The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
– Meanwhile, Back In The World Of Big Barack Brother… (ZeroHedge, Aug 21, 2013):
BREAKING: NSA collected thousands of US internet communications over 3 years with no terror connection
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 21, 2013
Update:
MORE: Declassified court opinions to show how NSA collected up to 56,000 emails with no terror link: http://t.co/MU356v8HtW -KK
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 21, 2013
FYI.
– Syria conflict: ‘Chemical attacks’ kill hundreds (BBC News, Aug 21, 2013):
Chemical weapons attacks have killed hundreds on the outskirts of Damascus, Syrian opposition activists say.
Rockets with toxic agents were launched at the suburbs of the Ghouta region early on Wednesday as part of a major bombardment on rebel forces, they say.
The Syrian army says the accusations have been fabricated to cover up rebel losses.
Read moreSyria Conflict: ‘Chemical Attacks’ Kill Hundreds (BBC News)
Flashback:
An article from Veterans Today posted on May 28th, 2011:
– Fukushima Now Equal To 50 Plus Chernobyls & 3,000 Billion Lethal Doses Of Radiation:
Three thousand billion (3,000,000,000,000) Lethal Doses of Radiation means there are 429 Lethal Doses chasing each and every one of us on the planet, to put it in a nutshell.
– Fukushima warning: danger level at nuclear plant jumps to ‘serious’ (Guardian, Aug 21, 2013):
Japan’s nuclear agency dramatically raises status after saying a day earlier that radioactive water leak was only an ‘anomaly’
Japan is to issue its gravest warning about the state of the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant since the facility suffered a triple meltdown almost two and a half years ago.
The new warning, expected on Wednesday, comes only a day after the nuclear watchdog assigned a much lower ranking when the plant’s operator, Tepco, admitted about 300 tonnes of highly toxic water had leaked from a storage tank at the site.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority has now said it will dramatically raise the incident’s severity level from one to three on the eight-point scale used by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for radiation releases. Each single-digit increase in the scale actually represents a tenfold increase in the severity of a radiological release, according to the IAEA.
The NRA on Tuesday classified the leakage only as an “anomaly” on the IAEA scale but now considers it a “serious incident”.
The leak is the single most dangerous failure at the plant since the 2011 meltdown, which warranted the maximum level of seven on the severity scale, putting it on a par with the Chernobyl disaster 25 years earlier.
Read moreFukushima Warning: Danger Level At Nuclear Plant Jumps To ‘Serious’
– Pakistan ex-President Musharraf charged with Benazir Bhutto’s murder (RT, Aug 20, 2013):
??Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been charged with the murder of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007. The ex-military leader has denied all the charges against him.
“He was charged with murder, criminal conspiracy for murder and facilitation for murder,” Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar told AFP at the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi hearing the case.
Read morePakistan: Former President Pervez Musharraf Charged With Benazir Bhutto’s Murder
– America’s assault on a free press moves into high gear: Detention of Greenwald Partner in London Clearly Came on US Orders (This Can’t Be Happening, Aug 20, 2013):
It is becoming perfectly clear that the outrageous detention of American journalist Glenn Greenwald’s Brazilian partner David Miranda by British police during a flight transfer at London’s Heathrow Airport was, behind the scenes, the work of US intelligence authorities.
British police and the British Home Office (the equivalent of America’s Department of Homeland Security) are claiming that the action was taken by them on the basis of an anti-terrorist statute, passed in 2000, with the Orwellian name “Schedule 7.” The give-away that this was not something that the British dreamed up on their own, however, is their admission that they had given Washington a “heads up” in advance about their intention to detain Miranda, a Brazilian national, before the detention actually occurred.
Note that the British did not notify Brazilian authorities. It was the Americans who got the call. Why would British police notify American authorities about the detention of a Brazilian citizen except to ask what US authorities wanted done ? Clearly, Miranda was on one of America’s “watch lists” and the British police called because they needed instructions from their superiors in the US regarding whether to detain him and what to do with him once they had him. It looks like that call to Washington, rather than a “heads up,” was actually more of a request for a “thumbs up” from Washington to go ahead and detain and interrogate Miranda. (The ironically named new White House press secretary, Josh Ernest, denied any involvement by the US in Miranda’s ordeal, saying, “This is a decision that was made by the British government without the involvement – and not at the request – of the United States government. It is as simple as that.” He was not pressed on the matter by the assembled members of the White House press corps–a group that is not known for its aggressiveness even when its own interests are at stake.)
