Canadian Ambassador Kenneth Taylor Revealed as a CIA Spy Chief in Iran

By Barry O'Regan
Examiner | January 24, 2010

Canada’s own spy who came in from the cold has been revealed 30 years later. Ken Taylor, once Canada’s Ambassador in Iran in 1979 has been revealed to be a CIA Station chief.

Ken Taylor under the direction of then Prime Minister Joe Clark was to work with the Central Intelligence Agency under the United States Jimmy Carter administration. The plan to invade Iran and restore western influence and democracy to Iran failed miserably once Iran’s Islamic Student revolutionaries and supporters of Khomeini gained control of the country.

Previous to the future Islamic Republic taking control, Iran, an oil rich country was once a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary style of government, woman had the power to vote in elections, complete with a relaxed atmosphere allowing western style dress for both men and women. Iranians for the most part enjoyed a western style democracy and education, including one of the lowest illiteracy rates amongst its populace.

All that changed in 1979. Iran was undergoing turbulent times during Mohammed Reza Shah’s reign. Many Iranian citizens took exception of the widespread western influence by the United States, western dress and a decadence many felt was contrary to Islamic teachings.

During World War II, Iran’s friendly relations with Germany, resulted in Western allies ousting the elder Reza shah of Iran from the throne and placing his son Mohammed Reza Shah as his successor, with promises of a new reign, western powers were accepting of this new monarch.

Under the rule of the new Reza shah, political infighting, riots, food shortages and accusations of mass torture by the state secret police had many Iranians living in fear. In the mid 70’s the Shah crowned himself King of Kings as Emperor of Iran, certainly many saw this as a man with a bigger ego than god, thus his eventual downfall.

Islamic cleric Ayatollah Khomeini, a thorn in the side of the Shah was exiled in France. The Ayatollah’s followers in Iran yearned for the old days of strict Islamic rule and to oust all form of Western influence.

In 1979, the Shah of Iran was overthrown and the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini quickly took power, reverting Iranian society to a strict Islamic code of conduct, which stands to this day. The Shah of Iran and his family fled to Europe.

Western Embassies in Iran were immediately targeted by the new Islamic revolutionaries, with many embassy staff fearing for their lives soon fled to their home countries. The Canadian and Swedish embassy in downtown Iran seemed safe for the ime being, perhaps because Canada and Sweden has never been seen as a threat to any country and always had a good reputation amongst all countries worldwide.

The United States on the other hand suffered the slings and arrows of Iran’s Islamic revolutionaries bent on removing by hook or by crook all things American, including taking U.S. citizens hostage as the Iranian guard overthrew the U.S. Embassy in Iran. The lucky few who escaped looked to Canada’s Ambassador Ken Taylor. Ken Taylor may have feared that anymore U.S. Embassy staff falling into Iranian hands may result in discovering Canada’s involvement with the U.S.A.

Ken Taylor took in the six U.S. Embassy staff who excaped capture, under the guise as Canadian tourists. Ken Taylor with the help of the U.S.A. gave the Americans Canadian passports, a crash course in lessons on Canadiana and when it was safe to do so brought them through Iranian security checkpoints and home safely under the guise as Canadian citizens.

The U.S. hostages still in Iranian hands were eventually released in January 1981....

Who would have thought Canada would have a spymaster working for the U.S.A? Certainly not Iran, Canadians nor Americans. Surprisingly, Canada had a wolf in sheep’s clothing called Ken Taylor, de facto CIA station chief.

Bespectacled Ken Taylor more Milquetoast than spy looks nothing like the James Bond type western citizens are fed in countless spy movies and novels, certainly Ken Taylor would be difficult to point out in a crowd....

http://www.examiner.com/x-29795-Vancouver-Social-Policy-Examiner~y2010m1d24-Canadas-homegrown-hero-Ken-Taylor-revealed-as-a-CIA-spy-chief-in-Iran

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Former Army Top Brass Address Gitmo, Obama And More

" ... 'We know from experience that torture does not produce reliable intelligence, and acting on information derived through such abuse is dangerous, to our troops, and to our nation. ... Misinformation abounds, as some have taken to the airwaves to tell us that we must abandon the rules of law, the very principles and values we have cherished since the founding of our nation, the values that [make] America America' ... "

Tejinder Singh - AHN Correspondent
AllHeadlineNews | January 22, 2010

Washington, DC, United States (AHN) - Today a year ago, new incoming U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order to "provide the process whereby Guantanamo will be closed no later than one year from now."

