Blowback

Imagining a Legal Basis for Obama’s Overseas Assassinations

"Thanks to someone who has reservations about Obama's murders and leaked it, we have a copy of a secret legal opinion that is supposed to lay out the conditions under which such presidentially-directed murders are legal. This heretofore secret document imagines a legal basis for Obama's overseas assassinations. Imagine is not quite the right word. It fantasizes such a basis. It makes it up by stringing together words that are supposed to make a plausible case. On inspection, however, this case collapses. It is rather like setting a wall on what is supposed to be concrete, but actually is pudding." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingImagining a Legal Basis for Obama’s Overseas Assassinations

Federal Reserve confirms its computers were hacked

"The Federal Reserve acknowledged Wednesday its computer systems were accessed by hackers but said the incident did not affect the central bank’s 'critical operations.' The acknowledgement came days after the hacker group known as Anonymous claimed it had posted personal information of some 4,000 bankers, purportedly obtained from the Fed. The group argues it is taking actions responding to the suicide last month of Aaron Swartz, an Internet freedom advocate who was being prosecuted for illegally downloading millions of academic journal articles he had allegedly planned to distribute for free." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Reserve confirms its computers were hacked

Gun Makers Now Refusing To Sell Arms To Law Enforcement In New York & Other States

"Since New York State enacted its restrictive new gun laws, many manufacturers have sent that state (and others) a message: If local governments are going to severely restrict the ability of citizens to own guns, then these companies will not be selling to law enforcement in those areas. Among the gun manufacturers sending that message: Olympic Arms, Inc; La Rue Tactical; EFI, LLC – Extreme Firepower; York Arms; Templar Custom; Cheaper Than Dirt. In addition to these very public statements, gun-owner groups are asking members and fans to contact three other manufacturers with significant sales to law enforcement in New York." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun Makers Now Refusing To Sell Arms To Law Enforcement In New York & Other States

America’s Secret War in North Africa Behind Benghazi Attack

"Behind closed doors, President Obama had given his counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, carte blanche to run operations in North Africa and the Middle East. In 2012, a secret war across North Africa was well underway. With JSOC, Brennan waged his own unilateral operations in North Africa outside of the traditional command structure. The aftermath of one of these secret raids into Libya would have grave consequences for all of them. SOFREP believes the Benghazi attack on 9/11/12 was blowback from the late-summer JSOC operations that were threatening the Al Qaeda-aligned militant groups (including Ansar Al-Sharia) in Libya and North Africa." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica’s Secret War in North Africa Behind Benghazi Attack

Pepe Escobar: War on terror forever

"It's now official - coming from the mouth of the lion, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, and duly posted at the AFRICOM site, the Pentagon's weaponized African branch. Exit 'historical' al-Qaeda, holed up somewhere in the Waziristans, in the Pakistani tribal areas; enter al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). In Dempsey's words, AQIM 'is a threat not only to the country of Mali, but the region, and if... left unaddressed, could in fact become a global threat.' With Mali now elevated to the status of a 'threat' to the whole world, GWOT is proven to be really open-ended." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: War on terror forever

Iraq says 3,000 inmates freed amid demonstrations

"A top Iraqi minister said on Sunday that the authorities had released 3,000 prisoners over the past month in a bid to appease weeks of angry demonstrations in Sunni-majority areas of the country. Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani’s announcement is the latest in a series of government steps to curb the protests against the alleged mistreatment of the Sunni minority at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities. According to Shahristani, around 30,000 people are in Iraqi prisons, including those convicted of a range of offences and those being held without charge." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIraq says 3,000 inmates freed amid demonstrations

Ron Paul: US Action in Mali is Another Undeclared War

"Where does the president get the authority to become a co-combatant in French operations in Mali, even if US troops are not yet overtly involved in the attack? How did we get to Mali? Blowback and unintended consequences played key roles. When the president decided to use the US military to attack Libya in 2011, Congress was not consulted. The president claimed that UN and NATO authority for the use of US military force were sufficient and even superior to any kind of congressional declaration. Congress once again relinquished its authority, but also its oversight power, by remaining silent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: US Action in Mali is Another Undeclared War

An Ally Out of Control

"The U.S. previously had correctly warned that Western attacks on the Islamist enclave in Mali could inflame Islamic militants worldwide and lead to blowback terrorist attacks in the West. Yet now, in a replay of the war in Libya, with France forcing its hand, the U.S. has been forced to back its ally’s aggressive action and even provide help. Northern Mali was taken over by battle-hardened Islamists, who brought in heavy weapons from Gaddafi’s formidable stockpiles in Libya after the West’s overthrow of him. The U.S. foolishly had trained Malian units led by generals who were Tuareg, an ethnic group that been rebelling against the Malian government for a half century." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAn Ally Out of Control

Russian parliament finalizes U.S. adoption ban

"Russia’s lower house of parliament has given final approval to a contentious bill that retaliates against a new US human rights measure by barring Americans from adopting the country’s children. Washington swiftly slammed the move saying Russian children would be harmed by the measure. The Russian leader has indicated he is ready to put his name on the measure so that it could enter law on January 1. The measure, which underscores the severity of the recent strain in Russia-US ties, would end about 1,000 adoptions a year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussian parliament finalizes U.S. adoption ban

Russia to vote on banning U.S. adoptions

"The Russian parliament will vote this week on a bill banning adoption of Russian children by Americans, in retaliation to the Magnitsky Act passed by the United States last week, lawmakers said Monday. Ahead of the key second reading scheduled for Wednesday, lawmakers added to the text of the bill new clauses banning adoptions of Russian children by US nationals, according to opposition lawmaker Dmitry Gudkov, who posted a copy of the amended bill online. The amended bill would also order the closure of US adoption agencies in Russia." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussia to vote on banning U.S. adoptions