The ICC and Colombia
Massacres Under the Looking Glass
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/12/12/massacres-under-the-looking-glass/
“In any case, the ICC’s conclusions about the “false positives” scandal raise many questions about the Colombian military, and, more importantly, about its U.S. patron. Thus, the high water mark for the “false positives” (2004 to 2008) also corresponds with the time in which the U.S. was providing the highest level of military aid to Colombia. And, this appears to be more than a coincidence…
In my recent interview with Kambale Musavuli about the Congo, he stated that there is no “C” in R2P (“responsibility to protect”), meaning that this doctrine does not apply to the Congo. It equally means that it does not apply to Colombia, or other like countries, whose designated role is to the serve the U.S. and its insatiable need for fuel and other key resources. And, this is why the horrendous atrocities committed in countries like Colombia and the Congo rarely make the headlines in our newspapers, and why the ICC’s interim report on Colombia was barely spoken of in the press…”

Posted by: вот так | Dec 12 2012 18:28 utc | 3

When the world really changed. For the first time in human history the entire world had been divvied up. There was no more frontiers.

Posted by: ruralito | Dec 12 2012 18:45 utc | 5

Israelis and Russians to work together on airport security
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_12_12/Israelis-and-Russians-to-work-together-on-airport-security/
Is the Russian government setting themselves up for more terrorism? Specifically an action involving airliners? Given what happened in the USA with Israeli handling of airport “security”, Russia is giving the keys to the hen house to the fox.

Posted by: вот так | Dec 12 2012 19:19 utc | 7

Posted by: вот так | Dec 12, 2012 2:19:01 PM | 7
guess who handles london Heatherows security….prior to the Lockerbie bombing.
very unwise to work with isael in anything

Posted by: brian | Dec 12 2012 20:41 utc | 9

Short fotonovela on the US defeating itself
James Wheeler ‏@wheelertweets
@wheelertweets But it isn’t flying today. The museum is “afraid of the bearded guys”. I am sad for this courageous city I love so much.
Dec 8 James Wheeler James Wheeler ‏@wheelertweets
#Libya: This American flag was raised yesterday at the flags of helpful nations display at the Misrata war museum http://twitpic.com/bkmomf
Dec 8 James Wheeler James Wheeler ‏@wheelertweets
#Libya: At the war museum on Tripoli St today in Misrata, after raising an American flag to be part of the display http://twitpic.com/bkaocn
Dec 8 James Wheeler James Wheeler ‏@wheelertweets
#Libya: Not until today. This is 5 minutes after the previous photo. Raising a flag I got from the US Embassy http://twitpic.com/bkan8y
Dec 8 James Wheeler James Wheeler ‏@wheelertweets
Tripoli St museum, Misrata #Libya: Flags from countries that helped in the war. But I’ve never seen a US flag here http://twitpic.com/bkam6m

Posted by: somebody | Dec 12 2012 23:53 utc | 11

Rated CD for (critical discernment):
My friend Lizard showed me this…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDN_JVOIeZU
Credits for this live interview video to Ac Tah – Mayan spiritual Leader who claims direct lineage to the Maya who shares his knowledge and perspective of his people.
make of it what you will.. Cheers.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Dec 13 2012 4:21 utc | 13

@brian – a late happy birthday to you
@Uncle @b real – missed both of you, good to see you 🙂

Posted by: b | Dec 13 2012 8:16 utc | 15

Uncle!
here’s the post I wrote where a commenter posted the video.

Posted by: lizard | Dec 13 2012 14:10 utc | 17

Government pays Libyan dissident’s family £2.2m over MI6-aided rendition
Sami al-Saadi, wife and four children were secretly flown from Hong Kong to Tripoli where he was tortured by Gaddafi police

Posted by: somebody | Dec 13 2012 21:17 utc | 19

Putin on Magnitsky Act: Why do those behind Guantanamo lecture us on human rights?
http://rt.com/politics/putin-magnitsky-law-rights-975/
“Why, don’t people die in their prisons as well? Perhaps, even more than in ours,” he said.
Despite promises by the US leadership, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp is still operating.
“People are kept there without trial – in shackles and chains just like in the Middle Ages,” Putin remarked and now, he continued, people “who opened secret prisons and legalized torture during investigations” point out Russia’s shortcomings.
As for the death of Magnitsky, Putin expressed his regret for the tragedy, but noted that the investigation into the case is not over and it is yet to be found who is to blame for the incident.
As the meeting gradually switched to the problem of Russian orphans dying in foreign foster families, Putin slammed American authorities for their slack reaction of the incidents.
“We are indignant not so much at these tragedies – even though it’s the worst thing that can happen – as at the reaction of the [US] government, a vindicatory reaction. That’s what is bad,” Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
American judicial authorities hardly respond to cases of abuse of Russian children by their American adoptive parents, the Russian President stated. On the contrary, US courts justify such crimes and acquit those guilty of charges against them, Putin added.
Russian officials claim that at least 19 Russian children have been killed by their foster parents in the US since the early 1990s, when adoption began.”
Child abuse is rampant in the USA. In fact it is more “normal” than abnormal.

