Shocking videos that allegedly depict private US private security contractors firing their weapons indiscriminately, running over a female civilian and ramming cars off the road in their armoured vehicles during operations in Iraq have been picked up and spread far and wide by the alternative media.

The brutal footage, which was initially featured in the article “The Warrior Class” in the April edition of Harpers Magazine, was reportedly leaked by a source who had worked for the much maligned agency Blackwater, a company now called Academi. Prior to this the mercenary operation was formerly known as ‘Xe’ -  a move that the more cynical among us could attribute to the organisation’s desire to escape negative press of the past.

The combination of clips can be viewed in full here at the host site and I would very much recommend that you do this to see the extent of this atrocious behaviour, but today I post an overview of the more shocking aspects which has been compiled by Youtube channel ‘The Daily Conversation.’

Yes war is bloody, gruesome and without rules and there are many out there who would claim that these clips are taken out of context, that so called ‘peace-keepers’ in war-torn countries have no option but to act in this aggressive manner in order to secure their own safety. While I would agree that a few clips do not represent the actions of all Academi contractors, for me this tragic footage proves the often unreported civilian claims from countries like Iraq and Afghanistan that these freelance goons/guns for hire often run amok in the countries they operate – because they can get away with it. And because they can act with a level of impunity this reckless minority, if it is a minority, move from one conflict to the next spreading hatred and creating more enemies intent on harming the West with each civilian life lost.

According to Wikipedia, Academi was founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark in order to provide training support to military and law enforcement organisations and is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department’s three private security contractors. The company provided diplomatic security services in Iraq to the United States federal government on a contractual basis and more recently the Obama administration awarded it a $250 million contract to work for the U.S. State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan.

On the company’s own website www.academi .com the organisation claims to “demonstrate the highest degree of integrity in every aspect of what we do” and is “committed to instilling professional and ethical behaviour in all our employees, teammates and associates.” Perhaps the latest footage reflects the behaviour of a few rogue employees but according to the website Sourcewatch this is certainly not the first time that the Academi / Xe / Blackwater has faced damaging claims of malpractice.

Your thoughts and comments as always are very much welcomed and appreciated.

When George Orwell wrote the perturbingly prophetic novel 1984 he envisaged the rise of a totalitarian western society in which the citizen’s every move is tracked, perpetual wars and the threat of terror keep the populace in a constant state of fear and alleged enemies of the state can be vanished and tortured without trial.

Fast forward 60 years and today it would be fair to comment that many aspects of his nightmare vision have already come to pass. Consider if you will the rise of CCTV cameras on every street corner, the endless ‘humanitarian’ wars that the United Nations allies are waging without the backing of the electorate and President Obama’s recent signing of the terrifying NDAA legislation.

The wealth of correct predictions outlined in the infamous novel deserve a far larger article, but recently an additional news item was brought to my attention that immediately took me back to its pages. The news in question originated with statements made by CIA Director David Petraeus, who boasts that our television sets and seemingly innocuous household appliances can already, and will in future be increasingly used, to provide the intelligence services with information on where we are or what we are doing.

In an article published in The Daily Mail, which followed on from initial coverage on technology website The Wire, journalist Robert Waugh states:

When people download a film from Netflix to a flatscreen, or turn on web radio, they could be alerting unwanted watchers to exactly what they are doing and where they are.

Spies will no longer have to plant bugs in your home – the rise of ‘connected’ gadgets controlled by apps will mean that people ‘bug’ their own homes, says CIA director David Petraeus.

The CIA claims it will be able to ‘read’ these devices via the internet – and perhaps even via radio waves from outside the home.

Everything from remote controls to clock radios can now be controlled via apps – and chip company ARM recently unveiled low-powered, cheaper chips which will be used in everything from fridges and ovens to doorbells.

The resultant chorus of ‘connected’ gadgets will be able to be read like a book – and even remote-controlled, according to CIA CIA Director David Petraeus, according to a recent report by Wired’s ‘Danger Room’ blog.