Today, in a letter to President Obama, a group of retired U.S. generals say they are "deeply concerned by the hysteria permeating the public debate" around closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay and filing cases against terrorism suspects in civilian court.

"Opponents of your plan to close Guantanamo are using the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 as an excuse to renew their calls to keep the Guantanamo prison facility open and to oppose bringing terrorist suspects to justice in federal courts," reads a letter from 33 retired flag and general officers.

"We know from experience that torture does not produce reliable intelligence, and acting on information derived through such abuse is dangerous, to our troops, and to our nation."

Four of these retired generals who signed the letter to Obama and who are members of the group of retired Generals and Admirals concerned about prisoner treatment and interrogation policies, spoke to journalists criticizing those who wanted to keep detainees as enemy combatants.

With the lengthening shadows of Christmas Day bombing in the background, Gen. David M. Maddox, Lieut. Gen. Harry E. Soyster, Major Gen. William L. Nash, and Brigadier Gen. James P. Cullen, discussed Guantanamo and Handling of Terrorist Suspects addressed a National Press Club Newsmakers press conference on Thursday, Jan. 21 in Washington, DC.

"We need to close Guantanamo Prison Facility and bring terrorists to justice. Doing so will make America more secure on the battlefield, in the skies, and on our soil," said Maddox, who said that misinformation has dominated the public debate over the issues.

"Misinformation abounds, as some have taken to the airwaves to tell us that we must abandon the rules of law, the very principles and values we have cherished since the founding of our nation, the values that makes America America," Maddox said.

Maddox disclosed that the ongoing process has already made way clear for all but 70 inmates of Guantanamo saying, "not that they're all released yet, but actions determine they will be, down to about 70."

Soyster, on his part warned against "the hysteria that is permeating in the public debate around how the United States should deal with terrorism suspects is not only unwarranted, it is dangerous. It's dangerous to us."

"Gripped by fear, some are calling for the return to the use of torture techniques against terrorism suspects in hopes of garnering useful intelligence," he said.

Soyster, an intelligence pundit asked, "If the father of the Christmas day bomber believed that America would torture his son, would he have turned him in?" adding, "We need more fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, cousins and aunts to trust in American justice and come forward with the tips, the intelligence that we need to thwart those who seek to do us harm."

The generals cautioned that the Guantanamo prison facility provides the support for al-Qaeda in recruiting, in attracting and then using the gullible young men for terrorist activities against the U.S.

Nash echoed the views of others calling for abolition of torture with, "I would just say to you that there's a direct relationship between how we behave and how people react to our behavior, especially in light of our values."

Cullen, a lawyer by profession and hailing from New York, argued, "Bringing somebody back to the scene of the crime has been the traditional thing we do."

Citing that after the World War II, "the high-ranking Nazis" were brought "to trial at Nierenberg, because Nierenberg was so associated with the rise of the terrorists of that era, the Nazi party," Cullen said, "I think the right decision was made in bringing these guys up to New York for trial once they're ready to proceed."

Members of the group had met with eight of the presidential candidates during the 2008 campaign, and when President Obama signed the Executive Orders ending torture and ordering the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison facility in the second full day of his presidency, 16 of the group's retired Generals and Admirals stood with him in the Oval Office.

Today, the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, remains open with about 200 inmates.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017602970#ixzz0dT9r7JYQ

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Pravda: Google's China Hypocrisy Ignores Deep CIA Connections

By: Pravda | Jan 14, 2010

The western media is currently full of articles on Google's 'threat to quit China' over internet censorship issues, and the company's 'suspicion' that the Chinese government was behind attempts to 'break-in' to several Google email accounts used by 'Chinese dissidents'.

However, the media has almost completely failed to report that Google's surface concern over 'human rights' in China is belied by its their deep involvement with some of the worst human rights abuses on the planet:

Google is, in fact, is a key participant in U.S. military and CIA intelligence operations involving torture; subversion of foreign governments; illegal wars of aggression; and military occupations of countries which have never attacked the U.S. and which have cost hundreds of thousands of lives in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and elsewhere.

To begin with, Google is the supplier of the core search technology for 'Intellipedia, a highly-secured online system where 37,000 U.S. spies and related personnel share information and collaborate on their devious errands.

Agencies such as the so-called 'National Security Agency' have also purchased servers using Google-supplied search technology which processes information gathered by U.S. spies operating all over the planet.

