NSA Whistleblower: “We Are No Longer Afraid Of The Police State Happening. It’s Here” First Bill Binney – the high-level NSA executive who created the agency’s mass surveillance program for digital information, the 32-year NSA veteran widely who was the senior technical director within the agency and managed thousands of NSA employees – told Washington’s Blog that America has already become a police state. Then Thomas Drake – one of the top NSA executives, and Senior Change Leader within the NSA – told us the same thing. Now Kirk Wiebe – a 32-year NSA veteran who received the Director CIA’s Meritorious Unit Award and the NSA’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award – agrees (tweet via Jesselyn Radack, attorney for many national security whistleblowers, herself a Department of Justice whistleblower): It’s not just NSA officials … Two former U.S. Supreme Court Justices have warned that America is sliding into tyranny. A former U.S. President, and many other high-level American officials agree. More... http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/04/3-nsa-whistle-blowers-say-u-s-is-already-a-police-state.html |
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An Iranian naval fleet chased a U.S. warship and military planes through the waters off the southern coast of Yemen late Monday in yet another provocative encounter between the two nations, according to Iranian state media reports. A U.S. warship and several planes reportedly “changed their direction” on Monday after encountering an Iranian naval fleet during a patrol in the Gulf of Aden near Yemen, Iranian state media revealed. The U.S. military assets fled “after they came close to an Iranian naval fleet and were warned to move away,” Iran’s state-controlled Fars News Agency reported. Iran also released video of the incident. The run-in between the United States and Iranian militaries is just the latest in several tense confrontations between the countries near Yemen, where Iran is believed to be smuggling weapons to opposition forces. More... http://freebeacon.com/national-security/report-iranian-navy-chases-after-u-s-warships/ |
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IRS gave promotions to tax cheaters: AuditThe IRS refused to fire most of its own employees found to be cheating on their taxes — and in some cases even quickly turned around and promoted them within the year, according to a new audit released Wednesday. In about 60 percent of cases of “willful violations” IRS managers found mitigating circumstances and refused to fire the employees, even though the law calls for that penalty. In some of those cases the managers didn’t even document why they’d overridden the penalty, said Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George. “Given its critical role in Federal tax administration, the IRS must ensure that its employees comply with the tax law in order to maintain the public’s confidence,” Mr. George said. “Willful violation of the law by IRS employees should not be taken lightly, and the IRS Commissioner should fully document decisions made to retain employees whom management has proposed be terminated.” Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/may/6/irs-gave-promotions-tax-cheaters-audit/#ixzz3ZOFOLX9T
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‘Critical Alert': Jeff Sessions Warns America Against Potentially Disastrous Obama Trade DealSen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) is sounding the alarm to his colleagues Senate-wide, warning them and the American public with a “critical alert” published Sunday evening that voting for the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) deal that would set up the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal with Asian countries is fraught with problems and concerns. “Congress has the responsibility to ensure that any international trade agreement entered into by the United States must serve the national interest, not merely the interests of those crafting the proposal in secret,” Sessions’ team writes in a document that lays out the top five concerns with the Obama trade deal. “It must improve the quality of life, the earnings, and the per-capita wealth of everyday working Americans. The sustained long-term loss of middle class jobs and incomes should compel all lawmakers to apply added scrutiny to a ‘fast-track’ procedure wherein Congress would yield its legislative powers and allow the White House to implement one of largest global financial agreements in our history—comprising at least 12 nations and nearly 40 percent of the world’s GDP. “The request for fast-track also comes at a time when the Administration has established a recurring pattern of sidestepping the law, the Congress, and the Constitution in order to repeal sovereign protections for U.S. workers in deference to favored financial and political allies.” http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/05/03/critical-alert-jeff-sessions-warns-america-against-potentially-disastrous-obama-trade-deal/
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Israel has repeatedly denied reports of deliberate targeting of civilians during its wars in the Gaza Strip, those claims were once again proven false today with the release of a new report by Israeli veterans NGO Breaking the Silence. The report features testimony from more than 60 Israeli soldiers who confirmed that not only did they deliberately target civilians during the most recent invasion, but that they were explicitly ordered to do so.
