The Pentagon’s military intelligence unit plans to send hundreds more spies overseas, doubling the size of the U.S. military’s spy network, reported The Washington Post’s Greg Miller, who recently broke the story of the Obama administration expanding kill lists into a “disposition matrix.”The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) aims to deploy as many as 1,600 “collectors” in positions around the world with a focus on Islamist militant groups in Africa, weapons transfers by North Korea and Iran, and military modernization in China, according to unnamed officials. Miller noted:Continue Reading… … Read More
UBS near a deal over Libor rigging
A logo of the Swiss banking giant UBS (AFP Photo/Fabrice Cofrini)
Swiss bank UBS AG is reportedly close to settling an investigation by US and British authorities over alleged Libor rate manipulation and could pay a more than $450 million fine.
Currently the bank is in discussions with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US Justice Department and Britain’s Financial Services Authority over the issue, the New York Times reported citing officials close to the matter. If the parties agree to strike a deal, it would result in the largest fines related to the rate-rigging scandal.
Libor is a key bank lending rate which affects different financial instruments and transactions worth more than $300 trillion worldwide.
Earlier this year British bank Barclays became the first financial institution to pay a fine of about $450mn over the Libor case. The scandal over rate manipulation led to the resignation of Barclays’ CEO Bob Diamond, Chairman Marcus Agius, and COO, Jerry de Missier.
Regulators and prosecutors in the US, Britain, Canada and Japan have been probing the major banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup over possible manipulation of Libor between 2005 and 2009.
Currently UBS is involved in a number of investigations and faces even more fines elsewhere. German prosecutors have launched an investigation into claims the Swiss bank’s German subsidiary helped customers evade local taxes by transferring money out of the country. In 2009, the bank struck a deal with US regulators to pay $780mn over alleged involvement in tax evasion and released the names of thousands of American clients suspected of tax fraud.
Pentagon to expand intelligence gathering: report
The Pentagon, in a major expansion of its intelligence gathering activities, plans to assemble an espionage network rivaling the Central Intelligence Agency in size, The Washington Post reported. Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said that as part of the project, US military officials will…
NSA Whistleblower: Everyone in US under virtual surveillance, all info stored, no matter the post
http://www.youtube.com/v/TuET0kpHoyM?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Source article - NSA Whistleblower: Everyone in US under virtual surveillance, all info stored, no matter the post
‘Breaking the Taboo’: US presidents admit drug policies were wrong in new documentary
A screenshot from ‘Breaking the Taboo’ trailer; Youtube video courtesy of breakingthetaboofilm(13.9Mb)embed videoA documentary film that features interviews with former US presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton among them, admitting their drug-related policies in the war against drugs were wrong, is set to be released in America next week. The summary to the “Breaking the Taboo” project on the film’s website informs that the war on drugs has been raging for 40 years. “Over a trillion dollars has been spent, millions of people imprisoned, and countless thousands killed. And for what? The illegal drug market is worth $330-400 billion per year, drugs are cheaper and more prevalent than ever before, and in a growing number of countries drug cartels are the major threat to national security. Yet our governments carry on regardless,” production notes from the Sundog Pictures company, run by the son of Virgin Group boss Sir Richard Branson, state.The documentary, narrated by Invictus star Morgan Freeman, follows the Global Commission On Drugs Policy in order “to break the political taboo, explore the controversial solutions and bravely demand a new agenda.” Ahead of its release on December 7, the Breaking the Taboo campaign has been in full swing on YouTube, supported by Sting, Yoko Ono and Noam Chomsky, among others. … Read More
Taliban attacks US base in Afghanistan, killing three Afghan troops
(AFP Photo / Massoud Hossaini)Explosions and gunfire have been heard at a joint US-Afghan base as the Taliban claimed to have carried out an assault against the base in the Afghan city of Jalalabad. Three Afghan guards were killed in the violence.Several foreign troops have also been reported wounded in the assault.Afghan officials confirm that the military base has been attacked in the east of country and fig
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hting has lasted for hours, AP reports.Helicopters were firing at the military base, aiming at what appeared to be a militant gunman inside the compound as blasts were heard inside, Afghan officials stated. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack via email sent to reporters. Also, at least five bodies in Afghan army uniform were seen at the scene, an Afghan official told AFP, but it remains unclear if those were troops or attackers.The attack comes days after senior US officials said that 10,000 troops were to stay in Afghanistan past the 2014 exodus deadline. … Read More
Taliban attack on US base in Afghanistan kills 3 Afghan troops, 2 civilians
(AFP Photo / Massoud Hossaini)Explosions and gunfire have been heard at a joint US-Afghan base as the Taliban claimed to have carried out an assault against the base in the Afghan city of Jalalabad. Three Afghan guards and two civilians were killed in the violence.Several foreign troops have also been reported wounded in the as
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sault.Afghan officials confirm that three suicide car bombs were used in the attack in the east of country, with fighting having lasted several hours, AP reports.Helicopters were firing at the military base, aiming at what appeared to be a militant gunman inside the compound as blasts were heard inside, Afghan officials stated. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack via email sent to reporters. Also, at least five bodies in Afghan army uniform were seen at the scene, an Afghan official told AFP, but it remains unclear if those were troops or attackers.The attack comes days after senior US officials said that 10,000 troops were to stay in Afghanistan past the 2014 exodus deadline. … Read More
