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Oppose War with Syria

“The war-making power belongs solely to Congress. It cannot be delegated to the Executive Branch, in any blanket way, through any kind of war powers act. If you fail to restrain the President, then you will be complicit in the President’s crimes. His planned actions violate the Constitution. They also break other written laws. This makes them inherently criminal. The President is trying to fix something that cannot be solved by outsiders dropping bombs. This will not protect innocent people. It will kill innocents. Their blood will be on the President’s hands, and on your hands, unless you use your powers to resist. I am doing what I can to resist. I do not want these criminal acts committed in my name.” Continue reading →

Man still “smarting” from police detainment after refusing “smart meter”

“Because this man was the last holdout in this particular Guthrie neighborhood, the Guthrie Police Department sent three officers to the man’s house to protect the OG&E installer, while allegedly detaining the man, echoing a story out of Naperville, Illinois last month where two women were arrested for ‘interfering with the installation process.’ OK-SAFE, Inc. and Axxiom for Liberty report that the man said he was frisked and handcuffed, and would inexplicably leave no paperwork. This encounter was confirmed by Karen Kurtz, a spokesperson for OG&E. ‘We did have police out at that gentleman’s residence,’ Kurtz said. ‘It wasn’t a show of force at all.'” Continue reading →

Fidel Castro denies Cuba refused Edward Snowden asylum

“Castro, in the same article, praised Snowden, who disclosed the existence of secret US government surveillance programs used to scoop phone and Internet data on a vast scale. ‘I admire how brave and just Snowden’s declarations were, which in my opinion provided a service to the world by revealing the disgustingly dishonest politics of the powerful empire that lies and deceives the world,’ Castro wrote. ‘It is absolutely clear that the United States will always try to put pressure on Cuba as it does with the UN or any public or private institution in the world, that is one of the characteristics of that country’s government and it would not be possible to expect anything else.'” Continue reading →

Snowden Leak: U.S. Paying Contractors Ten Times as Much as Bureaucrats

“While contractors represent fewer than 20 percent of the workforce, 70 percent of the intelligence budget goes to them, according to a figure from the U.S. Director of National Intelligence Agency (DNI) at a Colorado sponsored by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). That rare peek behind the veil is likely still relatively accurate. Traditionally the lion’s share of this money has gone to Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC), Honeywell Int’l Inc. (HON) (via is Science Applications Int’l Corp. subsidiary), Raytheon Comp. (RTN), Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), and Edward Snowden’s former firm Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Comp. (BAH).” Continue reading →

‘Brilliant’ Snowden Digitally Impersonated NSA Officials

“The 30-year-old’s role as a ‘system administrator’ meant that he was able to access NSAnet, the agency’s intranet, using those user profiles and without leaving any signature. An official told NBC that the NSA identified several instances in which the elite NSA-trained hacker impersonated officials, and that the spy agency’s forensic investigation is ‘trying to figure out which higher level officials Snowden impersonated online to access the most sensitive documents.’ Last week Michael Isikoff, Cole, and Esposito reported that the NSA is ‘overwhelmed’ – does not know the full extent of the tens of thousands of documents the former NSA contractor took from its system.” Continue reading →

Spain fights to lose status as drug gateway to Europe

“The make-up of drug rings sending cocaine to Spain has changed as well. The Colombian groups which dominated the trade in the 1980s have given way bit by bit to Mexican cartels. Drug traffickers’ interest in Europe has increased because demand from the continent for cocaine is growing. Over the past decade the number of cocaine consumers in Europe has doubled while demand for the drug has plunged by 33 percent in the United States. In response European nations have reinforced regional cooperation as well as their cooperation with police forces in Latin America to stop the flow of cocaine. Hiding cocaine in banana shipments remains one of the favourite tactics used by traffickers.” Continue reading →

Iraq war killed 120,000 and cost $800 billion, study estimates

“At least 116,000 Iraqi civilians and more than 4,800 coalition troops died in Iraq between the outbreak of war in 2003 and the US withdrawal in 2011, researchers estimate. Its involvement in Iraq has so far cost the United States $810 billion (625 billion euros) and could eventually reach $3 trillion, they added. ‘More than 31,000 US military personnel were injured and a substantial percentage of those deployed suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and other neuropsychological disorders and their concomitant psychosocial problems.'” Continue reading →

Iraq’s people yet to feel benefit of oil boom

“Their frustration is tied to the fact that oil, responsible for the lion’s share of economic output, does not employ many people — just one percent of the working-age population, according to the United Nations. And so many residents are forced to look for jobs either in the public sector, which is riven with nepotism, or the private sector, which remains tiny. Thus far, Iraq’s government has looked to spend the vast income from energy revenues on landmark projects — a huge housing community near Baghdad, a football stadium in Basra and an airport near Najaf. New restaurants, malls and shops selling flatscreen TVs and brand new expensive cars are all opening across Baghdad.” Continue reading →