In addition, Google is linked to the U.S. spy and military systems through its Google Earth software venture. The technology behind this software was originally developed by Keyhole Inc., a company funded by Q-Tel http://www.iqt.org/ , a venture capital firm which is in turn openly funded and operated on behalf of the CIA.

Google acquired Keyhole Inc. in 2004. The same base technology is currently employed by U.S. military and intelligence systems in their quest, in their own words, for "full-spectrum dominance" of the planet.

Moreover, Googles' connection with the CIA and its venture capital firm extends to sharing at least one key member of personnel. In 2004, the Director of Technology Assessment at In-Q-Tel, Rob Painter, moved from his old job directly serving the CIA to become 'Senior Federal Manager' at Google.

As Robert Steele, a former CIA case officer has put it: Google is "in bed with" the CIA.

Googles Friends spy on millions of Internet Users

Given Google's supposed concern with 'break-in's to several of its email accounts, it's worth noting that Google's friends at In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA, are now investing in Visible Technologies, a software firm specialized in 'monitoring social media'.

The 'Visible' technology can automatically examine more than a million discussions and posts on blogs, online forums, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, Amazon, and so forth each day. The technology also 'scores' each online item, assigning it a positive, negative or mixed or neutral status, based on parameters and terms set by the technology operators. The information, thus boiled down, can then be more effectively scanned and read by human operators.

The CIA venture capitalists at In-Q-Tel say they will use the technology to monitor social media operating in other countries and give U.S. spies “early-warning detection on how issues are playing internationally,” according to spokesperson Donald Tighe. There is every possibility that the technology can also be used by the U.S. intelligence operatives to spy on domestic social movements and individuals inside the U.S.

Finally, there is a curious absence from the statements emanating from Google - and from U.S. media reports - of any substantive evidence linking the Chinese government with the alleged break-in attempts to several Google email accounts.

Words like 'sophisticated' and 'suspicion' have appeared in the media to suggest that the Chinese government is responsible for the break-ins. That may be so. But it is striking that the media has seemingly asked no questions as to what the evidence behind the 'suspicions' might be

It should be noted that the U.S. government and its intelligence agencies have a long history of rogue operations intended to discredit governments or social movements with whom they happen to disagree. To see how far this can go, one need only recall the sordid history of disinformation, lies, and deceit propagated by U.S. government and media to frighten people into supporting the Iraq war.

Whether the attacks on Google email originated from the Chinese government, or from elsewhere, one thing is clear: A company that supplies the CIA with key intelligence technology; supplies mapping software which can be used for barbarous wars of aggression and drone attacks which kill huge numbers of innocent civilians; and which in general is deeply intertwined with the CIA and the U.S. military machines, which spy on millions, the company cannot be motivated by real concern for the human rights and lives of the people in China.

By Eric Sommer
Pravda.ru

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article16486.html

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Lou Dobbs' Fascist Fantasia

Also see: Lou Dobbs' Spokesman, Knight of Malta Robert Dilenschneider

Is CNBC prepared to Invest in Dobbs and His Record of Conspiracy Theories and Inflammatory Rhetoric?
Media Matters | December 01, 2009

A December 1 New York Times blog post reported that Lou Dobbs "has held talks with the business news network CNBC in recent weeks" and that he "could conceivably host a prime time program for CNBC" or "become a commentator for the business news network." Given Dobbs' record of promoting baseless conspiracy theories and engaging in inflammatory rhetoric, Media Matters for America questions why CNBC would want to tarnish its brand -- as CNN did -- by hiring him.

From the December 1 New York Times blog post:

Lou Dobbs, who is likely to make a decision about his post-CNN career this month, has held talks with the business news network CNBC in recent weeks, two people with knowledge of the discussions say.

Mr. Dobbs, a free agent whose exit from CNN last month prompted speculation about plans for a political bid, could conceivably host a prime time program for CNBC. He could also become a commentator for the business news network.

The people who spoke about the talks requested anonymity because they were not authorized by their employers to speak about it. [The New York Times' Media Decoder, 12/1/09]

Is this the kind of brand CNBC wants to be associated with?

Dobbs repeatedly advanced false conspiracy theories about Obama's birth certificate.