Read moreDetention of Greenwald Partner in London Clearly Came on US Orders
– YouTube bans Press TV’s new page (PressTV, Aug 20, 2013):
YouTube has disabled Press TV’s new account under pressure from the Israeli-American Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that ordered the video-sharing site to end the Iranian channel’s live broadcast.“On August 20, YouTube’s parent company Google deactivated Press TV’s new account weeks after disabling the channel’s official page,” said Press TV Newsroom Director Hamid Reza Emadi.
“YouTube broadcasts a variety of obscene images and provides a platform for terrorists to propagate their dangerous ideologies, but it cannot tolerate the broadcast of an alternative media channel from Iran,” he said, adding that YouTube is doing what the ADL is ordering it to do.
FYI.
The Snowden Case What You’re Not Being Told
World War 3 Has Already Begun
The Road to World War 3
HOAX NSA Security Edward Snowden
– The NSA: ‘The Abyss from Which There Is No Return’ (The Rutherford Institute, Aug 19, 2013):
“The National Security Agency’s capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left, such is the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn’t matter. There would be no place to hide. If a dictator ever took over, the N.S.A. could enable it to impose total tyranny, and there would be no way to fight back.”
—Senator Frank Church (1975)We now find ourselves operating in a strange paradigm where the government not only views the citizenry as suspects but treats them as suspects, as well. Thus, the news that the National Security Agency (NSA) is routinely operating outside of the law and overstepping its legal authority by carrying out surveillance on American citizens is not really much of a surprise. This is what happens when you give the government broad powers and allow government agencies to routinely sidestep the Constitution.
– Obama administration asks Supreme Court to allow warrantless cellphone searches (Washington Post, Aug 19, 2013):
If the police arrest you, do they need a warrant to rifle through your cellphone? Courts have been split on the question. Last week the Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to resolve the issue and rule that the Fourth Amendment allows warrantless cellphone searches.
Read moreObama Administration Asks Supreme Court To Allow Warrantless Cellphone Searches
– 18 Signs That Global Financial Markets Are Entering A Horrifying Death Spiral (Economic Collapse, Aug 20, 2013):
You can see it coming, can’t you? The yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries is skyrocketing, the S&P 500 has been down for 9 of the last 11 trading days and troubling economic news is pouring in from all over the planet. The much anticipated “financial correction” is rapidly approaching, and investors are starting to race for the exits. We have not seen so many financial trouble signs all come together at one time like this since just prior to the last major financial crisis. It is almost as if a “perfect storm” is brewing, and a lot of the “smart money” has already gotten out of stocks and bonds. Could it be possible that we are heading toward another nightmarish financial crisis? Could we see a repeat of 2008 or potentially even something worse? Of course a lot of people believe that we will never see another major financial crisis like we experienced in 2008 ever again. A lot of people think that this type of “doom and gloom” talk is foolish. It is those kinds of people that did not see the last financial crash coming and that are choosing not to prepare for the next one even though the warning signs are exceedingly clear. Let us hope for the best, but let us also prepare for the worst, and right now things do not look good at all.
The following are 18 signs that global financial markets are entering a horrifying death spiral…
Read more18 Signs That Global Financial Markets Are Entering A Horrifying Death Spiral
– White House Criticizes Egypt’s Arrest Of Muslim Brotherhood Leader Mo Badie (ZeroHedge, Aug 20, 2013):
And now for some early afternoon humor. It turns out the US is unhappy with the non-coupy military leaders in Egypt for arresting the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood (whose name is Mo Badie) because, according to White House spokesman John Earnest, the action “does not reflect Egypt’s commitment to an inclusive political process.” Maybe the US really does believe there was no coup in Egypt, and that the current military leaders actually do care about an inclusive political process. Otherwise, this statement is about as profound as the UK government busting up the Guardian’s hard disks in hopes of destroying Snowden evidence.
From AFP:
The United States on Tuesday criticized the arrest of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie in Egypt.
Read moreWhite House Criticizes Egypt’s Arrest Of Muslim Brotherhood Leader Mo Badie
– New Zealand Prime Minister Flees Press Conference When Confronted on Illegal Spying (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Aug 20, 2013):
Not to be outdone by leaders in the U.S. and UK acting like spoiled children upon the realization that the citizenry has had enough of their mass surveillance and their bullshit generally, New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key has decided to thrown a little temper tantrum of his own. During a press conference on a new bill that would allow the country’s Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) agency to conduct warrantless NSA-style spying on citizens, John Key decided to turn tail and run away rather than answer a journalist’s question.
