Economic security

Glencore Could Trigger A Global Derivatives Nuclear Meltdown

The system has been totally hijacked.  Make NO mistake about it, gold was hit hard when the paper trading in London cranked up after the SGE had turned off its lights for the day. The reason:  Glencore.

Anyone remember Enron?  Probably not.  Most people have already forgotten, mostly, that their taxpayer dollars were used by ex-Goldman CEO Henry Paulson to bail out Goldman Sachs in 2008 when he was Treasury Secretary.  His primary motive was to preserve the value of the $250 million in warrants he still owned after he got to unload $500 million in stock – tax-free.  Recently Zerohedge found a snapshot of Paulson laughing about the entire matter.

Capital punishment

How Lethal Injection Works

Virtually all of the 32 American states that allow the death penalty rely on a deadly chemical cocktail to slowly and quietly kill the condemned. But America has found itself running dangerously low on sodium pentothal, the injection's primary ingredient, after the only US supplier stopped making it. So how are they supposed to kill the 3,000-plus inmates currently on Death Row? Guillotine? Actually, the doctor who developed lethal injections in the first place thinks it might be more humane.

Whether you personally agree with the practice or not, capital punishment has long been a fundamental component of government. From the founding of the earliest city-states, the rule of law has been built on the state-sanctioned execution of a society's most heinous transgressors. While the method of execution has changed over the millennia, its message remains the same: government—and only government—has the right to take the lives of its citizens.

International security

World Leaders Must Bring Russia Back From the Cold, Renzi Says

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said western leaders trying to end the carnage inSyria must accept the central role of Russia in world affairs as a renewed drive to end the war got off to a difficult start in New York.

The youthful premier, in a sweeping interview that tackled issues ranging from reform of Italy’s Senate to the Middle East and the migration crisis, urged his partners to show they could "build a Europe without walls, but with hope."

As U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held their first formal sit-down in more than a year, Renzi, 40, said Russia had an "absolutely crucial" role to play on key dossiers including Syria.

International security

Putin says he can work with Obama despite trading barbs on Syria and Isis

Vladimir Putin emerged from a rare face-to-face meeting with Barack Obama on Monday night, saying Russia and the US could find a way to work together on Syria, despite deep differences over the country’s leadership.

The US-Russian summit lasted 94 minutes, more than half an hour longer than planned, on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly where the two leaders had traded barbs only hours before, particularly over the future of the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad. Speaking to Russian journalists after the meeting, Putin said the two had found at least some common ground on the four-year conflict. The Russian leader described the conversation with Obama as “very constructive, businesslike and very frank”.

Hidden treasury


'Nazi gold train': explosive experts search site of secret tunnel

The Polish military have deployed chemical, radiation and explosives experts to a site in south-western Poland where a Nazi train, allegedly missing since the second world war, might be located.

Tomasz Smolarz, the governor of Lower Silesia, said the aim of the work in the town of Walbrzych was to eliminate any dangers for residents.

The military’s efforts on Monday came after two explorers, Andreas Richter and Piotr Koper, claimed they had found a Nazi train, which could contain armaments and precious minerals, trapped in a tunnel. The explorers’ claims await confirmation, but they sparked hopes that it could be a Nazi train laden with treasure that local legend says went missing at the end of the war. The train was reportedly booby-trapped with weapons.

Nuclear security

Isis planning 'nuclear holocaust' to wipe hundreds of millions from face of the earth', claims reporter who embedded with the extremists

Islamic terrorists Isis want to wipe the west off the face of the earth with a nuclear holocaust according to a journalist who spent ten days with the group while researching a book. 

The terror group allowed Jürgen Todenhöfer to embed with the group because he has been a high-profile critic of US policy in the Middle East. 

The German journalist claimed the terror group wants to launch a 'nuclear tsunami' against the west and anyone else that opposes their plans for an Islamic caliphate.

The 75-year-old former German MP wrote up his findings in a new book 'Inside IS - Ten Days In The Islamic State'.

He said that upon his arrival in ISIS controlled territory, that he and his son were forced to hand over their mobile phones to their hosts. 

He said he spent several months talking to the terror organisation over Skype before he was allowed to travel into their area. 

