Bastille Day, Bahrain, & US Undermining "Arab Spring" & Secret CIA Prisons in Somalia? by Jeremy Scahill via AlterNet

                                      -----UPDATE: 4:40 PM , July 14, 2011-----

The Storming of The Bastille

"Those strong walls overhead blind and stifle me. When shall we see them pulled down? I would wield a pick with a will if the chance came."
referring to the Bastille in 1780 Georges Jacques Danton 1759-1794

"An avidity to punish is always dangerous to liberty. It leads men to stretch, to misinterpret, and to misapply even the best of laws. He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself."
-- Thomas Paine, Dissertations on First Principles of Government (July 7, 1795), thanks to Laird Wilcox, ed, The Writer's Rights (2002) p. 31
( From: Thomas Paine Quotations at Positive Atheism.org )

Today's Menu

 Jeremy Scahill  video at Democracy Now! CIA Somalia Secret Prisons -Obama's Bastilles and rendition & targeted Assassinations and secret prisons
Obama buys into right wing deficit /budget crisis hysteria-cutting services for those most in need in America
US undermining the so called "Arab Spring" as it supports various tyrannical and brutal regimes
US meanwhile supports the well armed "Rebels" in Libya- are they reformers or just US stooges???
Alternate online news sources in need of funding -today Information Clearing House ICH
Mainstream Media still supporting the rich and powerful and Royalty around the globe???

US supports the crushing of the Reform Movement in Bahrain and other nations





la Marseillaise French Arabic
LyonOran on Jul 27, 2010
السلام الفرنسي مترجم إلى العربية
l'hymne national Français traduit en arabe
French national anthem in Arabic
himno nacional francés en árabe

Französisch Nationalhymne auf Arabisch




La Marseillaise Français - Español



From Saudi Arabia to Bahrain to Iran and Egypt to Honduras to Malaysia to Arizona to Wisconsin the people rise up and are beaten down by the Tyrants supported by Western & US Corporations & their Quisling Political Elites & their fawning Media ie Rupert Murdoch, Fox News,Sky News, CNN, CBC, BBC- we accuse them all -

Storming The Bastille



Another great story for Bastille Day & America's Hypocrisy by Jeremy Scahill on Obama's secret prisons

Jeremy Scahill on Democracy Now! talking about the CIA's secret sites in Somalia. 1 of 2




Jeremy Scahill Democracy Now! Part 2.



Why Are Your Tax Dollars Funding Secret CIA Prisons in Somalia? by Jeremy Scahill at AlterNet, July 13, 2011

An investigation in Somalia uncovers secret sites that include counterterrorism training for Somali intelligence agencies and secret prisons, operated by the CIA.

Nestled in a back corner of Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport is a sprawling walled compound run by the Central Intelligence Agency. Set on the coast of the Indian Ocean, the facility looks like a small gated community, with more than a dozen buildings behind large protective walls and secured by guard towers at each of its four corners. Adjacent to the compound are eight large metal hangars, and the CIA has its own aircraft at the airport. The site, which airport officials and Somali intelligence sources say was completed four months ago, is guarded by Somali soldiers, but the Americans control access. At the facility, the CIA runs a counterterrorism training program for Somali intelligence agents and operatives aimed at building an indigenous strike force capable of snatch operations and targeted “combat” operations against members of Al Shabab, an Islamic militant group with close ties to Al Qaeda.

As part of its expanding counterterrorism program in Somalia, the CIA also uses a secret prison buried in the basement of Somalia’s National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters, where prisoners suspected of being Shabab members or of having links to the group are held. Some of the prisoners have been snatched off the streets of Kenya and rendered by plane to Mogadishu. While the underground prison is officially run by the Somali NSA, US intelligence personnel pay the salaries of intelligence agents and also directly interrogate prisoners. The existence of both facilities and the CIA role was uncovered by The Nation during an extensive on-the-ground investigation in Mogadishu. Among the sources who provided information for this story are senior Somali intelligence officials; senior members of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG); former prisoners held at the underground prison; and several well-connected Somali analysts and militia leaders, some of whom have worked with US agents, including those from the CIA. A US official, who confirmed the existence of both sites, told The Nation, “It makes complete sense to have a strong counterterrorism partnership” with the Somali government.

