Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Kevin Smith Planning Film Featuring Satan, Humanity vs. 'Giant Rampaging Jesus'



Kevin Smith Planning Film Featuring Satan, Humanity vs. 'Giant Rampaging Jesus'
by Christian Toto 31 Dec 2013, 10:11 AM PDT
Kevin Smith ruffled more than a few faithful feathers with his 1999 comedy Dogma. The film featured a female God, bloodthirsty angels and violence aplenty.

That project was a warm-up act, apparently, for what Smith is planning next.

The indie auteur revealed plans for a new movie, to be called Helena Handbag, which will show humans teaming up with Satan to battle a "rapturing giant Jesus." Smith expanded on his 2014 to-do list via Facebook, pushing aside his recent retirement talk to say he'll only do projects that are unique to his brand of filmmaking.

JERSEY GIRL, ZACK & MIRI, COP OUT - while I love them all, these are movies anybody could make," he wrote. "Like 'em or hate 'em, nobody else but me could've (or would've) ever made CLERKS. Or CHASING AMY. Or DOGMA. Or RED STATE. Or CLERKS II. Or MALLRATS. Or JAY & SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK. I let my view askew get standardized for awhile there - so much so that I was happy to walk away from it all for three years and do other shit. But after conceiving and shooting TUSK in less than 6 months (with the help of a shit ton of amazing professionals and a budget smaller than that of RED STATE), I realized that film isn't in my blood... MY films are in my blood. And some of 'em are still in there, so I better get 'em out.

Smith still remembers the protests over Dogma, which is why he'll have to make Helena Handbag on his own indie terms.

But, given the plot of the film, Smith pointed out that the budget will have to be low, "because NOBODY'S gonna wanna make that movie," he wrote.

Monty Python's Michael Palin said earlier this week that he couldn't do a film like Life of Brian today due to heightened religious sensibilities, and that mocking Islam was out entirely due to the potential violence it could spawn. Smith apparently doesn't fear physical harm as a result of his forthcoming Handbag.

Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith is Planning a Film Featuring Satan, Humanity vs. 'Giant Rampaging Jesus', and is a William Morris Endeavor Entertainment client.

 Note: Michael Douglas is a William Morris Endeavor Entertainment client, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), and a friend of George Soros.
 George Soros is a friend of Michael Douglas, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue Committee, the Aspen Institute (think tank), and the Committee for Economic Development.
Henry A. Kissinger is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, a member of the Bohemian Club, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
George H.W. Bush is a member of the Bohemian Club,
George H.W. Bush talks about the NWO; Walter Cronkite said he is glad to sit at the Right Hand of Satan
Walter L. Cronkite was a member of the Bohemian Club.
Dark Secrets inside Bohemian Grove
Bohemian Club
Weaving Spiders Come Not Here
The Bavarian Order of the Illuminati Owl of Wisdom
Condoleezza Rice is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), a client of the William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Ari Emanuel is the co-CEO & director for William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, and Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother.
Rahm I. Emanuel is Ari Emanuel’s brother, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Chicago (IL) mayor, and was the White House chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
W. James McNerney Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company.
Barbara G. Fast was a VP at the Boeing Company, and a VP for the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.
Donna S. Morea was the EVP for the CGI Group Inc., and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

NYT Defensively Declares: No 'Conspiracy' to Endorse Hillary Clinton

NYT Defensively Declares: No 'Conspiracy' to Endorse Hillary Clinton 
by Tony Lee 31 Dec 2013, 3:02 AM PDT
On Monday, the editor of the New York Times Editorial page was compelled to write that the publication has not decided to endorse Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 yet.

His pronouncement came two days after the paper attempted to whitewash the Benghazi tragedy by printing a story that alleged that there was no al-Qaeda involvement in the attacks that killed four Americans (contradicting the paper's own reporting), murdered U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens had "little understanding" of the region, and that the terrorists were motivated by an anti-Muhammed YouTube video.

