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Charles A. Burris: War Crimes, the Holocaust, and Today’s National Security State

"Vocal defenders of the National Security State loudly proclaim that such extra-constitutional intrusions into the privacy of Americans are justified on the grounds of 'national security' because we are at total war with Radical Islam and its alleged supporters. 9/11 changed everything. The rule of law and constitutional safeguards are to be suspended during this national emergency. The Constitution is not a 'suicide pact.' Survival of the state is the only thing that counts. These are precisely the very arguments used by Otto Olendorf, commander of Einsatzgruppe D, and his fellow defendants in their Nuremberg War Crime Trials following World War Two." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCharles A. Burris: War Crimes, the Holocaust, and Today’s National Security State

Judge Napolitano: The NSA Scandal Violates the Lessons of Our History and Our Constitution

"After 9/11, Congress enacted the Patriot Act. This permitted federal agents to write their own search warrants, as if to mimic the British soldiers in the 1760s. It was amended to permit the feds to go to the FISA court and get a search warrant for the electronic records of any American who might communicate with a foreign person. In 30 years, from 1979 to 2009, the legal standard for searching and seizing private communications was lowered by Congress from probable cause of crime to probable cause of being an agent of a foreign power to probable cause of being a foreign person to probable cause of communicating with a foreign person." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Napolitano: The NSA Scandal Violates the Lessons of Our History and Our Constitution

FBI director claims NSA spying could have prevented 9/11

"The FBI has shrugged off growing congressional anxiety over its surveillance of US citizens, claiming such programs could have foiled the 9-11 terrorist attacks and would prevent 'another Boston'. In a frequently heated debate over balancing privacy and security, Mueller went further than other government officials in claiming that the collection of data on all American phone calls had become an essential part of counter-terrorism efforts and would make the US 'exceptionally vulnerable' if watered down. He also rejected calls from technology companies such as Google to disclose the scale of the programs, saying even this information could help terrorists." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI director claims NSA spying could have prevented 9/11

Paul Craig Roberts: What Is The Government’s Agenda?

"How can something as rare as terrorism justify the destruction of the US Constitution and US civil liberty? How safe is any American when their government regards every citizen as a potential suspect who has no rights? What is the government’s real agenda? Clearly, 'the war on terror' is a front for an undeclared agenda. In 'freedom and democracy' America, citizens have no idea what their government’s motives are in fomenting endless wars and a gestapo police state. The only information Americans have comes from whistleblowers, who Obama ruthlessly prosecutes. The presstitutes quickly discredit the information and demonize the whistleblowers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: What Is The Government’s Agenda?

Ron Paul: Should We Be Shocked At Government Spying?

"Some of us were arguing back in 2001 with the introduction of the so-called PATRIOT Act that it would pave the way for massive U.S. government surveillance — not targeting terrorists but rather aimed against American citizens. We were told we must accept this temporary measure to provide government the tools to catch those responsible for 9/11. That was nearly 12 years and at least four wars ago. We should know by now that when it comes to government power-grabs, we never go back to the status quo even when the 'crisis' has passed. That part of our freedom and civil liberties once lost is never regained." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: Should We Be Shocked At Government Spying?

U.S. Collects Vast Data Trove, Including Credit Card Transactions

"The National Security Agency's monitoring of Americans includes customer records from the three major phone networks as well as emails and Web searches, and the agency also has cataloged credit-card transactions, said people familiar with the agency's activities.The Obama administration says its review of complete phone records of U.S. citizens is a 'necessary tool' in protecting the nation from terror threats. The NSA's efforts have become institutionalized under laws passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Most members of Congress defended them Thursday as a way to root out terrorism, but civil-liberties groups decried the program." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Collects Vast Data Trove, Including Credit Card Transactions

Why Are Cops Acting Like Soldiers?

"In 1981, President Reagan signed the Military Cooperation with Law Enforcement Act, a law that granted the Pentagon permission to assist domestic police departments engaged in enforcing the nation’s drug laws. Similar legislation accompanied efforts to combat terrorism even before 9/11. A 1997 federal law known as Program 1033 made it easier for state and local law enforcement agencies to obtain surplus military hardware—including body armor, armored vehicles, and surveillance equipment—for use in counterdrug and counterterrorism activities. In 2011, the program transferred $500 million worth of equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Are Cops Acting Like Soldiers?

Authorization for Use of Military Force: a blank check for war without end

"The Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), passed after the attacks of 11 September 2001, provides the legal cornerstone for the so-called US 'war on terror'. It allows the US government to wage war at anytime, any place and on anyone deemed a threat to national security. The AUMF opened the doors to the US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya; attacks on Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Mali; the new drone bases in Niger and Djibouti; and the killing of American citizens, notably Anwar al-Awlaki and his 16-year-old noncombatant son. It is what now emboldens the hawks on the warpath to Syria, Iran and North Korea." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAuthorization for Use of Military Force: a blank check for war without end

Fred Reed: Terrorism in Boston

"The return on investment is phenomenal. For example, the attack on New York cost perhaps several hundred thousand dollars. Yet it drew the US into multiple drawn-out, losing wars costing hundreds of billions of dollars, and transformed America from a reasonably free country into a rapidly deepening Orwellian gloom. A tiny input, a stunningly large effect. If terrorism were a hedge fund, it would be the hottest buy on the planet. It is truly slick. The terrorists don’t do serious damage to the attacked country. They stimulate the victim society to damage itself." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFred Reed: Terrorism in Boston

Graham says FBI should confront people who view ‘Islamist’ websites

"Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), appearing Sunday on CBS’s 'Face the Nation,' said that he believes Americans would be made safer if Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) agents would physically confront non-criminals over their web surfing activities, especially if that person is on a watch list and has been looking at 'Islamist' sites online. He added that if someone federal agencies had received tips about 'goes on the Internet for the whole world to see, to interact with radical Islamic websites, how do we miss that?'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGraham says FBI should confront people who view ‘Islamist’ websites