11 - 2012 - Antiwar.com Blog

New Photo Released of “Gloves,” One of the Two NATO Summit Undercover Cops

Occupy Chicago has released another photo of “Gloves,” one of the two undercover police informants from the May 2012 NATO Summit, which took place in Chicago, IL. They have placed it on Facebook and Twitter.

“Gloves,” acting as an infiltrator in the run-up to the Summit, oversaw the operation that ended in three activists – now known as the “NATO 3” – being charged with “conspiracy to commit and act of domestic terrorism” under Illinois state law, the first time the charge has ever been utilized in the state’s history. Two more activists were also entrapped by “Gloves” and “Mo,” making the group of so-called “domestic terrorists” now coloquially known as the “NATO 5.”

The photo was obtained via a snapshot of a video of an October 2011 rally that is up on YouTube (at about 3:38 in), suggesting that “Gloves” has been hot on the trail of Occupy Chicago for months and was deeply familiar with the local activist scene, its culture and its intricacies months ahead of the NATO Summit.

“This photo is further evidence that our movement was not infiltrated by CPD to expose an existing plan for violence,” Occupy Chicago’s press liaison, Rachel Unterman told Antiwar.com. “It’s not a coincidence – they have been watching and seeking any excuse to discredit us from the start.”

The trial for the “NATO 3” will take place on Sept. 16, almost two years to the date after the official launch of Occupy Wall Street.

Rolling Stone‘s Rick Perlstein explained in a story back in May – after the “Cleveland 5” had been arrested for conspiracy to commit an act of “domestic terrorism” on May Day – that no “domestic terrorism” charge has ever been overturned in the post-9/11 era.

Antiwar.com Newsletter| November 23, 2012

IN THIS ISSUE

Top News
Opinion and analysis

Netanyahu: Israel Prepared to Resume Gaza War: In a speech at Police National Headquarters to tout the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the war dealt a decisive blow to factions in the Gaza Strip, while insisting Israel is “prepared” to start a new attack at any time.

Egypt’s Mursi Declares He’s Above the Law: Seeking to capitalize big on the goodwill he managed to accumulate in negotiating the Gaza ceasefire, US-backed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi on Thursday issued a decree calling for retrials of several Mubarak regime officials, as well as announcing that his decisions are completely above the law.
Continue reading “Antiwar.com Newsletter| November 23, 2012”

NATO 3 Court Date Set for One Day Before Two-Year Anniversary of Occupy Wall Street

The People’s Law Office in Chicago – which is representing one of the original “NATO 3” activists preemptively arrested before the May 2012 NATO Summit and charged with conspiracy to commit an act of “domestic terrorism” – wrote an update blog post on Nov. 19 that revealed their court date has been set for Sept. 16, 2013.

This is one day before the two-year anniversary of the launch of Occupy Wall Street, which began on Sept. 17, 2011.

Michael Deutsch and Sarah Gelsomino are the attorneys at the People’s Law Office representing Brian Jacob Church, one of the original “NATO 3” turned “NATO 5.” The “NATO 3” activists’ bonds have been set at $1.5 million per person and though they have been sitting in jail for six months, their attorneys still have not received much of the information they requested as part of the “discovery” phase that takes place during the pre-trial phase.

“Thus far, through the course of the discovery phase, the prosecution has provided thousands of pages of documents and dozens of discs,” explained the People’s Law Office. “However, there are numerous items which attorneys for the three defendants have specifically requested which have not been provided. In addition, there is content from several computers and electronics seized from the raid which has been placed on a 2 terabyte hard drive. A mirror image of that hard drive has yet to be turned over to the defense counsel.”

The People’s Law Office believes the charges are “trumped-up [and] politically motivated,” with the evidence gathered and obtained by the prosecutors coming via two undercover police informant infiltrators, “Mo” and “Gloves.”

When all is said and done, the “NATO 3” will have spent roughly 16 months in prison before their trial even begins, a potential violation of the 6th Amendment’s “speedy trial” clause.

John Glaser on RT Talking Gaza Ceasefire

Report: 70% of Retired US Generals Take Jobs With Defense Corporations

About 70 percent of retired three-and-four star generals took jobs with defense contractors or consultants, according to a report released Monday by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the Brave New Foundation. Huffington Post:

The report found that 76 out of 108 top generals took such jobs from 2009 to 2011, and a few continued to advise the Department of Defense while on the payroll of contractors. The report cited Gen. James Cartwright, who was elected to a paid position on Raytheon’s board of directors while serving on the Defense Policy Board. Adm. Gary Roughead also served on the board while joining the board of Northrop Grumman, earning $115,000 per year.

While this kind of legalized corruption is the essence of the revolving door associated with the military-industrial complex in the United States, this number has actually declined slightly in recent years.

In a Boston Globe review conducted in 2010, it was found that “750 of the highest ranking generals and admirals who retired during the last two decades” moved “into what many in Washington call the ‘rent-a-general’ business.” “From 2004-2008,” the report found, “80 percent of retiring three- and four-star officers went to work as consultants or defense executives” in our massive military-industrial complex. Among the Globe findings:

Dozens of retired generals employed by defense firms maintain Pentagon advisory roles, giving them unparalleled levels of influence and access to inside information on Department of Defense procurement plans.
The generals are, in many cases, recruited for private sector roles well before they retire, raising questions about their independence and judgment while still in uniform. The Pentagon is aware and even supports this practice.
The feeder system from some commands to certain defense firms is so powerful that successive generations of commanders have been hired by the same firms or into the same field. For example, the last seven generals and admirals who worked as Department of Defense gatekeepers for international arms sales are now helping military contractors sell weapons and defense technology overseas.

Here is the Brave New Foundation video put out with the report:

Turkish PM Calls Israel a ‘Terrorist State,’ US State Dept. Refuses to Comment

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of carrying out terrorism in Gaza:

“Those who associate Islam with terrorism close their eyes in the face of mass killing of Muslims, turn their heads from the massacre of children in Gaza,” Erdogan told a conference of the Eurasian Islamic Council in Istanbul.

“For this reason, I say that Israel is a terrorist state, and its acts are terrorist acts,” he said.

In the State Department’s press briefing today, AP reporter Matt Lee pressed for some response to this statement (I will post the video when it’s available):

See here for another of Matt Lee’s impressive berating of US propaganda and orthodoxy on Israel.