On a blog post on the paper's website, Andrew Rosenthal alleged that it is important to Republicans "that Al Qaeda orchestrated the attack" because they want to "tarnish Democratic candidates by making it seem as though" President Barack Obama "doesn’t take Al Qaeda seriously." They also want to "throw mud at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who they fear will run for president in 2016."

Rosenthal said it was "hilarious" that Republicans like Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) alleged the Times wanted to "clear the deck" for Clinton because Clinton was the paper's "candidate of choice."

"Since I will have more to say about which candidate we will endorse in 2016 than any other editor at the Times, let me be clear: We have not chosen Mrs. Clinton," Rosenthal defensively declared. "We have not chosen anyone. I can also state definitively that there was no editorial/newsroom conspiracy of any kind, because I knew nothing about the Benghazi article until I read it in the paper on Sunday."

New York Times
N.Y. Times serves up baloney on Benghazi (Past Research)

Note: Richard R. Burt was a correspondent for the New York Times, and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and the American Constitution Society.
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, the co-chair, national finance council for Ready for Hillary, and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank), the International Rescue Committee, Common Cause, and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.
Condoleezza Rice is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, Muammar Abu Minyar Al-Qadhafi said he loved her & kept scrapbook of her photos, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Muammar Abu Minyar Al-Qadhafi said he loved Condoleezza Rice & kept scrapbook of her photos, Saif Al Islam Al-Qadhafi’s father, and was the Libya leader.
Saif Al Islam Al-Qadhafi is Muammar Abu Minyar Al-Qadhafi’s son, and the chairman for the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation.
Benjamin R. Barber was a trustee at the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, and is a governing board member for Common Cause.
J. Christopher Stevens was the U.S. ambassador for Libya, and killed in the 2012 attack on U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Linda Greenhouse is a director at the American Constitution Society, and was a reporter or the New York Times.
Eric H. Holder Jr. was a board member for the American Constitution Society, an intern at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and is the attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice for the Barack Obama administration.

PepsiCo franchisees open talks on intra-UAE merger



PepsiCo franchisees open talks on intra-UAE merger
REUTERS
Published — Tuesday 31 December 2013
DUBAI: Dubai Refreshments (DRC) said on Monday it would open talks with fellow PepsiCo franchisee, Abu Dhabi Refreshments Company, about a possible merger, in the latest example of United Arab Emirates rival firms to consolidate.
Both companies are distributors of PepsiCo soft drinks and snacks in the region. The merger was being looked at "as an opportunity to create greater synergies for both the companies", a statement to the Dubai bourse from DRC said.
No values were given in the statement. DRC has a market capitalization of around $300 million.
Should a merger happen, it will be the latest between firms in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the same sectors, as the UAE looks to consolidate companies operating in the same sectors to create larger companies that can compete better on a global stage, and also as a way to support Dubai with cash as it faces repayments on government-related restructured debt.
The merging of Dubai and Abu Dhabi's aluminum businesses has already been announced, while a tie-up between the two emirates' stock markets is being prepared.
The Dubai-Abu Dhabi Refreshments merger would differ from the aluminum and bourse mergers because neither drinks company is state-owned.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashed Al-Maktoum, the brother of Dubai's ruler, is the largest shareholder in DRC with a 20 percent stake, with three other local families holding more than 5 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Fifty-nine percent of DRC is publicly listed, although the stock is barely traded. Its shares were unchanged at 12.25 dirhams ($3.34) in Dubai, having last traded on Dec. 12. Abu Dhabi Refreshments Co is fully-owned by the Al-Dahery Group, according to Zawya, a Thomson Reuters unit.

United Arab Emirates
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for the United Arab Emirates, and was the lobby firm for the Center for American Progress.

