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Tuesday 19 March 2013

Hillary Clinton's hacked Benghazi emails sent to RT


Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (AFP Photo/Mandel Ngan)

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (AFP Photo/Mandel Ngan)
A hacker using the alias “Guccifer” was credited last week with compromising the AOL email account of Sidney Blumenthal, a 64-year-old journalist who formerly worked as an assistant to then-President Bill Clinton. Now days after the security breach was first reported, Guccifer has supplied RT and a number of other media outlets and political figures with incredibly sensitive memos that were emailed to Mr. Clinton’s wife, Hillary, in the wake of last year’s terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.RT has received emails that are alleged to have been sent from a one-time White House aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Sidney Blumenthal.(AFP Photo / Tim Sloan)
Sidney Blumenthal.(AFP Photo / Tim Sloan)

The emails that RT received include four memos that Mr. Blumenthal sent to Mrs. Clinton about the attack, all marked “Confidential” and all containing references to sources speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sheer seriousness of the material. The most recent memo included in the trove is dated February 16, 2013, and includes intelligence that comes “from extremely sensitive sources and should be handled with care.”
The oldest memo sent to RT is dated September 12, 2012 — mere hours after four Americans were killed in a deadly assault on the US consulate building in Benghazi. Chris Stevens, an ambassador for the United States, was among those killed.
At the time of the attack, Mrs. Clinton was serving her final few weeks as secretary of state under President Barack Obama, a position that she relinquished earlier this year to former-Senator John Kerry. Her knowledge of the Benghazi attack has become a frequent matter of dispute, however, since information relayed to the public in the immediate aftermath of the assault frequently contradictedother intelligence.
Initially, many high-up US sources said the storming of the consulate was in response to an anti-Islamic film that had been made in America and uploaded to the website YouTube. In the days after the assault, however, members of the US intelligence community offered a different explanation, saying the attack was not a spontaneous outburst prompted by the viral video clip but were instead a coordinated terrorist attack launched by associates of al-Qaeda.
According to the Blumenthal memos, though, even the US secretary of state was being fed disinformation directly after the attack. In the email dated Sept. 12, Sec. Clinton is told that the anti-Islamic film was likely the catalyst for the assault.
“A senior security officer told [interim Libyan President Mohammed Yussef] el Magariaf that the attacks on that day were inspired by what many devout Libyans viewed as a sacrilegious internet video on the prophet Mohammed originating in America,” the memo reads. “The Libya attacks were also inspired by and linked to an attack on the US mission in Egypt on the same day.”
Elsewhere in the first memo, Blumenthal tells Clinton that another source had even more to say about the assault:
“According to a separate sensitive source, el Magariaf noted that his opponents had often tried to connect him to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through the National Front for the Salvation of Libya (NFSL), a group established in opposition to former dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, which el Magariaf led in the 1980s. In the opinion of this individual el Magariaf believes that he can survive potential negative publicity in this regard, but if this situation continues to develop in this manner it will complicate his efforts to establish an orderly administration in the country. Again, he stated that the attacks on the US missions were as much a result of the atmosphere created by this campaign, as the controversial video.”
Later on, “a very sensitive source” is cited as saying that the Libyan president’s enemies are likely“working to take advantage of his suspected links to the CIA at a time when Western intelligence services are under scrutiny in Libya.”
