Oops: White House spokesman admits telecoms spied

John Byrne
Raw Story
Wednesday February 13, 2008

Oops.

On the eve of a vote to give telephone companies immunity for their alleged participation in the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretap program, White House spokesperson Dana Perino admitted that the companies actually spied.

Because they were patriotic.

"The telephone companies that were alleged to have helped their country after 9/11 did so because they are patriotic and they certainly helped us and they helped us save lives," Perino told reporters at Tuesday's press briefing.

The admission, while possibly a verbal slip-up, was first noticed by Ryan Singer, of Wired.

The Senate gave the phone companies immunity by a 69-29 vote. It passed wiretapping bill in its entirety just before 6pm ET, 68-29.

Earlier this afternoon, the immunity measure's staunchest opponent, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), announced he would abandon his effort to block the bill with a filibuster, arguing that the House, which has passed an immunity-free bill, would be a better place to try to strip immunity from Congress's final piece of legislation.

"We lost every single battle we had on this bill," Dodd said on a conference call Tuesday with reporters and bloggers. "And the question is now, Can we do better with the House carrying the ball on this bill?"

The bill to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, including a provision granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that facilitated government spying, passed the Senate on a 68-29 vote Tuesday evening.

Afghans To Be Spied On Like The Rest Of Us

Invaded, conquered peasants share big brother's glare with the "free world"
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

If it's good enough for the population of the so-called "free world" then it must be OK for the poor broken-backed bombed to smithereens peasants in Afghanistan - a big brother camera surveillance network to watch over them for their safety.

"The U.S. Government is contemplating a massive video surveillance project for the country of Afghanistan that would establish surveillance over all major thoroughfares in Kabul, the capital city, as well as all U.S. and multinational camps, traffic circles and Afghan ministry compounds," reports Government Security News.

"The surveillance apparatus would provide a 24/7 command and control system that would enable authorities to track personnel and identify vehicles with the use of license plate recognition systems."

Why license plate recognition systems are necessary for a country that still uses donkey carts as its main form of travel is on the face of it a little baffling, but if we consider the main purpose of why cameras proliferate in the developed world it begins to make sense.

The indentured Afghan people need to stop resisting and learn to accept the fact that the U.S. and NATO have carved their country up into a failed narco-state to reinvigorate the formerly lapsing opium trade and enable the survival of the Golden Triangle drug trade.

The cameras are a way of reminding them who their bosses are and that the controllers are always one step ahead because big brother sees all, just as they are a tool to shape the compliant behavior of the plebs in the west and make them wary of expressing basic freedoms like the right to peaceably assemble and protest.

The genesis of the system can be traced back to the "Combat Zones That See" program, which was announced a few months after the invasion Iraq and was dubbed an, "Urban surveillance system that would use computers and thousands of cameras to track, record and analyze the movement of every vehicle in a foreign city."

According to the report, it could also "easily be adapted to spy on Americans," which some would argue is already happening anyway via a myriad of different methods. This new program is seemingly just a way of centralizing and collating the spy network into one central hub.

The fact that the invaded and conquered Afghan people, who continue to live under a state of martial law nearly seven years later, should be treated the same as those here in "the land of the free," provides a clue as to how our "elected representatives" see us just as wardens of the state, to be surveilled, regulated and catalogued just as the Third Reich did to the Jews in pre-war 1930's Nazi Germany.

Planning Underway for an EU-USA Common Market

Bill Hahn
JBS
Wednesday February 13, 2008

The Transatlantic Policy Network seeks EU-style integration for the European Union and the USA by 2015.

Follow this link to the original source: "Creating a Transatlantic Common Market"

Even with all of the recent attention given to the North American Union (NAU) and its deep integration of trade markets in Canada, Mexico and the USA, it seems another effort at trade integration is underway. This time the plan is for greater integration of the European Union and the United States, and much like the Security and Prosperity Partnership of the NAU, the Transatlantic Union (TAU) is being quietly created.

According to an exclusive at TheNewAmerican.com, a little known NGO (non governmental organization) called the Transatlantic Policy Network, has been working behind the scenes to advance plans to merge the United States with Europe. The article states, "Working carefully, if quietly, since the early 1990s, the organization has moved quickly to gain the agreement of leaders on both sides of the ocean that further integration is necessary and desirable. Now, the organization is much closer to achieving its goals than anyone would suspect."