Note: PepsiCo, Inc. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Center for American Progress, the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Committee for Economic Development, the Committee for Economic Development, the International Rescue Committee, ProPublica, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
George Soros was a supporter for the Center for American Progress, and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Valerie B. Jarrett is Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, a friend of Linda Johnson Rice, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Linda Johnson Rice is a friend of Valerie B. Jarrett, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a director at the United Negro College Fund.
Steven S. Reinemund was a director at the United Negro College Fund, and the chairman for PepsiCo, Inc.
Michael H. Jordan was a director at the United Negro College Fund, the division chairman & CEO for PepsiCo, Inc., and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Larry D. Thompson is the EVP of governmental affairs, general counsel & secretary for PepsiCo, Inc., a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and at trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Mellody L. Hobson is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the chairman for DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.
Roger A. Enrico was the chairman for DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., and the chairman & CEO for PepsiCo, Inc.
Karl M. von der Heyden was a director at DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., and the vice chairman for PepsiCo, Inc.
Dina Dublon is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and a director at PepsiCo, Inc.
Indra K. Nooyi is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and the chair & CEO for PepsiCo, Inc.
Alberto Ibarguen is a director at ProPublica, and a director at PepsiCo, Inc.
Daniel Vasella is a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), and a director at PepsiCo, Inc.
Jessica Tuchman Mathews is the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Ed Griffin’s interview with Norman Dodd in 1982
(The investigation into the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace uncovered the plans for population control by involving the United States in war)
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for the United Arab Emirates, and was the lobby firm for the Center for American Progress.
PepsiCo, Inc. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Feinstein Uses Brady Bill Anniversary to Push for "Universal Checks"



Feinstein Uses Brady Bill Anniversary to Push for "Universal Checks"
Posted on December 5, 2013
Last Saturday was the 20-year anniversary of President Bill Clinton's signing of the Brady Act into law, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) used the occasion to urge readers of the San Jose Mercury News to go along with requiring background checks on private transfers of firearms.

A "groundbreaking gun-safety law," she called the Brady Act. "Background checks on gun purchases work," she said.  Repeating a false claim that earned President Obama Three Pinocchios from the Washington Post's Fact Checker earlier this year, Feinstein said that background checks should be imposed "on the estimated 40 percent of gun transfers made between private parties."

Gun control supporters have certainly changed their tune in one respect, at least.

When the Brady Act was being debated in Congress, gun control supporters opposed the idea of a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).  They instead insisted on a waiting period on handgun purchases from dealers.

The reason was simple. They were alarmed at the rate at which Americans were buying handguns.  In the 1970s, the Brady Campaign, then known as the National Council to Control Handguns (NCCH), breathlessly declared, "There are now 40 million handguns owned by private individuals in the United States--about one gun for every American family.  At the present rate of proliferation, the number could build to 100 million by the year 2000 (which isn't as far off as you think).  The consequences can be terrible to imagine--unless something is done." (Emphasis in the original.)

They hoped that a waiting period would slow down handgun sales, and believed that slowing down handgun sales had to occur, if they were to ever stand a chance of convincing the American people to go along with handgun registration.

In 1976, the leader of the NCCH told The New Yorker magazine that "The first problem is to slow down the increasing number of handguns being produced and sold in this country.  The second problem is to get handguns registered.  And the final problem is to make the possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition--except for the military, policemen, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and licensed gun collectors--totally illegal."

In 1993, Congress temporarily authorized a maximum five-day waiting period on handgun purchases from dealers.  But, to gun control supporters' chagrin at the time, mandated the establishment of NICS--an instant background check--within five years.  Barring misidentification of a prospective purchaser, a firearm purchase could take no longer than a few minutes to complete!

The Brady Campaign, which fought against NICS with everything it had, adapted to its defeat, however.  It now calls NICS checks "Brady checks" and says they should be conducted on even private transfers of firearms.

Again, the reason is simple.  Once all transfers of firearms go through NICS, gun control supporters will be in position to demand that all records of approved NICS checks be retained for an extended period of time, not merely 24 hours, as provided for in current law.  The late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) proposed legislation to extend the records retention period several years ago, in fact.  The next steps would be to retain the records permanently, and to require that the records include the make, model and serial number of all firearms transferred in conjunction with the checks.

The anti-gun "media watchdog" group Media Matters, funded by George Soros, scoffs at the idea that requiring "universal checks" would lead to registration.  A national gun registry is prohibited under federal law, they say.  The reality is, however, if gun control supporters become the majority in Congress, they could change the law at the drop of a hat.

