All posts by Bill Maher

News

NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCIES DATA MINING FROM INTERNET COMPANIES AS WELL AS PHONE DATA


It has now emerged the government has been mining data from the internet as well as phone data from Verizon. Leaked documents appear to show that a government spying program, called Prism, has been in place for years. Prism has allegedly allowed access to the the US and UK security services to the servers of the biggest internet companies: Google, Apple, Skype, Microsoft, YouTube, and Facebook.

However the internet companies in question have denied the claims. Google has issued a statement, “We have not joined any program that would give the U.S. government – or any other government – direct access to our servers.

“Indeed, the U.S. government does not have direct access or a “back door” to the information stored in our data centres. We had not heard of a program called PRISM until yesterday.

“Any suggestion that Google is disclosing information about our users’ Internet activity on such a scale is completely false.

“We provide user data to governments only in accordance with the law. Our legal team reviews each and every request, and frequently pushes back when requests are overly broad or don’t follow the correct process.

“Press reports that suggest that Google is providing open-ended access to our users’ data are false, period.”

Facebook and Apple have also denied knowledge of the Prism program.

Read More: The Telegraph

News

CONFIDENTIAL REPORT INTO CYBER SPYING REVEALS CHINESE HACKERS ACCESSED U.S. WEAPONS SYSTEMS DESIGNS

There have been many reports in recent months about the systematic approach Chinese hackers have taken to access sensitive US information. These cyber attacks have been against US business, governmental and military agencies.

A confidential report has now revealed that the Chinese hackers have compromised weapons designs.

The Chinese military have been seeking to modernise their weapons systems and challenge the military superiority of the US. Experts believe one of their tactics has been to steal military secrets to use in the advancement of their own military technology.

Senior members of the military with knowledge of the latest wave of cyber attacks have said the vast majority have been carried out by the Chinese. These attacks have prompted President Obama to step up the rhetoric against China, warning them to stop the rampant cybertheft.

Read More: The Washington Post

News

MAN BEHEADED IN LONDON IN SUSPECTED TERROR ATTACK


A man believed to be a soldier, was attacked by two other men on the streets of London earlier today. The men wielding machetees were seen hacking at the man, and cut off his head on the busy London street. As they attacked the man they were heard to shout Islamic slogans.

A bystander filmed one of the attackers covered with blood as he told the people, “We must fight them as they fight us. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

He added: “I apologise that women have had to witness this today, but in our land our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don’t care about you.”

Wait a minute!! In our land? But you live in England… And we don’t want our women to see this…
You emigrated to find a better life than the evil ways of tribal backward Africa right? To work hard and prosper in a society that offers advantages not found in primitive backward Africa right??
Ok we’re confused now… Why did you come to England?
To convert it into the hell of Africa?

How about we just send you home to hack the heads off men women and children in YOUR LAND?

So what you are really saying is you can take the black man out of Africa and it’s backwards ways but you can’t take Africa and its ways out of the black man… So he will just spread his ways whereever he breeds???

You just said that … So go home…
Because we don’t want your hell…
Two of you cowards used a car against one British soldier…

You are making a VERY strong case for Border enforcement and immigration control…

Obama are you listening?

Two women approached the attackers and managed to talk them down. When armed police arrived, the attackers ran at them with the machetees. A woman police officer shot the men. One of the suspects reportedly told one of the women, “We want to start a war in London tonight.”

Both men have been arrested and are being treated in hospital.

The UK government is treating the killing as a terrorist attack.

Read More: BBC

News

TORNADO RIPS THROUGH OKLAHOMA CITY

The suburb of Moore Oklahoma faced the full force of nature’s fury on Monday afternoon, after an EF5 tornado ripped through the densely populated area. It is thought the tornado reached around two miles in diameter. Two schools took a direct hit as well as a hospital.

“An EF-5 is as bad as it gets,” said Joe D’Aleo, co-chief forecaster for WeatherBell Analytics. “It’s equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane. It means winds were more than 200 miles per hour, and it means you have to be underground, because there will be nothing left above ground.”

The tornado has left 24 people dead, including 9 children. The Mayor of Oklahoma has said the damage could cost $2 billion, and has called for all new homes to be built with storm shelters. The death toll was originally placed at over 60, however the medical examiner has now said amidst the confusion some bodies were counted twice.

The suburb of Moore has been hit four times since 1998 by deadly tornadoes. In May 1999 another massive tornado followed almost an identical path through Moore. Meteorologists have said this is very rare.

