Iran installed 350 new underground centrifuges

A new report to be circulated to IAEA member states later this week is expected to say that Iran installed 350 new centrifuges in its underground Fordow facility since May, AFP quoted Vienna-based diplomats as saying on Wednesday.

Iran is enriching uranium to a fissile concentration of 20 percent -- easily upgraded to the 90 percent needed for bombs -- at Fordow, buried deep inside a mountain near the holy Shi’ite city of Qom to protect it from foreign attack.

The Vienna diplomats also expect the report to chastise Iran over sanitizing its military base at Parchin.

The ongoing sanitization efforts, meant to eliminate evidence of possible nuclear work at the site, may make inspections "pointless," according to the diplomats.

Iran indicated on Monday it might allow diplomats visiting Tehran for this week's Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summitto inspect the Parchin military base, which UN nuclear experts say may have been used for nuclear-related explosives tests.

When asked about the possibility, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh said: "Such a visit is not customary in such meetings.... However at the discretion of authorities, Iran would be ready for such a visit," the Iranian government-linked news agency Young Journalists Club reported.

Any visit to Parchin by NAM representatives would do little to calm Western concerns or those of the IAEA whose talks with the Iranians ended on Friday without agreement.

The UN body suspects that Iran has conducted explosives tests in a steel chamber at Parchin relevant for the development of nuclear weapons, possibly a decade ago.

Last week diplomatic sources said Iran had covered the building believed to house the explosives chamber with a tent-like structure, fueling suspicions about a clean-up there.

Iran says Parchin, a vast, sprawling complex southeast of Tehran, is a conventional military facility and has dismissed allegations about it as "ridiculous".

'West urges Arabs not to target Israel at IAEA'

Western envoys are urging Arab states not to berate Israel over its assumed nuclear arsenal at the UN atomic agency's annual conference, fearing this could imperil wider efforts for a nuclear weapons-free Middle East, diplomats say.

A senior diplomat said Arab countries would criticize Israel but were divided over whether to submit a resolution on the issue to next month's annual General Conference of the United Nations' 154-nation International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Diplomats said Arab states had not yet decided whether to propose a non-binding but symbolically important draft text criticizing "Israeli Nuclear Capabilities" at this year's week-long meeting that starts on September 17.

They expressed concern that an Arab move against Israel would discourage the Jewish state from attending the talks due to be held later this year on a nuclear arms-free Middle East.

An Egyptian plan for an international meeting to lay the groundwork for the possible creation of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction was agreed at a review conference on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2010.

Jerusalem Post

Spain in wait-and-see mode as recession worsens

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday (28 August) said his government has not yet taken a decision on asking for European help in refinancing its debt, pending a key meeting of the European Central Bank next week.

Speaking alongside EU council chief Herman Van Rompuy, who interrupted his vacation in Spain to meet the Prime Minister, Rajoy re-stated his commitment to "take all necessary measures" to get the country out of the worsening crisis.

"We've already taken complicated, painful decisions, but they were required in this situation. We have to lower our public deficit, we can no longer continue in this situation where refinancing is so difficult," he said.

Fresh data published on Tuesday by the country's statistics office showed that recession is now at 1.3 percent of GDP, compared to previous estimates that suggested the economy would contract by one percent.

On the same day, the country's most economically important region, Catalonia, said it would need a €5 billion bailout from the central government to refinance its debt.

Rajoy brushed off questions about the sustainability of the country's public finances and said Catalonia was not the first region to be bailed out.

Yet the worsening data and the soaring borrowing costs for both the central and the regional governments have fuelled speculation that Spain will need a bigger bailout, on top of the €100bn earmarked for its troubled banks.

Rajoy said there were "no negotiations, because we have not submitted any request". But he also said that "it is the government's duty to serve the interests of Spanish citizens and this is the basis for all our decisions."

EU officials in Brussels do not expect any request to be made before a key ECB meeting on 6 September. ECB chief Mario Draghi earlier this month announced that the bank may purchase bonds of countries who face "unacceptably" high borrowing costs, but only if those countries first make a formal request with the eurozone bailout fund (EFSF), which is authorised to draw up a reform programme.

An internal review within the ECB is due by 6 September on the practicalities of how this linkage can be made between a central bank - supposedly strictly independent from politics and governments - and a governments' bailout fund using taxpayers' money.

For his part, Van Rompuy also stressed it is up to the Spanish government to take a decision and formulate a request.

"If the financial markets' defiance persists and if Spanish authorities think it is useful, EU institutions, including the ECB, have expressed readiness to take appropriate action," he said.

The Belgian politician said he was convinced that "if and when used," the ECB tools will be "very effective."

