group claims

CBC News
June 25, 2010

One of the three men arrested in connection to a firebombing at a Royal Bank branch in Ottawa in May has been granted bail.

Bail for Claude Haridge was set at $100,000 Friday by an Ottawa judge, who attached the following conditions:

• He cannot go near any Royal Bank branch.
• He cannot go near the G20 meeting in Toronto.
• He must report to police daily.

The 50-year-old was charged with careless storage and handling of ammunition following his arrest in relation to the May 18 fire at a Royal Bank branch on Bank Street in the Glebe.

Another suspect in the firebombing, Roger Clément, 58, also appeared for a bail hearing on Friday. He has been charged with arson causing damage, possession of incendiary material and using explosives with intent to cause property damage and mischief.

A third man, 32-year-old Matthew Morgan-Brown, faces the same charges as Clément and is scheduled to make a court appearance next week.

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Did that headline get your attention? That’s National Post. How about this one: Man arrested near G20 security site. (Sun) Toronto Police Arrest Man With Weapons Near G-20 Zone (Bloomberg) Man with weapon-laden car held near G20 venue (Hindustan Times) And those are just a few of the national and international headlines making a big deal out of what was basically a homeless schizophrenic dude driving through Toronto in a crappy car, a fact that was not hard to divine. None of those sources have any sort of linked updates, but that’s how the news serves as a vehicle for propaganda – it gives people who merely scan headlines the wrong impression, because you need context for understanding. It was CityTV that revealed the guy was a homeless dude living out of his car – which explains the camping and hunting implements – and so that’s the article we’ll run with here. Always go to local news if you want the detail. Note that this journal is not saying the police weren’t doing their jobs in this case, harrying innocent campers on their way through downtown. The point is how the story is immediately picked up and how it plays to both domestic and foreign audiences, far more likely to remember the splash than the retraction.

Related: Sacco and Vanzetti in Ottawa: How Media and Police are Politicizing the RBC Arson Case | Ont. police track suspicious fertilizer purchase | Explosive chemicals not stolen prior to Olympics after all: RCMP | RCMP hasn’t closed book on missing potential explosive as Olympics loom | GPS game blamed for Ottawa bomb scare | ‘Bombs’ in Ottawa this weekend are just for training | Art student released on bail after bomb hoax

CityTV News
June 24, 2o10

A man arrested with suspicious materials near the G20 security zone is not linked to the G20 summit, authorities say.

Around 12:30pm Thursday, police pulled over a silver Hyundai Elantra near the Novotel hotel on the Esplanade, where workers had been picketing. The two events were unrelated.

It was a routine traffic stop, but officers soon discovered a chainsaw, sledgehammer, baseball bat, crossbow, arrows and gas canisters in the car. None of the items is illegal, but when the man could not say why he was driving around with them so close to the G20 security zone, he was arrested.

They shut down traffic to the area and the Emergency Task Force, hazmat and decontamination units were called to the scene.

Sources say the man is schizophrenic and lives in his car with his dog. He has been identified as Gary McCullough, 53, of Whitby.

McCullough has been charged with weapons dangerous. He will be appearing at the Finch Ave. courthouse Friday at 2pm.

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People in the UK aren’t allowed to photograph Christmas lights – meanwhile there are hundreds of thousands of CCTV cameras on surveillance posts and in shop windows watching them in Metro London alone.

Related: UK photographer films his own ‘anti-terror’ arrest | UK: Photographers protest over terror search laws | UK: Anti-terror stop and search policy ruled illegal by European human rights court | UK: From snapshot to Special Branch: how my camera made me a terror suspect | UK: Photographer questioned under anti-terror laws for taking pictures of Christmas lights | UK: Big fall in police use of stop-and search powers after outcry | Winnipeg police confiscate documentary filmmaker’s camera | Guardian reporter detained for taking picture of sea near Bilderberg conference | Police seizures of cameras prompts B.C. complaint | Police erased cellphone video of fatal shooting, witness alleges | Pre-Olympic transit ads encourage citizen surveillance | UK: Calling the police to account for anti-photography law | UK Terror Law To Make Photographing Police Illegal | Australian Citizen Journalist Charged for Filming Police under Anti-Terror Law | UK Big Brother police to get ‘war-time’ power to demand ID in the street | Charges laid after Winnipeg street blocked off for hours

