Crisis Begets Opportunity

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

U.S. warns of cyber attacks on medical devices

"US authorities on Thursday warned makers of medical devices and hospital networks to step up efforts to guard against potential cyber attacks. The US Food and Drug Administration said implanted devices, which could include pacemakers or defibrillators, could be connected to networks that are vulnerable to hackers. An FDA warning notice was sent to medical device manufacturers, hospitals, medical device user facilities, health care technical staff and biomedical engineers. It said the agency has recently 'become aware of cybersecurity vulnerabilities and incidents that could directly impact medical devices or hospital network operations.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. warns of cyber attacks on medical devices

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?

James Bamford: The Secret War

"Tens of thousands of people move through more than 50 buildings—the city has its own post office, fire department, and police force. But as if designed by Kafka, it sits among a forest of trees, surrounded by electrified fences and heavily armed guards, protected by antitank barriers, monitored by sensitive motion detectors, and watched by rotating cameras. To block any telltale electromagnetic signals from escaping, the inner walls of the buildings are wrapped in protective copper shielding and the one-way windows are embedded with a fine copper mesh. This is the undisputed domain of General Keith Alexander, a man few even in Washington would likely recognize." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJames Bamford: The Secret War

U.S. to leave ‘training’ military forces in Jordan

"The United States will keep F-16 fighter jets and Patriot anti-missile weapons in Jordan after a joint military exercise ends this month, a US defense official said Thursday. The US administration also planned to keep a unit of US Marines on amphibious ships off the coast after consultations with Jordanian leaders, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. 'It was decided the assets would remain in place,' said the official. The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit taking part in the drill consists of about 2,400 troops, which arrived in a group of three amphibious ships, including the USS Kearsarge. Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. to leave ‘training’ military forces in Jordan

U.S. to provide ‘direct military support’ to Syrian rebels

"President Barack Obama has authorized sending U.S. weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time, a U.S. official said on Thursday after the White House said it has proof the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against opposition forces fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. The White House said Washington would provide 'direct military support' to the opposition but did not specify whether it would include lethal aid. But the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the package would include weapons. Syrian rebel and political opposition leaders immediately called for anti-aircraft and other sophisticated weaponry." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. to provide ‘direct military support’ to Syrian rebels

With Scandals Raging At Home, Obama Discovers Chemical Weapons Use in Syria

"In a time of choking scandal, a light at the end of the tunnel has appeared for the Obama regime: his old friend war! The entirety of the US corporate media is breathlessly -- and, predictably, in lockstep -- amplifying the Obama administration's sudden amazingly convenient discovery that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons after all! Just a few weeks ago the US Intelligence Community did not believe claims that the Syrian government used chemicals. Now, with no formal investigation at all and no word on the chain of evidence or its source, we are told with absolute certainty that the Assad government has used the weapons." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWith Scandals Raging At Home, Obama Discovers Chemical Weapons Use in Syria

European monitoring of civilians still far less than U.S., but growing

"Under a directive approved by the 27-member European Union in 2006, telecommunications operators and internet service providers are obliged to retain records of users’ calls and online activity for at least six months. The directive enables security services, if necessary, to check who has been communicating with whom, from where, at what time and for how long but stops short of enabling them to check the content of any communications. The European legislation was approved in the aftermath of bombings in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005. Individual governments are free to require longer periods of data retention." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEuropean monitoring of civilians still far less than U.S., but growing

All the Infrastructure a Tyrant Would Need, Courtesy of Bush and Obama

"Even if all the critics were proved wrong, even if the CIA, NSA, FBI, and every other branch of the federal government had been improbably filled, top to bottom, with incorruptible patriots constitutionally incapable of wrongdoing, this would still be so: The American people have no idea who the president will be in 2017. What we know is that the people in charge will possess the capacity to be tyrants -- to use power oppressively and unjustly -- to a degree that Americans in 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, or 2000 could've scarcely imagined. To an increasing degree, we're counting on having angels in office and making ourselves vulnerable to devils." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAll the Infrastructure a Tyrant Would Need, Courtesy of Bush and Obama

Colorado Sheriffs Unite to Block ‘Unenforceable’ Gun Control Laws

"In the wake of the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado passed some of the strictest gun control measures in the country. But in recent months, an overwhelming 55 of the state’s 62 county sheriffs have joined a lawsuit aiming to block the measures. Sheriff Terry Maketa of El Paso County is one of the opposing sheriffs. Maketa says they believe the laws are unenforceable, but also violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. After explaining the tactics used to pass the bills that essentially 'eliminated all public input,' Maketa reiterated that it’s clearly an 'overreaching step' for politicians to claim law enforcement supports stricter gun control." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado Sheriffs Unite to Block ‘Unenforceable’ Gun Control Laws