Crisis Begets Opportunity

David Galland: What the Hell Is Wrong with Obama?

"It sure seems like we are following the script set down by the neocons (Kristol, Wolfowitz, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Abrams, et al.) that years ago infiltrated the US military-political complex. This is the 'Might is right' crowd who believe in exercising US power proactively to knock down the dominos of all Middle Eastern countries Israel feels threatened by, with the end goal of remaking the Middle East as a region dominated by friendly democracies (or, in the case of Saudi Arabia, friendly dictatorships). Failing functioning democracies, turning the outcast countries into failed states that pose no real threat to US or Israeli interests." Continue reading →

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Homeland Security Is A Racket Twice Over

"Since the government has created the problem of terrorism while fraudulently denying that it has, and then in building up the DHS has fraudulently offered a non-solution to solve the problem of its own making, the DHS is a racket twice over. Actually, since the DHS's activities actively invade everyone's rights, it is a racket thrice over. None of us would have any expectation of systematic terrorism against Americans in America if there were not a U.S. empire that systematically intrudes in lands where it doesn't belong. Retaliations from these places take time, sometimes decades. The U.S. is breeding new terrorists all the time and in more and more places." Continue reading →

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WikiLeaks: Snowden Risks Being Stuck in Russia ‘Permanently’

"The WikiLeaks organization said on Tuesday that U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden may be forced to stay in Russia permanently because Washington is 'bullying' possible intermediary countries, reports Naharnet. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Snowden -- who had been expected to board a flight for Cuba on Monday, reportedly on his way to seek asylum in Ecuador -- was still in a Moscow airport transit zone. 'Cancelling Snowden's passport and bullying intermediary countries may keep Snowden permanently in Russia,' WikiLeaks said on its Twitter feed. 'Not the brightest bunch at State,' it said, referring to the U.S. State Department." Continue reading →

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Joint Chiefs: Army reviewing rules of engagement over cyber threat

"Dempsey said that since his appointment as head of the Joint Chiefs in 2011 'intrusions into our critical infrastructure have increased 17-fold.' Some 4,000 cyber-security experts would join the ranks over the next four years, while some $23 billion would be spent on tackling the threat. Dempsey said Cybercom was now organized in three divisions. One team was in charge of countering enemy attacks, another was tasked with offering regional support while a third was responsible for protecting some 15,000 US military computer networks. In addition, the military now had a manual which allowed it to cooperate with Homeland Security and the FBI." Continue reading →

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Don’t Fall Victim to Hoarding

"Thanks to the courageous Edward Snowden, America now knows the NSA has, for seven years, collected data on many millions of our phone calls, emails and other communications, even when its top officials have testified that it had not. And things look like they are going to get even worse. Hot on the heels of the NSA revelations, now the habitually anti-tax haven and pro-tax Organization for Economic and Community Development (OECD) wants in on the action, by forcing all countries into useless data-hoarding of private information in a very big way." Continue reading →

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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 →

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FBI director admits domestic use of drones for surveillance

"The FBI uses drones for domestic surveillance purposes, the head of the agency told Congress. Robert Mueller confirmed to lawmakers that the FBI owns several unmanned aerial vehicles, but has not adopted any strict policies or guidelines yet to govern the use of the controversial aircraft. Mueller said the FBI has and will continue to weigh the possibility of publishing more information about its spy habits, but warned that doing such would be to the advantage of America’s enemies. 'There is a price to be paid for that transparency,' Mueller said. 'I certainly think it would be educating our adversaries as to what our capabilities are.'" Continue reading →

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Law enforcement demands smartphone ‘kill switch’

"A coalition of law enforcement officials, political leaders and consumer groups, called the Secure Our Smartphones (S.O.S) Initiative, wants a 'kill switch' installed on all new smartphones that would make them useless anywhere in the world if they are reported stolen. They want all smartphones equipped with a kill switch by early next year and they don’t want customers to foot the bill for this security technology. The S.O.S. Initiative is spearheaded by Gascon and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The two prosecutors hosted a 'Smartphone Summit' in New York City on Thursday with the major mobile device manufacturers." Continue reading →

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David Galland: Scenarios

"No one can predict the future – the world is too complex, and a big part of that complexity comes from the human species in which all traits, good and bad, are present. (Is there such a thing as an armadillo with bad character? A bunny rabbit?) When people with bad character, or even good character but suffering from delusions, backed by the full power of the state make it their business to protect you against an unforeseeable future, and approach their task with the idea that individual rights should play a distant second fiddle to the greater good, it's time to be cautious." Continue reading →

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Will the FDA Harm Compounding Pharmacies?

"The FDA knew, as early as 2002, that ONE compounding pharmacy was doing risky things. But the FDA took no action until 2012. By that point, 700 people were sick and 53 had died. The FDA Commissioner then went on 60 Minutes and lied to the American people. She claimed this tragedy happened because the FDA lacked regulatory authority. But a House investigation showed the opposite. The FDA simply failed to do its job. Now the FDA wants to use its incompetence as an excuse to grab more power. The opposite should happen. This is like the SEC’s failure to investigate Bernie Madoff, despite numerous tips." Continue reading →

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