Read more: Fox News

News

MAN COMMITS SUICIDE IN NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL IN PARIS, OVER GAY MARRIAGE LAWS IN FRANCE

A historian has shot himself in the head at the altar inside Notre Dame Cathedral, in central Paris. 78 year old Dominique Venner is known for his right wing publications and essays. Venner placed a letter on the altar before taking his own life. At the time he shot himself the cathedral was full of around 1500 visitors.

The historian had earlier written on his website about the French government’s decision to legalise same-sex marriage and called for “spectacular action”. He called the laws “vile” and added, “There will certainly need to be new, spectacular, symbolic gestures to shake off the sleepiness… and re-awaken the memories of our origins.

“We are reaching a time when words must be backed up with acts.”

The French government formally legalised gay marriage at the weekend, amidst protests from the Catholic church and social conservatives.

The impact of such a dramatic suicide will not be lost on the French people. Notre Dame Cathedral is a powerful symbol in France, and Interior Minister Manuel Valls said “We are fully aware of the repercussions of such an act.”

This is the second dramatic suicide in Paris within a week. A 50 year old man also committed suicide in Paris, near the Eiffel Tower. This suicide occurred inside a primary school in front of a class of traumatised children.

Read More: Sky News

News

IPHONE HELPED POLICE CAPTURE BOSTON BOMBERS

The driver of the SUV hijacked by the Boston bombers has spoken of how he escaped and helped police capture the bombers.

It has emerged that the brothers were planning to drive to New York and detonate their remaining explosive devices in Times Square. However, their plan began to fall apart when the brothers realised the SUV did not have enough gas to make it to New York, and the driver, who is being called “Danny”, explained how he was able to flee from the car whilst the older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was distracted by the satellite navigation device.

After Danny escaped he contacted police, and told them how he had left his iPhone in the car, to enable police to track the vehicle.

Police were able to corner the suspects within hours, in the Boston suburb of Watertown, where the elder brother was shot dead in the shoot out that ensued.

In further developments it has emerged that the Tsarnaev brothers mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, 46, was placed on the US watch list of potential terrorists in 2011, after security warnings from the Russian authorities. Since the Boston bombings Zubeidat Tsarnaeva has made emotional pleas to the media declaring her sons were innocent, and had been framed.

Read More: The Telegraph

Spirituality & Health

SAND MANDALA “GATE OF HELL” PERFORMED IN NORMAN, OKLAHOMA

Screen Shot 2013-06-02 at 2.48.31 AMMay 20 2013 Sand Mandala in Oklahoma Norman Tornado hugeMay 20 2013 Severe Weather map Oklahoma Tornado

Tibetan Buddhist monks were invited to Norman Oklahoma to create a sand mandala. The Mandala of Wisdom, was created in St Stephen’s Methodist Church in Norman, before being dismantled on April 13th by the monks.

The monks came from the Drepung Loseling Monastery to create the mandala, they were also available for private healings, as well as blessings of homes and businesses.

St Stephen’s have hosted the monks annually for the last five years, church officials have said, “We accept every member of the community. We really see it as a privilege to have them here.”

When the “Gatekeepers” of the city, invite in the “Wrathful Deities” (destructive UFO beings) of the UNDERWORLD, who bring destruction, why does everyone act shocked, when destruction comes into the city, and their loved ones are killed?

Wasn’t that the point of “WELCOMING THEM” into the city?

If you don’t like the death and destruction these “WRATHFUL DEITIES” do in your cities, then STOP INVITING THEM…

Otherwise shut up and enjoy the death and destruction… and keep telling yourself it is global warming… and attack the very root of your own prosperity which is cheap energy… ha ha ha

Ignorance is bliss isn’t it?

Read More: The Oklahoma Daily

News

FRANCE LEGALIZES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

The French parliament have voted today to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill was passed 331-225, and it is thought weddings could begin as early as June.

The vote was almost a foregone conclusion given that parliament has a Socialist majority, who along with their allies the Green party, had been pushing for the bill. President Hollande made same-sex marriage a key manifesto promise in last year’s election.

However, the nation is deeply divided over the bill,  with mass rallies in Paris over the last few weeks. The protests are expected to continue, as they seek to convince President Hollande not to sign the bill into law, or to remove the part of it, which currently will see gay couples given the right to adopt.

The leader of the right leaning party UMP has promised another large scale demonstration in Paris on May 26th, with UMP leader Jean-François Copé wanting to send a “message of very strong disapproval to the government.”

