Newly released files obtained by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden have outted the British government for engaging in "fake victim blog posts," online "false flag operations" and other practices using a package of software tools and other technology, all with the goal of manipulating public opinion. Chat room posts, altering online polls and changing news feeds are all part of the suite of software technology, as noted by journalist Glenn Greenwald: One of the many pressing stories that remains to be told from the Snowden archive is how western intelligence agencies are attempting to manipulate and control online discourse with extreme tactics of deception and reputation-destruction. Greenwald said Britain's spy agency, GCHQ, was in charge of the UK-based deception operation; the GCHQ is akin to America's NSA. Also part of the overall effort are the other three members of the "Five Eyes" alliance: Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

RT.com: 'Bought Journalism': German bestseller reveals CIA pay Western media for spin & bias - Video

According to social media activists, a Saudi Air Force officer has refused orders to carry out an airstrike on Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) positions in Syria. The Saudi officer, Captain Faisal Al-Ghamdi, is said to have refused to participate in the airstrikes due to his support of the terrorist group. The news has circulated amongst pro-ISIS pages and has been referenced by their ground activists in Saudi Arabia, adding to the already turbulent relations between the terrorist group and Wahhabi-led government. Saudi officials have yet to comment on the validity of this story.

PressTV: New US-led airstrikes against ISIL in Syria kill civilians
Antiwar.com: US Airstrikes Hit More Syria Oil Refineries
Finian Cunningham ■ US seeks to target Syrian government
Finian Cunningham ■ US-led coalition against ISIL: Front for regime change
MD Nazemroaya ■ Fighting ISIL is a Smokescreen for US Mobilization against Syria, Iran

“Submachine guns, .40 Cal. S&W, ambidextrous safety, semi-automatic or 2 shot bur[s]t trigger group, Tritium night sights for front and rear, rails for attachment of flashlight (front under fore grip) and scope (top rear), stock-collapsib[l]e or folding, magazine - 30 rd. capacity.” ● In May, the USDA's Office of Inspector General filed a request for these weapons. But why exactly do they need them? According to a USDA press rep, the guns are necessary for self-protection. ● Not everyone believes the USDA being armed to the teeth is justifiable. On Aug. 2, the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund launched a petition to support a bill that would curb the ability of agencies like the USDA to arm themselves. They see it as overkill and scare tactics, especially for smaller producers. “What we have seen happen, with the FDA especially, is they have come onto small farms, raw milk producers, and raided the heck out of them with armed agents present,” says Liz Reitzig, co-founder of the Farm Food Freedom Coalition. “Do we really want to have our federal regulatory agencies bring submachine guns onto these family farms with children?” ● The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund are not the only ones interested in taking guns out of the hands of USDA agents. Utah Congressman Chris Stewart is the sponsor of the bill on the FTCLDF petition. “At its heart it comes down to this: To myself, and for a lot of Americans, there is great concern over regulator agencies with heavy handed capabilities,” Rep. Stewart told Modern Farmer. His bill, H.R. 4934, hopes “to prohibit certain federal agencies from using or purchasing certain firearms, and for other purposes.” When asked about the USDA’s plan for submachine guns, he said, “I can’t envision a scenario where what they are doing would require that.” ● Another concern is simply accountability. The request for submachine guns from the USDA doesn’t say how many guns — asking them seems like a non-starter. “They have been very unhelpful in trying to find out any information about this,” said Rep. Stewart. “We couldn’t get answers — it doesn’t seem right to me.”

Modern Farmer: Why Is the USDA Buying Submachine Guns?

Transcript (Information Clearing House)
PressTV: Israeli war on Gaza was genocide: Erekat
Stephen Lendman ■ Investigating Gaza War Crimes

On this coming Thursday it was scheduled an event at the Swedish Foreign Office, where the organization Right Livelihood awarding the Alternative Nobel Prize, was to make the official announcement: “And the winners is. . . Edward Snowden!”...However, the National Swedish Televison SvT announced today in their main news-sending “Rapport”, that Carl Bildt has “strongly reacted against the bestowing of the alternative Nobel Prize to Edward Snowden”, and hence ports the organization from the Ministry offices. The Swedish MSM, e.g. SvD - and of course, The Local – rushed to publish Carl Bildt’s statements on he “had nothing to do” with the decision of banning the award-ceremony from the ministry where he happens to be the boss, and that the all thing was due to “new security routines” [sic] after 30years uninterrupted routines regarding Right Livelihood awards at the Foreign Office locals. Since 1985, the organization Right Livelihood Award is announcing the annual winners of the traditional alternative Nobel Prize at the flamboyant locals of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Err…Until right now, after they communicated to the Foreign Office that the 2014 prize-winner is Edward Snowden. The reaction of the boss at the Foreign Office, Minister Carl Bildt, was to oust the organization giving the alternative Nobel Prize from the Foreign office. End of story.