Intel way out

Help for troubled spies - How to leave intelligence agencies

There are exit help services in Germany for neo-Nazis and Islamists who need a way out. But intelligence agencies are equally difficult to find a way out of. A new campaign - Intelexit.org - organized by the German social justice collective Peng was set up this week to help intelligence agents with scruples to "leave the intelligence services and build a new life," as its promotional leaflet says.

The campaign has mischievously placed outdoor billboards with slogans like "Listen to your heart. Not to private calls" in Europe and the US wherever conscience-ridden intelligence officials are likely to be found.

The posters have appeared outside the headquarters of the NSA in Fort Meade, near Washington DC, but also in front of the headquarters of its German and British equivalents, the BND and GCHQ, as well as the NSA's "Dagger Complex" base near Darmstadt, Germany, and the US embassy in Berlin.

Mass surveillance

Don’t let surveillance evade judicial scrutiny

What do Americans do when they think the government is violating their rights? They go to court, of course!  But on the issue of mass surveillance, it’s very hard to get through the courthouse door.  Before you can argue your claim, you must show your problem is not hypothetical -- that you’ve likely suffered some harm.   Surveillance, however, is usually surreptitious, and the government isn’t saying whose emails, phone calls and messages it is collecting.  

The U.S. government asked the district court in Alexandria on Friday morning to throw out achallenge to mass surveillance by Human Rights Watch, Wikimedia and other plaintiffs.  It said it isn’t “plausible” that the NSA specifically spied on us—even though it captured nearly all Americans’ international electronic communications in the warrantless mass “Upstream” surveillance program performed under section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act.  

Health security

Drug prices should benefit patients, not industry

When hedge fund trader Martin Shkreli purchased a pharmaceutical company and raised the price of an HIV medication that treats potentially fatal infections from $13.50 to $750 per pill, he threatened the well-being of all Americans. The 5,000 percent price increase fuels the fire of industry critics who seek to impose drug price controls, which would stifle the development of  new treatments and cures for serious medical conditions.

...Shkreli’s price gouging is unacceptable, and existing state and federal consumer protection laws should be enforced to put an end to it. Otherwise, instead of imposing more restrictions on the industry that is reinvesting profits to make American lives healthier and more productive, reforms should address the insurance industry’s pocketing of profits at the expense of patients. States have made great strides in passing legislation to improve fairness in consumer co-pays and cost-sharing, prevent discriminatory fail first polices, and require transparency of insurance plans. A federal version of these bills is a solution that Americans deserve.

Middle East

Saudi Arabian Prince Makes Unprecedented Call for Removal of King in Palace Coup

A senior Saudi prince and grandson of the state's founder has issued an unprecedented call for change in the country's leadership, the Guardian reported on Monday.
The prince, who was not named for security reasons, wrote two letters to members of the sprawling royal family earlier this month calling for the removal of the current leader, King Salman, who ascended to the throne in January this year.
The prince reportedly told the Guardian that the king is not in good health and that recent events in the kingdom have led to disquiet in the royal family, as well as among the wider public.

Terror threat

Intelligence minister: ISIS reign in Gaza more likely than Abbas

Islamic State terrorists have a better chance of taking over the Gaza Strip than PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Intelligence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday at a massive Likud rally held outside his succa on Moshav Kfar Ahim.

Katz, who has access to classified intelligence material, spoke on the eve of a long awaited address by the Palestinian leader to the UN General Assembly, in which Abbas has hinted he may drop a “bombshell.” Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti said last week that he expected there to soon be a Palestinian election, which would be intended to reunite the West Bank and Gaza under one rule.

The statement by Katz is also significant because he holds the formal title of interim prime minister while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is abroad for the General Assembly in New York.

Legalization of marijuana

South Dakota Sioux to open nation's 1st pot resort; idea could offer tribes new income source

The project, according to the tribe, could generate up to $2 million a month in profit, and work is already underway on the growing facility. The first joints are expected to go on sale Dec. 31 at a New Year's Eve party.

The legalization of marijuana on the Santee Sioux land came in June, months after the Justice Department outlined a new policy that allows Indian tribes to grow and sell marijuana under the same conditions as some states.

Many tribes are hesitant to jump into the pot business. And not everyone in Flandreau, about 45 miles north of Sioux Falls, believes in the project. But the profit potential has attracted the interest of many other tribes, just as the debut of slot machines and table games almost 27 years ago.

Health security

Thousands of medical devices are vulnerable to hacking, security researchers say

Next time you go for an MRI scan, remember that the doctor might not be the only one who sees your results.

