Obama Third World Strongman?

President Barack Obama entered office as a «hope and change» candidate who promised to be far different from his predecessor George W. Bush. However, in his fifth year in office, Obama has taken on the trappings of a «strongman», a leader found more often in Africa, the land of Obama’s paternal lineage, and in Asia, from where his step-father hailed. Obama has not only maintained unprecedented «unitary executive» powers amassed up by Bush and his vice president, Dick Cheney, but in the area of surveillance and press restrictions, Obama has gone far beyond the preceding administration…

...after five years in office, an ominous shadow has emerged over the United States. Obama has instituted an unprecedented system of surveillance of the phone calls, e-mails, and Internet transactions of Americans, including eavesdropping operations directed against journalists and their sources. Associated Press president Gary Pruitt recently told the National Press Club in Washington that the wire service’s «longtime trusted sources» have stopped speaking to AP reporters as a result of the Obama administration’s wiretapping of journalists and their sources, as well as unprecedented criminal charges pursuant to the 1917 Espionage Act being brought to bear on government whistleblowers.


 full story:http://www.globalresearch.ca/obama-as-a-third-world-strongman/5340371

US issues threats to China, Russia

The Obama administration is stepping up its threats and bullying in a bid to press the Russian government to hand Snowden over for trial on charges of espionage for exposing the NSA’s vast electronic surveillance operations inside the US and internationally. Speaking from New Delhi, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Moscow that there would be “without doubt … consequences” if Russian authorities did not give up Snowden. “They are on notice with respect to our desires. It would be deeply disappointing if he was wilfully allowed to board an aeroplane,” he declared.

Full Story: http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-issues-threats-to-china-russia-over-snowden/5340361

Pope Francis Said To Reveal Existence Of 'Gay Lobby'

"In the days leading up to Pope Benedict XVI's resignation in February, the Italian news media were rife with reports of a 'gay lobby' influencing papal decision-making and Vatican policy through blackmail, and suggestions that the scandal had contributed to his decision to resign. "The unsourced reports said details of the scandal were laid out in a secret dossier prepared for Benedict by three trusted cardinals who investigated the leaks of papal documents last year. Benedict left the dossier for Francis."


Full Story : http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/06/12/190951708/pope-francis-said-reveal-existence-of-gay-lobby

According to the report, the Pope was extremely open as he discussed problems at the Vatican. He is said to have told the Latin American delegation that there were good, holy men in the administration, but that there was also corruption. The Vatican would have to "see what we can do" about the "gay lobby" operating in the bureaucracy, he said. "It is true, it is there," the report quotes him as saying. In the days leading up to Pope Benedict XVI's resignation in February, the Italian media carried many un-sourced reports that gay Vatican clergymen had been working together to advance their personal interests, leaving the Holy See vulnerable to blackmail. There were even suggestions that the situation had influenced Benedict's decision to resign. At the time, the Vatican vigorously denied all the rumours.

 More coverage: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22869399

Priests caught with their pants down have fueled rumors for years that there’s a “gay lobby” in the upper echelons of the Vatican. Now that Pope Francis is said to have confirmed it, what’s he going to do about it?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/12/is-pope-francis-going-after-the-vatican-s-gay-lobby.html

HOT MIC CATCHES EGYPTIANS DISCUSSING ‘WAR’ WITH ISRAEL AND AMERICA

Just last month, Secretary of State John Kerry quietly sent Egypt an additional $1.3 billion, even though Egypt has failed to live up to democracy standards. That largesse didn’t stop a prominent Egyptian politician from talking about Egypt’s “enemy” the United States in what some pundits are classifying as a classic and embarrassing “hot mic” moment.

 President Mohammed Morsi gathered a group of politicians last week who thought they were speaking privately at a parliamentary meeting. But as seen in an Egyptian television video of the meeting — excerpts of which were later translated by the Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI) — they were actually on live television, cringingly discussing secret ways to stop Ethiopia’s Nile River dam project which threatens water flowing to Egypt.

The New York Times blog reports: Unaware that their words were being broadcast live on a state-owned television channel, many of those seated around the table said the dam was in fact a secret American and Israeli plot to undermine Egypt that must be stopped at all costs.