“Whoever you see there, you kill,” is how one soldier summed up the orders. He said soldiers were told the civilians “knew they’re not supposed to be there” and therefore they were to kill anyone who wasn’t an Israeli soldier on sight. Soldiers went on to say that traditional admonishments to use “minimum force” were thrown out the window in the war, and that civilian homes were deliberately attacked “without any clear operational justification,” sometimes just because the military wanted to demonstrate their military control over the neighborhoods. http://news.antiwar.com/2015/05/04/israeli-troops-ordered-to-kill-civilians-on-sight-during-gaza-invasion/ |
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Since at least 2007, the FBI has been able to recognize the voice of Elton Simpson - one of the men suspected in the Texas shootings outside a contest featuring cartoons of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. Agents heard the young man from Phoenix talk about fighting nonbelievers for Allah. About plans to travel to South Africa and link up with "brothers" in Somalia. About using school as a cover story for traveling overseas. Simpson was arrested in 2010, one day before authorities say he planned to leave for South Africa. But despite more than 1,500 hours of recorded conversations, the government prosecuted him on only one minor charge - lying to a federal agent. Years spent investigating Simpson for terrorism ties resulted in three years of probation. He also was ordered to pay $600 in fines and court fees. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PROPHET_CARTOON_CONTEST_SHOOTING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-05-03-22-31-03It's been all over the national news here. |
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People in Britain are less happy than those in Australia, New Zealand or the US, but more contented than their peers in Germany, France and Spain, the 2015 World Happiness Report has found. According to the new study, which examined factors including economics, psychology, health and public policy in 158 countries, Switzerland is officially the happiest country on Earth, followed by Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada. Britain lagged behind in 21st place, up one place from last year’s survey. New Zealand at No 9, Australia 10, the United States 15, Germany 26, France 29, and Spain at 36. First published in 2012, the World Happiness Report is an initiative of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which ranks countries in terms of their population’s wellbeing and reflects the recent global interest in happiness as criteria for informing government policy. More... http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/switzerland-officially-the-happiest-country-on-earth--with-britain-lagging-in-21st-place-10221591.html |
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Apologists for the National Security Agency (NSA) point to the arrest of David Coleman Headley as an example of how warrantless mass surveillance is necessary to catch terrorists. Headley played a major role in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack that killed 166 people. While few would argue that bringing someone like Headley to justice is not a good thing, Headley’s case in no way justifies mass surveillance. For one thing, there is no “terrorist” exception in the Fourth Amendment. Saying a good end (capturing terrorists) justifies a bad means (mass surveillance) gives the government a blank check to violate our liberties. Even if the Headley case somehow justified overturning the Fourth Amendment, it still would not justify mass surveillance and bulk data collection. This is because, according to an investigation by ProPublica, NSA surveillance played an insignificant role in catching Headley. One former counter-terrorism official said when he heard that NSA surveillance was responsible for Headley's capture he “was trying to figure out how NSA played a role.” The Headley case is not the only evidence that the PATRIOT Act and other post-9/11 sacrifices of our liberty have not increased our security. For example, the NSA’s claim that its surveillance programs thwarted 54 terrorist attacks has been widely discredited. Even the president’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies found that mass surveillance and bulk data collection was “not essential to preventing attacks.” According to the congressional Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Activities before and after the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001 and the 9/11 Commission, the powers granted the NSA by the PATRIOT Act would not have prevented the 9/11 attacks. Many intelligence experts have pointed out that, by increasing the size of the haystack government agencies must look through, mass surveillance makes it harder to find the needle of legitimate threats. ... More... http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2015/may/03/usa-freedom-act-just-another-word-for-lost-liberty/ |