A paper published early last year by the organization entitled, "Completing the Transatlantic Market," states: "It is time for a complementary, top down approach to transatlantic cooperation through a joint commitment by the European Union and the United States to a roadmap for achieving a Transatlantic Market by 2015 and creation of an overarching framework for dialogue and action to achieve that goal."

The big difference between the NAU and the TAU is that Congress has already passed legislation embracing the TAU concept. H. Res. 390 was passed in late 2003 and states that the "United States and the European community are aware of their shared responsibility, not only to further transatlantic security, but to address other common interests such as environmental protection, poverty reduction, combating international crime and promoting human rights, and to work together to meet those transnational challenges which affect the well-being of all." To do this, TheNewAmerican.com points out that laws and regulations would need to be harmonized before any integration could begin.

While Americans were alarmed at this step in the NAU, especially considering how Mexico would need to be brought up to the US and Canada’s standards, we need to be similarly alarmed at the effort to meld the US into a transatlantic common market. Remember that the EU started as a common market that has now morphed into EU citizens not being able to vote on a new constitution, not having local representation (Parliament is forced to regularly travel to Brussels to approve or disapprove a mountain of legislation that they have not seen before) and not having individual national sovereignty for each of the 27 member countries. Rather, all countries are lumped together under a centralized EU bureaucracy.

The political union of Europe did not appear over night, but it did evovle from a European common market. Likewise, the U.S. would not likely undergo a political merger with Europe in the short term. But the natural progression, as demonstrated by the experience of Europe since World War II, is for economic union of the type required for a common market to lead, inexorably, to political union at some point in the future. This is just the sort of entangling alliance the Founding Fathers warned us about. They intended the USA to be independent of Europe. Present day Americans would do well to heed their wisdom.

London death mystery of Putin enemy

Robert Mendick
London Evening Standard
Wednesday February 13, 2008

A London-based billionaire who feared he was about to be murdered has been found dead at his Surrey home.

Badri Patarkatsishvili, 52, who made his £6billion fortune in his native Georgia, said recently of his political enemies: "I believe they want to kill me."

He was an opponent of Russian president Vladimir Putin but the most likely threat is believed to come from Georgia. He is charged there with plotting a coup after standing unsuccessfully against president Mikhail Saakashvili in elections.

Mr Patarkatsishvili is a close friend of Boris Berezovsky, another so-called oligarch who is also an outspoken critic of Mr Putin.

Mr Patarkatsishvili appeared in good health during a four-hour meeting held in the City yesterday with Mr Berezovsky and two other exiled tycoons, Nikolay Glushkov and Yuli Dubov, all wanted in Moscow.

Mr Patarkatsishvili said in December that he had 120 bodyguards but did not feel safe anywhere. Lord Goldsmith, the former Attorney General, who was acting for Mr Patarkatsishvili, said he was taking the death threats "very seriously". Mr Patarkatsishvili had claimed he had obtained a tape recording of an official in his country's interior ministry asking a Chechen warlord to murder him while he was London.

Lord Bell, the PR guru and Mr Patarkatsishvili's spokesman, who was at the City meeting, said today: "The death needs to be investigated. He had advised police recently that he was fearful of an assassination attempt.

"He appeared in good health at the meeting. At one point during the meeting he complained he was a little overcome by the warmth of the room and left to get some fresh air. Knowing Badri he was probably having a cigarette. When he came back he seemed absolutely fine and full of energy."

Lord Bell said Mr Patarkatsishvili was found dead at his £10million home called Norbury Park near Leatherhead at about 11pm last night of a suspected heart attack. Surrey police are investigating and are treating his death as suspicious. Mr Patarkatsishvili lived there with his wife with whom he had two children.

Mr Patarkatsishvili was seen as a driving force behind anti-government protests in Georgia in November and was under investigation on charges of plotting to overthrow the government. He denied the accusations but acknowledged offering large sums of money to police to side with protesters. The protests were violently broken up by police.

Full article here.