FULL STORY: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/06/12/im-very-fond-of-battles-egyptian-cabinet-minister-caught-on-hot-mic-discussing-war-with-enemies-israel-and-america/#

Iran ups cyber attacks on Israeli computers

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran and its Palestinian and Lebanese allies on Sunday of carrying out "non-stop" cyber attacks on major computer systems in his country. He gave no details on the number of attacks but said "vital national systems" had been targeted. Water, power and banking sites were also under threat, he added. "In the past few months, we have identified a significant increase in the scope of cyber attacks on Israel by Iran. These attacks are carried out directly by Iran and through its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah," he told a conference on cyber warfare in his country's commercial hub Tel Aviv.

 FULL STORY: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/09/18863782-iran-ups-cyber-attacks-on-israeli-computers-netanyahu?lite

The Cashless Society Arrives in Africa.

The “Multipurpose” Biometric National Identity Smart Card

Nigerian Government partners with MasterCard to launch “Multipurpose” National Identity Smart Card

It was recently announced at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa that MasterCard and the Nigerian National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) under the government of Nigeria would form a partnership to distribute a new identity card to every Nigerian citizen. The purpose of the card is to have all Nigerian citizens participate in the financial services sector under the control of MasterCard, a multinational financial services corporation headquartered in New York. MasterCard’s press release ‘MasterCard to Power Nigerian Identity Card Program’ stated: As part of the program, in its first phase, Nigerians 16 years and older, and all residents in the country for more than two years, will get the new multipurpose identity card which has 13 applications including MasterCard’s prepaid payment technology that will provide cardholders with the safety, convenience and reliability of electronic payments. This will have a significant and positive impact on the lives of these Nigerians who have not previously had access to financial services.

Full Story: http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-cashless-society-arrives-in-africa-the-multipurpose-biometric-national-identity-smart-card/5335292

Iraq warns against violating airspace to strike Iran

  Baghdad has warned Israel against violating its airspace in order to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, Hussein al-Shahristani, Iraq's deputy prime minister responsible for energy affairs told AFP on Monday.


 Shahrishtani said that the US had already assured Iraqi officials that it would not use Iraqi airspace in order to attack Iran. "The (Americans) have assured us that they will never violate Iraqi airspace or Iraqi sovereignty by using our airspace to attack any of our neighbors," Shahristani told AFP. "We have also warned Israel that if they violate Iraqi airspace, they will have to bear the consequences," he added.

Full Story: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iraq-warns-Israel-against-using-its-airspace-to-strike-Iran-315249

Israel prepares as war clouds gather

Israel prepares as war clouds gather: Russia's determination to supply S-300 missiles to Assad's Syrian regime raises fears of arming Hezbollah

Russia’s insistence that it will supply Syria with S300 missiles has heightened fears that they could fall into the hands of Hezbollah

Despite its protestations, Israel has attacked targets inside Syria, both last month and in February. It will not admit to the action, but officials have lined up to argue that Israel has the right to prevent sophisticated weaponry reaching Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon. It is a calculated risk. Hezbollah – whose leader Hasan Nasrallah warns of a “strategic response” to the Israeli attacks – is known to have many short- range rockets, but longer-range, more advanced, missiles would threaten Israel’s biggest city, Tel Aviv, further south and would bring the nearby Ben Gurion airport into play. And it is for that reason that Israeli officials are so concerned about the Russian insistence that it will deliver a batch of its advanced S300 missiles to Damascus. “Prime Minister Netanyahu said before cabinet [last week] that Israel will act to prevent the S300 missiles becoming operational, so if they arrive in Syria, Israel must act,” says Jonathan Spyer, a senior research fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs Centre in Herzilya. “Otherwise, it will find that the statement is hollow and devoid of content – that’s where logic takes us. At the same time, Assad cannot carry on not acting if Israel attacks again.”

Thousands evacuated as deadly floods swamp Europe

Floodwaters from heavy rains swamped five countries in Europe and threatened others, leaving at least six people dead and eight missing. Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland and the Czech Republic have been affected, with officials in the Czech capital, Prague, closing the subway system, evacuating thousands of homes and warning other people not to come into the city. Slovakia and Hungary were preparing flood defenses on the Danube River. In Germany, rain levels that reached record highs in May contributed to widespread flooding across southern and eastern parts of the country.

full story: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/03/18718405-thousands-evacuated-as-deadly-floods-swamp-europe?lite