New World Next Week: Episode149 - Korean War, Conspiracy Poll, Phone Tattoo

NewWorldNextWeek.com: Episode149 -
Korean War, Conspiracy Poll, Phone Tattoo
Welcome to New World Next Week - the video series from Corbett Report and Media Monarchy that covers some of the most important developments in open source intelligence news. This week:

Story #1: North Korean Army Says It Has Final 'Approval' For Nuclear Attack On US
U.S. To Deploy Anti-Missile System To Guam
North Korea's Threats Show That Canada Needs To Be Part Of U.S. Missile Defence Pact
North Korea Vows to Restart Shuttered Plutonium Reactor
Ignore the Headlines: Korean Peninsula Has Been In A "State of War" For More Than 60 Years

Story #2: A Ridiculous Number Of Americans Believe In Crazy Conspiracy Theories
Public Policy Polling Poll Results
PDF: PPP Press Release On Poll

Story #3: Nokia Patent Covers Tattoo That Vibrates When Your Phone Rings
Stanford Creates Biological Transistors, Final Step Towards Computers Inside Living Cells
President Obama Launches Initiative To Get Inside Your BRAIN
Ground Zero: Short Circuit - Burn Out Your Dead

Visit NewWorldNextWeek.com to get previous episodes in various formats to download, burn and share. And as always, stay up-to-date by subscribing to the feeds from Corbett Report here and Media Monarchy here. Thank you.

Previous: Episode148 - Monsanto Protection, Kerry+Karzai, BRICS Bank

#Newspurge: Live The Life You're Dreaming Of

Econocrash:
JPM, Barclays Said Among Banks to Get Libor Subpoenas*
Unemployment Benefits Go to Millionaires Because of a Loophole in Current Law*
Like Athletes who Dope, Wall Street’s High-Speed Traders Try to Keep Ahead of Regulators*
#Audio #Satire: U.S. Department Of Corruption Denies Right-Doing*

Geopolitiks:
Summer of Strategic Tension*

The Birth of the Palestinian Nation*
Sinai Terror Attacks Portend Gold Mine for Israeli Military-Intelligence Services*
Ecuador Grants Asylum to WikiLeaks' Assange, Defying Britain*
British Warship Exercises with Middle East US Carrier Strike Group*
Making Scotland the Green Energy Capital of Europe*
Two earthquakes in Iran kill 250 and injure 1,800 - Quakes were 6.4 and 6.3 in magnitude*
Putin Confirms the Invasion of Georgia Was Preplanned*
Russian Punk Band Is Found Guilty for Anti-Putin Protest*
Venezuela plans a ‘guerrilla army’ against US invasion*
Troubled Times: Wave of Suicides Shocks Greece*
Kazakhstan predicts opening of the U.S. military base in Uzbekistan*
#Japan May Deport Activists Arrested on Island Claimed by #China*
#SouthKorea singer swims into island dispute with #Japan*
Soccer association wants to end #Olympics controversy with #SouthKorea*

Obamessiah:
Video: Conservative filmmaker behind ‘2016: Obama’s America’ says he ‘learned some lessons’ from Michael Moore, prepares for wide release*
#Obamessiah / #Amnesty: Illegal #immigrants line up at consulates across country for '#DREAM'-er applications*
Beer but no bumper cars as Obama magic slips in Iowa*
Who is @PaulRyanVP?*
Oops: Romney Gaffes, Introduces Ryan as the ‘Next President of the United States’*
Romney accidentally intro'ed Ryan as the next President. Obama did the same intro'ing Biden 4 years ago*
More than 10,000 Said to Attend First #Romney-#Ryan Campaign Event in #Wisconsin*
“Path to Prosperity” — Paul Ryan’s Budget Plan — Doesn’t Include Federal Workers*
Yes, Ron Wyden built that Medicare plan with Paul Ryan*
Videos surface of Dems, including President Obama, praising Paul Ryan*
#Reminder: Politics is just like professional wrestling... An Ex-Wrestling Executive Wins a G.O.P. Primary*
Investigation Turns Up Only 10 Cases of Voter Impersonation Nationwide…in 10 Years*
Video: US Bain Capital's ties to Latin American 'death squads'*

