On Thursday January 25th, New Jersey police officers entered the apartment of Keith Pantaleon without permission, warning, warrant or explanation.

After entering the apartment, they apparently had suspicion of him having a weapon, though none were visible. The police then searched his home and found multiple firearms. Keith is a legal gun owner who is registered and has permits for his firearms in multiple states.

According to his close friends is currently going through the process of obtaining his permits for New Jersey.

To find out more about Keith go to Stand4Keith & Fight Police Tyranny in NJ.... Via We Are Change

Your digital footprint could be getting a whole lot bigger: Pentagon scientists are searching for a way to transcribe every real-world conversation that happens into computer-readable files. - Robert Beckhusen of Wired’s Danger Room says it wouldn’t be unlike a real-life Twitter feed or an “email archive for everyday speak.” The project is being called “Blending Crowdsourcing with Automation for Fast, Cheap and Accurate Analysis of Spontaneous Speech,” and Lease will receive $300,000 in all from the government to work on it after winning a 2012 Young Faculty Award from Darpa last year.

Russia Today: DHS drones equipped to eavesdrop on Americans

The Air Force’s new presence in West Africa that began in late February has around 100 airmen deployed to Niamey, the southwestern region of Niger. - The airmen “provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali, and with other partners in the region,” President Obama wrote in a Feb. 22 letter to Congress. Included is a team of Air Force Security Forces to protect U.S. resources, personnel and interests in the region, all with Niger’s authorization, said Africa Command spokesman Thomas Sanders. The deployment [allegedly] is an effort “to promote regional stability.”

Bill Van Auken: Washington steps up Africa intervention
Wayne Madsen: Obama’s Military Presence in Niger: Uranium Control and Tuareg Suppression

Halliburton Co. (HAL) and KBR Inc. are entitled to the same legal protection as U.S. armed forces when serving as military contractors, a judge ruled, dismissing claims over so-called burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. - U.S. District Judge Roger Titus threw out 57 consolidated lawsuits against the companies brought mainly by military personnel who claim they suffered damaging health effects from exposure to the contractors’ pits, where items including medical waste, paints and pesticides are burned in war zones.

“The critical interests of the United States could be compromised if military contractors were left ‘holding the bag’ for claims made by military and other personnel that could not be made against the military itself,” Titus said in a decision released yesterday in Greenbelt, Maryland. The remedy for the allegedly injured service members is through military and legislative processes, not the courts, Titus said.

Andrew Farley, KBR’s executive vice president and general counsel, said in an e-mailed statement that the company is pleased by the ruling, especially its emphasis on non-judicial means of redress. “We look to the courts to continue this positive trend in other pending cases,” Farley said.

American military creating an environmental disaster in Afghan countryside (Part 2 of 3)(Part 3 of 3)

An escort who appeared on a video claiming that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) paid her for sex has told Dominican authorities that she was instead paid to make up the claims and has never met or seen the senator, according to court documents and two people briefed on her claim. The woman said a local lawyer had approached her and a fellow escort and asked them to help frame Menendez and a top donor, Salomon Melgen, according to affidavits obtained by The Washington Post.

A student in Baltimore was suspended over breakfast. 7-year-old Josh Welch was eating a Pop-Tart at school. A teacher saw the pastry and said she thought it looked like it was being shaped into a gun. The teacher also said she heard Welch say, "Bang Bang" while he was holding it. That was enough to get him suspended. Welch said his teacher got it completely wrong, "It was already a rectangle and I just kept on biting it and tore off the top, and it kind of looked like a gun but it wasn't." welch said he was trying to shape the Pop-Tart into a mountain. The school sent out a letter late in the day to parents explaining what happened and why they thought it was a threat saying, "A student used food to make an inappropriate gesture." Welch was suspended for two days.

