Interesting articles

Catching up on some reading that I recently missed while working today that caught my eye and the first is from three days ago:

Afghanistan Central Bank Head Flees To US

In what may be the most prophetic news of the day, we learn that the head of Afghanistan's central bank, Abdul Fitrat (what an oddly appropriate name for a central banker), has escaped the country, emigrated to the US and "isn't expected to return because he fears for his safety after investigating fraud allegations at the country's largest lender, according to two Western officials." It gets funnier. From the WSJ: "Mr. Fitrat said he left the country because his life had been threatened and that the Karzai government was refusing to prosecute those allegedly involved in fraudulent loans, the Associated Press reported. "My life has become completely endangered," he told the AP. "Since I exposed the fraudulent practices on April 27 in parliament I have received information about threats on my life." Mr. Fitrat's family lives in the Washington suburbs, and he has permanent resident status in the U.S., according to a person close to the banker." Surely, Mr. Fitrat had nothing to do with the $850 million in "suspect loans" made by Kabul Bank which is at the core of the scandal.

So is it living or House Arrest to keep their mouths shut to protect the Banksters? My wager is the later.

How Does NSA Get Away With Running Top Secret Menwith Hill in the UK?

North Yorkshire in the UK is known for its undulating and verdurous hillsides, scattered with walkers and sheep poo, cozy country pubs selling ‘real’ ale and Yorkshire bitter, and simple folk who talk funny.

This tranquil and traditional corner of England at its most ‘English’ is the last place you would expect to find a $10 billion dollar “star wars” inspired defence shield that houses 33 satellite dishes, enclosed within giant ‘golf balls’ that receive data from four SBIR satellites 24,000 miles above earth.

This almost unbelievable scenario is the situation with Menwith Hill in North Yorkshire, the home of a major US military site that has been shrouded in secrecy during its two-decade construction.

It has now been reported as the site for “Echelon”, the top secret US eavesdropping system that intercepts communications from around the world.

Not new news, but good to see people are asking again and perhaps just a few more will realize the extent of how they are watched- constantly.

Then there is the following in the Air Force times:

AFRICOM: AF, Navy still flying Libya missions

By Dave Majumdar - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jun 30, 2011 12:33:04 EDT

Air Force and Navy aircraft are still flying hundreds of strike missions over Libya despite the Obama administration’s claim that American forces are playing only a limited support role in the NATO operation.

An Africa Command (AFRICOM) spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday that since NATO's Operation Unified Protector (OUP) took over from the American-led Operation Odyssey Dawn on March 31, the U.S. military has flown hundreds of strike sorties. Previously, Washington had claimed that it was mostly providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and tanker support to NATO forces operating over Libya.

"U.S. aircraft continue to fly support [ISR and refueling] missions, as well as strike sorties under NATO tasking," AFRICOM spokeswoman Nicole Dalrymple said in an emailed statement. "As of today, and since 31 March, the U.S. has flown a total of 3,475 sorties in support of OUP. Of those, 801 were strike sorties, 132 of which actually dropped ordnance."

A White House report on Libya sent to Congress on June 15 says that “American strikes are limited to the suppression of enemy air defense and occasional strikes by unmanned Predator UAVs against a specific set of targets.” The report also says the U.S. provides an "alert strike package."

So another worthless lie from the Muslim Kenyan and yet, he is not impeached, the peasants are not storming the gates and we are but three days away from our anniversary...

Ugly is so coming.

WP