The military has spent years quietly developing and implementing radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags to track Taliban leaders, suspected terrorists, and other perceived enemies. Tribesmen in the Middle East are paid to “plant the electronic devices” on the intended targets or the targets’ home, according to a 2009 report in The Guardian. The device can be tracked to within three feet of its location, providing targeting co-ordinates that have become integral in launching drone strikes. “Transmitters make a lot of sense to me,” former CIA case officer Robert Baer told Wired in 2009. “It is simply not possible to train a Pashtun from Waziristan to go to a targeted site, case it, and come back to Peshawar or Islamabad with anything like an accurate report. The best you can hope for it they’re putting the transmitter right on the house.” The United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) will advance that strategy with the September rocket launch from Wallops, Virginia. Attached to the sides of the rocket will be eight devices that will be dispersed 300 miles above Earth then act as beacons for US intelligence. Wired noted that each of the eight satellites is roughly the size of a “water jug.” This is not America’s first foray into using outer space for gaining intelligence. A 2009 test program launched similar location devices to great success, with special operations officials later reporting that the technology was used to help locate Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. But the military’s reliance on less-than-trustworthy operatives to carry out the most important part of such an expensive mission, locating the original target, has some people very concerned. Recruiting and paying poor people in hostile countries to carry out dangerous tasks could have intended, but serious, consequences. In a video released in April 2009, 19-year-old Habibur Rehman, reading a script written by the Taliban, who then executed him on film, claimed he was so desperate for money that he took advantage of his US handlers. “I was given $122 to drop chips wrapped in cigarette paper at Al Qaeda and Taliban houses,” Rehman said, before being shot for spying for the US. “If I was successful, I was told, I would be given thousands of dollars.” A US official told NBC News that the video was nothing more than “extremist propaganda,” but it does raise moral questions surrounding drone warfare and targeted killings in the modern era. “I thought this was a very easy job,” Rehman went on. “The money was good so I started throwing chips all over. I knew people were dying because of what I was doing, but I needed the money.” … Read More
Haïti – Motive not yet known in radio journalist’s fatal shooting
Reporters Without Borders hopes that the reason will soon be known for radio journalist Pierre-Richard Alexandre’s fatal shooting by an individual identified as Baudelaire Augustin in Saint-Marc, in the north-central department of Artibonite, on 17 May. A correspondent for the national radio station Radio Kiskeya and the host of a daily political discussion programme on local Radio Delta, Alexandre died of his gunshot injury to the stomach on the night of 19 May after initially appearing to (…) … Read More
‘Perfect political storm’: Opposition deal saves floundering UK gay marriage bill
Almost 40 percent of David Cameron’s 303 Member of Parliament rebelled against the bill, voting on a –now defunct– amendment, which would have allowed registrars to refuse to conduct gay marriage ceremonies should they personally object, and could have even delayed the issue until after the next general election, expected in 2015.The attempt to force through the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill is controversial within the traditionalist ranks of the Conservatives, leading one MP to label comment on Monday that“there are plenty in the aggressive homosexual community who see this as but a stepping stone to something even further.” However, Cameron is determined to force it through.When it became clear that the UK PM did not have enough support from his own party, the Conservative chief whip, George Young, was forced to appeal to the opposition leader, Ed Miliband (Labour), who had been planning to abstain from voting.Labour’s change of heart led to the defeat of the amendment 375 to 70 votes, saving the bill by a majority of 305 and illuminating a deep cleft within the ruling party.The bill will have its third and final reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the day after which it will pass to the House of Lords, where further opposition is expected.Relying on opposition backing signifies difficult times ahead for the ruling Conservative party.“It’s a perfect political storm. It couldn’t have come at a worse time for Cameron,” Iain Dale, a prominent British gay radio presenter and conservative blogger, told Reuters.The latest YouGov poll for the Sunday Times found that 54% of Britons support “changing the law to allow same-sex couples to marry,” with over 53,000 civil partnership ceremonies have been carried out since their introduction in December 2005. Conversely, only 45% of Tory supporters are in favor of changing the law and 48% oppose it, the survey showed. Cameron is eager to force its passage, in attempts to display his party’s liberal and progressive side, particularly following spending cuts and a lurch to the right on immigration policy, which a number of parties are pursuing following a recent surge in UKIP popularity. On Saturday, a group of Conservative chairmen delivered a note to Downing Street, stating that his “proposal to redefine marriage is flawed, un-conservative, divisive and costing us dearly,” saying that the PM was treating loyal grassroots members “with contempt,” concluding that “some [former party members] of course are joining UKIP.”The sudden urgency in passing the flagship policy shortly follows the recent ‘swivelgate’ scandal, in which a leading member of the Conservative party referred to party activists as “swivel-eyed-loons.” “Loon” is a derogatory and archaic term for a crazy person. Conservative party chairman Andrew Feldman was forced to deny that he was the source of the comments after Twitter erupted with allegations that it was him, and activists have demanded an apology. Usage of the phrase became almost viral across British media over the weekend, causing one MP to comment that his wish for anti-gay marriage supporters to be given protection under the Equality Act 2010 was not because he was “swivel-eyed.” Alongside deep divisions within the party, there has been doubt over their hopes in the next general election. Conservatives would currently garner a mere 29 percent of the UK public vote, with Labour taking 37 percent, and the Liberal Democrats 10 percent, according to UK Polling Report which averages the results of 10 different national polls. … Read More
Breaking: Feds Disappear Adam Kokesh!
As witnessed in footage of the event filmed by fellow activists, Kokesh appears to have been arrested for the victimless crime of exercising his First Amendment right to free speech. … Read More
Adam Kokesh is a Political Prisoner
Adam Kokesh was arrested for….doing nothing. This is NOT about the legalization of marijuana. This is about something we can all get behind – the legalization of freedom. … Read More
Nigel Farage interview on BBC radio (17May13)
http://www.youtube.com/v/KyzuCEYlui4?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Link: Nigel Farage interview on BBC radio (17May13)
Nigel Farage hangs up on BBC Radio Scotland
http://www.youtube.com/v/54wazCHwTmA?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Excerpt from - Nigel Farage hangs up on BBC Radio Scotland