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... But studies conducted during previous outbreaks have found that the Ebola virus can be found in semen up to 82 days after a patient's initial symptoms. Scientists don't know if the man's semen contains live Ebola viruses, although they plan to conduct such tests, the CDC report says. Tests of the man's semen did find genetic material from the Ebola virus, called RNA. The tests were performed 199 days — or about 6½ months — after he first developed symptoms, suggesting that the genetic material can remain in semen much longer than previously known. Earlier studies have found genetic material from Ebola up to 101 days after the beginning of symptoms, the CDC says. The CDC notes only one previous case of a possible sexual transmission of Ebola, although the new report describes the evidence as "inconclusive." Researchers also documented a possible case in which someone contracted the Marburg virus — which is similar to Ebola — in 1968. The CDC has long warned Ebola survivors to either abstain from sex for three months or to use condoms during that time. Now, the CDC advises people to avoid contact with semen from male survivors. Men who survive Ebola should use condoms if they have sex and take care when disposing of the condoms. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/05/01/ebola-survivor-sex/26698329/ |
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Citing an anti-Russia policy brief, US lawmakers approved $200 million for providing “lethal weapons of a defensive nature” to the Ukrainian government as part of the $600 billion Pentagon budget proposal for the fiscal year 2016. The House Armed Services Committee passed its proposal for the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with a bipartisan vote of 60 to 2, in what Defense News described as a “marathon” session that ended around 4:30am on Thursday. Section 1532 of the 498-page document calls for the US to provide assistance, “including training, equipment, lethal weapons of a defensive nature, logistics support, supplies and services, and sustainment to the military and national security forces of Ukraine” through the end of September 2016. In addition to the $200 million allocated for the program, the proposal also authorizes the Pentagon to “accept and retain contributions, including in-kind contributions, from foreign governments.” The bill says the purpose of the assistance is to back the government of Ukraine in “protecting and defending the Ukrainian people from attacks posed by Russian-backed separatists,” as well as “securing its sovereign territory against foreign aggressors” and “promoting the conditions for a negotiated settlement to end the conflict.” The NDAA sub-section dealing with weapons for Kiev specifically referenced a February 2015 report authored by a coalition of foreign policy think-tanks urging the US and NATO to resist “Russian aggression.” Chaired by Texas Republican Mac Thornberry, the committee recognized that the White House has done much to provide “nonlethal security assistance” to Kiev, including a $75 million commitment announced last month, but nonetheless “believes that defensive weapons and training are also necessary to enhance the defense of Ukraine.” Members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade arrived in Ukraine earlier this month as part of a training program aimed at Kiev’s military and security forces, prompting the Russian Foreign Ministry to question Washington’s motives. “What will these foreign military experts teach them – how to continue killing those who speak Russian?” asked Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich. ... http://rt.com/usa/254757-house-committee-lethal-aid-ukraine/ |
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The last time some Twitter leftist sneered at me and called me a “breeder,” I wondered whether this collectivist genius considered not reproducing to be a wise long-term strategy. The fact is that in America, most of the time it’s the traditional, conservative people who choose to have children. Between their contempt for traditional family life, their abortion fetish, and the vexing problem of the fact that neither XX+XX nor XY+XY equals “baby,” leftists are dropping below their replacement fertility rate. But letting them die out is not enough; we conservatives need to outbreed them. Basically, we already erotically high-achieving conservatives need to do even better. Sure, it’s a sacrifice, but we owe it to our country. Liberal women, encouraged by the sour crones of the radical feminist movement, often wait far too long to marry and to begin families. They were lied to – you can’t have it all. Life is choices, and a family is a choice that means trade-offs. Choose unwisely, and one may not be able to undue the relentless ticking of the biological clock. And as far as liberal men go, well, just look at them. It’s hard muster raw sexual energy when you think foreplay consists of sobbing to your life partner about how you can’t bear the weight of your undeserved phallocentic privilege. When leftists do breed, it seems less like a joyous reaffirmation of God’s bounty than a concession to a vaguely unpleasant conformity. Here in the heart of blue America, I see coastal liberals pushing their designer strollers with their one sad, designer clothes-clad kid. But it’s less a kid then a receptacle for their own inadequacies and unhappiness. Maybe they think that by filling up their kids’ lives with “enrichment” activities and piles of expensive stuff they can fill up their own empty lives. Who needs things like God, country and honor anyway? “Those are for those knuckledragging Red State losers! Wait, I’m feeling down – better give the kid to the nanny and take another Adderall with a glass of chardonnay!” http://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2015/04/20/sexy-conservatives-will-outbreed-barren-liberals-n1986978Unfortunately, most of the so-called breeder class are dependent on big government so who knows. I just posted this because of the lulz. |