Thousands of medical devices, including MRI scanners, x-ray machines and drug infusion pumps, are vulnerable to hacking, creating significant health risks for patients, security researchers said this week.

The risks arise partly because medical equipment is increasingly connected to the Internet so that data can be fed into electronic patient records systems, said researcher Scott Erven, who presented his findings with fellow researcher Mark Collao at theDerbyCon security conference.

Corruption

BREAKING: Here is How Senators Were Paid Off (Bribed) to Support Treasonous TPP

If you haven’t finished your breakfast and/or coffee, finish it before reading this. Because anything in your mouth is likely to hit your screen once you see the nasty truth of what is happening in Washington.

To put it simply, the Senate is run by looters. Treasonous looters who care nothing about the constitution, you, me or America. And the record breaking quick passage of the anti-American TPP proves it beyond a doubt.

But what kind of force could convince the Senate, Republicans and Democrats, to betray the American people and hand over power to a foreign government-like body? What could possibly make Senators want to give up power and give Obama the power to render the Senate irrelevant?

Electronic surveillance

What Edward Snowden On Twitter Could Mean For The Presidential Race

But it's already clear that Twitter will provide Snowden an enormous platform, should he decide to wade into the campaign's policy debates from Moscow. Within four hours of his first tweet, Snowden had amassed 400,000 followers.

Snowden's revelations about the National Security Agency's vast web of domestic surveillance made international headlines in 2013. But until now, the issue has largely been dormant in the presidential campaign.

One notable exception: an intense back-and-forth between Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during the first Republican presidential debate that ended with Paul repeatedly yelling "get a warrant!" as Christie called the senator's NSA opposition "completely ridiculous."

Border security

European Border Crisis: State Of Emergency Declared, Border Controls Reintroduced

The European Schengen Agreement is again under scrutiny after countries have begun implementing border controls, effectively pausing Schengen.

The Schengen Agreement – which enables passport-free movement – can be temporarily paused in emergency situations, which is exactly what Europe is facing right now as a result of the migrant crisis.

More than 500,000 migrants were detected at EU external borders in the first eight months of this year after a fifth consecutive monthly record was registered in August when 156,000 crossed the EU borders. By comparison, in 2014, there were 280,000 detections at EU borders.

The Greek islands again saw the biggest number of detections in August at 88,000, an 11-fold increase compared to the same month last year. Nearly three-quarters of the people arriving from Turkey were Syrians.

Innovations & technologies

DHS X-Ray Scanning Rover Opens New Level Of Remote Access To Bomb Techs

For bomb technicians who regularly risk their lives to investigate suspicious objects and render the devices safe, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) First Responders Group (FRG) is developing the X-Ray Scanning Rover (XSR) to be a responder’s eyes.

“It quickly and accurately scans packages and bags for leave-behind improvised explosive devices (LBIED) while keeping responders out of harm’s way,” DHS said in announcing the new technology.

DHS said that, “While other handheld scanning systems require multiple images to be stitched together, The XSR provides a complete 3-D, multi-view picture of the entire object being scanned in real time, saving first responders precious time.” DHS added that, “This technology offers an alternative to other large, bulky, expensive options that may have limited ability to operate in remote areas or rough terrain.”

International security

Russia And NATO Build Up Nuclear Arsenals – Analyst

As a response to U.S. plans to station nuclear weapons – which are four times the destructive power of the one that was used on Hiroshima in 1945 – Russia expressed protest and has been intimidating the U.S. with ‘preventative measures’.

Could it mean that the Kremlin is poised to launch a nuclear arms race and could these ‘preventative measures’ be dangerous?

ValueWalk asked this question Igor Korotenko, a Russian military expert, who is often published in Russian media.

“First of all, the U.S. should expect Russia’s stationing of Iskader complexes to Kaliningrad region, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea,” Korotenko told ValueWalk.

International security

Putin: U.S. Is Destroying The World

Russian President Vladimir Putin indirectly stated that the interference of the United States caused the spread of extremism in the Middle East during his remarks at the United Nations General Assembly.

Putin said, “Social experiment for exports, attempts to push for changes within other countries based on ideological preferences often led to tragic consequences and degradation rather than progress. The export of revolutions, this time of so called democratic one continues. It sufficed to look at the situation in the Middle East and North Africa. Certainly, political and social problems in these regions have been piled up for a long time.”