You can just skip to minute 12 in the video below to get to the money shot. Look at the rage and disgust transparent in Mr. Key’s eyes and face as he lashes out at this journalist before running away. These are our “leaders.” It very much reminds me of the encounter with a U.S. Senator that Aaron Swartz detailed before his death (watch the video at the end of the linked post).
YouTube Added: 19.08.2013
– As its Currency Collapses, India Doubles Down on Big Brother Surveillance (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Aug 19, 2013):
What’s a clueless government trying to micromanage the affairs of over a billion people supposed to do when the wheels start coming off the wagon? If you’re India, you blame the country’s financial and societal woes on the buying of gold and attempt to prevent people from purchasing it. When that doesn’t work, and your currency continues to collapse, then what?
Well, you decide to double down on a surveillance state. That’s precisely what the enlightened government bureaucrats at India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have decided to do.
From The Hindu:
Amid a raging global debate on privacy versus surveillance, monitoring and use of intrusive technologies by governments, the Directorate of Forensic Sciences in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is set to purchase a range of equipment and software that will allow it to conduct deep search, surveillance and monitoring of voice calls, SMS, email, video, Internet, chat, browsing and Skype sessions on an unprecedented scale.
Read moreAs Its Currency Collapses, India Doubles Down On Big Brother Surveillance
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President Reagan’s first term. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has held numerous academic appointments, including the William E. Simon Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
– Growing Up In America (Paul Craig Roberts, Aug 19, 2013):
Things Are Bad And Getting Worse
Terrible things are happening faster than we can keep up with them. Monsanto, widely regarded as a criminal enterprise, is expanding its monopoly over seeds and food production into Chile and Latin America. http://rt.com/news/chile-protest-monsanto-law-634/ Monsanto has given up for now on monopolizing Europe’s agriculture, but has brought the EU around to allowing it to market GMO food products. Money speaks, which perhaps is the reason that Chile’s former president, Michelle Bachelet, introduced the pro-Monsanto legislation that one of the legislative chambers has passed. There are mass demonstrations in Chile against the legislation that destroys Chile’s sovereignty over its food production, but just as Monsanto can purchase the US government it also can purchase the Chilean government. In our day and time, governments are just another commodity to be bought and sold by powerful corporations.
Read moreDr. Paul Craig Roberts: Terrible Things Are Happening Faster Than We Can Keep Up With Them
– David Miranda’s lawyers threaten legal action over ‘unlawful’ detention (Guardian, Aug 20, 2013):
Partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald seeks return of equipment seized during nine-hour interrogation at Heathrow
Lawyers for the partner of the Guardian journalist who exposed mass email surveillance have written to home secretary Theresa May and the head of the Metropolitan police warning them that they are set to take legal action over what they say amounted to his “unlawful” detention at Heathrow airport under anti-terror laws.
In their letter to May and Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe they warn they are seeking immediate undertakings for the return David Miranda‘s laptop and all other electronic equipment within seven days.
Read moreDavid Miranda’s Lawyers Threaten Legal Action Over ‘Unlawful’ Detention
– UK ordered Guardian to destroy hard drives in effort to stop Snowden revelations (RT, Aug 20, 2013):
UK authorities reportedly raided the Guardian’s office in London to destroy hard drives in an effort to stop future publications of leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The action is unlikely to prevent new materials coming out.
Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger revealed in a Monday article posted on the British newspaper’s website that intelligence officials from the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) told him that he would either have to hand over all the classified documents or have the newspaper’s hard drives destroyed.
After more talks, two “security experts” from GCHQ – the British version of the National Security Agency – visited the Guardian’s London offices.
Rusbridger wrote that the government officials then watched as computers, which contained classified information passed on by Snowden, were physically destroyed in one of the newspaper building’s basements.
“We can call off the black helicopters,” Rusbridger said one of the officials joked.
Another source familiar with the event confirmed to Reuters that Guardian employees destroyed the computers as UK officials observed.
During negotiations with the government, Rusbridger said that the newspaper could not fulfill its journalistic duty if it satisfied the authorities’ requests.
But GCHQ reportedly responded by telling the Guardian that it had already sparked the debate, which was enough.