The CIA presence in Mogadishu is part of Washington’s intensifying counterterrorism focus on Somalia, which includes targeted strikes by US Special Operations forces, drone attacks and expanded surveillance operations. The US agents “are here full time,” a senior Somali intelligence official told me. At times, he said, there are as many as thirty of them in Mogadishu, but he stressed that those working with the Somali NSA do not conduct operations; rather, they advise and train Somali agents. “In this environment, it’s very tricky. They want to help us, but the situation is not allowing them to do [it] however they want. They are not in control of the politics, they are not in control of the security,” he adds. “They are not controlling the environment like Afghanistan and Iraq. In Somalia, the situation is fluid, the situation is changing, personalities changing.”

According to well-connected Somali sources, the CIA is reluctant to deal directly with Somali political leaders, who are regarded by US officials as corrupt and untrustworthy. Instead, the United States has Somali intelligence agents on its payroll. Somali sources with knowledge of the program described the agents as lining up to receive $200 monthly cash payments from Americans. “They support us in a big way financially,” says the senior Somali intelligence official. “They are the largest [funder] by far.”

and update on besiege of Bahrain by its Royal Tyrants and their relatives in Saudi Arabia backed by the awesome might and power of the anti-democracy  Obama(Bush) Regime .
Instead of promoting reform the Obama Regime is doing all it can to undo what was accomplished in the so called "Arab Spring". The US may agree to a changing of the guard but not real substantive change which challenges the power and wealth of the ruling elites including those in the USA.

Bahrainis rally to support jailed medics, July 13, 2011

Bahraini anti-government protesters have once again taken to the streets, demanding the immediate release of medical professionals.


Protest rallies in support of dozens of doctors and nurses imprisoned for providing medical treatment to the injured anti-government protesters were held in several villages, including Daih and Sanabis, on Wednesday.

Protesters also called for the ouster of the Al Khalifa regime.

Bahraini authorities detained 47 doctors, nurses and paramedics in March when the country declared martial law as part of a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters.

The medical professionals appeared before a military court for trial in June and were charged with crimes that included participating in illegal rallies and efforts to overthrow Bahrain's monarchy, as well as refusing to help persons in need.

But activists and human rights groups say the medical personnel were arrested and are being prosecuted for treating anti-regime protestors.

Bahraini doctors have repeatedly said that they were under professional duty to treat all and rejected claims by the authorities that helping anti-regime protesters was akin to supporting their cause.

Some of the detained medics have been released but the Manama government has announced that they would soon be tried in special military courts.

Protests against the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty began in mid-February.

In mid-March, Manama called in troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help the Bahraini forces suppress the nationwide protests.

Scores of people have been killed and many more arrested for demanding the ouster of the Al Khalifa family since the beginning of the protests.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have severely criticized the Persian Gulf sheikhdom for its brutal crackdown on civilians, doctors, nurses, lawyers and journalists, who have voiced support for the protest movement.

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Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered In US War And Occupation Of Iraq "1,455,590"

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America's War On Iraq:  4,790

www.icasualties.org/oif/

Number Of  International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 2,588

Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,220,210,115,832  http://www.costofwar.com/

It's Raining Trillions Why The US Won't Leave Afghanistan By Pepe Escobar

The notion that the US government would spend $10 billion a month just to chase a few "al-Qaeda types" in the Hindu Kush is nonsense. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28565.htm

Obama's Secret Wars
How Our Shady Counter-Terrorism Policies Are More Dangerous Than Terrorism By Fred Branfman

Obama should be held accountable for vastly expanding the military establishment's worldwide license to kill.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28560.htm

Foreign Policy, Africa and Hypocrisy By Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

The BBC is asking the British public to make donations for the Horn of Africa, where ten million people are starving to death, exactly when their Prime Minister, Cameron, is spending millions of pounds every single day on his bombing campaign in Libya.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28564.htm

Rights Group Exposes Libyan Rebel Abuses By Our Foreign Desk

Western-backed insurgents in Libya have looted shops, homes and medical facilities in towns that they have seized in the oil-rich country's western mountains, a US-based rights group warned today.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28563.htm

Why Did Democracy Fail in Bahrain? By Saeed Rahnema

Between sectarian tensions and the U.S.'s imperial interests, Bahraini democracy never stood a chance.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28562.htm

Putin Slams US By Pak Alert

Putin branded the United States current monetary policy as "hooliganism"
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28558.htm

They Only Way To Financially Survive The Current Economic Crisis By Dale Pivarunas

What has been elaborated here is drastically different from what President Obama and his economic advisors have been saying.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28569.htm

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Rupert Murdoch: Anthony Blair's Bagman
Britain's politicians find courage?