Gun control supporters' ulterior motives aside, there are plenty of other reasons "universal checks" will not have the desired effect in reducing crime.  According to Justice Department studies, people in prison for gun crimes have mostly acquired their firearms by theft, on the black market, or from family and friends. Furthermore, criminals who are prohibited by law from possessing firearms, and who therefore cannot pass NICS checks, already defeat the system by having straw purchasers buy guns for them.  Finally, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, "universal checks" will not work without requiring gun registration.

As for slowing down handgun sales, Americans have bought about 60 millions handguns since Brady/NCCH sounded its false alarm several decades ago.  And indeed, Americans now own the 100 million handguns that NCCH predicted.

For the record, the nation's murder rate is at nearly an all-time low.

Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein is a U.S. Senate senator, married to Richard C. Blum, and a member of the Alfalfa Club.

Note: Richard C. Blum is married to Senator Dianne Feinstein, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Harlem Children's Zone, the Robin Hood Foundation, Media Matters, and the Aspen Institute (think tank).
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, was a contributor for the American Bridge 21st Century, and a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone.
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is the chair for the American Bridge 21st Century, and a trustee at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Lee H. Hamilton is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council.
Raymond W. Kelly is a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, and the commissioner for the New York City Police Department.
Michael R. Bloomberg was a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone, a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation, is the New York (NY) mayor, a co-chair for Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and a member of the Alfalfa Club.
Dianne Feinstein is a member of the Alfalfa Club, married to Richard C. Blum, and a U.S. Senate senator.
Outrage of the Week: Do as I Say, Not as I Do--NY Elitists Ray Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg Think Their Safety is More Important than Yours
Posted on November 22, 2013
Madeleine K. Albright is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and was the president for the Center for National Policy.
John Brademas was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a director at the Center for National Policy.
Daniel R. Glickman is a director, Congressional Program for the Aspen Institute (think tank), and was a director at the Center for National Policy.
Michael D. Barnes is a director at the Center for National Policy, and was the president for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Auto Workers on Obamacare: 'We're Pissed Off'



Auto Workers on Obamacare: 'We're Pissed Off'
by Wynton Hall 30 Dec 2013, 1:33 PM PDT
Most of the 41 workers at Extreme Dodge in Jackson, Michigan say Obamacare is exploding their premiums and destroying health care as they once knew it.

"I feel like I've been taken to the cleaners," salesman Neal Campbell told NBC News senior investigative reporter Lisa Myers in a Sunday report. Campbell, who has a wife and three children, says Obamacare is breeding resentment and anger. "We feel betrayed, lied to, and we're pissed off."

"How is this helping the average American that's working 40 to 50 hours per week?" asked salesperson Terry Hardcastle. "How are we supposed to live?"

Cathy Smith agreed. "You don't make that much money to begin with," said Smith with tears in her eyes. "...the prescriptions are going to kill me."

Under Obamacare, the workers' employer faced a 50% increase in costs to keep worker plans at the same benefit and deductible levels. To remain economically viable, the dealership decided to give each worker an extra $2,400 and let them find plans on their own. Small business insurance broker Michael Harp says it's all part of the new Obamacare reality for small businesses and their workers: "The overwhelming majority, they're paying much higher rates and they have lower benefits."

Service adviser Steve Williams said Obamacare has destroyed the era of affordable health care.

"The days of low deductibles and all that stuff are gone," Williams told NBC. "It's not going to get any better. It's just going to get worse."

The NBC News report comes as the Obama administration and its progressive allies are reportedly readying yet another public relations campaign in the hopes of resuscitating Obamacare's lugubrious approval ratings. The administration's media blitz will highlight the stories of people who scored taxpayer-funded Obamacare coverage.

The strategy, however, risks further angering the millions of middle-class workers who lost their insurance coverage due to Obamacare or whose premiums and deductibles are soaring in order to pay for the very Obamacare "winners" the administration plans to highlight.

According to the latest CNN poll, Obamacare is at a record low 35% approval rating.

Auto Workers
United Auto Workers was a contributor for Priorities USA Action.