Police State Updates:
#CivilWar of 2016: “Full Spectrum Operations in the Homeland: A ‘Vision’ of the Future.”*
G4S failure proves we can't rely on private sector; state organisations like the Army could be relied upon*
Ammo? What Ammo? : DHS Takes Unprecedented Step of Redacting Mass Ammunition Purchase*
Obama Keeps Fighting in Court to Jail Americans Indefinitely without Trial*
Agency probes JFK security breach by jet skier*
Video: Privatized eminent domain on steroids*
Video: No fly zone...over Toronto?*
Video: "Toronto G20 Exposed"*
Video: Surveillance as a profit center;
NYPD Unveils Orwellian ‘Domain Awareness System’*

West Virginia Worry:
Owner of mine made famous on Spike TV's 'Coal' is being sued over unpaid production royalties*
EPA allies want state strip mine ruling overturned: MORGANTOWN, W.Va.*
DHHR confirms 3 cases of swine flu in West Virginia*

New World Next Week: Episode107 - Cashless Sweden, Missile Secrets, Korea Cold War

NewWorldNextWeek.com: Episode107 -
Cashless Sweden, Missile Secrets, Korea Cold War

Welcome back to New World Next Week - the video series from Corbett Report and Media Monarchy that covers some of the most important developments in open source intelligence news. This week:

Story #1: In Sweden, Cash Is King No More
Flashback: Cashless Society By 2012, Says Visa Chief

Story #2: US Dangles Secret Data for Russia Missile Shield Approval
Related: On Persian New Year, Obama Tries To Pierce Iran's "Electronic Curtain"
Did Russia And Israel Swap Data On Their Enemies?

Story #3: In Echo of Cold War Tension with North Korea, Obama to Visit Demilitarized Zone Next week
Related: North Korea's Kim Game for "Let's Make a Deal"

Bonus: Food World Order on Corbett Report Radio
The 2010 Video Archive DVD from Corbett Report

Visit NewWorldNextWeek.com to get previous episodes in various formats to download, burn & share. And as always, stay up-to-date by subscribing to the feeds from Corbett Report here and Media Monarchy here. Thank you.

Previous:
Goodbye Enterprise, Impeach Obama 2012, Goldman Sacked

#warwhores: drones, drills, defence

it's a #drone's world. we just live in it*
air force says reporters not welcome at drone base anymore*
mini-missile promises to shrink the drone war*
mini-nukes & 9 more air weapons that will blow you away!*
successful US-korean exercises rely on lockmart sim tech*
hero marine sues defense giant bae after sniper scope fight*
uk's ministry of defence loses a ton of tech*
white house: we're really, really ending the iraq war*

US aides 'believe' china 'probably' examined stealth copter in pakistan

video: sultry drama continues after seal team 6 assassinated*
from nytimes: In the days after the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, Pakistan’s intelligence service probably allowed Chinese military engineers to examine the wreckage of a stealth American helicopter that crashed during the operation, according to American officials and others familiar with the classified intelligence assessments... American officials cautioned that they did not yet have definitive proof that the Chinese were allowed to visit to Abbottabad... Several Pakistani officials reached on Sunday declined to comment. The American assessments were disclosed Sunday by The Financial Times. The newspaper cited Pakistani officials who denied the accusations.

related geopolitiks updates:
bombs tear through 17 iraqi cities, 63 killed*
egypt to charge israeli 'mossad agent' with espionage*
video: israel retaliates following attacks kill 14*
video: white house says syria's assad must resign*
update: 12 signs we're getting dangerously close to war with syria*
pm says 'moral collapse' to blame for britain's riots*
unnamed US official denies drones have killed 168 children in pakistan*
video: north korea angered as south stages 'anti-terror' drills*
300k illegals dare to 'dream' as US eases deportation policy*