Lebanon has become an integral part of the plans of al-Nusra Front. Al-Qaeda’s fastest-growing offshoot is seeking to merge Lebanon’s extreme Islamist factions into a united front. - In mid-February, at a location in the barren hills surrounding the Lebanese town of Ersal, H. A. Dergham posed for pictures with dozens of his armed followers. Under the banner of Syria’s al-Nusra Front and behind a table draped with the Syrian “revolutionary” flag, he brandished a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in one hand and made a victory sign with the other. Dergham is a principal suspect in the February 2013 attack on an army patrol near Ersal in which a captain and lieutenant were killed and several soldiers injured. The assault followed the attempted arrest of Khaled Hamid, who was described as the top al-Nusra Front “facilitator” in Lebanon. Dergham’s group also works closely with al-Nusra Front in Syria, and has been playing a leading role in plans to establish a “branch” of the organization in Lebanon.

Despite the 'universal' war launched against Syria, President Bashar al-Assad is comfortable to the condition in the crisis-torn country. The leader, who has been facing international and regional challenges, was confident that Syria “has triumphed and the armed opposition is struggling for its survival.” [Nasser Charara:] There are three characteristics which have distinguished the latest events in Syria. An Arab delegation has quoted Assad as saying that

the armed groups have gotten in this period to “live its survival game.” The members of these delegations quoted Assad as saying that he was sure "that the conspiracy against Syria was nearing its end." The Syrian President said that this conclusion was based on facts on ground, adding he was “very comfortable to the achievements on ground.” He also noted that “the international and regional plotters, who have been working to tamper with Syria’s security, know well the strategic importance of such achievements.” President Assad concluded as saying: "Syria has triumphed in this battle. It has overthrown the conspiracy plot against it.”

Israeli "Defense" Minister Ehud Barak warned Iran on Sunday that Israel would never allow Iranian leaders to develop a nuclear weapon, as he addressed a powerful US-Israel lobby. - "It is Iran's pursuit of a nuclear capability which is the greatest challenge facing Israel, the region and the world today," Barak told thousands of delegates at the opening of the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Al-Manar News: Netanyahu Calls for “Credible Military Threat” against Iran - Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Monday for a “credible military threat” against Iran, underscoring his entity’s impatience with the United States’ Strategy on the Islamic Republic, just weeks before US President Barack Obama’s visit. Netanyahu addressed the AIPAC policy conference in Washington via satellite from Al-Quds (Jerusalem).

Antiwar.com: Kerry: Iran ‘Running Out of Time’ for Talks - Visiting Saudi Arabia today, Secretary of State John Kerry sought to downplay reports of progress on P5+1 talks with Iran, saying that Iran was “running out of time” after the P5+1 agreed to meet again next month on the matter. Kerry’s comments reflected those of other US officials, who sought to downplay the chance of a negotiated settlement while emphasizing their own preparations to unilaterally attack Iran over their civilian nuclear program.

ToloNews: Biden on Iran Threat: Obama is Not Bluffing - Seeking to reassure "anxious Israelis" [warmongering Israelis] and their American supporters, Vice President Joe Biden vowed Monday that the United States won't back down from its pledge to use military action to thwart Iran's nuclear program should all other options fail.

Haaretz: Full text of Biden's [groveling] speech at AIPAC policy conference

A key round of negotiations last week, ending with both Iran and the West confirming significant progress toward a negotiated settlement of their long-standing row, appears all but forgotten this weekend, as AIPAC holds its annual Police Conference with an eye squarely on a US attack on Iran. - The conference opened with former top Obama aide Dennis Ross lashing the negotiations, insisting that the only sort of deal that should even be considered is an immediate acquiescence on all issues by Iran, and that “step-by-step” negotiations are unacceptable. Former Bush aide Elliott Abrams sought to take that line one step further, insisting Iran would never agree to a deal no matter what and that sanctions are a failed system. Both agreed that 2013 would be the “decisive year” for the Iran situation.

Haaretz: AIPAC Head: We Need More US Political Influence