Note: Priorities USA Action was a super PAC supporting the 2012 Barack Obama presidential campaign.
Bob King is the president for the United Auto Workers, and a director at the Economic Policy Institute.
Ron Gettelfinger was the president for the United Auto Workers, and a director at the Economic Policy Institute.
Demos was a funder for the United Auto Workers.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Economic Policy Institute, Demos, and the Committee for Economic Development.
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Donna S. Morea was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and the EVP for the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.
Barbara G. Fast was a VP for the CGI Group Inc., and a VP at the Boeing Company.
W. James McNerney Jr. is the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Newton N. Minow is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.











FAA picks 6 states for drone testing sites



FAA picks 6 states for drone testing sites
By Blake Neff
December 30, 2013, 11:48 am
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday announced that it will create a network of testing sites across the U.S. for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), better known as “drones."
The testing sites, in Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia, will be a crucial step toward the commercial use of drones over U.S. airspace, which currently remains unauthorized. The FAA announced in November that it hopes to establish guidelines for commercial usage by the end of 2015.

Though currently a province of the military and law enforcement, both businesses and local governments have shown some interest in domestic drone usage. Most prominently, Internet retailer Amazon Inc. turned heads earlier this month when it announced tentative plans to deliver parcels to buyers via unmanned drones.

The six states chosen will allow the FAA to test across a wide variety of climates, and the New York site will look into safely incorporating drones into the crowded airspace of the Northeast.

Lawmakers from selected states were quick to praise the selections. Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) said the choice of Nevada would add jobs to his economically beleaguered state.

“Considering that Nevada continues to lead the nation in unemployment, the FAA’s decision is both welcome and well-timed. Nevada has long been a leader in UAS development and testing.”

Meanwhile, Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said the site located at Grand Forks Air Force Base would make his state “the premier northern hub for unmanned aerial systems.” North Dakota’s legislature has already approved $5 million in funding for a new aerospace complex in Grand Forks that will be built around the test site.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta emphasized safety as a top priority in the agency's work to legalize drones and expressed confidence in their eventual success.

“We have successfully brought new technology into the nation’s aviation system for more than 50 years, and I have no doubt we will do the same with unmanned aircraft,” he said.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Michael P. Huerta is the administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and was the group president for Affiliated Computer Services Inc.

Note: Kurt R. Krauss was a director at the Affiliated Computer Services Inc., and a partner at Booz Allen Hamilton.
Booz Allen Hamilton is a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).
Edward Snowden leaked information about the National Security Agency (NSA), and was an employee for Booz Allen Hamilton.
Robert S. Osborne is the EVP & general counsel for Booz Allen Hamilton, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Kathryn B. Thomson was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, counselor for Ray H. LaHood, is married to Christopher P. Lu, and the chief counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Ray H. LaHood’s counselor was Kathryn B. Thomson, and is the transportation secretary for the Barack Obama administration.
Christopher P. Lu is married to Kathryn B. Thomson, the White House cabinet secretary for the Barack Obama administration, was Barack Obama’s legislative director, and a litigation associate for Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
W. James McNerney Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company.
Barbara G. Fast was a VP at the Boeing Company, and a VP for the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.
Donna S. Morea was the EVP for the CGI Group Inc., and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Committee for Economic Development, and the Center for American Progress.
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and was a supporter for the Center for American Progress.
T. Allan McArtor is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and was the administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Tom Daschle is a director at the Center for American Progress, married to Linda H. Daschle, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Linda H. Daschle is married to Tom Daschle, was the deputy administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and a senior public policy adviser for Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell.
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell was a lobby firm for the Boeing Company.




















Monday, December 30, 2013

N.Y. Times serves up baloney on Benghazi



N.Y. Times serves up baloney on Benghazi
Hit-piece 'investigation' parrots discredited talking points
TEL AVIV – An extensive New York Times investigation into the Sept. 11, 2012, Benghazi attack is filled with misleading information, including details contradicted by the U.S. government, Benghazi victims and numerous other previous news reports.