Petraeus says that web-connected gadgets will ‘transform’ the art of spying – allowing spies to monitor people automatically without planting bugs, breaking and entering or even donning a tuxedo to infiltrate a dinner party.

‘Transformational’ is an overused word, but I do believe it properly applies to these technologies,’ said Petraeus.

‘Particularly to their effect on clandestine tradecraft. Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio-frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters -  all connected to the next-generation internet using abundant, low-cost, and high-power computing.’

Petraeus was speaking to a venture capital firm about new technologies which aim to add processors and web connections to previously  ‘dumb’ home appliances such as fridges, ovens and lighting systems.

This week, one of the world’s biggest chip companies, ARM, has unveiled a new processor built to work inside ‘connected’ white goods.

The ARM chips are smaller, lower-powered and far cheaper than previous processors – and designed to add the internet to almost every kind of electrical appliance.

It’s a concept described as the ‘internet of things’.

Futurists think that one day ‘connected’ devices will tell the internet where they are and what they are doing at all times – and will be mapped by computers as precisely as Google Maps charts the physical landscape now.

Privacy groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation have warned of how information such as geolocation data can be misused – but as more and more devices connect, it’s clear that opportunities for surveillance will multiply.

Thinking back to 1984 I found the following quote to be particularly ominous when you consider the rapid speed at which these technologies are developing. Yes, right now it may seem quite a leap to compare these ‘connected’ devices to the telescreens imposed on the citizen’s of Orwell’s ‘Oceania’ but thinking 30 years down the line are we not moving in this direction? I’ll leave you with the quote – as always, your thoughts and comments are very much welcomed.

“The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live — did live, from habit that became instinct — in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.”

-George Orwell ’1984′.

Thanks go to Jorges for the links, much appreciated.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2111307/Iran-trying-build-nuclear-missiles-capable-hitting-London-Cameron-warns-MPs.html

Blogicalcomment: David Cameron threw his hat into the ring yesterday with vague claims that Iran is trying to develop ‘intercontinental missiles’ which pose a direct threat to the UK

The latest sabre rattling from the Prime Minister is a stark reminder of the infamously false 45 minute claims which helped Blair to lead us into the quagmire of the Iraq War, a hugely destructive conflict that led to the loss of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives but helped to carve up the country’s bountiful resources for the international corporations.

Despite the admitted lack of evidence to support such a claim the western media repeatedly reminds us that Iran is probably developing its nuclear weapons programme and, if it isnt, then it’s only a matter of time before it does. In his latest address to a Commons committee the PM repeatedly stressed that ‘military action’ against Iran was not off the table, comments that echo previous statements made by the usual suspects in the USA and Israel.

With the current rhetoric building up against the Assad regime, sadly it looks as though 2012 could be a bumper year for war. I for one am sick of turning on the TV to see the bloodied bodies of civilians who have been slaughtered using artillery that my tax contributions have helped to fund. Surely this time the PM needs something more concrete to convince/ dupe the British public into supporting yet more bloody conflicts in far away lands? If we are to be dragged into further military campaigns that none of us ever get the opportunity to vote on then how about you hit us with some slightly more convincing propaganda guys? How about Tehran’s alleged plans to release a crack team of suicide squirrels on London or the latest polls that suggest that nine out of ten Iranians like to eat boiled babies for breakfast?

Silliness aside, when you compare the Libya/Syria and Iraq/Iran pre-war rhetoric it feels very much that we are witnessing history repeat itself. I hope that enough UK citizens have learnt the lessons of the past to speak out with a loud and unified voice in opposition of any more conflicts. Conflicts that do not directly concern us and cannot be afforded at a time when global economies are teetering on the edge and as the UK’s national debt levels surpass the massive £1 trillion mark.

If there is a real and credible threat that necessitates Cameron’s latest position then he should be completely open and honest and share this information with everyone. With the mistakes made in the past it is not acceptable for our elected representatives to fob us off with hearsay from the intelligence community without the detail or clarity that would enable us to visualise the real threat or reject it as mere pro-war propaganda.

