destabilization 2.0: soros, cia, mossad & the new media destabilization of iran from corbett report: It's the 2009 presidential election in Iran and opposition leader Mir-Houssein Mousavi declares victory hours before the polls close, insuring that any result to the contrary will be called into question. Western media goes into overdrive, fighting with each other to see who can offer the most hyperbolic denunciation of the vote and President Ahmadenijad's apparent victory (BBC wins by publishing bald-faced lies about the supposed popular uprising which it is later forced to retract). On June 13th, 30,000 "tweets" begin to flood Twitter with live updates from Iran, most written in English and provided by a handful of newly-registered users with identical profile photos. The Jerusalem Post writes a story about the Iran Twitter phenomenon a few hours after it starts (and who says Mossad isn't staying up to date with new media?). Now, YouTube is providing a "Breaking News" link at the top of every page linking to the latest footage of the Iranian protests (all shot in high def, no less). Welcome to Destabilization 2.0, the latest version of a program that the western powers have been running for decades in order to overthrow foreign, democratically elected governments that don't yield to the whims of western governments and multinational corporations.
dc official & contractor arrested in bribery sting from raw story: The office of the District of Columbia's chief technology officer was raided by federal agents Thursday morning as part of a federal bribery sting.
The Washington Postis reporting that Yusuf Acar, 40, was taken into custody this morning by FBI agents at his home in Northwest Washington. The nature of the charges is not yet known and the U.S. Attorney's Office is declining to comment on the arrest.
Acar previously worked under Vivek Kundra, President Obama's appointee as federal chief information officer, when Kundra served as the district's chief technology officer.
"Acar serves as an information systems security officer in the D.C. government and earns $127,468. He has worked for the city since November 2004," reports The Post. "The Office of the Chief Technology Officer has a budget of about $69 million and 298 employees."
A second person, D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer employee Sushil Bansal was also reportedly arrested in the sting according to a report by WTOP. The Associated Press has confirmed the arrest of Bansal.
Bansal's company, Advanced Integrated Technologies Corporation, of which he is the CEO had a $220,000 contract with the District. That yearlong contract ended yesterday.
The Post is reporting that, according to D.C. Council records, AITC was awarded a $10 million, one-year contract in June 2008 to provide "information technology services, equipment and software." As payment was to be based on task orders and delivery, the company may not have already received the entire $10 million. That contract can be viewed here.
AITC describes itself on its company Web site as, "a highly professional company with strong ethics and business values."
In 2008 Bansal was the recipient of an award from the Washington, DC chapter of the Association of Indians in America as its 'Entrepreneur of the Year.'
"Mr. Bansal was selected for this award for his outstanding contribution in the field of information technology and to the growth of AITC. Mr. Bansal is founder and CEO of AITC," according to a brief from the company.
WTOP is reporting that more than a dozen FBI agents, including evidence technicians, took part in the raid. Most employees of the office have been told to go home, though other employees "have been segregated into a waiting room."
Politico's Ben Smith adds, "The outgoing Chief Technology Officer, Vivek Kundra, was appointed last week Chief Information Officer by the Obama administration. His last day at the city government office was February 4, a spokeswoman for D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, Leslie Kershaw, said. He was appointed to the Washington post in 2007."
A spokeswoman for Mayor Fenty has said Kundra is not a target of the investigation, reports Reuters.
update1: obama official on leave after fbi raids from ap: An aide to President Barack Obama is on leave from his White House job after the FBI raided his old District of Columbia government office Thursday, arresting a city employee and a technology consultant on corruption charges, a White House official said. The charges were lodged against the two men at a federal court hearing as the FBI finished searching the city's technology office, which was led until recently by Obama's new computer chief, Vivek Kundra. Kundra is on leave from his White House job until further details of the case become known, according to a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity because the official did not want to publicly discuss personnel matters.