“You’ve had your debate. There’s no need to write any more,” Reuters quoted the unnamed official as saying.
– Glenn Greenwald’s Partner Detained For 9 Hours, Electronics Confiscated (Liberty Blitzkrieg,, Aug 18, 2013):
A month ago, I wrote a piece titled: If Flying into the UK, Your Phone Can Be Seized and Data Downloaded Without Suspicion. As you might suspect, the focus of the piece was something called schedule 7 of the UK’s Terrorism Act of 2000, which allows authorities to stop and search people “without prior authorization or reasonable suspicion.” Not only that, they are not automatically permitted access to legal counsel during the interrogation and they must cooperate. Oh, and your electronic devices can be confiscated.
I chose to write that article at the time to highlight the myriad ways it could be grossly abused. Well now we a very high profile example of such abuse as Glenn Greenwald’s partner, David Miranda was stopped for nine hours (the maximum allowed), his electronics were confiscated, and we have no explanation from the Home Office as to why he was considered a terrorist threat.
Here’s an idea for investigative journalists and activists worldwide. Do not fly through the UK unless you absolutely have to.
More from The Guardian:
The partner of the Guardian journalist who has written a series of stories revealing mass surveillance programmes by the US National Security Agency was held for almost nine hours on Sunday by UK authorities as he passed through London’s Heathrow airport on his way home to Rio de Janeiro.
Read moreGlenn Greenwald’s Partner David Miranda Detained For 9 Hours, Electronics Confiscated
– Egypt: Militants execute at least 25 policemen in northern Sinai, as ex-dictator Mubarak set to be freed (Independent, Aug 19, 2013):
Suspected militants attack police as officials announce former President Hosni Mubarak will be released
Bloody violence has continued today as Egyptian security officials say suspected militants have ambushed two police minibuses in northern Sinai, firing rocket-propelled grenades at the vehicles.
The attack is believed to have been carried out as the two vehicles were driving through a village near the border town of Rafah in the volatile Sinai Peninsula, located in the strategic region bordering the Gaza Strip and Israel.
– Obamacare For Dummies: The “Affordable Care Act” In One Chart (ZeroHedge, Aug 19, 2013):
Earlier today we learned that while some executives at Forever 21 were previously confused by Obamacare, subsequently they appear to have rectified their confusion… and full-time staffing levels. Of course, there would have been no confusion had Forever 21 known what it was getting with Obamacare. So for the benefit of all their executives, and for all others who may still be confused by America’s new healthcare system, here, once again, is the chart that should explain everything.
And if it doesn’t, here is an additional explanation
– CIA Finally Admits It Is Behind Iran’s 1953 Coup (ZeroHedge, Aug 19, 2013):
In case Ben Affleck was looking for his next Oscar-winning CIA-o-mentary, the Central Intelligence Agency (which alas in a time of NSA permasnooping has become a bit of an anachronism) may have just provided the script, with the first official admission that the flipflops on the ground orchestrated at least one Iranian coup and is ostesnibly behind all other global coups (and non-coups coughegyptcough) in the past 50 years, but until they are confirmed they will remain merely “conspiracy theories.”
From CNN:
A declassified CIA document acknowledges that the agency was involved in the 1953 coup that overthrew Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh.
The independent National Security Archive research institute, which published the document Monday, says the declassification is believed to mark the CIA’s first formal acknowledgment of its involvement.
According to Foreign Policy, which reviewed the document, this is the key passage:
“The military coup that overthrew Mosadeq and his National Front cabinet was carried out under CIA direction as an act of U.S. foreign policy, conceived and approved at the highest levels of government.”
The document was declassified in 2011. The institute published it Monday after obtaining it through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Good luck procuring the script rights, however: rumor has it the star of Chasing Amy already has an option on every CIA operation ever conducted.
– Obamacare Strikes At Forever 21 Which Forcibly Demotes Some Workers To 29.5 Hours Per Week (ZeroHedge, Aug 19, 2013):
A firestorm broke out during the weekend over the latest part-timing impact from Obamacare (covered here extensively previously), this time in the form of a leaked memo by retailer Forever 21, which announced that some employees would be demoted to part-time status. The memo, which announced forcible part-time changes would take place on August 18 with full loss of benefits to take place by August 31, was leaked by a disgruntled employee on their Facebook page.