SILENCING THE CRITICS - PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

Blogicalcomment: In the hard-hitting opinion piece linked above Paul Craig Roberts, ex editor of the Washington Post, discusses the state of the mainstream media in the US today, likening it to a propaganda machine that churns out the same message no matter which channel you watch or presenter you follow.

He holds no punches, demonstrating that the voices of anyone who is critical of the Government’s ongoing wars  or domestic policies are increasingly being silenced.  In light of the recent bloodbath in Libya, the extreme violence we are currently witnessing in Syria and the escalating pressure on Iran he asks readers to question the sole voice they are hearing from their news providers, to re-think what they feel they know about countries in the region and the “brutal” dictators who rule with an iron fist. It’s a powerful argument.

The US has no independent print and TV media. It has presstitutes who are paid for the lies that they tell. The US government in its pursuit of its immoral aims has attained the status of the most corrupt government in human history. Yet Obama speaks as if Washington is the font of human morality.

Once a commanding watchdog and vital tool for shining a light on corruption, today the country’s major news networks aka “America’s Ministry of Truth”  are owned and controlled by a handful of powerful organisations  who present a manipulated view of the world. Roberts claims they have now lost their teeth and dutifully sing from the same hymn sheet so Americans only ever hear one side of the argument – and its the one proposed by the meglomaniacs who seek to seize the global reins of power and gobble up the world’s resources for their own selfish means.

This is a very serious subject that should concern all US citizens, but today I have chosen to share a light-hearted video which perfectly demonstrates just how real and obvious this problem really is. Watch as one after another presenter repeats the same tired message when introducing a trivial news item. If the auto-cue readers in these clips are receiving their script from one source then why should things be any different when it comes to the monumental issues of the day? Your thoughts and feedback is very much appreciated.

Blogicalcomment: MI5 and MI6 will have access to every  phone call and text message, email traffic and websites visited under anti-terror legislation to be introduced in May.

According to The Telegraph, landline and mobile phone companies and broadband providers will be ordered to store the data for a year and make it available to the security services under the scheme. The databases would not record the contents of calls, texts or emails but the numbers or email addresses of who they are sent and received by.

For the first time, the security services will have widespread access to information about who has been communicating with each other on social networking sites such as Facebook. Direct messages between subscribers to websites such as Twitter would also be stored, as well as communications between players in online video games.

The Telegraph reports that negotiations with internet companies commenced over the last two months. The plan has been drawn up on the advice of MI5, the home security service, MI6, which operates abroad, and GCHQ, the Government’s “listening post” responsible for monitoring communications.

Critics and civil liberties advocates are calling for mass opposition to the plans, noting that the scheme is open to abuse not only by spy agencies and communications companies themselves, but also by hackers and online criminals.

Providing some background on the recent the rise of UK surveillance,  Steve Watson of infowars.com reports: Back in 2008, the government announced its intention to create a massive central database, gathering details on every text sent, e-mail sent, phone call made and website visited by everyone in the UK.

The programme, known as the “Interception Modernisation Programme”, would have allowed spy chiefs at GCHQ, the centre for Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) activities, to effectively place a “live tap” on every electronic communication in Britain in the name of preventing terrorism.

Following outcry over the announcement, the government suggested that it was scaling down the plans, with then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith stating that there were “absolutely no plans for a single central store” of communications data.

However, as the “climbdown” was celebrated by civil liberties advocates and the plan was “replaced” by new laws requiring ISPs to store details of emails and internet telephony for just 12 months, fresh details emerged indicating the government was implementing a big brother spy system that far outstrips the original public announcement.

The London Times published leaked details of a secret mass internet surveillanceproject known as “Mastering the Internet” (MTI).

Costing hundreds of millions in public funds, the system continued to be implemented by GCHQ with the aid of American defence giant Lockheed Martin and British IT firm Detica, which has close ties to the intelligence agencies.

