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Syria’s Chemical Weapons Sites Can’t Be Safely Bombed, Experts Say

"'If you drop a conventional munition on a storage facility containing unknown chemical agents – and we don't know exactly what is where in the Syrian arsenal – some of those agents will be neutralized and some will be spread,' said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, a nonprofit that focuses on all types of weaponry. 'You are not going to destroy all of them.' 'It's a classic case of the cure being worse than the disease,' Kimball said. He said some of the suspected storage sites are in or near major Syrian cities like Damascus, Homs and Hama. Those cities have a combined population of well over 2 million people." Continue reading →

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Crash Course: A Guide To 30 Years Of U.S. Military Strikes Against Other Nations

"A look at major U.S. military strikes as ordered by the last five U.S. presidents and the degree of international support behind the actions. RONALD REAGAN: Beirut (1982-83): U.S. troops deployed to Lebanon as part of a three-nation peacekeeping force. Reagan ordered limited airstrikes, with France, to retaliate for 1983 bombing on military barracks that killed 299 U.S. and French troops. Grenada (1983): Invasion by an estimated 7,000 U.S. troops and 300 Organization of American States troops after a government coup; was condemned by Britain and the U.N. but supported by six Caribbean island nations that said it was justified under the OAS charter. Libya (1986): [..] " Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCrash Course: A Guide To 30 Years Of U.S. Military Strikes Against Other Nations

White House sends resolution to Congress asking for approval on Syria strikes

"The White House formally asked Congress Saturday for authorization to conduct military strikes in Syria in a draft resolution framing a narrow set of operations, in a bid to ease fears of another open-ended war. The document says support from Congress, requested by President Barack Obama in a stunning development on Saturday, would 'send a clear signal of American resolve.' 'The objective of the United States use of military force in connection with this authorization should be to deter, disrupt, prevent and degrade the potential for future uses of chemical weapons or other weapons of mass destruction,' the draft resolution reads." Continue reading →

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UK Parliament votes against war for the first time since American Revolution end

"Prime Minister David Cameron's plans to join a potential military strike on Syria were thwarted on Thursday night when Britain's parliament narrowly voted against a government motion to authorize such action in principle. In a humiliating defeat for the British leader likely to damage Cameron's hopes of being re-elected in 2015 and set back traditionally strong U.S.-UK relations, parliament defied Cameron by 285 to 272 votes. Commentators said it was the first time a British prime minister had lost a vote on war since 1782, when parliament effectively conceded American independence by voting against further fighting to crush the colony's rebellion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUK Parliament votes against war for the first time since American Revolution end

$652 million project ‘GENIE’: U.S. conducted 231 ‘offensive cyberoperations’

"The revelation is based on a classified intelligence budget provided to the paper by fugitive leaker Edward Snowden, as well as on interviews. Under a $652 million project code-named 'GENIE,' US specialists hack foreign computer networks to secretly put them under American control. This involves placing 'covert implants' in computers, routers and firewalls, it said, adding that by year’s end 'GENIE' is projected to control at least 85,000 'malware' plug-ins in machines around the globe. US intelligence services make 'routine use' of government-constructed malware around the globe that 'differs little in function from the ‘advanced persistent threats’ that US officials attribute to China.'" Continue reading →

Continue Reading$652 million project ‘GENIE’: U.S. conducted 231 ‘offensive cyberoperations’

Australian spies participating in global deal to tap undersea cables

"The British Government Communications Headquarters is collecting all data transmitted to and from the UK and Northern Europe via the SEA-ME-WE-3 cable that runs from Japan, via Singapore, Djibouti, Suez and the Straits of Gibraltar to Northern Germany. Singaporean intelligence co-operates with Australia in accessing and sharing communications carried by the SEA-ME-WE-3 cable which lands at Tuas on the western side of Singapore Island. Access to this major international telecommunications channel via Singapore's government-owned operator SingTel and the country's Defence Ministry has been a key element in an expansion of Australian-Singaporean intelligence and defence ties." Continue reading →

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Microsoft and Google to sue over U.S. surveillance requests

"The companies announced the lawsuit on Friday, escalating a legal battle over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa), the mechanism used by the National Security Agency (NSA) and other US government agencies to gather data about foreign internet users. Microsoft’s general counsel, Brad Smith, made the announcement in a corporate blog post which complained of the government’s 'continued unwillingness' to let it publish information about Fisa requests. The companies denied the NSA had 'direct access' to their systems but said they were legally unable to disclose how many times they have been asked to provide information on users." Continue reading →

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Codename ‘Apalachee’: How America Spies on Europe and the UN

"The classified documents, which SPIEGEL has seen, demonstrate how systematically the Americans target other countries and institutions like the EU, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna and the UN. They show how the NSA infiltrated the Europeans' internal computer network between New York and Washington, used US embassies abroad to intercept communications and eavesdropped on video conferences of UN diplomats. The surveillance is intensive and well-organized -- and it has little or nothing to do with counter-terrorism. In an internal presentation, the NSA sums up its vision, which is both global and frighteningly ambitious: 'information superiority'." Continue reading →

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Lawyers’ Heaven: Big Banks’ Legal Bills Total $100 Billion.

"The six biggest U.S. banks, led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Bank of America Corp., have piled up $103 billion in legal costs since the financial crisis, more than all dividends paid to shareholders in the past five years. Bank of America, led by Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan increased its legal costs by $3.3 billion in the first half to a total of $19.1 billion. That’s the amount allotted to lawyers and litigation, as well as for settling claims about shoddy mortgages and foreclosures, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The sum, equivalent to spending $51 million a day, is enough to erase everything the banks earned for 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawyers’ Heaven: Big Banks’ Legal Bills Total $100 Billion.

U.S. seeking $6 billion from JPMorgan to settle mortgage claims

"U.S. government housing finance authorities are pressing JPMorgan Chase & Co for at least $6 billion to settle lawsuits over bonds backed by subprime mortgages, according to a person familiar with the matter. The FHFA litigation is among a raft of legal issues JPMorgan is trying to work through in addition to investigations over its $6.2 billion 'London Whale' derivatives loss of last year. The FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, sued JPMorgan over some $33 billion of securities two years ago and also sued at least 16 other financial institutions. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were seized by the government in 2008 and received $187.5 billion to stay afloat." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. seeking $6 billion from JPMorgan to settle mortgage claims