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SPRINGFIELD, Virginia - Today, Campaign for Liberty came out strongly against the inaptly named “USA Freedom Act” and endorsed the Surveillance State Repeal Act. The USA Freedom Act, sponsored by Rep. Sensenbrenner, would extend and amend three controversial surveillance provisions; Sections 206 and 215 of the Patriot Act and Section 6001 of the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act. The amendments will not, however, prevent warrantless and widespread surveillance of Americans and continue to allow the NSA to violate the 4th Amendment rights of innocent Americans. Campaign for Liberty strongly believes the only way to eliminate unconstitutional mass surveillance of innocent Americans is to fully repeal both the Patriot Act and the 2008 FISA Amendments Act, which is why Campaign for Liberty supports H.R. 1466, the Surveillance State Repeal Act to do exactly that. "Proponents of civil liberties should not be fooled by the cosmetic, limited reforms of the USA Freedom Act," said Campaign for Liberty Chairman Ron Paul. “This legislation, negotiated by Congressional leadership determined to perpetuate the surveillance state, would not prevent innocent Americans from being spied on by their own government. Americans were rightly outraged at the revelations of Edward Snowden and its time Congress listen to the American people and end these outrageous programs that do nothing to enhance our national security. “I, along with Campaign for Liberty, encourage all Americans who value privacy and civil liberties to contact their representatives and urge them to reject the USA Freedom Act and support the Surveillance State Repeal Act.” ... http://www.campaignforliberty.org/national-blog/c4l-chair-ron-paul-opposes-usa-freedom-act-endorses-surveillance-state-repeal-act/ |
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This week Saudi Arabia bombed an airfield in Yemen to prevent an Iranian aid plane from landing. Yemen's population is suffering severe food and water shortages after five weeks of US-backed Saudi bombing. As Ron Paul says in his latest Liberty Report below, this is reminiscent of the terrible civilian toll taken by US sanctions against Iraq before the US attack: Video of Ron Pauls's statements... http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2015/april/29/whos-starving-yemens-children/The interesting thing is that almost no one has a clue about this or what is going on on the ground in Yemen. Too bad the democrats aren't for the children in other places. |
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At the end of October, IT employees at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts were called, one-by-one, into conference rooms to receive notice of their layoffs. Multiple conference rooms had been set aside for this purpose, and in each room an executive read from a script informing the worker that their last day would be Jan. 30, 2015. Some workers left the rooms crying; others appeared shocked. This went on all day. As each employee received a call to go to a conference room, others in the office looked up sometimes with pained expressions. One IT worker recalls a co-worker mouthing "no" as he walked by on the way to a conference room. What follows is a story of competing narratives about the restructuring of Disney's global IT operations of its parks and resorts division. But the focus is on the role of H-1B workers. Use of visa workers in a layoff is a public policy issue, particularly for Disney. More... http://www.computerworld.com/article/2915904/it-outsourcing/fury-rises-at-disney-over-use-of-foreign-workers.html |
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 George Orwell once wrote “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.” Not exactly a cheery thought, and one I don’t agree with. While the forces pushing for centralization of power have been prevailing for decades, they haven’t won a total victory yet. Technologies that empower the individual and that tend toward decentralization—including the Internet, encryption, 3D printing, and cryptocurrencies—offer a powerful ray of hope, reasons to be optimistic about the future. So the tug of war between the collectivists and the rest of us continues. One thing that would tip the scales heavily in favor of the collectivists would be victory in the War on Cash. Their goal is to eliminate the use of hand-to-hand currency, so that governments can document, control, and tax everything. It’s exactly like what Ron Paul said: “The cashless society is the IRS’s dream: total knowledge of, and control over, the finances of every single American.” More... http://www.internationalman.com/articles/the-war-on-cash-transparently-totalitarian