A group of over 300 internet service providers and telecommunications firms attempted to fight back over the radical plans, describing the proposals as an unwarranted invasion of people’s privacy.

Currently, any interception of a communication in Britain must be authorised by a warrant signed by the home secretary or a minister of equivalent rank. Only individuals who are the subject of police or security service investigations may be subject to surveillance.

If the GCHQ’s MTI project is completed, black-box probes would be placed at critical traffic junctions with internet service providers and telephone companies, allowing eavesdroppers to instantly monitor the communications of every person in the country without the need for a warrant.

In recent years we have witnessed the rapid rise of the surveillance grid and these latest proposals grant similar powers to the authorities as were stealthily passed under the US’s Patriot Act in the wake of 911.  The White House anti-terror legislation allowed the feds massive domestic surveillance powers which fly in the face of traditional civil liberties which were protected by the Constitution.

It is becoming painfully apparent that military conflict with Iran is on the cards. The drums of war are beating loudly and Government officials primarily from Israel, the US or the UK remind us that the country is a major exporter of terror and is making strides towards obtaining a nuclear weapon, on a daily basis.

With each day that passes sections of the mainstream media compound these unchallenged snippets and sound bites which swell into a crescendo of background noise that can easily indoctrinate the casual listener, drown out the voices of peace and shift public opinion dramatically.

A conflict with Iran has long been desired by those who seek to dominate the Middle East and control the region’s natural resources and sadly it looks increasingly likely that the strike will follow later this year. When it does occur, and whether the US or Israel initiates,  it’s inevitable that here in the UK our Government will lend its political or even military support despite the mass loss of life and public anger that recent bloody conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan generated.

Right minded individuals do not wish to send their sons and daughters to die in conflicts in far away lands or pay for expensive military campaigns and therefore the drip-drip of subtle and not so subtle propaganda is required in order to create public support for action. The legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan and the power of the Internet in its uncensored form has made it increasingly difficult for the powers that be to convince us that ‘kinetic actions’ or ‘humanitarian missions’ (aka wars) are in our best interests – and the warmongers know this.

With that in mind I think that the following quotes, taken from a 2009 report by a highly influential US think tank are worthy of examination. The report entitled ‘Which Path to Persia? (options for a New American Strategy toward Iran) from the Brookings Institution demonstrates that the US is well aware that an all-out attack on Iran would not be popular. It discusses underhand methods that could be adopted to change this scenario, to essentially trick the general public, and it certainly makes me look at the current wave of anti-Iran propaganda we are witnessing from a different perspective.

“…it would be far more preferable if the United States could cite an Iranian provocation as justification for the airstrikes before launching them. Clearly, the more outrageous, the more deadly, and the more unprovoked the Iranian action, the better off the United States would be. Of course, it would be very difficult for the United States to goad Iran into such a provocation without the rest of the world recognizing this game, which would then undermine it. (One method that would have some possibility of success would be to ratchet up covert regime change efforts in the hope that Tehran would retaliate overtly, or even semi-overtly, which could then be portrayed as an unprovoked act of Iranian aggression.) ”
pages 84-85.

The same report would go on to say:
“In a similar vein, any military operation against Iran will likely be very unpopular around the world and require the proper international context—both to ensure the logistical support the operation would require and to minimize the blowback from it. The best way to minimize international opprobrium and maximize support (however, grudging or covert) is to strike only when there is a widespread conviction that the Iranians were given but then rejected a superb offer—one so good that only a regime determined to acquire nuclear weapons and acquire them for the wrong reasons would turn it down. Under those circumstances, the United States (or Israel) could portray its operations as taken in sorrow, not anger, and at least some in the international community would conclude that the Iranians “brought it on themselves” by refusing a very good deal.”

Please follow this link to read the report in full for yourself

No, this comment is not representative of the Whitehouse but think tanks like the Brookings Institution, the Council on Foreign Relations or the Trilateral Commission are extremely powerful in shaping its foreign policy and therefore their writings should be shared and understood. On its own website Brookings states that it is “proud to be consistently ranked as the most influential, most quoted and most trusted think tank.”