Toss From Wheelchair Brings Jail Suspensions

MIKE WELLS
Tampa Tribune
Wednesday February 13, 2008

TAMPA - A deputy roughly dumps a man out of a wheelchair, and he tumbles to the floor.

Brian Sterner lands on his ribs, then rolls over and lies on his back while Hillsborough County Detention Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones checks his pockets before she and another deputy put him back in the chair.

These moments were recorded Jan. 29 by cameras in Orient Road Jail. The video has repulsed many and resulted in the suspension of Marshall-Jones, a 44-year-old deputy with 22 years on the job, and her supervisors.

Sterner, 32, can drive a car, but he hasn't been able to walk for 14 years.

He said he told Marshall-Jones as much when he was booked into jail on a traffic-related charge.

She didn't believe him, he said.

Sheriff David Gee said he was at a loss for words after viewing the video.

"This was not a training issue," Gee said late Tuesday. "It's a human decency issue. I can't imagine any explanation she might have.

"It's like being a blackjack dealer in Vegas," the sheriff said of the surveillance system. "I put those cameras in there for a reason. They're to protect the deputies as much as the suspects who are brought in."

Deputies arrested Sterner, 32, on a warrant from Tampa police at his home in Riverview. He posted bail and was freed Feb. 3.

Gee said he was told by his staff that Marshall-Jones has a good record and there have been no similar complaints against her.

The sheriff is in Jacksonville at a Florida Sheriff's Association meeting, leaving Chief Deputy Jose Docobo in command.

After watching the tape Monday, Docobo ordered Marshall-Jones to be immediately suspended without pay, he said. Three of her supervisors who were visible on the tape were suspended with pay.

'Indefensible, At Every Level'

"The actions are indefensible, at every level," Docobo said. "Based on what I saw, anything short of dismissal would be inappropriate."

Sterner's attorney, John Trevena, said he wants Marshall-Jones charged with felony battery and wants her supervisors to be disciplined and to undergo mandatory retraining so that this kind of incident is not repeated.

Gee said he spoke to Trevena early Tuesday evening and conveyed his feelings on the matter.

"I'm embarrassed, professionally and personally," the sheriff said. "I can't offer an explanation."

An internal affairs investigation is reviewing the actions by Marshall-Jones and the three supervisors: Cpl. Decondra Williams, 36; Cpl. Steve Dickey, 45; and Sgt. Gary Hinson, 51. Investigators had not interviewed the deputy or her supervisors, Docobo said.

No reports were filed about the incident, so investigators are trying to determine what the supervisors knew, Docobo said. Each of the three appears at various times on the video, but none intervenes with Marshall-Jones. Dickey walks into the frame from the side and appears to smile as he walks away.

"That none of the supervisors acted upon what they saw is of great concern," Docobo said. "This is not the norm at the sheriff's office. It's an aberration."

Full article here.

IMF warning for developing world

IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn addressed economists in New Delhi

BBC
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that emerging economies will not be immune from a slowdown among wealthier nations.

In a speech in New Delhi, IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the links between the West and countries such as India remain strong.

As a result the US slowdown will effect developing nations, he argued.

To cope with that, he advised emerging nations to manage their finances and regulatory systems carefully.

Strong links

According to the IMF, in the past a 1% decline in US growth had led to a decline in growth in emerging economies by between 0.5% and 1%, depending on trade and financial links to the US.

But some argue that link has weakened, and countries such as China and India have "de-coupled" from the West.

The reasoning is based on statistics that show developing countries trade more among themselves than ever before.

But in his speech Mr Strauss-Kahn said that often goods traded among developing nations are eventually exported to the US or Europe.

He also warned that emerging nations need to make sure their finances are in order and their regulatory systems can cope in case of a slowdown.

Last month the IMF lowered its forecast for global economic growth in 2008 to 4.1%, after nearly 5% last year.

In the US, the IMF predicts annual growth will be below 1% by the final quarter of the year.

