Monthly Archives: September 2013

Schneier: US gov. has betrayed the internet. We need to take it back

"Government and industry have betrayed the internet, and us. By subverting the internet at every level to make it a vast, multi-layered and robust surveillance platform, the NSA has undermined a fundamental social contract. The companies that build and manage our internet infrastructure, the companies that create and sell us our hardware and software, or the companies that host our data: we can no longer trust them to be ethical internet stewards. This is not the internet the world needs, or the internet its creators envisioned. We need to take it back. And by we, I mean the engineering community." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSchneier: US gov. has betrayed the internet. We need to take it back

Putin: Syria chemical attack is ‘rebels’ provocation in hope of intervention’

"The alleged chemical weapons use in Syria is a provocation carried out by the rebels to attract a foreign-led strike, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the G20 summit. There was no 50/50 split of opinion on the notion of a military strike against the Syrian President Bashar Assad, Putin stressed refuting earlier assumptions. Only Turkey, Canada, Saudi Arabia and France joined the US push for intervention, he said, adding that the UK Prime Minister’s position was not supported by his citizens. Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Italy were among the major world’s economies clearly opposed to military intervention." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPutin: Syria chemical attack is ‘rebels’ provocation in hope of intervention’

Max Keiser’s Marshmallow Gun of Truth: Think Tank

"Abby Martin talks to Max Keiser, host of RT's 'Keiser Report' about everything from why a supposedly broke country always has money for war, and the often illogical outcomes of important events, citing Halliburton stocks rising following revelations of the company's criminality." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMax Keiser’s Marshmallow Gun of Truth: Think Tank

Who Wants War with Syria?

"According to the latest Rasmussen poll, 73 percent of Americans are opposed to going to war with Syria (euphemistically called 'a surgical strike' by Pentagon propaganda). In Favor of Expending American Blood and Treasure in a War on Syria: Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (representing 52 organizations); American-Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC); Simon Wiesenthal Center; Anti-Defamation League; 'Avowedly pro-Israel' members of Congress (in the words of the Washington Post)." Continue reading →

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Obama will address country on Syria; calls crisis ‘threat to global peace’

"President Barack Obama, facing hardened international opposition to a strike against Syria and returning home to a skeptical American public, will address the country Tuesday to make his case. Obama said that he would tell Congress and the public in coming days that any American strike would be 'limited and proportionate.' He did not directly answer a question about whether he would go forward with an attack without the approval of Congress. Military officials on Friday told NBC News that the White House asked the Pentagon for an expanded list of potential targets in Syria, and one senior official warned that it could represent 'mission creep.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama will address country on Syria; calls crisis ‘threat to global peace’

Syria strike may hinge on Nancy Pelosi

"While Boehner backs military action — a rare point of agreement with Pelosi in the hyper-partisan House — it's unclear how many votes he will deliver from his party members. Passage may well rely on strong support by the president's own party. Pushing for military action against Syria, even in a limited way, would seem an awkward position for Pelosi, whose party won control of the House in 2006 by tapping into public frustration with President George W. Bush over the war in Iraq. Her view that Obama could order a strike on Syria without congressional approval also puts her at odds with a number of fellow Democrats." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSyria strike may hinge on Nancy Pelosi

Gold and Syria

"We are confronting authoritarians with such an appetite for power that they become afraid to wield it for fear of losing it. It is a subject fit for a Dostoevsky or Shakespeare. It was a cause for rejoicing when the British Parliament refused the Queen’s Prime Minister authority to let slip the dogs of war on Syria. It was the first such refusal since 1782 when, incidentally, Parliament voted down further war against the rebellious American colonies. It will be a welcome sign of a dawning realization that the U.S. Empire has exhausted itself financially and in folly if the House refuses to pass Obama’s Syrian war resolution. But if it does approve another front in the U.S. Mideast war, buy gold with both hands." Continue reading →

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Vladimir Putin: The US Administration is Lying Shamelessly about Syria

"The Russian President then said the Al-Nusra Front terrorist organization, which pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda, has been at the forefront of the rebel groups fighting Assad's forces, and that the US is well aware of that. 'Well, he [Kerry] lies. And he knows that he lies. This is sad,' Putin remarked. Speaking of Kerry's confidence in that Assad's forces used chemical weapons, Putin recalled former US Secretary of State Colin Powell's rhetoric on the eve of American invasion in Iraq. Powell even brandished some test tube with a white powder as he attempted to persuade the international community that Iraq has chemical weapons, Putin said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVladimir Putin: The US Administration is Lying Shamelessly about Syria

Kerry Bloody Hands Protest

"Anti-war protesters held up blood-red hands behind Secretary of State John Kerry Wednesday as he made the Obama administration's case for military action in Syria. During Kerry's remarks to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, protesters dressed in pink were scattered in the gallery behind the former senator with the palms of their hands painted red — to symbolize blood — and bright pink duct tape over their mouths." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKerry Bloody Hands Protest