As Media Matters extensively documented, Dobbs suggested on his July 15 CNN show that the birth certificate President Obama provided to FactCheck.org was not "the real document" and suggested on his radio show that day that it was not "the real deal." After asking if Obama should be "more forthcoming" about his birth certificate, Dobbs added: "One of our callers, by the way, pointed out that he didn't release -- he didn't release his medical records, either. Now isn't that interesting? And hasn't produced some other documents. What's the deal? What is the deal here? I'm starting to think we have a -- we have a document issue. Do you suppose he's un -- no, I won't even use the word undocumented. It wouldn't be right." On his July 21 radio show, Dobbs faulted "certain quarters of the national liberal media" for "absolutely trying to knock down the issue of President Obama's birth certificate." On his July 23 radio show, Dobbs addressed media reports on his conspiracy theories by declaring, "I do believe in a national left-wing media conspiracy in which they work in concert and attack like hell."

Dobbs used CNN to elevate wild conspiracy theories and legitimize hate groups. The notion that Obama was born outside the United States wasn't the first outrageous theory that Dobbs promoted on CNN. As Media Matters documented, Dobbs has repeatedly accused the U.S. government of secretly plotting with the governments of Mexico and Canada to merge the three countries into a "North American Union" -- a charge his own CNN colleagues labeled a "conspiracy theor[y]." Dobbs has promoted the smear that Mexican immigrants are conspiring to reclaim the Southwest for Mexico and at one point illustrated this theory by using a graphic sourced to the Council of Conservative Citizens, a hate group that "oppose[s] all efforts to mix the races of mankind." Dobbs famously aired a false report about a purported spike in leprosy cases linked to illegal immigration and repeatedly defended his show's reporting even after it had been proven wrong.

Dobbs had close ties to "hate group" FAIR. In September, Dobbs helped lead the annual "Hold Their Feet to the Fire" radio host rally organized by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) -- an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated a "hate group." On August 28, Media Matters president Eric Burns wrote an open letter to CNN president Jonathan Klein urging him to prohibit Dobbs from participating in the FAIR event. Media Matters also documented that Dobbs used his CNN show to report on the FAIR rally without disclosing during those reports that he was helping lead it. A year earlier, Dobbs had broadcast his CNN show from the FAIR rally. In addition, the group has given Dobbs an award for "his continued efforts in leading the immigration reform movement through both his talk radio show and his television show." In the past year, Dobbs has cited FAIR as a credible source on immigration issues at least six times and has routinely failed to disclose his close association with the group.

Dobbs smeared U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as sympathetic to "Mexico's export of drugs and illegal aliens." On March 10, Dobbs criticized Obama for delivering a speech on education to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Dobbs accused Obama of "pandering to the pro-amnesty open-borders lobby" and aired a clip of a FAIR spokesman saying, "We don't want the president to make it appear as if he's favoring one particular group in the disposition of public benefits." Dobbs also said, "Making a decision to talk about a national initiative on education from the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which is effectively an organization that is interested in the export of American capital and production to Mexico, and Mexico's export of drugs and illegal aliens to the United States. This is crazy stuff." On March 17, Dobbs said he "made a mistake," explaining, "I, of course, do not believe that the chamber supports or condones either drug or human trafficking. My apologies to the ... U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and I hope that they will forgive me for that misspeaking."

Dobbs declared, "Mexico has become our enemy." As Media Matters documented, Dobbs complained on his March 3 radio show that there are people "trying to control our political agendas" and "social agendas with political correctness, trying to control thought, and, of course, speech through political correctness." He added that while it may be "politically incorrect," it is "absolutely factually correct" that "Mexico has become our enemy."

— J.H.

http://mediamatters.org/research/200912010022

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Citizens United used 'Hillary: The Movie' to take on McCain-Feingold

By Philip Rucker
Washington Post | January 22, 2010

David Bossie, a veteran Republican campaign operative [Swiftboater] who made his mark investigating the Clintons, thought his group could offer a conservative answer to Michael Moore's successful films. After Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" premiered in 2004, Bossie's Citizens United group released "Celsius 41.11."

And after it became clear that Bossie's longtime enemy Hillary Rodham Clinton would run for president, Citizens United released another flick: "Hillary: The Movie." Featuring a who's-who cast of right-wing commentators, the 2008 film takes viewers on a savaging journey through Clinton's scandals. The sole compliment about the then-senator comes from conservative firebrand Ann Coulter: "Looks good in a pantsuit."