This morning, before the vote it was reported that, Claude Bartolone, president of the lower house, received a package containing gunpowder and a note saying, “Citizen Bartolone, with this letter we formally ask you to delay the vote on same-sex marriage…Our methods are more radical and direct than demonstrations. You wanted war, you’ve got it.” The message was sent by the group calling themselves Interaction of the Forces of Order.

Read More The Telegraph

News

PARIS TO SEE LARGE SCALE PROTESTS AGAINST SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL

Tens of thousands are expected to take to the street of Paris today to protest against the government’s bill to legalise same-sex marriage and gay adoption.

The parliament are expected to pass the bill on Tuesday. The bill was one of President Hollande’s key manifesto promises.

This latest protest is expected to see between 30,000 to 50,000 protesters converge on the streets of Paris; a similar rally in March saw around 300,000 people attend.

Protesters are angered by the way the government has pushed the bill through parliament, using a fast track procedure, which means the bill has only received 25 hours of debate.

Another protest is planned for May 26th, to demand the bill be withdrawn and a referendum called on same-sex marriage.

Read More: France 24

News

FERTILIZER PLANT EXPLODES IN TEXAS LEAVING AT LEAST 15 DEAD

A blast at the West Fertilizer Plant, Texas, has left at least 15 dead, and 160+ injured. The blast was likened to a nuclear bomb exploding and has flattened up to 75 homes.

The plant was around 20 miles north of Waco, and the blast was felt in Dallas 65 miles away. The Mayor of  West said, “We’ve got a lot of people who are hurt, and there’s a lot of people, I’m sure, who aren’t gonna be here tomorrow. We’re going to search for everybody. We’re going to make sure everybody’s accounted for. That’s the most important thing right now.”

Firefighters responded quickly to the blast, however, reports say there are now four firefighters missing in the wreckage.

The chemicals used to make fertilizers are also used in explosives, and has been responsible for disasters in the past, like the AZF plant in Toulouse in 2001.

The blast comes two days before the 20th anniversary of the Waco fire in 1993, where David Koresh and his sect were holed up in a siege with the FBI. About 82 members of the sect and four federal agents died at Waco.

Read More: The Telegraph

News

EIGHT YEAR OLD BOY ALSO KILLED AT THE BOSTON MARATHON ATTACK

As more details emerge of the Boston Marathon attack, authorities have said an eight year old boy, Martin Richard, was killed in the blasts. His mother and sister were also seriously injured.

The bombs exploded 4 hours into the marathon, turning the carnival atmosphere into one of terror. Bostonians had turned out on their public holiday to mark Patriots Day, which remembers the first battles of the American War of Independence.

Spectators were cheering as runners finished the race. The final mile had been dedicated to the victims of the Sandy Hooke Elementary School shooting, and some of the families were sitting near the finish line.

There are early reports coming out of Fox News that the FBI are searching an apartment in a suburb of Boston, with speculation that those responsible could have links to the Pakistani Taliban.

Read More: The Telegraph
Fox News

News

TWO KILLED AFTER EXPLOSIONS AT BOSTON MARATHON


View Boston Marathon Bombings in a larger map

Two people have been killed and at least 100 injured after two explosions occured at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Some of those injured have lost limbs in the blasts. A third explosion was reported outside the JFK library in the city.

The explosions happened at 2:45pm local time, two hours after the first of the 27,000 competitors crossed the finish line.

Authorities say they knew of no security threats prior to the marathon, and are investigating the attack. Washington DC and New York have been placed on high alert.

Read More CNN

News

PORTUGAL’S ELDER STATESMAN HAS CALLED ON HIS NATION TO DEFAULT

Mario Soares, who led Portugal to democracy in the 1970s after the Salazar dictatorship, has called on the government to default on its debts. The economic pressure on Portugal has been mounting in recent weeks, and the nation is losing patience with the EU imposed austerity. The Portuguese are looking at the death spiral in Greece, caused by their various rounds of bailouts and austerity.

Soares told Portuguese television channel Antena 1, “Portugal will never be able to pay its debts, however much it impoverishes itself. If you can’t pay, the only solution is not to pay. When Argentina was in crisis it didn’t pay. Did anything happen? No, nothing happened”.

Last week Portugal’s top court ruled that the government’s decision to slash pension payments and public sector wages was illegal. The ruling means the government is struggling to find the budget cuts required from elsewhere.

Portugal received an EU/IMF bailout in 2011, and as the crisis deepens again, many think it highly likely they will need another bailout very soon. If Portugal were to default, it would almost certainty mean their expulsion from the eurozone, and may lead other nations to follow their example.

Read More: The Telegraph