Spain Seizes Materials Bound for Iran’s Nuclear Program

/1 Comment/in , /by

MADRID – Spanish police arrested two men and seized the contents of a truck bound for Iran loaded with materials destined for use in the Islamic state’s nuclear program, the Spanish Interior Ministry said on Friday.

The truck, intercepted on a motorway in northern Spain early on Wednesday, was carrying highly corrosion-resistant valves, the ministry said in a statement.

Police were examining computer databases and documents at the company, Fluval Spain, a ministry spokesman said. The two arrested men were employees at the firm, he said . . .

The company had commercial links with Iranian firms that featured on lists drawn up by the European Union as having connections with Tehran’s nuclear program, the ministry said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Mali War Escalates as French Battle Islamist Militants

/0 Comments/in , /by

BAMAKO, Mali – With Islamist militants controlling more than half of the northwest African nation of Mali and threatening the rest of government-held territory, France launched airstrikes in a dramatic escalation of the conflict that some observers have called the next Afghanistan. French commandoes also reportedly attacked an Islamist base in Somalia to try to rescue a French hostage.

The raid early Saturday in Somalia could have been aimed at preventing al-Shabab fighters from harming the kidnapped French security official in reprisal for the French military intervention in Mali. A Somali intelligence official, who insisted on anonymity because he was not allowed to discuss the case with the news media, said the raid in Bulomarer killed “several” al-Shabab fighters but he had no information on the hostage.

An al-Shabab official confirmed the fighting and said the group held one dead French soldier. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

However, the office of Col. Thierry Burkhard, the French military’s main spokesman for overseas operations, said it had no information about any Somalia action.

French President Francois Hollande said the “terrorist groups, drug traffickers and extremists” in northern Mali “show a brutality that threatens us all.” He vowed that the operation would last “as long as necessary.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Inside the Ring: Chinese Missile Defense Test?

/0 Comments/in , /by

U.S. intelligence agencies are closely monitoring China’s missile facilities in anticipation of a test of China’s missile defense interceptor, which also doubled in the past as an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile.

The officials commented in response to reports that China is set to conduct another potentially destabilizing anti-satellite missile test in space. In 2007, China fired a missile that destroyed a weather satellite and resulted in tens of thousands of dangerous pieces of debris that threaten manned and unmanned spacecraft.

The Washington Free Beacon reported in September on new intelligence reports that indicate China is preparing to fire its Dong Ning-2 missile into space, this time at a high-earth orbit target.

Then last week Gregary Kulacki, a specialist with the Union of Concerned Scientist, reported on his blog, “All Things Nuclear,” that Chinese officials recently circulated an internal notice of an upcoming anti-satellite missile test in space.

A U.S. official said a test at this point does not appear imminent. However there are signs an interceptor flight test is being prepared.

Read more from this story HERE.

Glenn Beck Relaunching The Blaze As Global Libertarian News Network

/3 Comments/in , /by

Glenn Beck announced plans Tuesday during his online television program to expand the news operation in his media company, The Blaze, and refocus it as a libertarian network, opening three foreign bureaus, debuting a nightly newsmagazine show, and relocating his New York staff to showy new offices.

Beck introduced his ambitious plans by standing in front of a split screen with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on one side and Fox News’s Sean Hannity on the other, and bemoaning the fact that cable news has devolved into the “far left [and] far right… yelling at each other.”

“We’re not gonna play in that crazy space as a network,” he said, adding, “I consider myself a libertarian… I’m a lot closer to Penn Jillette than I am to Chuck Hagel.”

He said over the next 60 days, The Blaze will open three foreign bureaus in cities that are “important to America.” He will also relocate his New York staff from their current midtown offices into a building that will “send a very clear message to everyone in New York… it will piss everyone off.”

Beck also showed a teaser for a new nightly 30-minute newsmagazine show called For the Record.

Read more from this story HERE.

China Mysteriously Quadruples Rice Imports, Continues to Stockpile Commodities

/18 Comments/in , /by

Yesterday, it was reported that China – not currently suffering from any food shortages – is amassing rice stockpiles. This past year, the country mysteriously imported four times the rice over 2011 purchases:

United Nations agricultural experts are reporting confusion, after figures show that China imported 2.6 million tons of rice in 2012, substantially more than a four-fold increase over the 575,000 tons imported in 2011. The confusion stems from the fact that there is no obvious reason for vastly increased imports, since there has been no rice shortage in China. The speculation is that Chinese importers are taking advantage of low international prices, but all that means is that China’s own vast supplies of domestically grown rice are being stockpiled. Why would China suddenly be stockpiling millions of tons of rice for no apparent reason? Perhaps it’s related to China’s aggressive military buildup and war preparations in the Pacific and in central Asia.

Yesterday’s revelation follows reports over the past several years of the Chinese amassing commodities in warehouses through out the nation.

For example, Reuters reported last year that

At Qingdao Port, home to one of China’s largest iron ore terminals, hundreds of mounds of iron ore, each as tall as a three-storey building, spill over into an area signposted “grains storage” and almost to the street.

Further south, some bonded warehouses in Shanghai are using carparks to store swollen copper stockpiles – another unusual phenomenon that bodes ill for global metal prices and raises questions about China’s ability to sustain its economic growth as the rest of the world falters.

Several months ago, at least one analyst speculated that a commodities buying spree involving 300,000 tons of metals in another Chinese province was motivated by an attempt to keep local smelters running, thereby ensuring continued tax revenues to government. But that doesn’t explain the rice-buying.

What we do know is that the world may be headed – led by the United States – toward a period of significant inflation if sovereign debt crises lead to additional “quantitative easing” and other expansions of the monetary supply.