The report, entitled, “A Deadly Mix in Benghazi,” was authored from Benghazi by Times writer David D. Kirkpatrick.

Bringing back the Muhammad film

One of the main contentions of the Times piece is that “contrary to claims by some members of Congress,” the Benghazi attack “was fueled in large part by anger at an American-made video denigrating Islam.”

“There is no doubt that anger over the video motivated many attackers,” continued the Times.

The New York Times article seeks to link the Benghazi attack to protests planned outside the U.S. embassy in Cairo.

Reads the Times piece: “[O]n Sept. 8, a popular Islamist preacher lit the fuse by screening a clip of the video on the ultraconservative Egyptian satellite channel El Nas. American diplomats in Cairo raised the alarm in Washington about a growing backlash, including calls for a protest outside their embassy.”

However, the Cairo protest on Sept. 11 was announced days in advance as part of a movement to free the so-called “blind sheik,” Omar Abdel-Rahman, held in the U.S. over the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

The State Department’s 39-page Accountability Review Board report, or ARB, described a group acting to free Rahman was involved in previous attacks against diplomatic facilities in Benghazi.

The Times fails to report the anti-U.S. protest movement outside the Cairo embassy was a long-term project about freeing Rahman.

As far back as July 2012, Rahman’s son, Abdallah Abdel Rahman, threatened to organize a protest at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and detain the employees inside.

On the day of the Sept. 11, 2012, protests in Cairo, CNN’s Nic Robertson interviewed the son of Rahman, who described the protest as being about freeing his father. No Muhammad film was mentioned. A big banner calling for Rahman’s release can be seen as Robertson walked to the embassy protests.

The Times claim the Benghazi attack was fuelled by the anti-Muslim film also doesn’t jibe with an independent investigation that reportedly found no mention of the film on social media in Libya in the three days leading up to the attack.

A review of more than 4,000 postings was conducted by the leading social media monitoring firm Agincourt Solutions, reportedly finding the first reference to the film was not detected on social media until the day after the attack.

“From the data we have, it’s hard for us to reach the conclusion that the consulate attack was motivated by the movie. Nothing in the immediate picture – surrounding the attack in Libya – suggests that,” Jeff Chapman, chief executive with Agincourt Solutions, told Fox News.

The Times claim of popular protests about the Muhammad film further may not hold up to logic. The U.S. Special Mission was not a permanent facility, nor was its existence widely known by the public in Libya.

Indeed, State’s ARB report on the Benghazi attack itself documented the facility was set up secretively and without the knowledge of the new Libyan government.

“Another key driver behind the weak security platform in Benghazi was the decision to treat Benghazi as a temporary, residential facility, not officially notified to the host government, even though it was also a full-time office facility,” the report states.

No al-Qaida in Libya?

Another main contention of the New York Times article on Benghazi is there was “no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault.”

However, the Times’ next statement in effect contradicts that claim. The Times relates, “The attack was led, instead, by fighters who had benefited directly from NATO’s extensive air power and logistics support during the uprising against Colonel Qaddafi.”

Scores of news media reports documented those “fighters” included al-Qaida groups among their ranks. Many of those “fighters” were widely quoted in news media reports as fighting under the al-Qaida banner.

The Times further claims, “Benghazi was not infiltrated by Al Qaeda, but nonetheless contained grave local threats to American interests.”

This contention is contradicted by the U.S. government, as WND first reported.

A Library of Congress report detailed – one month before the deadly Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi – how al-Qaida established a major base of operations in Libya in the aftermath of the U.S.-NATO campaign that deposed Muammar Gadhafi and his secular regime.

The report documented al-Qaida and affiliated organizations were establishing terrorist training camps and pushing Taliban-style Islamic law in Libya while the new, Western-backed Libyan government incorporated jihadists into its militias.

The document named Benghazi as a new central headquarters for al-Qaida activities.

“Al-Qaeda adherents in Libya used the 2011 Revolution to establish well-armed, well-trained, and combat-experienced militias,” stated the congressional report.

The report also said a terrorist released from the U.S. Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba became the leader of the al-Qaida-affiliate Ansar Al-Sharia in Libya, which espoused anti-Western ideology.

