Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Ariel Sharon showing brain activity
A team of Israeli and US scientists say new tests on comatose former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon show significant brain activity.
Ben-Gurion University on Sunday said Sharon responded to external stimuli at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.
He was shown pictures of his family and listened to recordings of his son's voice while undergoing a special brain imaging scan. The university said "significant brain activity was observed ... indicating appropriate processing of these stimulations."
However, Sharon remains in a deep coma.
Sharon, 84, led Israel from 2001 until suffering a stroke in 2006. Since then, he has been in a vegetative state, connected to a respirator.
Sharon was a storied military officer who fought in three wars before entering politics. He unilaterally withdrew Israeli troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005.
The Guardian
Monday, January 28, 2013
Ex-CIA man: Iran blast largest sabotage in decades
Iranian dissident-turned CIA operative Reza Kahlili told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that an alleged blast at the Fordow nuclear installation in Iran is "the largest case of sabotage in decades."
Although it has not yet been verified, a report by Kahlili, according to which a massive blast rocked Iran's key Fordow nuclear installation last week, continued to spread on Monday.
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization has dismissed reports of an explosion as "Western propaganda," while The Sunday Times cited Israeli intelligence figures as confirming the claim.
Speaking to the Post on Monday, Khalili expressed confidence that the alleged blast will receive "further coverage in the US," and that "more information" will become available to verify the incident.
"This is the center of the Iranian nuclear program. It's essential for the regime, its activities, and its nuclear program. If such a blow was given to Fordow, it definitely harms [Iran] drastically. They were reaching for 20 percent uranium enrichment, and were increasing output," he added.
Situated near the holy Shi'ite city of Qom, the existence of the Fordow enrichment plant, dug deep into a mountain, was kept secret by Iran, until it was discovered by Western intelligence in 2009, and the question of how long it had been in operation remains unanswered.
Kahlili, a pseudonym used to protect him from the Iranian regime, published A Time To Betray in 2010, in which he described a journey which took him from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards to being a CIA operative in the 1980s. He now resides in California, and says he is in touch with a number of insiders in the Iranian intelligence and security communities, as well as with the office of Iran's supreme leader.
Asked why satellite imagery was not being released of rescue efforts at Fordow, Kahlili said only state intelligence agencies have access to live satellite feeds. "Why don't they put it out? My only assumption is that no one wants to take credit because of what the consequences could be by the regime," he said. "This is a very sensitive time. I'm sure that soon, very soon, more information will leak out. Chatter will get loud enough to provide further information." Kahlili went on to say that the "first suspicion is Israel" within the Islamic Republic. "I have verified information that there was a meeting [called by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei. A decision was made to act in Lebanon. A request was made to [Hezbollah chief Hassan] Nasrallah to vacate southern Lebanese villages. Islamic Republic Guards are on their way there. A decision has been made to prepare for missile launch from a certain area in Lebanon against Israel," he said.
Khalili said one of the sources who initially leaked information of the blast came from within the security forces guarding Fordow, adding that precise information of the attack was not being released in order to protect the source. "The source has been collaborating for a long time," he said. A second source came from the Iranian Intelligence Ministry, he said, adding that it was very difficult to safely get information out of Iran.
Iranian authorities have not yet made any progress in their attempt to enter Fordow, Kahlili asserted, adding, "I fear there is radiation involved." Iran's defense ministry dispatched drilling vehicles, "the same they used to carve tunnels and create underground facilities, to see if they can make any headway in opening emergency exists, because they collapsed. Among those stuck in the facility are dozens of foreign nationals. These are contracted scientists," he said.
Kahlili said a second mysterious blast occurred in Tehran last week, at an IRGC base called "21 Hamza." "There are injuries, and there have been arrests of IRGC members who are being questioned. The Intelligence Ministry suspects sabotage," he added.
Jerusalem Post
‘No flexibility’ in US Missile Talks - Medvedev
MOSCOW, January 27 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday he sees “no flexibility” in a dispute over US missile defense plans, warning that a new arms race could emerge if talks fail.
“If we talk about the subject itself, it is extremely difficult. And so far we don’t see any flexibility. There are no easy solutions in terms of anti-missile defense. There is no flexibility. We have not changed our previous positions – the US has one opinion and the Russian Federation, unfortunately, has a different opinion. And these positions are not getting any closer,” Medvedev said in an interview with CNN.
US President Barack Obama was famously caught on a open mic in March 2012 telling then President Dmitry Medvedev to pass on to Vladimir Putin that he would have “more flexibility” after his reelection.
Russia insists that the US set out its assurances that the missile shield will not be directed against it in legally binding documents, something Washington has refused to agree to.
“We do not want next generations of politicians in 2019 or 2020 to take decisions which would open a new page in the arms race. But such a threat exists and everyone in Russia and the United States should understand this, that’s why we still have chances to come to an agreement,” Medvedev said.
“We clearly understand that if we do not have guarantees such as the pairing of our programs, that means that missile defense could also work against the Russian nuclear arsenal. What does this mean? This means that the parity, which we recorded with President Obama by signing the New START treaty (a very important and very helpful treaty, by the way: I think this is the achievement of the so-called reset), [the parity] is being cracked by that, because the missile defense – is a direct continuation of nuclear offensive capability, combat nuclear weapons,” Medvedev said.
The United States says the disputed missile shield is designed to protect against “rogue states” such as Iran and North Korea, but Russia is concerned it could be used to neutralize its own nuclear deterrent.
Russia has pledged to deploy a host of countermeasures to tackle any NATO missile defense shield in Europe, including forward deployments of tactical nuclear missiles in its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.
RIA Novosti
Japan launches 2 intelligence satellites into orbit on Sunday
Japan launched two intelligence satellites into orbit on Sunday amid growing concerns that North Korea is planning to test more rockets of its own and possibly conduct a nuclear test.
Officials say the launch Sunday of the domestically produced HII-A rocket went smoothly and the satellites - an operational radar satellite and an experimental optical probe - appear to have reached orbit.
Japan began its intelligence satellite program after North Korea fired a long-range missile over Japan's main island in 1998. North Korea conducted a launch last month that it says carried a satellite into orbit but has been condemned by the U.S. and others as a cover for its development of missile technology.
The radar satellite, which can provide intelligence through cloud cover and at night, is intended to augment a network of several probes that Japan already has in orbit.
Its optical satellites are believed to be about as good as commercial satellites, meaning they are able to detect objects of about 40 centimeters (16 inches) in size from their orbits. With the additional radar satellite, Japan hopes to be able to glean intelligence on any specified location once a day.
Japan, which hosts about 50,000 U.S. troops, is especially concerned about North Korea because its main islands are already within range of the North's missiles. Along with developing its own network of spy satellites, Japan has cooperated with Washington in establishing an elaborate missile defense shield.
North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission declared last week that the country would carry out a nuclear test and launch more rockets in defiance of the U.N. Security Council's announcement that it would punish Pyongyang for its long-range rocket test in December with more sanctions, calling it a violation of a ban on nuclear and missile activity.
North Korea's state news agency said on Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un vowed at a meeting of top security and foreign officials to take "substantial and high-profile important state measures."
The Associated Press.
Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/20716052/japan-launches-2-intelligence-satellites#ixzz2JHGdqoE2
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