The highlight from the memo:
Company-wide, Forever 21 recently audited its staffing levels, staffing needs and payroll in conduction with reviewing its overall spending budget. As a result, we are reducing a number of full-time non-management positions…. As a Part-Time employee your regular schedule will not exceed 29.5 hours per week.
As is well known, with the ACA mandating companies who employ 50 full-time workers or more to provide health insurance coverage, one much exploited loophole is to cut full-time workers to part-time status, i.,e., have them work less than 30 hours. Or 29.5 hours in this case. Following this forcible full-time demotion, employees will lose medical, dental, vision and voluntary coverage on Aug. 31 and will no longer accrue paid time off.
The memo is below:
Read moreObamacare Strikes At Forever 21 Which Forcibly Demotes Some Workers To 29.5 Hours Per Week
– Bitcoin is Recognized as “Legal Tender” in Germany (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Aug 19, 2013):
“We should have competition in the production of money. I have long been a proponent of Friedrich August von Hayek scheme to denationalize money. Bitcoins are a first step in this direction.”
– Frank Schaeffler, member of German parliament’s Finance CommitteeThe story of the German Finance Ministry stating Bitcoin is essentially “legal tender” has been making the rounds all over the virtual currency and technology world this morning and for good reason. This is a very, very big deal. Not just because some bureaucrat seemingly “legitimizes” the crypto-currency, but because it is the first commonsense approach from a major economy to-date.
While the U.S. government runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, issuing subpoenas and launching Senate investigations on Bitcoin, Germany is merely accepting the obvious. This is the wave of the future, you can either act like an incorrigible child and fight it, or you can accept reality and pave the way to the future. I’m pleased to see Germany, home to the most dynamic Bitcoin community on the planet, in Kreuzberg, taking a reasonable approach. Not to mention the fact I could never see a U.S. bureaucrat ever endorse Hayek or Austrian economics. The times they are a-changin’.
Related article:
Director of national intelligence James Clapper made misleading statements to Congress about the NSA’s domestic surveillance programs. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP
– The White House credibility deficit (Guardian, Aug 18, 2013):
According to Britons, Americans are incapable of irony – and our president is certainly proving their point.In his address about Egypt’s military coup – or whatever bowdlerizing euphemism is permitted this week in Washington – Obama condemned the notion that “security trumps individual freedom.” Really?
After his press conference announcing an oversight commission for the NSA, it emerged that the NSA’s truth-challenged director of national intelligence, James Clapper, would apparently oversee the oversight. The White House had to explain the joke, and then said Clapper would merely facilitate.
… whose half-life is 24,100 years!
Plutonium is the deadliest substance on the planet.
Those workers need real help NOW.
– Radiation-exposed workers demand release of nuke plant accident video (RT, Aug 19, 2013):
Two workers have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Energy for failing to comply with the Freedom of Information Act by refusing to hand over a video of an incident in which 16 men, including the two plaintiffs, were exposed to radiation.
Brian Simmons and Ralph Stanton, two operators from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Boise, are trying to force the agency to release the video through a lawsuit filed in federal court.
In their complaint, the workers described the radiation incident, which occurred on Nov. 8, 2011. Together with workers from two other facilities, Simmons and Stanton were packaging plutonium reactor fuel plates. Two of the fuel storage containers had “unusual labels” indicating that there could be some abnormalities with the fuel plates that were inside. But the labels did not warn of any danger, and when workers came across a fuel plate wrapped in plastic and tape, they unwrapped it. A black powder spilled out of the box, and at least 16 of the workers inhaled plutonium-239, which can damage internal organs and cause cancer. Seven of the employees came in direct contact with the powder, suffering external contamination of the skin.
“When the workers attempted to remove the wrapping material, an uncontrolled release of radioactive contaminants occurred, resulting in contamination of 16 workers and the facility, including plaintiffs Brian Simmons and Ralph Stanton,” the lawsuit states. “The sequence of events leading up to the release of contaminants, the uncontrolled release itself, and the emergency response at the [Zero Power Physics Reactor] facility were all recorded on video.”
In 2012, the INL announced that none of the workers suffered from any adverse health effects as a result of the incident, but they also refused to release employee-specific internal radiological dosage numbers.
But according to Seattle attorney John Sheridan, who filed a complaint with the US Department of Labor, the two workers suffered “symptoms of radiation poisoning including nausea, vomiting, confusion, diarrhea, and high blood pressure, which lasted for months.”
Read moreAt Least 16 Idaho National Laboratory Workers Inhaled PLUTONIUM-239