Steve Watson, Infowars.net
June 24, 2010

Filming and taking photographs in public is not terrorism

An independent film maker and political activist refused to switch off his camera when he was stopped and searched by police in London recently, and captured footage that highlights how police use empty threats and vague language to enforce absurd terrorism laws.

Charlie Veitch of The Love Police was taken aside by a police officer while filming the outside the heavily protected gates of Downing Street. (Video below)

Rather than switch off his camera as ordered to by the officer, he continued to film, noting that it was his right to do so.

“That’s fine but under prevention of terrorism I do not want it pointing at me, otherwise I will seize it, end of conversation.” the officer replies.

This was the first utterly meaningless statement the officer makes, given that there is no provision under the Terrorism Act allowing police to seize cameras in public places or to stop people from filming them, unless they have reasonable suspicion that the person filming or taking pictures is a terrorist.

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It’s incredible how long and hard a fight this was for first responders, how so many of them were left to languish (and die) for so long.

Related: Judge: $575M settlement rejected for 9/11 heroes | 9/11 tentative deal for rescue workers reached

Cheryl Robinson, CNN
June 24, 2010

A U.S. district judge in New York approved a settlement Wednesday that could pay more than $700 million to thousands of 9/11 first responders exposed to toxic dust at ground zero.

Before approving the settlement Judge Alvin Hellerstein listened to testimony from a sampling of some of the 10,000 plaintiffs at Wednesday’s hearing about the health battles that have plagued them since working at the World Trade Center site.

“I intend to approve this settlement, and I now do so as a fair, adequate and reasonable settlement reflecting hard work and a concern for fairness by all parties,” said Hellerstein.

“It is fair in amount and fair in procedures,” he added.

Qualifying plaintiffs will be enrolled in a special insurance policy through MetLife that will pay up to $100,000 for certain blood and respiratory cancers diagnosed during the coverage period.

The amended settlement raises the total compensation for sick first responders from $625 million proposed in the March 11 settlement to $712 million and caps attorney fees to 25 percent of the total settlement.

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The charge of ‘intimidating justice system participants’ tells the story here – Sonne was pranking intelligence. Not the best idea, but if he had no intent to actually cause any harm as seems to be the case, the only charge that should stick is mischief. Ah, but let’s not forget now, that terrorism charges now discount

Related: Police arrest ‘middle-aged white guy’ in G20 security raid

Anna Mehler Paperny and Jill Mahoney, The Globe and Mail
June 24, 2010

‘There’s no way he was building bombs. He’s just not that kind of person’

For months, the man police are accusing of gathering the ingredients to create volatile explosives mused — in person and online — about testing the capabilities of Toronto’s G20 security.

Friends say Byron Sonne talked about obtaining the “chemical precursors” to explosives “in an attempt to purposefully raise flags and get ‘the man’ to take a look at me… but no luck,” as he wrote on an online forum for HackLab T.O. last fall.

It would seem “the man” looked.

Toronto police entered his Elderwood Drive home in Toronto’s tony Forest Hill neighbourhood with a warrant Tuesday; Mr. Sonne is now accused of obtaining the ingredients to make triacetone triperoxide — a powerful and volatile explosive used in 2001 by thwarted “shoe bomber” Richard Reid.

Mr. Sonne appeared in court in handcuffs on Wednesday, charged with mischief, possession of explosives, weapons and of intimidating “justice system participants” — the latter a rare charge associated with threatening or harassing judges, jurors and lawyers.

His bail hearing was pushed back to Saturday because the police investigation is still continuing. A publication ban has been placed on the proceedings.

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