But "Hillary: The Movie" never became a blockbuster. The Federal Election Commission restricted Citizens United's ability to advertise the film during the 2008 primary season, a decision that Bossie and other conservative activists saw as a threat to their freedom of speech.

"The marketplace for my movie was completely and totally shut down by the Federal Election Commission," Bossie said in an interview Thursday.

So he sued -- and thus was born Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the legal drama that resulted in Thursday's dramatic Supreme Court decision to overturn restrictions on corporate spending on behalf of or in opposition to political candidates.

Critics said Citizens United created the withering movie knowing that it would fall under the tangle of broadcast and advertising restrictions in the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law.

"The movie was created with the idea of establishing a vehicle to chip away at the decision," said Nick Nyhart, president of Public Campaign, a group that opposed Thursday's decision. "It was part of a very clear strategy to undo McCain-Feingold." ...

Bossie and his legal team fast-tracked the case, appealing to the Supreme Court. They easily recruited one of the right's most experienced lawyers, Theodore B. Olson. He worked with the group's counsel, Michael Boos, and Floyd Abrams, a veteran First Amendment lawyer who worked on the Pentagon Papers case.

Olson, a former solicitor general, had argued before the Supreme Court countless times, including representing George W. Bush during the 2000 Florida recount. But this case was special.

"Hillary: The Movie" was dedicated to his wife, Barbara Olson, a conservative commentator who was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 77 when it crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. She was a longtime Clinton critic, working with Bossie in the trenches on Capitol Hill through the 1990s investigations, and wrote the book "Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton." ...

Full story at the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012103582.html?hpid=topnews

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Sarah Palin wasn't McCain's First One?

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Questions over Deaths of 3 Guantanamo Detainees Raised by Magazine Article

Also see: The Suppressed Fact: 100 Deaths by U.S. Torture

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (CP)

WASHINGTON — Three Guantanamo Bay detainees whose deaths were ruled a suicide in 2006 apparently were transported from their cells hours before their deaths to a secret site on the island, according to an article in Harper's magazine.

The published account released Monday raises serious questions about whether the three detainees actually died by hanging themselves in their cells and suggests the U.S. government is covering up details of what precisely happened in the hours before the deaths.

Harper's reports that the deaths of the three detainees, or the events that led directly to their deaths, most likely occurred at a previously undisclosed facility a mile or so from the main Guantanamo Bay prison complex.

Harper's based much of its account on interviews with several prison guards who said they knew of the existence of the "black" site and that they saw three detainees removed from Camp Delta several hours before the deaths were reported and were in a white van proceeding toward the secret site.

Those who knew of the black facility referred to it as "Camp No," reported the magazine, quoting Army Sgt. Joe Hickman, one of the guards.

Anyone who asked if the black site existed would be told, "No, it doesn't," the magazine reported, quoting Hickman.

After the terror attacks on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001, the CIA set up a number of so-called "black" sites around the world, where harsh interrogations of terrorism-era suspects took place. The Harper's article suggested such a site at Guantanamo Bay may have belonged to the CIA or to the U.S. military's Joint Special Operations Command.

On Monday, in response to the article, Army Col. Michael Bumgarner said in an email that "this blatant misrepresentation of the truth infuriates me."

Bumgarner said that Hickman "is only trying to be a spotlight ranger; he knows nothing about what transpired in Camp 1 or our medical facility. I do, I was there." Camp 1 is the facility where the three detainees were ordinarily held."

Bumgarner added that he would have to get clearance before he can talk to the news media, "but rest assured, I do want to talk to you very badly and set the record straight."

The three Guantanamo detainees who died the night of June 9-10, 2006 were Salah Ahmed Al-Salami, 37, of Yemen; Mani Shaman Al-Utaybi, 30, of Saudi Arabia; and Yasser Talal Al-Zahrani, 22, of Saudi Arabia.

The article says that at a 7 a.m. meeting on June 10, 2006 with 50 or so soldiers and sailors, Army Col. Michael Bumgarner said that the three men had died by swallowing rags, causing them to choke to death. Bumgarner was a commander at Guantanamo Bay.

According to the magazine, Bumgarner went on to say that the news media would be guided to report something different - that the three prisoners had committed suicide by hanging themselves in their cells.

The servicemen were to make no comments or suggestions that in any way undermined the official report, Bumgarner reminded them, according to the Harper's piece, written by Scott Horton, an attorney who has worked for years on Guantanamo Bay detainee issues.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h97BGvSdx97hHzNDkUiDzI8JsB7A

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