The Martyrs of 17 February Brigade, which was hired by the State Department to protect the U.S. facility in Benghazi, operates under the Ansar-Al-Sharia banner.

The document said scores of Islamic extremists were freed from Libyan prison after the U.S.-supported revolution in Libya.

The August 2012 document was prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under an inter-agency agreement with the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office’s Irregular Warfare Support Program.

More al-Qaida and organized extremist connections to the Benghazi attack were reported by the Daily Beast, which confirmed an October 2012 Wall Street Journal report that fighters affiliated with the Egypt-based, al-Qaida-linked Jamal Network group participated in the Benghazi attack.

The Daily Beast’s Eli Lake further quoted Seth Jones, associate director for the international security and defense policy center at the RAND Corporation, about Jamal’s involvement.

“There was at least one member and may have been more members from the Mohammed Jamal network on the compound for the attack on Benghazi along with members of Ansar al-Sharia and members of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,” Jones stated.

‘Not pre-planned’

Another main claim by the Times piece is that the Benghazi attack was largely not premeditated, although the article allows some aspects were loosely planned that day.

“Surveillance of the American compound appears to have been underway at least 12 hours before the assault started,” reported the Times. “The violence, though, also had spontaneous elements. Anger at the video motivated the initial attack.”

The Times claims, “Looters and arsonists, without any sign of a plan, were the ones who ravaged the compound after the initial attack, according to more than a dozen Libyan witnesses as well as many American officials who have viewed the footage from security cameras.”

That description doesn’t fit with the State ARB investigation into Benghazi.

The ARB described a well-orchestrated attack with militants who seemingly had specific knowledge of the compound. It doesn’t focus on looters but rather on “men armed with AK rifles” who “started to destroy the living room contents and then approached the safe area gate and started banging on it.”

In another detail bespeaking a plan, the ARB states the intruders smoked up Villa C, likely to make breathing so difficult that anyone inside the safe room where Ambassador Chris Stevens was holed up would need to come out.

It may be difficult for keen observers to swallow the Times’ claim of unplanned looters in light of events that demonstrated the attackers knew the location of the nearby CIA annex, or that they set up checkpoints, as they did, to ensure against the escape by Americans inside the Special Mission.

Fox News reported late Florida Rep. Bill Young said he spoke for 90 minutes with David Ubben, one of the security agents severely injured in the assault. Young said the agent revealed to him the intruders knew the exact location of Stevens’ safe room.

“He (Ubben) emphasized the fact that it was a very, very military type of operation [in that] they had knowledge of almost everything in the compound,” stated Young. “They knew where the gasoline was, they knew where the generators were, they knew where the safe room was, they knew more than they should have about that compound.”

New York Times
Richard R. Burt was a correspondent for the New York Times, and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Note: Linda Greenhouse was a reporter or the New York Times, and is a director at the American Constitution Society.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and the American Constitution Society.
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, a board member for the International Crisis Group, the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and was a benefactor for the NPR.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the NPR, the Brookings Institution (think tank), the New America Foundation, and the Committee for Economic Development.
Leslie H. Gelb was a board member for the International Crisis Group, and a reporter, columnist & op-ed page editor for the New York Times.
Charlayne Hunter-Gault is a special correspondent for the NPR, and was a reporter for the New York Times.
Vivian Schiller was the president & CEO for the NPR, and the SVP for the NYTimes.com.
Henry B. Schacht was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a director at the New York Times Co.
Steven L. Rattner was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a director at the New America Foundation, and an economic correspondent for the New York Times.
Ellen R. Marram is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and a director at the New York Times Co.
New York Times Co. is a subsidiary of the New York Times.
Jason P. DeParle is a reporter for the New York Times, and married to Nancy-Ann DeParle.
Nancy-Ann DeParle is married to Jason P. DeParle, and was the White House health czar & deputy chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.
Crystal Nix Hines was a reporter for the New York Times, Barack Obama’s law school friend, a fundraiser for the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign, and a fundraiser for the 2012 Barack Obama presidential campaign.