Only today our very own foreign secretary William Hague has made the bold statement that Iran’s nuclear ambitions could lead to a new ‘cold war’ scenario. This is despite the following facts…

• Last month, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said: “Are they [the Iranians] trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No. But we know that they’re trying to develop a nuclear capability. And that’s what concerns us.”
• Director of National Intelligence James Clapper confirmed in a Senate hearing – following the release of the classified National Intelligence Estimate in 2011 – that he has a “high level of confidence” that Iran “has not made a decision as of this point to restart its nuclear weapons program.”
• Mohamed ElBaradei – who spent more than a decade as the director of the IAEA – said that he had not “seen a shred of evidence” that Iran was pursuing the bomb.
• And six former ambassadors to Iran within the last decade say that there is no evidence that Iran is building nuclear weapons, and that Iran is complying with international law.

For an analysis of how these powerful think tanks and lobby groups interact in order to shape global affairs I would recommend the writings of Adrian Salbuchi, whom I link to in a previous piece entitled “Move to World Government.” What do you feel about today’s blogiquote in light of the increased pressure on Iran that we are witnessing? As always, your opinions and viewpoints are very much welcomed and appreciated.

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/rights-group-says-libyas-militias-are-out-of-control/

Blogicalcomment: Western backed militia groups who assisted in the bloody overthrow of the Gaddafi regime have been accused of ‘committing human rights abuses with impunity.’

The insurgents, who were portrayed as freedom-fighting activists in the western media despite the admission that they contain “flickers of Al-Qaeda,’ are now ‘out of control according to a report from Amnesty International. The dossier states that detainees have been routinely tortured, migrants have been targeted and entire communities have been displaced in revenge attacks.

As commented in an earlier piece the policy of backing largely unknown insurgent groups to topple a dictator, while becoming increasingly popular, is a dangerous one. While we have seen that these Western backed groups can unite in a common cause, once the task at hand is complete it is more than predictable that these militiamen will commit human rights abuses of their own on those they fought against. For many the findings of this dossier do not come as a surprise.

Blogicalcomment: As highlighted in a previous piece, parts of the US are increasingly beginning to resemble a police state and this goes hand in hand with the rise of the electronic surveillance grid with methods that would not seem out of place in George Orwell’s 1984. But of course this shocking violation of civil liberties is all in the name of protecting the citizens from the dreaded Al-Qaeda bogeyman, isn’t it?

(Click on the links to read more)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/7/coming-to-a-sky-near-you/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS

http://www.naturalnews.com/034919_spy_drones_America_surveillance.html

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Europe yesterday in coordinated  opposition to the draconian Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a treaty which threatens the existence of the Internet as we know it.

It was only a fortnight ago that that protesters were celebrating small victories against SOPA and PIPA copyright and piracy legislation, yet  all the while a far greater threat to currently enjoyed liberties was looming in the shadows.

With attention on these two Washington born proposals combined with a lack of mainstream media coverage, ACTA took many of us in the UK us by surprise. Yet power of the Internet in its uncensored form has helped to spread the word with concerned citizens quickly changing course, creating a firewall of 11th hour protest against this latest attack on the world wide web.

The treaty has to date already been signed by 22 EU members, including the UK, but has yet to be ratified by the European Parliament , members of which will  debate the treaty in June.  The impressive scale of the European wide protests that have already taken place may have had some impact, with Germany delayed signing the agreement in order to, a spokesman said, “give us time to carry out further discussions”.

As I discussed in previous posts the powers that be are becoming increasingly determined to  grasp control of the information that we have access to. The Internet is perhaps the greatest tool for the free flow of information that we the people have ever had at our disposal  . The Internet has been extremely effective in shining a mega watt light on Government  corruption, for highlighting the shadowy growth of global government and presenting plausible alternative views on everything from terrorist attacks, to the real reasons for wars through to global warming.  The Internet in its current form has enabled us as free-thinking individuals to gather information from sources that we trust or find credible, to form our own view of the world around us and see beyond the parrot fed realities that are presented to us through the mainstream media by those who do not wish for us to get too close to the truth or ask too many difficult questions.