Posted by: вот так | Dec 14 2012 0:20 utc | 21

It’s good to get the occasional quantification for things we pretty much already knew. Makes for easier citations.

Posted by: Monolycus | Dec 14 2012 4:35 utc | 23

Re the Schonburg piece.
Being a bit of a peasant, I doubt that I’ll ever achieve the level of musical sophistication, or drunkenness, required to recognise such adventures in strident and random discord as music. I’d much prefer to listen to the Ventures (slaughter of) Slaughter On 10th Avenue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JngbB61RK1c

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Dec 14 2012 7:33 utc | 25

Monolycus, do you still have my e-mail? If so, hit me up…

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Dec 15 2012 8:47 utc | 27

Switzerland sends the Salvation Army to the Eurovision Song Contest – official video with product placement of Swiss watches :-))

Posted by: somebody | Dec 16 2012 19:31 utc | 29

“The eagles are coming!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE0Q904gtMI
An eagle snatching a baby – for real

Posted by: b | Dec 19 2012 5:16 utc | 31

Well… I’ll be damned… What story does this: remind you of:

“Yalda Night (Yalda Eve), as the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, is commemorated on or around December 20 or 21 each year.
The annual winter ceremony manifests the traditional concept of light and good prevailing over darkness and evil in the ancient Iranian religion.
…
This celebration, based on the Iranian calendar, comes in the Persian month of Day, named after the pre-Zoroastrian god of creation and light (Deity).
….
The Mithraists believed that Mithra, the Persian god of light and truth, was born to a virgin mother in the morning of the longest night of the year, symbolizing the Sun god overcoming the powers of darkness. “

Well an early merry “christmass” to all believers of the “christ” 🙂

Posted by: Pirouz_2 | Dec 20 2012 0:28 utc | 33

Google starts watching what you do off the Internet too
http://rt.com/usa/news/google-internet-online-offline-500/
“The most powerful company on the Internet just got a whole lot creepier: a new service from Google merges offline consumer info with online intelligence, allowing advertisers to target users based on what they do at the keyboard and at the mall.
Without much fanfare, Google announced news this week of a new advertising project, Conversions API, that will let businesses build all-encompassing user profiles based off of not just what users search for on the Web, but what they purchase outside of the home.
In a blog post this week on Google’s DoubleClick Search site, the Silicon Valley giant says that targeting consumers based off online information only allows advertisers to learn so much. “Conversions,” tech-speak for the digital metric made by every action a user makes online, are incomplete until coupled with real life data, Google says.
“We understand that online advertising also fuels offline conversions,” the blog post reads. Thus, Google says, “To capture these lost conversions and bring offline into your online world, we’re announcing the open beta of our Conversions API for uploading offline conversion automatically.”
The blog goes on to explain that in-store transactions, call-tracking and other online activities can be inputted into Google to be combined with other information “to optimize your campaigns based on even more of your business data.”
Great news – if one is one of those pervs generally known as fascists. Creepy is a good term for google and their backroom crap.

Posted by: вот так | Dec 21 2012 5:34 utc | 35

He owns the only really efficient Anti-Virus Software that is spread over the world’s computers.
All security software “calls home” for updates. “Security Software”, Microsoft and Google know everything about your computer.
Basically he is the only break in a US monopoly.

Posted by: somebody | Dec 22 2012 10:34 utc | 37

Re #38 by Bot Tak
Well, dang.
Now I have a new pile of reading to keep me busy for the next week! Great present, sir! thanks.

Posted by: Jake | Dec 26 2012 1:34 utc | 39

Western capitalism in action, as opposed to theory and propaganda:
How Walmart Dictates Almost Everything
The Tale of the Onion
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/12/25/the-tale-of-the-onion/
“My onions are big, aren’t they?” Chris Pawelski asked our group of visitors at his farm 60 miles from New York City. “Any idea why?”
Because of consumer demand, we wondered? Perhaps bigger bulbs caught the customer’s eye better? “Nope,” said Pawelski, a fourth-generation farmer whose family arrived from Poland in 1903 and has worked this land for over a century. “The size is set by the retail chain stores. They dictate almost everything.”
“Anyone does any cooking?” he asked. A few hesitant hands went up. Pawelski held up the onion. “They want this size because they know you won’t use more than half of one of these in cooking a meal. And you’ll throw away the other half. The more you waste, the more you’ll buy.” The stores know this. So wastage is a strategy, not a by-product.”
Next time somebody tries to tell you how “efficient” private businesses are over the socialised forms, show them this article.
10 million people die every year due to starvation. Not because there is not enough food, but because the money-power grubbing capitalist power structure actively prevents food from reaching them – they cant “pay” for it.
The number who die from the related effects of malnourishment and easily treated diseases every year is probably in the 100 million range. Thanks to the same power structure.

Posted by: вот так | Dec 26 2012 20:24 utc | 41