5/26 newspurge: don't play no game that i can't win

9/11 updates:
report: intel unit told before 9/11 to stop tracking osama*
people could have planted bombs in the wtc without anyone noticing*
engineers request permission to speak freely regarding wtc7*
ny firefighter who survived 9/11 & deutsche bank blaze killed himself*
9/11 memorial won't have restrooms*

econocrash:
20 questions for anyone who thinks the economic crisis over*
stubborn jobless claims still keep on climbing higher*
39 of biggest corporations paid lower tax rate than average american*
ge, intel advise obama while investing profits overseas*
fed gave banks crisis gains on secretive loans*
paypal co-founder hands out $100k fellowships to not go to college*
models of community: alternatives to corporate america*

media/memes:
notes of a screenwriter, mad as hell;
paddy chayefsky's notes for 'network'*
comcast accused of violating nbc merger rules regarding local news*
glenn beck to launch internet tv channel at gbtv.com*
replica tyson tattoo in new movie draws artist's lawsuit*
real 'pirates of the caribbean' funded by uk;
captain kidd backed by east india company*
video: joseph brooks, “you light up my life” songwriter, dies before trial at 73*

murder/mayhem:
"thanks for the freak show. i saw her die in front of me." -
judge rules tucson shooting suspect incompetent for trial*

scheme to create a run on the global banking system fails

related: killing jpmorgan with silver bullets on dec11
from dw-world.de: Ex-soccer star Eric Cantona's plan for people to withdraw all their money from banks has failed. By the time French banks closed on Tuesday, very few appeared to have followed his call. Tens of thousands of people heard the call by former French footballer Eric Cantona to bring down the banking system that sparked the global economic crisis - but few acted on it on Tuesday, the day Cantona suggested his anti-capitalist revolution should begin.

The protests were few, isolated and largely symbolic. One group of activists in Paris emptied their bank accounts from a branch of Societe Generale and opened accounts at the nearby branch of a cooperative bank. But in general, it was business as usual in France's banking institutions.

Cantona, now a successful actor and an icon to many, had appealed to people to withdraw their money from the banks in an attempt to punish the "corrupt, criminal" banking system.

"The three million people in the street, they go to the bank, withdraw their money, and the banks collapse... That's a real threat, there's a real revolution," the ex-football star said in an online video watched by tens of thousands of people in France and beyond.

related econocrash updates:
banksters & gangsters congratulate obama on the glorious occasion of nafta-style korea trade deal

cablegate: wikileaks unveils secret state dept cables

cablegate: secret US diplomatic cables released by wikileaks
from washington post: A vast treasure trove of secret State Department cables obtained by the Web site WikiLeaks has exposed the inner workings of U.S. diplomacy, as well as bluntly candid assessments by American diplomats, according to news organizations granted advance access to the more than 250,000 confidential documents. The documents suggest U.S. diplomats were ordered to engage in low-level spying by obtaining foreign diplomats' personal information, such as frequent-flier and credit card numbers, presumably to better track their movements. The cables also expose the sensitive diplomacy involved in winning sanctions against Iran; U.S. officials' attempts to remove highly enriched uranium from Pakistan; and new information on how North Korea is believed to have aided Tehran's weaponry program, giving it advanced missiles that could allow it to strike Moscow and major Western European cities.

related wikileaks updates:
wikileaks 'cablegate' site hit by powerful cyberattack*
fmr pakistani general: cia, mossad behind wikileaks reports*
assange says hillary clinton 'should resign'*
amazon to stop hosting wikileaks*
interpol puts 'red notice' on assange, calls for his arrest*
police close in on assange*
lieberman introduces anti-wikileaks legislation*
next wikileak to target major US financial institutions*

related geopolitikal updates:
nuclear scientist killed in tehran was iran's top stuxnet expert*
nigeria to charge dick cheney in pipeline bribery case*
video: south admits firing first shells in row with north korea*

korean crisis escalates grand chessboard tension

north korea attack may be response to drills
from danger room: It’s not the diplomacy-minded former president who is ready to spy, it’s the secretive nuclear submarine named for him. The surveillance and attack capabilities it’s supposed to have could keep the tense situation on the Korean peninsula from spiraling out of control. In the wake of yesterday’s North Korean artillery barrage against a South Korean island, the U.S.S. George Washington is sailing to South Korea to participate in joint exercises.

A statement from the Navy’s Seventh Fleet, which patrols the western Pacific, says the drill was planned before the “unprovoked” North Korean attack, but will demonstrate “the strength of the [South Korea]-U.S. Alliance and our commitment to regional stability through deterrence.” In other words: to stave off another attack, not to initiate a retaliation.