EUobserver

Russian Expert Predicts president Will Declare Martial Law in America by End of 2012

Igor Panarin, dean of the Russian Foreign Ministry School for future diplomats, believes that President Obama will announce martial law by the end of 2012. He explains: “There’s a 55-45% chance right now that disintegration will occur.”

In 2009, Panarin lectured at the Diplomatic Academy where he said that he believed that the US will begin to collapse in 2010. He compared America to Nazi Germany and blamed the US for the global financial crisis that destroyed the Russian economy.

Panarin said that American society is in decline, referencing school shootings like Columbine. Combined with the banker bailouts in 2008 as proof that the US is no longer the global dominating economy, Paranrin believes that the American dream is over.

He asserts that mass immigration, economic decline and moral degradation will plunge America into a civil war that will center on the collapse of the US dollar.

Panarin created a map [below] of how he perceived the US would divide. He asserted that parts of the US would be taken over by foreign interests.

Considering the social climate emerging in America, Panarin’s words seem prophetic.

Yesterday, Lubbock County Judge Tom Head said on a local FOX affiliate station that he is convinced that Obama’s re-election would spawn civil unrest which would justify the US government’s use of martial law to quell the public. Head is seeking an increase in local taxes to “beef up” the Lubbock County Sheriff’s office and district attorney’s office.

Head expressed concern that Obama would deploy UN NATO troops onto US soil should civil unrest be declared. Head said:

He’s going to try to hand over the sovereignty of the U.S. to the United Nations, what’s going to happen when that happens? I’m thinking worst case scenario. Civil unrest, civil disobedience, civil war maybe…we’re not just talking a few riots or demonstrations.
In March of 2012, Obama signed the National Defense Resources Preparedness (NDRP) executive order that declared peacetime marital law. Obama granted himself authority over all domestic energy, production, transportation, food and water in the name of National Security.

The NDRP has roots in the Defense Production Act of 1950 wherein the US government was empowered to dispense “national resources” in the event of a national emergency that would define any or all Americans as a challenge to the government. Control over all US citizens would be required to maintain continuity of government. The president and advisors would be able to use this directive as they saw fit if the situation warranted.

It was no mistake that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) declared the domestic US a “battlefield”. The ability to detain any American citizen without charge or trial, solely on suspicion is key to the power of the NDAA.

As defined in the NDRP, the President allocated control over American resources to specific federal agencies to oversee their dispensation.

The Secretary of Defense has power over all water resources.
The Secretary of Commerce has power over all material services and facilities, including construction materials.
The Secretary of Transportation has power over all forms of civilian transportation.
The Secretary of Agriculture has power over food resources and facilities, livestock plant health resources, and the domestic distribution of farm equipment.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services has power over all health resources.
The Secretary of Energy has power over all forms of energy.
Under Nazi-controlled Germany, the beginning of Totalitarian control was evidenced in May of 1942 when freezing of food prices led to national rationing in 1943. With the Nazis controlling resource dispersion, all citizens needed ration cards to obtain food, gas, and even a vacation pass that allotted the restriction of movement.

Between the NDAA and NDRP, a Nazi-model of control over the general population in America is laid out. The Executive Branch, having been given the power to control all resources that are necessary to sustain all citizens, they have forced Americans to become completely subservient to the US government.

The executive order is not permitted by the US Constitution that states:

All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.The advent of executive orders completely circumvents the power of the Congress and gives the Executive Branch unilateral power. The use of executive orders has become popular as a way to control America in wartime and the advent of national emergencies.

Obama has set a precedent by announcing the pre-cursor to suspension of the US Constitution during peacetime.

The first suspension of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights was performed by Abraham Lincoln during the US Civil War. This enabled Lincoln to authorize the unlawful detainment of “political prisoners” without Congressional approval.

The second declaration of unconstitutional detainment of US citizens was ordered by President FDR in 1941 with the roundup of Japanese-Americans who were sent to detainment camps to be held without charge during WWII.

For the past 30 years, plans for the takeover of America have been laid in a long line of executive orders. By stifling Congressional approval, the Executive Branch has been empowered to detain any and all US citizens, suspend all media and restrict any and all Americans in any and all ways deemed appropriate by the President.

We are in the midst of a Fascist takeover of our Constitutional Republic.


Activist Post

China tests new generation ICBM capable of carrying 10 nuclear warheads

BEIJING: China today announced testing of a new generation of inter-continental ballistic missile, Dongfeng-41, with a strike range of 14,000 km and capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads.

"China last month tested a new generation of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Dongfeng-41, or DF-41, which is believed to have a maximum strike distance of 14,000 km," the state-run CCTV said in a brief report.

The television also showed a rare footage of its missile unit in action, which included the formation of new mobile women's missile wing.

It quoted experts of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission as saying that as many as 10 nuclear warheads can be put on the missile.