By Christopher King

Will the unravelling of Rupert Murdoch's power in the UK will serve as a wake up call to British politicians whom for years he has targeted on behalf of the US and Israel.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28561.htm

Murdoch Shaped British Politics for 40 Years

By The Real News

Leo Panitch: Murdoch used sex scandal journalism to attack left-wing of the Labor Party and later helped create Tony Blair.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28568.htm

This Media is Corrupt: The Danger Corporate Power Presents to Democracy By George Monbiot

Our job is to hold power to account. Instead, most of the profession simply ventriloquises the concerns of the elite. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28559.htm

Tell Big Biz To Stop Undermining Our Democracy By Center for Media and Democracy

Why are Fortune 500 companies like Wal-Mart, Bayer, Coca-Cola, Kraft, Johnson & Johnson, State Farm and AT&T cozying up behind closed doors with Koch Industries and Big Tobacco to rewrite state laws throughout the country? http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28567.htm

I Refused To Pledge Allegiance To The Flag  Zeitgeist: Moving Forward Must Watch - Video

Jacque Fresco - "This Shi*'s Got To Go"  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28566.htm

US Kills 58 People In Pakistan:  

At least eight people were killed in a 3rd U.S. drone strike launched on Tuesday in Pakistan' s northwest tribal area bordering Afghanistan, bringing to 58 the total number of people killed in four strikes launched in the last 24 hours
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7438111.html

Pakistan jails man who helped CIA:  

Pakistani authorities have jailed a doctor who helped the CIA by creating an elaborate plot to get DNA samples of Osama bin Laden's family before the al-Qaida leader was killed in a special forces raid here.
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/jul/13/pakistan-jails-cia-helper/

Altaf accuses govt of conspiring against armed forces, ISI:  

Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain has accused the PPP-led government of conspiring against the armed forces, ISI and other security institutions in league with the United States.
http://bit.ly/qb3ZmA

Five French occupation force soldiers killed in Afghanistan:

 Five French soldiers were killed after a suicide attack in Afghanistan on Wednesday, and four others were seriously wounded, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said in a statement.
http://reut.rs/qWOJYN

4 Afghan civilians killed by US airstrike:  

A US airstrike has killed at least four civilians in Kunar province in northeast Afghanistan, where another US-led aerial attack in March left nine young children dead.
http://www.abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=253158

22 Afghan soldiers killed in past week: official:  

According to Azimi, the casualties on army were counted from July 6 to July 12. The spokesman of Defense Ministry also said as many as 55 army personnel were wounded over the same period of time.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7439042.html

Violence surrounds Wali Karzai's funeral:  

Karzai, kneeling at the graveside, wept and kissed the face of his brother as his body was lowered into the ground.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/07/20117134384513388.html

Attacks show Taliban are not as weak as the US claims:  

The killing of Ahmed Wali Karzai, the most powerful Afghan in the south of the country, will reinforce the feeling among Afghans that the Taliban can strike anywhere at any time and are not weakening as American military commanders have claimed.
http://ind.pn/rkuY5A

11 Killed As Libyan Forces Breach Misrata Front Line:  

Libyan forces attacked the city of Misrata, breaching the opposition's front line to the west and killing 11 rebel fighters, military officials in the rebel-held enclave said. http://bloom.bg/qTcC21

Libyan forces retake village south of Tripoli: -  

Libyan forces retook on Wednesday the village of Al-Qawalish, south of the capital, which was captured by rebels a week ago, rebel fighters said.  http://bit.ly/oUYZr2

India: 10 Killed as Mumbai Hit by Terrorist Attack:  

Reports said explosions set off around 7 p.m. in India, one at the Opera House in South Mumbai, one in a meter box in the jewelry market Zaveri Bazaar, and another near a temple in the Dadar neighborhood.
http://wapo.st/riR3FI

Car bombing kills 3 Sunni paramilitary members west of Baghdad:

 A car bomb struck members of the Awakening Council group in west outskirt of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing three group members and wounding six other people, a local police source told Xinhua.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7438547.html

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Khalilzad: US Troops Likely To Stay:  

Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US ambassador to Iraq, believes that US troops will likely stay beyond December 2011 and that the country is unlikely to dissolve into civil war.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/3820.html