IMF boss warns of tough times ahead

Wednesday, February 13th 2008

TRINIDAD EXPRESS

The International Monetary Fund has issued a warning to all citizens of Caribbean countries to brace themselves for the upcoming economic fall-out which will come with the pending US recession. According to the fund's website reports, IMF managing director, Murilo Portugal said last week a recession in the United States would have a significant effect of the economies and day-to-day life in all Caribbean states. He said, "Of course a slowing down of the US economy has a significant impact, for instance on tourism." While on his most recent visit to the Caribbean which ended yesterday, Portugal also cautioned that a decrease in foreign direct investment will come along with the recession. He said, "In addition to tourism the other factor by which the Caribbean can be affected is through foreign direct investment which is important to the region as it provides them with a lot of their cash flows, especially in the construction industry."

Mortgage applications down 2.1% last week: MBA

ORLANDO, Fla. (MarketWatch) -- Mortgage applications decreased a seasonally adjusted 2.1% last week compared with the previous week, as mortgage interest rates broadly increased, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's most recent survey, released on Wednesday.

Applications were up an unadjusted 65% in the week ended Feb. 8 compared with the same week in 2007, the Washington-based industry group reported.

Mortgage applications to refinance an existing loan were down 3.0% last week, compared with the previous week, according to the MBA survey. Applications to purchase a home eased a seasonally adjusted 0.3%.

The four-week moving average for all loans was up 3.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis, reflecting improvement in refinancing filings.

Refinancings accounted last week for 67.4% of all applications, down from 69.2% the previous week. Adjustable-rate mortgage applications increased to 9.9%, up from 8.8% the previous week.

The interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.72% last week, up from 5.61% the previous week. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also rose, averaging 5.18%, up from 5.09%.

One-year ARMs averaged 5.72% last week, up from 5.62% the previous week.

The MBA survey covers about half of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications.

Danish Muhammad cartoon reprinted

The row saw Danish flags being burnt in Muslim states

BBC
Danish newspapers have reprinted one of several caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad which sparked violent protests across the Muslim world two years ago.

They say they wanted to show their commitment to freedom of speech after an alleged plot to kill one of the cartoonists behind the drawings.

Three suspects were held in Denmark on Tuesday "to prevent a murder linked to terrorism", officials said.

The cartoons were originally published by Jyllands-Posten in September 2005.

Danish embassies were attacked around the world and dozens died in riots that followed.

'Defiant'

Jyllands-Posten and several other leading newspapers - including Politiken and Berlingske Tidende - reprinted the caricature in their Wednesday editions.

I have turned fear into anger and resentment Kurt Westergaard Cartoonist

The cartoon depicts Muhammad wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with a lit fuse.

"We are doing this to document what is at stake in this case, and to unambiguously back and support the freedom of speech that we as a newspaper will always defend," Berlingske Tidende said.

One Danish tabloid published all 12 drawings, the Associated Press news agency reported.

On Tuesday, the head of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (Pet), Jakob Sharf, said its operatives had carried out pre-dawn raids in the Aarhus region.

The three suspects - two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan origin - had been detained "after lengthy surveillance", he added.

The Danish citizen will be released pending further investigation, while the Tunisians will be held until they are expelled from the country.

The Pet did not identify the target of the alleged plot, but the online edition of Jyllands-Posten said its cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard, was the focus.

The newspaper, based in Aarhus, said Mr Westergaard, 73, and his 66-year-old wife, Gitte, had been under police protection for the past three months.

In a statement on Jyllands-Posten's website, Mr Westergaard said: "Of course I fear for my life when the police intelligence service say that some people have concrete plans to kill me.

"But I have turned fear into anger and resentment."

The editor of Jyllands-Posten, Carsten Juste, said he and his staff had been "deeply shaken" by the news.

"We'd become more or less used to death threats and bomb threats since the cartoons, but it's the first time that we've heard about actual murder plans - that's new," he said.

Muslim anger

The BBC's Thomas Buch-Andersen in Copenhagen says the arrests have stunned people in Denmark, where the furore over the cartoons was thought to have passed.

Mr Westergaard was one of 12 artists behind the drawings but he was responsible for what was considered the most controversial of the pictures.

The cartoons were later reprinted by more than 50 newspapers, triggering a wave of protests in parts of the Muslim world.

The demonstrations culminated a year ago with the torching of Danish diplomatic offices in Damascus and Beirut and dozens of deaths in Nigeria, Libya and Pakistan.