The George Washington aircraft carrier is equipped with 75 planes and around 6,000 sailors. But it’s not coming alone. It’s got the destroyers Lassen, Stethem and Fitzgerald with it, and the missile cruiser Cowpens in tow. Rumor also has it that the carrier strike group will link up with another asset in area: The undersea spy known as the Jimmy Carter, which can monitor and potentially thwart North Korean subs that might shadow the American-South Korea exercises.

According to plugged-in naval blogger Raymond Pritchett, word’s going around Navy circles that the first surveillance assets that the United States had in the air over yesterday’s Korean island battle were drones launched from the Jimmy Carter.

video: tarpley on the collapse of irish zombie banks, provoked korean crisis escalating world financial breakdown crisis

related updates:
new US plan in afghanistan: 'awe & shock'*
petraeus duped by afghan imposter*
nato backs security handover plan for afghanistan*
nato: the armed fist of the global police state*
israeli pm asks for pollard's release as part of freeze deal*
ex-aipac official threatens to uncover mass spying at israel lobby*
reichstag security tightened over terror concerns*
german police want army to help protect public*
staged attack in germany could be used for mass arrests of govt critics*
federal judge orders cia to release records on secret experiments on soldiers*
mumbai marks second anniversary of terrorist attacks with prayers, vigils*

geopolitiks/warwhores: powderkegs looking for sparks

drills, bolton, harvard - putting pieces together
from of goats & men: We mentioned in the blog earlier how John Bolton thinks an Iran attack must proceed within days if it is to occur at all. Terror drills and military exercises have begun in Korea. Harvard has divested itself from Israeli investments which one could speculate has to do with fear of war in the Middle East. Gold is on the rise. None of this definitely means war is coming, but it certainly suggests it could very well be.

USrael increase military cooperation, hold joint exercises

israeli soldier defends her 'sexy' fbook prisoner pics
from danger room: Posing and smiling with blindfolded Palestinian prisoners — and then posting the pics to Facebook? What’s the big deal, an Israeli reserve officer asks. “There’s no violence or intention to humiliate anyone in the pictures,” Eden Abergil tells Army Radio. “I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. Nonetheless, the photos, taken during Abergil’s active duty and part of a gallery labeled “IDF – the best time of my life,” have drawn condemnation from Israeli and Palestinian officials alike. In a YouTube clip, IDF spokesman Captain Barak Raz calls Abergil’s photos “repulsive” and “shameful.” Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib calls them “an example of life under occupation.”

egypt seizes explosives on ship coming from israel

real war against 'terrorists' not in afghanistan -
but in pakistan, yemen & somalia

new world next week - may28

bp oil spill, korean standoff, cybercom*

download mp3 version of 'new world next week'*

Welcome back to the New World Next Week - the video series from CorbettReport.com & MediaMonarchy.com that gives you the weekly rundown on the stories that matter. This week:

Story #1: BP-owned Trans-Alaska Pipeline Shut After Spill
Flashback: Gulf Oil, God's Work, Drills & Spills

Story #2: US Military Told to Get Ready in Korea Standoff
Flashback: Meet Donald Rumsfeld

Story #3: Pentagon's Cybercom Preps War Against the American People
Flashback: Pentagon Says Military Response to Cyber Attack 'Possible'

As the acceleration continues & chaos leads to a new world order, your support in spreading this info becomes more important; help your friends & family make informed decisions about their lives. Subscribe to the feeds from Corbett Report here & Media Monarchy here. Thank you.

previous: may20 - bank protests, voting upsets, elite meetings

US military told to get ready in korea standoff

from msnbc: The White House said Monday that President Barack Obama "fully supports" the South Korean president and his response to the torpedo attack by North Korea that sank a South Korean naval ship.

In a statement, the White House said Seoul can continue to count on the full backing of the United States and said U.S. military commanders had been told to work with their South Korean counterparts "to ensure readiness and to deter future aggression."

The administration said it endorsed President Lee Myung-bak's demand that "North Korea immediately apologize and punish those responsible for the attack, and, most importantly, stop its belligerent and threatening behavior."

Late last week, a team of international investigators accused North Korea of torpedoing the Cheonan corvette in March, killing 46 sailors in one of the deadliest clashes between the two since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The United States still has about 28,000 troops in South Korea to provide military support. The two Koreas, still technically at war, have more than 1 million troops near their border.