Anders Romelsjö ■ Carl Bildt – en hycklare?

On Sept. 26, 2014, This is a special session from parliament either to join U.S. led air strikes on Islamic State militants in Iraq.

Haaretz: Erdogan: Turkish troops could be used to establish secure zone in Syria
The Intercept: The Khorasan Group: Anatomy of a Fake Terror Threat to Justify Bombing Syria

Two asylum seekers have been severely beaten and abused by security guards in a German town. The police compared the brutal actions to those committed by US guards in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, against the prisoners. ● The seekers were abused in shelter home in a small community of Burbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany, reported the country’s press. The alleged suspects filmed all the guards’ actions on smartphones. A local journalist received a DVD showing the abuse. Police authorities immediately opened investigation into the case. One video shows an asylum seeker lying on the floor and one of the members of security staff pinning his neck down with his boot. The other guard is sitting near-by, seeming posing to the camera.

Senior European and European Central Bank (ECB) officials agreed to threaten Ireland with national bankruptcy if the government made any attempt to burn bondholders, the Sunday Independent can reveal. ● The threat was made at a high-level teleconference meeting, details of which have been revealed for the first time by the Central Bank governor, Dr Patrick Honohan. Mr Honohan, who famously told the nation Ireland would be entering the Troika bailout programme live on radio as government ministers were publicly denying it, also revealed he was kept out of loop about the meeting.In a new book about the late Brian Lenihan, Mr Honohan said he only found out about the meeting after the Troika delivered the ultimatum to Mr Lenihan on November 26, 2010.

Eric Zuesse ■ U.S. President Barack Obama replaced the Ukrainian Government in late February 2014, and he has achieved a lot there, most especially by means of the civil war that resulted when he tried to exterminate the people who had voted for the previous Ukrainian leader – the man whom Obama overthrew. Obama installed in that coup an anti-Russian Ukrainian Government, and so he now needed to get rid of Ukraine’s pro-Russian voters, who were the residents in Ukraine’s southeast, especially in Ukraine’s Donbass region. If the voters there weren’t killed &/or expelled, then the Ukrainian leaders whom Obama imposed would be voted out of office in any nationwide Ukrainian election; so, this ethnic-cleansing campaign was necessary to Obama in order to make his new anti-Russian Ukraine last, not break up into a pro-U.S. northwest and a pro-Russia southeast. Obama lost that war. Here is what Obama achieved in the process, as shown by a video documentary posted to youtube on September 23rd, which interviews survivors in the region that Obama’s regime was bombing, these being the main people who were affected by Obama’s policy. The documentary is HERE, and THESE are stills from it, summarizing it.

Leonid Bershidsky ■ Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is running a magic show. By pretending his country has a chance of joining the European Union or NATO, he is hoping to obscure Kiev's, and Europe's, gradual capitulation to Russian President Vladimir Putin. || On Thursday, Poroshenko announced a reform program meant to culminate in a bid for EU membership. "The doors of the European Union are open to us, I am absolutely sure of that," he said. "Well-bred people always knock and never enter without permission, even if there's no lock." Today, Poroshenko's administration submitted a bill to parliament to repeal the country's non-aligned status and "create grounds for Ukraine's integration into the Euro-Atlantic security space."

Tyler Durden ■ When we first covered the Carmen Segarra lawsuit alleging the capture of the NY Fed by Goldman Sachs back in October 2013, we didn't have much hope for justice to get done. We said that "while her allegations may be non-definitive, and her wrongful termination suit is ultimately dropped, there is hope this opens up an inquiry into the close relationship between Goldman and the NY Fed. Alas, since the judicial branch is also under the control of the two abovementioned entities, we very much doubt it." ■ Sure enough, the lawsuit was dropped (and no inquiry was opened) but not before it became clear that the very judge in charge of the case, U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams, was herself conflicted, after it was revealed that her husband, Greg Andres, a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, was representing Goldman in an advisory capacity. Curiously, before she assumed her current office in March 2013, back in 2008 Abrams returned to Davis Polk herself as Special Counsel for Pro Bono. She had previously worked at the firm from 1994 to 1998. For the full, and quite amazing, story of how the "Judge" steamrolled Segarra's objections reads this Reuters piece. ■ As a result of this fiasco, some wondered just how far do Goldman's tentacles stretch not only at the money-printing (i.e., NY Fed) level, not only at the legislative level (see "With Cantor Down, Which Other Politicians Has Goldman Invested In?"), but at the judicial as well.