Skip to main content

Posts

The true legacy of David Rockefeller

While often remembered for his philanthropy, the last surviving grandson of America’s first billionaire died today, leaving behind a dark legacy indicative of how American nobility often shape policy from behind the scenes. by MintPress news desk No one person encapsulates the enduring legacy of the “robber barons” of the Industrial Age quite like David Rockefeller. Rockefeller, who died today at the age of 101, was the last surviving grandson of John D. Rockefeller, the oil tycoon who became America’s first billionaire and the patriarch of what would become one of the most powerful and wealthiest families in American history. David Rockefeller, an undeniable product of American nobility, lived his entire life in the echelons of U.S. society, becoming symbolic of the elite who often direct public policy to a much greater extent than many realize, albeit often from the shadows. Rockefeller made it clear that he preferred to operate out of public view desp

CIA hacking tools revealed

WikiLeaks Part 9 - Examples The CIA's Engineering Development Group (EDG) management system contains around 500 different projects (only some of which are documented by "Year Zero") each with their own sub-projects, malware and hacker tools. The majority of these projects relate to tools that are used for penetration, infestation ("implanting"), control, and exfiltration. Another branch of development focuses on the development and operation of Listening Posts (LP) and Command and Control (C2) systems used to communicate with and control CIA implants; special projects are used to target specific hardware from routers to smart TVs. UMBRAGE The CIA's hand crafted hacking techniques pose a problem for the agency. Each technique it has created forms a "fingerprint" that can be used by forensic investigators to attribute multiple different attacks to the same entity. This is analogous to finding the same

Demystifying Alexander Nahum Sack and the doctrine of odious debt

Eric Tousaint’s study of the odious debt doctrine by Eric Toussaint Part 11 - What were the arguments advanced by the United States? Spain had issued Spanish securities in Europe with French and British bankers in the name of Cuba. Spain was guarantor of the issuance of these securities and they were backed by revenue from the Cuban customs and other taxes. The majority, if not all, of the bonds issued by Spain in Cuba’s name and the wealth they generated remained in Spain. Strictly speaking, there was no such thing as a Cuban debt because Cuba, as a colony, did not have the right to issue securities on its own initiative or in its own name. The island’s finances were controlled exclusively by the Spanish government. There was no proof that the Spanish bonds secured by Cuba’s revenues were actually used for projects that were beneficial to Cuba. Quite to the contrary, the history of Cuba’s finances as a colony showed that revenue f

The army of lobbies has occupied the EU

globinfo freexchange An army is stationed in Brussels. Not only are the special forces of the Belgian armed forces, patrolling the streets of a city that is in a constant state of emergency. It is mainly the "airborne battalions" by approximately 91,000 employees of 9,860 lobbies who ensure that there will be neither a single decision which, even accidentally, will defend the interests of citizens against private enterprises. With an annual budget of 1.5 billion euro, they can buy, blackmail or simply ... hire almost any employee of the European institutions they wish. These numbers do not provide of course the full picture since they concern the lobbies that are voluntarily recorded in the corresponding archive. What is certain is that about 6,200 lobbyists have special access cards in the European Parliament (and they use them almost daily), while almost 30,000 people live and work steadily in Brussels with the sole aim to serve the interests

Ο στρατός των λόμπι κατέλαβε την Ε.Ε

του Άρη Χατζηστεφάνου Στις Βρυξέλλες σταθμεύει ένας στρατός. Δεν είναι μόνο οι ειδικές δυνάμεις των βελγικών ενόπλων δυνάμεων, που περιπολούν στους δρόμους μιας πόλης που βρίσκεται σε διαρκή κατάσταση έκτακτης ανάγκης. Είναι κυρίως οι «αερομεταφερόμενες μεραρχίες» από περίπου 91.000 υπαλλήλους σε 9.860 ομάδες πίεσης που εξασφαλίζουν ότι δεν θα υπάρξει ούτε μια απόφαση, η οποία έστω και κατά λάθος, να προασπίζεται τα συμφέροντα των πολιτών σε βάρος των ιδιωτικών επιχειρήσεων. Με ετήσιο δηλωμένο προϋπολογισμό 1.5 δισεκατομμυρίου ευρώ, μπορούν να εξαγοράσουν να εκβιάσουν ή απλώς να… προσλάβουν σχεδόν οποιονδήποτε υπάλληλο των ευρωπαϊκών θεσμών επιθυμούν. Οι συγκεκριμένοι αριθμοί δεν προσφέρουν βέβαια την πλήρη εικόνα καθώς αφορούν τα λόμπι που καταγράφηκαν εθελοντικά στο αρχείο των ομάδων πίεσης. Το βέβαιο είναι ότι περίπου 6.200 λομπίστες διαθέτουν ειδικές κάρτες εισόδου στο ευρωκοινοβούλιο (και τις χρησιμοποιούν σχεδόν καθημερινά) ενώ σχεδόν 30.000 άτομα δ