Five months later, though, another memo sent to Mrs. Clinton painted a much different picture of what was happening abroad. An email dated Feb. 16, 2013 contains the subject line “Algeria/Libya/Terrorism” and touches on possible connections between the Benghazi assault and the January 2013 hostage crisis in In Amenas, Algeria near the Libyan border. In that dispatch, links are drawn between both major incidents.
“Speaking on condition of absolute secrecy,” an individual with sensitive access status spoke out on the attacks in a memo that was given to Blumenthal, sent to Clinton and eventually intercepted by Guccifer. According to that source’s claims, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika “instructed commanders of the Algerian external intelligence service (Direction Generale de la Sécurité Extérieure – DGSE) to provide Libyan intelligence chief, General Salim Hassi, with selected portions of the information obtained in the investigation of the terrorist attack on the facility at In Amenas.”
The source goes on to say that Algeria’s Pres. Bouteflika asked the DGSE officers to pass along sensitive information obtained from the interrogation of known and suspected supporters of the terrorist group Mokhtar Belmokhtar, or MBM, which would later all but confirm that al-Qaeda affiliates were involved in both attacks.
“According to a knowledgeable individual, the commanders of the Algerian DGSE reported to Bouteflika’s staff that their work confirmed their initial suspicion that the MBM attack on In Amenas was related to French military operations in Mali, as part of a loose but growing coalition of Islamist groups, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA), which was formed in mid-2012 with funding and support from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgred (AQUM).”
“In the opinion of these individuals, MBM is a key member of this group and was best placed to strike at a Western facility in retaliation for the French operations in Mali. The Algerian officials also believe that Libya’s Ansar al Sharia,” a pro-Sharia law militant Islamic group, “plays a role in the umbrella organization.”
“The In Amenas attack allowed MBM to stage an operation to keep the Algerian government off balance,”the memo continues. “These officials also stated that while Algerian members of MBM had planned and led the attack, the guerrilla force included experienced fighters from Mali, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Somali and Egypt.”
From there, the source explains that the individual with top-secret intel on the operations were instructed to keep information received from the French DGSE confidential, but that the intel“concerned the funding of the MBM operations and a possible link to the Ansar al Sharia attack on the United States Consulate in Benghazi.”
“This individual adds that this information provided by the French service indicates that the funding for both attacks originated with wealthy Sunni Islamists in Saudi Arabia. During July and August 2012, these financers provided funds to AQIM contacts in Southern Europe, who in turn passed the money into AQIM operatives in Mauritania. These funds were eventually provided to Ansar al Sharia and its allied militias in the Benghazi region in support of their attack on the US consulate. The money was used to recruit operatives and purchase ammunition and supplies.”
After the September 2012 attack, the MBM used remaining funds to organize the In Amenas, Algeria attack, the source claims. If the “extremely sensitive source” is indeed in-the-know, though, the Algerian incident might not be the last major terrorist attack that will occur in the Maghreb anytime soon.
According to the Feb. 2016 memo, the source says that Algerian intelligence agency believe that al-Qaeda and their allies “will continue to strike at Western facilities in the Maghreb, taking advantage of countries where the security structure is disorganized following the uprisings of the Arab Spring in 2011-2012.”
Previously, the hackers known as Guccifer has been linked to breaching the Facebook account of Gen. Colin Powell, who served as secretary of state under George W. Bush, and members of the Bush Dynasty as well. In the leaked memos disseminated to the media, Guccifer opted to copy-and-paste the correspondence into new files — images of bold Comic Sans text layered over a pink backgrounds — likely as a security precaution to cover his own tracks.