"U.S. support for South Korea's defense is unequivocal, and the President has directed his military commanders to coordinate closely with their Republic of Korea counterparts to ensure readiness and to deter future aggression," the statement said.

updates: north korea: an enemy made in the USA*
north korea ready to fight if attacked: report*
north korea severs ties with south on ship sinking*
hillary: world must act on s korean ship sinking*
south on alert as north subs disappear in east sea*
the sinking of the cheonan: another gulf of tonkin incident*

obamessiah: fake left/move right - more wars & patriot acts

obama meets with killer mcchrystal in denmark*
skull & bones goolsbee jokes: obama strategy is communism*
white house doctored photo in botched 'op'*
obama has that perfect colgate smile in every photograph*
you can't say that: obama backs free speech limits at un*
obama praises US intel efforts against al-qaeda*
US 'will' disregard borders in terrorist hunt, says obama*
obama looks at pakistan while reassessing afghanistan strategy*
obama heads to japan, china, singapore & s korea in november*
senators vote to renew patriot act spy powers*
house cuts workweek to 2 1/2 days*
video: kids sing for cnn obamacare propaganda*

cyber/space\war: well-timed attacks, nasa, nsa & saic

US suspects north korea was behind cyber attacks
from dpa: The United States believes North Korea was responsible for a massive cyber attack on government and other websites during the past week, Fox News reported Wednesday. An unnamed US defence official told Fox the attack targeted dozens of websites, including the ones for the US Defence Department and the Department of State.

The attacks were also directed at South Korean websites, the Yonhap news agency reported. South Korean intelligence believes the attacks originated in North Korea, the report said.

The attacks involved ordering a huge number of computers to visit the websites simultaneously to overload the system and shut down ones not robust enough to sustain the traffic. US officials emphasized there was no security breach. "It's just overloading the system," the defence source told Fox.

US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly confirmed the department's website came under attack Sunday but the site was working fine. "The attack is still ongoing, but it's much reduced," Kelly said.

The New York Stock Exchange confirmed it had been informed by the government that its website was also subjected to the attack. Other targeted websites included those of the National Security Agency, Homeland Security Department, the Nasdaq stock exchange and the Washington Post, Fox reported.

The Homeland Security Department said there were 5,499 known breaches of US government computers in 2008, up from 3,928 in 2007.

Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would not discuss the details of the case, but told reporters Wednesday that cyber attacks were an increasing threat and the Pentagon was devoting more resources to counter them. "We need to have this as a big part of our focus with respect to the threat now and in the future," he said.

The South Korean government said the websites of the Presidential Office, the National Assembly and Defence Ministry were simultaneously bombarded with access requests.

update: US state dept under cyberattack for 4th day*

the launching of US cyber command*
hackers exploit facebook's fake sense of security*
nsa's power & money-sucking datacenter buildout continues*
saic awarded $13m contract to support darpa's machine reading program*
fema plans consolidation of IT support contracts*
questions as dhs plans to upgrade cybersecurity system*
bill would grant president unprecedented cybersecurity powers*
here's a cybertest from time*
who is neil armstrong?*
nasa developing internet in outer space*
wary of naked force, israelis eye cyberwar on iran*

north korea’s nukes: paid for by the US govt

from paul joseph watson: Amidst the cacophony of condemnation from all sides following North Korea’s second nuclear bomb test, there has been no mention whatsoever of how the secretive Stalinist state got its weapons in the first place - they were paid for by the U.S. government. Both the Clinton and Bush administrations played a key role in helping Kim Jong-Il develop North Korea’s nuclear prowess from the mid 1990’s onwards. The hypocrisy being spewed forth from all sides in reaction to today’s news that North Korea tested an underground nuclear device equivalent to 10 times the power of their first test in October 2006 is akin to when the U.S. cited Iraq’s possession of chemical and biological weapons as a reason to invade in 2003, having first checked the receipt of course, since it was Donald Rumsfeld who brokered the deal to supply Saddam with those weapons in the first place. Rumsfeld was also the man who presided over a $200 million dollar contract to deliver equipment and services to build two light water reactor stations in North Korea in January 2000 when he was an executive director of ABB (Asea Brown Boveri). Wolfram Eberhardt, a spokesman for ABB confirmed that Rumsfeld was at nearly all the board meetings during his involvement with the company.