3 killed as violence in northeast Nigeria sparks fears:  

Suspected members of a hardline Muslim sect have killed three people in a van blast near a military checkpoint in northeast Nigeria, an official said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/07/201171220462297893.html

Somalia: malnutrition brings children to the brink of death:  

Levels of malnutrition have reached a new peak and are currently the highest in the world, said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today http://bit.ly/ocwDcp

Report: Two killed in clashes in Yemen's southern city of Taiz: -  

Two people were killed and another injured in clashes between troops loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and opponents to his rule in the southern city of Taiz, television broadcaster Al-Jazeera reported Wednesday. http://bit.ly/nZs15J

Yemen's Mysterious Militants: Are They Really Al-Qaeda?:  

Have militants from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) taken control of territory in southern Yemen? http://yhoo.it/ogTVEp

IMF sees Yemen inflation at up to 30% this year:  

"The situation is serious. Economic activity has ground to a halt," Hassan al-Atrash, the IMF's head of mission to Yemen, told Reuters http://bit.ly/qufDlX

Food Prices Cause Yemeni Families to Take Desperate Measures:  

Families are trying to cope by liquidating their assets, skipping meals and diverting funds from health care and education. http://bit.ly/qKucm3

France slams Russia, China block on UN Syria vote:  

France on Wednesday slammed as "indecent" Russia and China's "blocking" of a proposed United Nations resolution condemning Syria's deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests http://bit.ly/pu9mRg

Egyptian protesters call for end to army rule:  

Demonstrators continue to occupy Cairo's Tahrir Square, calling for military council leader Tantawi to hand over power.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/07/20117130743909823.html

Bahrainis rally to support jailed medics:  

Protest rallies in support of dozens of doctors and nurses imprisoned for providing medical treatment to the injured anti-government protesters were held in several villages, including Daih and Sanabis, on Wednesday.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/188912.html

Abbas vows to continue UN statehood bid:  

Palestinian president proceeds with September plan, as Middle East diplomatic Quartet meeting produces no statement.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/07/201171302020819197.html

Palestinians hold US responsible for Israel policy:  

The Palestinian leadership, in unusually harsh criticism of Washington, on Tuesday held the United States responsible for "racist" Israeli policies it said had sabotaged the peace process
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/palestinians-hold-us-responsible-for-israel-policy/

Israeli peace group launches boycott, defying ban:

 An Israeli peace group launched a boycott of products from Jewish settlements Tuesday - in the wake of a controversial Israeli law banning such actions. http://bit.ly/rdDK14

Venezuela's Chavez expects chemo or radiation:  

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that he expects to undergo chemotherapy or radiation treatment once he recovers from cancer surgery that removed a tumor the size of a baseball.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7651607.html

Fitch ratings agency downgrades Greek sovereign debt :  

Greece suffered another sovereign downgrade on Wednesday, when the Fitch agency slashed its credit worthiness by three notches further into junk status and only one grade above default
http://wapo.st/mWUQWo

Advisers to bailed-out Irish bank get millions in fees:  

Consultancies are the big winners in Ireland's continuing financial crisis, picking up millions in fees to help the bailed-out Bank of Ireland head off the almost inevitable state control
http://bit.ly/nRjgsO

The Beginning of the End of Europe: :  

This is the start of the eurozone endgame. It is now only a matter of time before the eurozone breaks apart. Therefore, get back in your seats, buckle up, and brace yourselves good-'cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride
http://gonzalolira.blogspot.com/2011/07/beginning-of-end-of-europe.html

Republicans offer Obama new debt limit power:  

Republican proposal allows Obama to raise debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion while demanding even larger spending cuts. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/07/2011711161143295406.html

The faces of those Obama is betraying:

 "Let us be clear, Social Security has not contributed one nickel to our deficit or our national debt ... I am especially disturbed that President Obama is considering cuts in Social Security after he campaigned against cuts in 2008."
http://bangordailynews.com/2011/07/12/opinion/the-faces-of-those-obama-is-betraying/

ACLU Sues CIA for Documents on Iraq War Critic Juan Cole:  

Materials Could Reveal Illegal Domestic Spying Activity by CIA and Bush Administration Officials
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/07/13-0

A real American hero: Police charge mother in Nashville airport altercation: Woman refused to let officers screen daughter http://bit.ly/qiWiUv

 and so it goes,

GORD.