Re-posted from RT.com

Germany Anschluß Cyprus

In a bizarre twist of events, Germany forbid Cyprus to enter any talks with Russia, discussing the debt issue and potential credit. The move by Merkel ominously reminds of Germany conduct before WWII, but substitute the territorial gain by economic despotism, and picture becomes painfully familiar.

No question Germany stands to lose the most if Euro collapse, but it also a major beneficiary of the single currency. Germany is the only parcel of growth and stability in EU, with sizable growth of GDP and low unemployment. All this can be changed in a snap of the fingers, when Euro will be pushed down the hill, by one "insignificant" EU members.

Russia on the other hand, stands to "donate' to EU cause about 3 billion Euro, and this may be a "dirty" money, or could be "tax planning" for large Russian corporations, but truth is this is the money of Russian beneficiaries, and at this point it doesn't matter how those money got to Cyprus.

The truth is the none of large corporations pay taxes at home, they leave it to middle income families, and Russia is no exception.

From semiofficial release: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed in a phone call with the president of Cyprus that his country hold talks only with international creditors on its bailout deal and not third parties like Russia, a government spokeswoman said on Tuesday."


"A telephone call between Mrs Merkel and the Cypriot president took place yesterday evening," the spokeswoman told news agency AFP.

"The chancellor once again emphasized that the negotiations are to be conducted only with the Troika," she added, referring to the term used for the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund- so much for democracy.

The truth is that Cyrus has what to offer to Russia, to underpin a new loan. Cyprus territorial waters are rich in oil and gas, and they are certainly of interest to Russian companies. Such a development particularly irritant to Germany, who quietly sabotage Russian effort to gain foot in European Energy markets.

The comment was made as the Cypriot finance minister headed to Moscow after an explosion of anger in Russia at the EU bailout deal for the island that could see Russian investors lose billions of euros.

In exchange for a €10 billion ($13 billion) bailout for debt-laden Cyprus agreed by EU leaders on Saturday, a controversial levy will be slapped on bank savings. The move has raised widespread anger in Cyprus, but also in Russia, where investors have placed vast amounts of cash in the island's banks.

The German spokeswoman also declined to say whether the phone conversation took place before or after Merkel met French President Francois Hollande and European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso in Berlin late Monday.

Cyprus Tuesday was reviewing its bailout package ahead of a scheduled parliamentary vote on the deal after the eurozone urged a rethink on the controversial levy on bank deposits.

But German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said on Tuesday that investors who placed their money in Cyprus in order to pay less tax should shoulder the risks when it comes to a bailout.

"Whoever invests their money in a country where they pay less tax, and perhaps where there is less supervision, shoulders the risk when that country's banks are no longer solvent. That's a fact," Schäuble said in an interview on German public radio Deutschlandfunk.

If investors from Russia and elsewhere were not to foot the bill for the bailout, then it would fall to European taxpayers to pay for the billions of foreign investment in Cyprus, Schäuble said. "That would be irresponsible," he said.

The minister also said that the Cyprus economic model, which used low tax rates to attract foreign money, was "bankrupt".

The eurozone has told debt-hit Cyprus to revise the controversial levy on bank deposits to allow small savers to escape the tax amid a public outcry and fears of a bank run.

The statement from eurozone finance ministers came Monday after Cyprus bulked at putting the bailout plans to a parliamentary vote, as the growing uncertainty forced a prolonged closure of the island's banks.

Cyprus shut its banks until at least Thursday and delayed a parliamentary vote on the package until Tuesday after large queues formed at ATMs on the island.

Original: http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20130319-48617.html#.UUihGBfCaSo

Monday 21 January 2013

"Sharia patrols" began to operate in London

In some areas of London for a few weeks out on the streets so-called "Sharia patrols" that try to prevent violation of Islamic tradition locals Sunday Times reported citing a statement from Scotland Yard.

Wearing black sweatshirts with hoods covered their faces, the radical Islamic youth representatives go "patrol" mostly outlying areas of London at night. Acting group, they are, in his own words, "defend the Muslim territory of misconduct" of other Londoners. In the category of unacceptable actions are drinking alcohol, causing the clothes too, or just outdoor ads.



Later videos of their shares participants "patrols" spread on the Internet. In these commercials can be seen as a group of young people pulling out of the hands of a frightened British teenager beer, after which she flies on asphalt. In a similar way, "intimidating", which has already been removed from the website Youtube, those same activists literally make a man to pour the contents of its banks.


"This is a Muslim area, so alcohol is forbidden" - say the young people. "You can not dress up in an area where there is a mosque" - it sounds in relation to the girl in a mini-skirt in another movie. In addition, "patrol" as pasting stickers with symbols of their own group and black out too outspoken in their view advertising clothes.

Frequent complaints of intimidation by these activists forced the local authorities to strengthen the police presence especially in east London, where the proximity to the old port historically settled immigrants who arrived in England. According to Scotland Yard, these groups may have a close connection with the organization of "Islam for the UK» (Islam4UK), the activity of which has previously been recognized as extremist. Beginning in 2010, membership in the group, also known as "Al-Muhajiroun" is considered as a crime, and the guilty face imprisonment for up to ten years.