2 miami officers charged in fbi corruption probe from ap: Two veteran police officers were charged Friday with providing protection for purported shipments of cocaine and stolen goods in what was actually an undercover FBI operation. Officer Geovani Nunez and Detective Jorge Hernandez are accused in court documents of helping protect shipments of what they thought were stolen televisions and computers and at least 12 kilograms of cocaine - sometimes by using their police cars to escort trucks.
soldiers caught in robbery scheme from atlanta journal-constitution: Four U.S. Army Soldiers who were caught planning a commando-style armed robbery of a purported drug stash house are preparing to plead guilty for their roles in the incident, according to court records and lawyers for the servicemen. The four Soldiers from the Camp Frank D. Merrill mountain training facility in Dahlonega initially were charged with drug conspiracy and weapon offenses after being arrested in January. If convicted, they each faced mandatory minimum prison sentences of at least 15 years.
corruption among chicago cops from reuters: A former Chicago police officer charged with being part of a ring that falsely arrested and stole from drug dealers has detailed how the operation led to a plot to kill two colleagues, according to interview excerpts released on Friday.
border agents worked on the dark side from blue ridge now: The Villarreal investigation is among scores of corruption cases in recent years that have alarmed officials in the Homeland Security Department just as it is hiring thousands of border agents to stem the flow of illegal immigration. The pattern has become familiar: Customs officers wave in vehicles filled with illegal immigrants, drugs or other contraband. A Border Patrol agent acts as a scout for smugglers. Trusted officers fall prey to temptation and begin taking bribes.
minnesota cops can take blood without warrant from star tribune: When authorities have reason to believe that a drunken driver has caused a serious or fatal accident they have a right to draw the driver's blood to test its alcohol content without their consent and without a search warrant, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Friday (220kb PDF). The ruling was greeted with relief by law enforcers.
from ap: A new indictment of a former top CIA official alleges that he received bribes in the form of "sexual companionship" in exchange for helping a friend get an edge in landing multimillion-dollar contracts from the agency.
Federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Va., on Tuesday obtained a superseding indictment against Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who as executive director held the CIA's No. 3 rank before leaving in 2006.
The indictment accuses Foggo of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in meals, vacations and other perks in exchange for helping friend Brent Wilkes obtain various contracts with the CIA.
The new indictment also includes an allegation that Foggo received sexual companionship and "enrichment of a mistress," though the allegations are not detailed in the indictment...
The sexual companionship allegation may be new to the formal charges against Foggo, but they are a familiar part of the case as a whole. Wilkes has already pleaded guilty to paying bribes to then-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., some of which came in the form of prostitutes.
indonesia’s health minister: bird flu a US bioweapon from paul joseph watson: Indonesia’s Health Minister has implicated the U.S. government in an international conspiracy to develop the bird flu virus into a deadly bio-weapon in a new book which is also endorsed by Indonesia's President. Indonesia has been worst hit by the bird flu virus, with eleven people having died from contracting H5N1 this year. "Indonesia’s uniquely virulent strain of H5N1 gave the country 'bargaining power' according to Indonesia’s Health Minister Dr Siti Fadilah Supari, in her new book called 'It’s Time for the World to Change' and strangely subtitled 'The Divine Hand Behind Avian Influenza,'" reports ABC News Australia.click here for a bbc clip with indonesia's health minister (1.5mb MP3)
discovery of nazi-looted russian treasure? from washington times: Treasure hunters in Germany say they have located a large quantity of gold looted by the Nazis and think they are close to solving one of the most enduring mysteries of World War II - the whereabouts of the fabled Amber Room, the 18th-century chamber decoration Germany stole from the Soviet Union in 1941... "We have not entered the vault yet because we think it may have been booby-trapped. We don't want any mines to blow up, and we need expert help," Deutschneudorf Mayor Heinz-Peter Haustein told The Washington Times.
defense contractor gets 12yrs for bribery from washington post: Brent R. Wilkes, a California defense contractor and prominent GOP campaign contributor, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison yesterday for lavishing a Republican congressman with money, prostitutes and other bribes in exchange for nearly $90 million in work from the Pentagon. Wilkes, 53, was convicted in November of 13 felony crimes including bribery, conspiracy and fraud for giving the gifts to former representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.), who is serving an eight-year prison term for accepting millions in bribes from Wilkes and others.
dhs training nyfd to spy on y-o-u from in these times: In New York City, the Department of Homeland Security is training New York City firefighters to assist in gathering intelligence information during routine inspections and emergencies. In November, the Associated Press reported that in New York, Homeland Security was testing a program called the Fire Service Intelligence Enterprise (FSIE) to help identify “material or behavior that may indicate terrorist activities.”
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