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Twitter closes 18% lower on disappointing reportTwitter shares closed 18 percent lower after the social media company's disappointing quarterly report leaked early. Twitter's first-quarter profit beat Wall Street's expectations but sales fell short of estimates. The social media company posted adjusted first-quarter earnings of 7 cents per share on revenue of $436 million. Financial intelligence service Selerity posted four tweets after 3 p.m. ET Tuesday with what it said were first-quarter earnings, revenue and user figures. Twitter issued a press release about 25 minutes later confirming Selerity's figures. http://www.cnbc.com/id/102573751
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The GOP is scared of you?GLENN: Big names involved. Huge names. PAT: Yeah. GLENN: Just please tell Glenn to continue to put the heat on. Because the party is split. And half of the party is like, please, please, don’t stop. So I’m telling you right now, don’t stop. You are — you are — we are breaking their back. The progressive Republican Party. We are breaking their back. And they are showing no signs of squirming or anything else. But are you shocked at how high level this was? PAT: Yeah. GLENN: And actually encouraged by who it came from. PAT: Definitely. GLENN: Yeah. And you know what I’m talking about now? STU: Yeah. GLENN: Shocking how high up and encouraging. PAT: Yes. Definitely encouraging. GLENN: We will someday tell you what this is about. But just trust us, this is very encouraging. And so if this person is — is letting us know, keep the heat on, I’m telling you right now, (music). Mitch McConnell, (music). Wow, we’re bad whistlers. Mitch McConnell. Orrin Hatch. Lindsey Graham. Jeff Flake. Thad Cochran. Susan Collins. HEP Mark Kirk. Kelly Ayotte. Ron Johnson. Rob Portman. These ten should — we should target these in their elections. Oh, my gosh. More... http://www.glennbeck.com/2015/04/24/the-gop-is-scared-of-you/?utm_source=glennbeck&utm_medium=contentcopy_link
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The average U.S. income from the bottom 90 percent of tax filers have reportedly dropped as the immigration rate increased, according to a congressional report. In a report to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the Congressional Research Service found the average reported income from the bottom 90 percent of tax filers dropped from 1970's $33,621 to $30,980 in 2013. The report noted the 43-year period saw a 7.9 percent decline in average income. During the same time frame, the estimated immigrant population rate in the U.S. increased from 9.74 million to approximately 41.3 million, an increase of 324.5 percent. .... 1. From 1945-1970, what was the net change in the foreign-born population, expressed both as a percentage and numerically? The foreign-born population in the United States diminished from 10,971,146 in 1945 to 9,740,000 in 1970, a decline of 1,231,146 persons, representing a percentage decline of 11.2 percent over this 25 year period. 2. From 1945-1970, how did overall wages change for the bottom 90 percent of earners? The reported income of the bottom 90 percent of tax filers in the United States increased from an average of $18,418 in 1945 to $33,621 in 1970 for an aggregate change of $15,202 or a percent increase of 82.5 percent over this 25 year period. 3. From 1945-1970, what was the net change in the share of income held by the bottom 90 percent of the U.S. income distribution? The share of income held by the bottom 90 percent of the U.S. income distribution increased from 67.4 percent in 1945 to 68.5 percent in 1970, an absolute increase of 1.1 percentage points over this 25 year period. 4. From 1970-present, what was the net change in the foreign-born population, expressed both as a percentage and numerically? Between 1970 and 2013, the estimated foreign-born population in the United States increased from 9,740,000 to 41,348,066, respectively, an increase of 31,608,066 persons, representing a percentage increase of 324.5 percent over this 43 year period. 5. From 1970-present, how did overall wages change for the bottom 90 percent of earners? The reported income of the bottom 90 percent of tax filers in the United States decreased from an average of $33,621 in 1970 to $30,980 in 2013 for an aggregate decline of $2,641 or a percent decline of 7.9 percent over this 43 year period. 6. From 1970-present, what was the net change in the share of income held by the bottom 90 percent of the U.S. income distribution? The share of income held by the bottom 90 percent of the U.S. income distribution declined from 68.5 percent in 1970 to 53.0 percent in 2013, an absolute decline of 15.5 percentage points over this 43 year period. ... http://www.latinpost.com/articles/49683/20150425/immigration-reform-news-today-wages-declined-population-increased-congressional-report.htm |
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