Last week state-run Global Times reported that China was developing the capability to put multiple warheads on intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The CCTV report followed New York Times article that said China has developed a new generation of inter-continental and submarine launched missiles capable of carrying as many as 10 nuclear warheads, increasing its ability to reach US and to overwhelm missile defence systems.

The US military and intelligence officials say that China has developed the new long range Dongfeng-41 ICBM with mobile launching system making it harder to find and destroy the missile before it is launched, the Times report said.

Separately, the CCTV today carried a report about the People's Liberation Army (PLA) mobile missile units undergoing training in different parts of the country to get used to local and climatic conditions.

Massive trucks with huge missiles were seen moving around and how the troops take positions and fire them.

The report also said the missile unit now have women's wing and shown several women soldiers taking part in missile firing exercises.

The NYT, quoting a Congressional panel, said that US and other western powers might have underestimated the size of China's nuclear arsenal, suggesting that the new reports say that Beijing currently have 55 to 65 ICBM.

The US experts also said that Beijing had separately tested submarine launched missiles in recent weeks, which it could use to outflank American missile defence systems.




The Economic Times

French minister says Syria buffer zone would require no-fly zone

I've heard that before ... ah YES Libya



Paris (dpa) - French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius admitted Wednesday that setting up a Western-imposed buffer zone inside Syria would be "very complicated" and would require the implementation of a no-fly zone.

France, which has the rotating chair of the United Nations Security Council, is working on a Turkish proposal for the establishment of a safe area for people fleeing the fighting.

Fabius told France Inter radio that if refugees assembled in areas controlled by Syria‘s rebels, "it will be necessary to protect them. That‘s called a buffer zone."

"It‘s very complicated. We can‘t do it without the agreement of Turkey and other countries," he said.

He also acknowledged that a buffer zone, without a no-fly zone, would be "impossible."

"To ensure the protection (of refugees) anti-aircraft and aerial means would be required," he said.

That, in turn, would require establishing an "equal" playing field in Syria, he said.

"Which means that ... that forces would be required - which could not be French forces alone - or, failing that, people on the ground, meaning the forces of resistance," he said.

"Obviously that requires international organization," he said, noting al-Assad‘s resistance to the imposition of a buffer zone.


Europe Online

Iran forced to backtrack on guided nuclear tour for NAM leaders and Ban

Tehran was forced to eat crow and backtrack on its ploy for winning international recognition for its nuclear program by showing Non-Aligned Summit leaders and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon around its nuclear sites. The tour was planned for Wednesday, Aug. 29. It would have been a mockery of US-promoted nuclear diplomacy, International Atomic Energy Agency’s criticism and Israeli threats by circumventing them all to claim recognition of its nuclear program by the 120-member NAM and the UN Secretary in person.

However, DEBKAfile reports that Washington intervened Tuesday and “advised” NAM participants as well as Ban to turn Tehran down on its nuclear tour, which was to have included the suspected nuclear-related explosives testing lab at Parchin. “It is the IAEA that should have been given access to Parchin,” said a Western diplomat in Vienna.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast Tuesday, Aug. 28, consequently contradicted the Dep. Foreign Minister’s offer to show Non-Aligned Organization’s leaders meeting in Tehran around its nuclear installations and the Fars official news agency’s announcement Aug. 25 of the tour.

DEBKAfile’s Iranian and intelligence sources report exclusively that Tuesday, Iran’s leaders were still arguing over which NAM leaders to invite for the nuclear tour and whether to focus on a single nuclear site or split the visitors up into small groups to tour several installations.

Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Ali Jafary and the head of the Nuclear Energy Commission Dr. Fereydoun Abbasi Davani argue the case of showcasing (the presumably sanitized) Parchin to the entire group and the UN Secretary to impress upon them the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.
Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani and Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi urge splitting the visitors up into groups for going around uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz and Isfahan, the reactor at Bushehr and also Parchin. A comprehensive tour would win all parts of the nuclear program international validity, they say.
It will be up to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini, as usual in the Islamic Republic of Iran, to pick sides. Some sources in Tehran say he is considering leading the nuclear tour in person, which would be a rare public appearance for him at an international forum.

DEBKAfile’s Washington sources report that Iran’s maneuvers catch US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman in the middle of a new low-profile bid to solicit the support of Moscow and Middle East powers for fresh US-Iranian dialogue to resolve the nuclear controversy.

The Obama administration will only be able to watch helplessly as its unceasing effort to solve the Iranian nuclear crisis by international diplomacy is confronted with dozens of world leaders and the UN Secretary touring the sites forbidden to the nuclear watchdog. It will also be a nasty smack in the face for Prime Minister Netanyahu who asked Ban Ki-moon not to attend the NAM summit in Tehran and was snubbed.

DEBKa file

US weapons sales triple in one year