north korea informed US of nuclear test: official*
north korea 'fires more missiles'*
world powerless to stop north korea*
ruling party official: japan should attack north korea*
nuke test only the beginning for north korea, US spooks say*

update1: inside america’s (mock) attack on north korea
from danger room: Even the hawks say there’s not much America can do, in response to North Korea’s nuclear test. But that doesn’t mean the U.S. military isn’t prepping for a war with the Kim Jong-Il regime, just in case. In March, American and South Korean forces teamed up for the “Key Resolve/Foal Eagle” war game. 13,100 troops from outside Korea — and tens of thousands more, already stationed in the country — participated in the massive exercise, which focused on “deploying troops and equipment to Korea in the event of an attack,” according to a military press release. Some U.S. and South Korean commandos made airborne jumps together from a helium blimp; others, from helicopters hovering above the Korea Strait. A third group ran a mock “operation to secure a suspected chemical weapons lab.” Unconventional weapons experts drilled in responding to a simulated strike involving “hundreds of WMD.” Navy helicopter pilots swept for mines, while Marine fighter pilots flew with their South Korean counterparts to “wipe out” simulated enemy aircraft. The Americans and their allies kicked all kinds of butt in the exercise, of course. Other war games, testing out the North Korean scenario, didn’t end quite as cleanly. One ran by The Atlantic in 2005 forecast 100,000 or more dead civilians in the first few days. And that was if the U.S. could assemble the half-million to million troops needed for such an assault; none of the participants thought such a staggering number of troops could be gathered together, given all of America’s military commitments around the world.

update2: state of war between two koreas after armistice ended
from paul joseph watson: A state of war officially exists again between North and South Korea for the first time since the end of hostilities in 1953 following North Korea’s announcement that they would henceforth refuse to abide by the terms of the peace armistice. “The Korean People’s Army will not be bound to the Armistice Agreement any longer,” the official Korean Central News Agency said in a statement today. Any attempt to inspect North Korean vessels will be countered with “prompt and strong military strikes.” South Korea’s military said it will “deal sternly with any provocation” from the North, reports Bloomberg. As we have highlighted, any North Korean attack on South Korea will be countered by the United States, which is allied with South Korea. North Korea is allied with China, and Chinese military forces will support North Korea in any conflict just as they did in the 1950’s before the armistice was signed. North Korea’s renouncement of the peace armistice follows yesterday’s threat by a Japanese ruling party minister that Japan should change the terms of its pacifist constitution in order to conduct cruise missile strikes on North Korea. Meanwhile, Russia has warned that the conflict could go nuclear and has made preparations to safeguard its far eastern regions. An interesting back story to this crisis is the fact that, as we reported in October last year, the RAND corporation has been intensely lobbying the Pentagon to become embroiled in a new war. Although North Korea was ruled out as a target because RAND demanded a bigger conflict, the eventual consequences of a war between the Koreas could lead to a global military confrontation involving Russia and China.

update3: US raises military alert levels in korea as north says 'we are ready for war' in nuclear stand-off
from dailymail: The U.S. and South Korea have raised the military alert levels on the Korean peninsula after North Korea raised the stakes in its nuclear stand-off with the world yesterday. The joint command for the 28,500 U.S. troops that support South Korea's 670,000 soldiers has raised its alert a notch to signify a serious threat from North Korea, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It is the highest threat level since the North's only other nuclear test in October 2006.

update4: korea at defcon1?

geopolitiks: occupation, colonization, assimilation

italians occupy site of proposed US military base in vicenza
from global research: Opposition to what would be a major new hub for the U.S. military in Europe is not new. Protest marches have filled Vicenza's streets. The Italian Prime Minister has lost his job. But now construction has neared, and protesters have occupied the site to prevent it. See background here. This morning around 10 a.m. the movement opposing the new U.S. base in Vicenza, Italy, entered and occupied the site. The police were caught completely off guard and the activists were able to cut the fence and gates and occupy the area. Once the police arrived, they were planning to forcibly remove the protesters. However, the protesters are occupying an area that was the airport Dal Molin, which is technically under control of the Italian civilian aviation authority, ENAC, who has said the protest is legitimate. So far the police have backed off. Tonight there will be a public assembly followed by a dinner and concert. Monday, Feb 2, had been announced by the movement as the start of a week of initiative to protest the demolition work that is being carried out in preparation for the construction of the base, but it looks like the activists got off to an early start!