In other words, China may be hedging its bets. Better to buy commodities than U.S. Treasuries that may ultimately be worth pennies on the dollar.

Suspect in Benghazi Consulate Attack Freed Due to Lack of Evidence

/4 Comments/in , , /by

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A man linked by officials to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi has been conditionally released by a Tunisian judge due to lack of evidence, his lawyer said Tuesday.

The release of Ali Harzi, a 26-year-old Tunisian, appears to represent a blow to the investigation of the Sept. 11 attack on the consulate in Libya that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. The investigation in Libya itself has been stalled due to the weak central government in the face of the powerful militias, some of whom may have been involved in the attack.

Harzi was one of very few people in custody in relation to the attack. U.S. officials said in December that Egypt had also arrested a member of the Islamic Jihad group for possible links to the attack, but in general they lamented a lack of cooperation from local governments in their investigation and said most suspects remained free.

Harzi’s lawyer, Anwar Oued-Ali, said the presiding judge had “conditionally freed” his client Monday night and he has to remain in the greater Tunis area in case the court needs him. The lawyer described the release as “correcting an irregular situation” because authorities never had any real evidence.

Harzi was originally detained in Turkey and in October was extradited to Tunisia, where authorities had said he was “strongly suspected” of being involved in the attack. His lawyer said he was officially charged with “membership of a terrorist organization” – a charge punishable by six to 12 years in prison.

Read more from this story HERE.

Ed Koch on Chuck Hagel Nomination: Obama’s Reneging on His Conveyed Support for Israel Has Come Earlier Than I Thought

/1 Comment/in , /by

In an interview with The Algemeiner, former Mayor of New York, Ed Koch, a lifelong Democrat who supported President Obama’s recent re-election, expressed disappointment with the President’s decision to nominate former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense.

“Frankly, I thought that there would come a time when he would renege on what he conveyed on his support of Israel,” said Koch, adding, “it comes a little earlier than I thought it would.”

“It’s very disappointing, I believe he will ultimately regret it,” Koch said, “and it undoubtedly will reduce support for him in the Jewish community, but I don’t think he (the President) worries about that now that the election is over.”

The former mayor who is beloved among many in New York’s Jewish community, said that he believes the appointment will embolden Islamists and will be damaging to the U.S.-Israel relationship.

“It’s not good,” he said, “but fortunately, Congress, overwhelmingly both Democratic and Republican supports the Jewish state, so I’m sure they will defend it against the defense department when it ruptures the current good relationship which exists.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Oldest Swiss Bank to Shut After Guilty Plea in US Tax Probe

/4 Comments/in , , /by

photo credit: tambakothejaguar

Wegelin & Co., the oldest Swiss private bank, said on Thursday it would shut its doors permanently after pleading to a criminal conspiracy charge in the U.S. and admitting that it had helped wealthy Americans for years avoid tens of millions of dollars in taxes.

In the latest blow to Switzerland’s centuries-old banking secrecy laws, Wegelin became the latest bank on Thursday to reach a deal with U.S. prosecutors as they continue a crackdown on offshore banks suspected of helping American evade taxes.

As part of the deal, Switzerland’s oldest private bank will pay as much as $74 million in penalties to US authorities and has said it “will cease to operate as a bank” once the case wraps up.

The plea effectively marks the end for one of Switzerland’s most storied banks, whose original clients predate the American Revolution. It however, also marks a potential turning point in a battle by US authorities against Swiss bank secrecy.

Robert Fink, a New York-based tax attorney said: “It has an important symbolic significance in that you have a bank that has no branches in the U.S., but the U.S. government was able to reach them and get them to plead guilty. It puts other banks on notice as to the long arm of the U.S. law.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Pakistan Government in Jeopardy? 21 Soldiers Killed by Taliban in Brazen Attack

/1 Comment/in , /by

WASHINGTON – The latest killing of 21 captured Pakistani troops by the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, has indicated a rising threat to the very authority of the Pakistani government, according to a report in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

This followed an attack in early December on Peshawar Air Force Base which raised serious questions on the security of the country’s nuclear arsenal. While the attack proved unsuccessful, the brazenness raised further security and public concerns about the commitment of the militants to take down the government.

The air base itself is located close to the northwest tribal areas where Pakistani and U.S. forces have continuous firefights with the Taliban, who are attempting to threaten Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.

The attack on the Peshawar Air Force Base isn’t the first such attack on a military facility. There also have been attacks on Minhas Air Force Base in Kamra where a squadron of U.S.-supplied F-16 fighter jets is located.

Ironically, publicity of the attacks apparently has encouraged the TTP to launch even more brazen attacks, with the idea of seeking to undermine the stability of the government and its military and create doubt in the public’s mind on both institutions maintaining order.

Read more from this story HERE.

Saudi Arabian in US for Military Training Charged With Raping American Boy

/11 Comments/in , /by

A member of the Saudi Arabian military in the United States for a training mission has been charged with raping a boy in a Strip hotel on New Year’s Eve.

Mazen Alotaibi, a 23-year-old sergeant in the Royal Saudi Air Force, was arrested Monday and accused of assaulting a 13-year-old boy in a Circus Circus hotel room bathroom.

According to a Las Vegas police report, Alotaibi was on the sixth floor of the hotel about 7:30 a.m. when he pulled the boy into his room. Three other men were in the room smoking marijuana, the report said.

The boy told police that none of the men spoke English.

Alotaibi later told police he offered the boy money for sex, and when he refused, he raped the boy, the report said.

Read more from this story HERE.