ACTA is an international trade agreement negotiated by the European Union, the United States, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore as well as a few other countries, whose aim is to enforce copyright and tackle counterfeited goods. The agreement seeks to introduce a new intellectual property enforcement treaty providing protection for content creators in the face of increasing levels of online piracy.

However, campaigners are awake to the notion that, if adopted, the agreement would lead to fundamental freedoms being stripped away. It would herald in an era of  privatized online censorship in which Internet service or access providers will be forced to become become copyright enforcers. By making  companies criminally accountable for their customer’s online activity, this agreement will encourage these providers to censor their networks , thus creating a chilling effect that is a real danger to free speech.

The main problem with this treaty, campaigners claim, is that all the negotiations were done secretly, keeping the public and civil organizations out of the table. All the information until 2010 relied on leaks that they state reveal intentional secrecy to misled the public on ACTA negotiations which commenced in 2007 and finalized in 2010.

“The European Parliament has had no representation in ACTA negotiations. Just accepting or rejecting an agreement is not an exercise of democracy as under the Lisbon Treaty.”

Zuzana Roithova, Member of European Parliament, EPP, Czech Republic

“ACTA is legislation laundering on an international level of what would be very difficult to get through most Parliaments.”

Stravros Lambrinidis, Member of European Parliament, S and D, Greece

“The European Parliament has had no representation in ACTA negotiations. Just accepting or rejecting an agreement is not an exercise of democracy as under the Lisbon Treaty.”

Zuzana Roithova, Member of European Parliament, EPP, Czech Republic

“It is extremely regrettable that democratic debate has been eliminated from talks that could have a major impact on such a fundamental freedom as free expression.”

Reporters without Borders, European Parliament Sakharov Prize Winners

“Any measures concerning people’s right to go online need to be brought in through the proper democratic channels, not via self-regulation, and made into EU law.”

Andrea D´Incecco, public affairs manager from EuroISPA (Business association of European Internet Service Providers)

“We can only assume that the final text could do great harm in developing countries and undermine the balance between the protection of intellectual property and the need to provide affordable medicines for poor people.”

Rohit Malpani, OXFAM, from a press release criticising possible impact of ACTA.

“We are in danger of ending up with the worst of both worlds, pushing IP rules, which are very effective at stopping access to life-saving drugs but are very bad at stopping or preventing fake drugs.”

Michelle Childs of Médecins Sans Frontières, Nobel Peace Prize winners, has issued a very critical statement on ACTA.

Considered the “father of public relations” Edward Bernays used concepts discovered by his uncle Sigmund Freud to manipulate the public using the subconscious.

Named by Life Magazine to be in the ‘Top 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century’, he shared fellow elitist Walter Lippmann’s view of the general population by considering it irrational and subject to the “herd instinct”. In his opinion, the masses need to be manipulated by an invisible government to ensure the survival of democracy. This view is very much outlined in the following quotes which are taken from his popular book “Propaganda” from 1928.

1) “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.

We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.

Our invisible governors are, in many cases, unaware of the identity of their fellow members in the inner cabinet.”

2) ”There are invisible rulers who control the destinies of millions. It is not generally realised to what extent the words and actions of our most influential public men are dictated by shrewd persons operating behind the scenes.

Now, what is still more important, the extent to which our thoughts and habits are modified by authorities. In some department of our daily life, in which we imagine ourselves free agents , we are ruled by dictators exercising great power.”

- Edward Bernays, Propaganda

Bernay’s foresight for marketing campaigns profoundly changed the functioning of American society. It has been stated that “consumerism” was a concept of his creation, a culture wherein Americans bought for pleasure instead of buying for survival.

Read Bernay’s “Propaganda” online by following this link.