israel hopes to colonize parts of iraq as 'greater israel'

doctors spooked by israel's mystery weapon
from danger room: Critics continue to press the case that Israel committed "war crimes" in its war with Hamas, because of the civilian casualties in Gaza. Ironically, many of these wounds may have been caused by a weapon designed to reduce collateral damage. Not that the Israelis admit they have the thing. We first reported on Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) munitions in 2006... There are a large number of reports from Gaza that suggest this type of weapon has been used, and, unfortunately, caused civilian deaths. There are reports and pictures of victims peppered with small particles, and descriptions which are consistent with very localized blast... Erik Fosse, a Norwegian doctor working in Gaza says that the weapon "causes the tissue to be torn from the flesh. It looks very different [from a shrapnel injury]. I have seen and treated a lot of different injuries for the last 30 years in different war zones, and this looks completely different." According to Fosse and his colleague Mads Gilbert, the weapon typically amputates or tears apart lower limbs and patients often do not survive. It's no more illegal than normal blast-and-shrapnel weapons, but it is a mystery.

iceland to be assimilated into the eu
from guardian: Iceland will be put on a fast track to joining the European Union to rescue the small Arctic state from financial collapse amid rising expectations that it will apply for membership within months, senior policy-makers in Brussels and Reykjavik have told the Guardian. The European commission is preparing itself for a membership bid, depending on the outcome of a snap general election expected in May. An application would be viewed very favourably in Brussels and the negotiations, which normally take many years, would be fast-forwarded to make Iceland the EU's 29th member in record time, probably in 2011.

chinese state media goes global
from asia times: Even as the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is projecting hard power across the four corners of the earth, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is mapping out a multi-pronged strategy to publicize globally the apparent viability of the "China model". The administration of President Hu Jintao is spending around 45 billion yuan (US$6.58 billion) to boost what party insiders call "overseas propaganda" (waixuan gongzuo). Prominent state media including CCTV and Xinhua news agency will vastly enhance programs and news feeds in different languages for Western and Asian audiences, and an English news channel modeled on al-Jazeera is set to let the world get the Chinese take on issues and events ranging from politics and finance to culture and religion.

dea quits bolivia on morales' order
from upi: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has removed all its agents from Bolivia, complying with orders by President Evo Morales, officials said. The DEA began pulling agents out several weeks ago and the last agents left Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported. The development comes even as Bolivian officials say coca cultivation and cocaine processing are growing. Morales ordered the DEA out in November, more than three decades after the DEA began working there. He expelled U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg last year and the Bush administration has decertified Bolivia's anti-drug campaign. Citing senior law enforcement officials, the Times reported this is the first time the DEA has been ordered to pull its entire operation out of a country. Officials said DEA personnel would be redeployed to bordering countries, where they could monitor developments in Bolivia.

n korea cancels military & political agreements with s korea
from wikinews: According to media reports in North Korea, the government has severed all political and military ties with its neighbor, South Korea. The North also canceled cooperation, non-aggression and reconciliation agreements that were agreed upon in the early 1990's. N. Korea claims that the South is acting with hostile intent towards their government. The report comes as the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) was quoted as saying that the South reduced North Korea to dead documents, "[pushing the two] to the brink of a war." "All the agreed points concerning the issue of putting an end to the political and military confrontation between the North and the South will be nullified," said the CPRK in a statement which also said that there is no hope of improving relations. "They have reached the extreme point where the clash of fire against fire, steel against steel, has become inevitable." A spokesman for the Unification Ministry of South Korea, Kim Ho-Nyoun, says the South Korean government deeply regrets the decisions made by the North.

bbc won't play this gaza aid appeal
from 9/11 blogger: The BBC has been joined by Sky News in their boycott of this aid appeal for the children of Gaza. But you can watch it on YouTube, as the Disasters Emergency Committee has posted the ad:

confusion over british cannabis status