International security

Petraeus on Putin: His provocations are designed to protect his interests

In Syria, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s basic objectives is “to keep that naval base [at Tartus] and indeed to keep a base [in Latakia Province]” along the Mediterranean coast that “has been challenged increasingly in recent months by [the Islamic State] and then by other opposition forces.”

Putin also is concerned about Chechens fighting in Syria. “There’s a worry, of course, they’ll go back, presumably [to Russia], and be more effective” opposing Moscow.

Those are views voiced last Tuesday by David H. Petraeus, the retired Army general and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, during a multi-hour tutorial on the Middle East at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

Terror threat

Generation ISIS: The Western Millennials Stocking the Terror Army

Angry, committed, and ever younger ISIS recruits keep flowing into Syria, despite the Obama administration’s year-long campaign to target ISIS and tighten regional laws and borders against militants.

Like a clenched fist trying to hold water, the U.S.-led coalition is struggling to getmultiple bureaucracies to move in unison to hold back the wave of 1,000 fighters a month into Iraq and Syria.

The coalition is also trying to compete with the so-called Islamic State’s popularity by building a creative, coordinated international network of community groups, technology companies, and media hipsters. That’s a tall order for any government bureaucracy that is by its nature the opposite of the organic and spontaneous movement it’s trying to foster.

Syrian war

Who Cares If Russia Helps Stabilize Syria

But as long as US strategic interests are met, Washington probably shouldn’t care if Russian actions—or those of China or Iran—help, or even are primary, in achieving American objectives. If the aim is to stabilize Syria and, if possible, Iraq, it shouldn’t matter that Putin has swooped in at the last minute to prop up Assad, and bolster his regime against ISIL.
In this case, Putin gets to stick it to the man—the US—which plays so well at home. If everything goes right, he can divert attention from Ukraine, and persuade at least Europe to cancel its Russian sanctions.
But a key credibility factor for Putin will be this: Although he already has deployed considerable hardware on the ground in Syria, is he any more likely than the US to put actual troops into action?

War on terror

Saudi security forces kill 2, arrest 3 in anti-terror raids

Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry said Monday that security forces killed two suspected militants and arrested three others during a series of counterterrorism raids, who state-linked media said were part of an alleged Islamic State cell.

The official Saudi Press Agency carried the Interior Ministry statement, which said the simultaneous raids targeted sites around the capital, Riyadh, and in the Eastern Province city of Dammam. All five suspects were identified as Saudi nationals.

The statement said one of the suspects had previously been imprisoned for three years after being repatriated from Iraq, though it did not specify if his imprisonment was for links to militant groups there.

Arctic

Freezing U.S. out of the Arctic

U.S. national security leadership has put Arctic issues on the back burner for decades, focusing on global hot spots in the Middle East, Asia and Russia.

But the ice pack on the roof of the world is melting, and a surge of economic and foreign military activity is forcing Washington to take a hard look at how to fund polar priorities under an already strained federal budget.

While Russia is building air bases and search-and-rescue facilities in the Arctic and Chinese ships entered U.S. waters off the coast of Alaska, the U.S. lags at least 10 years behind where it needs to be in the Arctic, said Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the Coast Guard.

Navy

TALONS System Mimics A Mast As Tall As A Skyscraper

DARPA’s Towed Airborne Lift of Naval Systems (TALONS) research effort recently demonstrated a prototype of a low-cost, fully automated parafoil system designed to extend maritime vessels’ long-distance communications and improve their domain awareness.

Towed behind boats or ships, TALONS could carry intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications payloads of up to 150 pounds between 500 and 1,500 feet in altitude—many times higher than current ships’ masts—and greatly extend the equipment’s range and effectiveness.

International security

Searching for the roots of Russia’s aggression

The vehemence of Russia’s recent turn against the West has shocked observers and prompted a scramble for explanations. Marvin Kalb, a veteran foreign correspondent and Russia hand, believes the key to the current crisis lies in the region’s history, specifically the interwoven pasts of the countries now called Russia and Ukraine. In “Imperial Gamble,” he provides a primer on the important events and personalities of the past 12 centuries. His narrative ranges from Mongol invaders to Kiev’s pro-Europe protesters, from the facade villages of Grigori Potemkin to the ersatz democracy of Vladimir Putin.