hypocrisy

Why Is No One Listening to the US Government?

"When Snowden reports on his government’s abuses, however, he is charged with espionage – of aiding the enemy. But who is the enemy? Likewise, the US media dutifully repeats attacks on Snowden by US politicians for seeking asylum in countries whose media does not get a clean bill of health from the US State Department. The irony of such a position escapes the US mainstream media, which has long ago traded real investigative reporting for reading out government talking points. So the US government finds itself powerless to demand that the rest of the world do as it demands. It attacks at home that which it promotes overseas." Continue reading →

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The 14 Most Ridiculous Things Police Bought With Asset Forfeiture

"Hey, remember the police chief from #7? He’s back! The (former) police chief of Romulus, Mich. and five detectives were part of the town’s vice squad, investigating 'liquor license violations, prostitution and narcotics trafficking.' Thanks to those investigations, they allegedly spent more than $40,000 in asset forfeiture funds on marijuana, booze, and prostitutes. Now these cops face 22 felony counts…and just gave Nic Cage a new movie idea." Continue reading →

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Edward Snowden: Master of Realpolitik

"Snowden is simply doing what states do all the time, which is to engage in realpolitik in pursuit of their own interests. Why is it immoral for Snowden to play the Russian regime against the American one, when it is moral for the American regime to pit the Syrian 'rebels' (who eat the internal organs of their victims) against the Syrian regime? Over the years, the United States has allied itself with an endless list of mass murderers ranging from Stalin to Pol Pot to Pinochet and Saddam Hussein. But Snowden lived in China for a little while! What a horrible guy!" Continue reading →

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More Dark Side From The Empire

"It was interesting to learn that when everyone thought that Snowden was on his way to Ecuador via Cuba, American journalists were not permitted to fly to Cuba from Russia because they didn’t have visas. Perhaps they were lucky because if they hadn’t secured a 'license' to spend money in Cuba, they were subjected to being prosecuted for a felony offense by … their own government! Yes, the U.S. government—the government that was poking fun at China and Russia for their systems of government—actually puts Americans into jail for traveling to Cuba and spending their money there. How’s that for a little 'Thank God I’m an American because at least I know I’m free'?" Continue reading →

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A General Gets Knifed

"In an administration that loves leak investigations, this is arguably the most significant one to date. The foreign-policy implications of identifying the Stuxnet virus as the handiwork of U.S. spies were enormous. The Obama administration's protests against Chinese cyber-espionage are undermined by the fact that America fired the first shot in a global cyberwar. And it arguably led to an escalation. U.S. intelligence believes that the cyberattack on the facilities of Saudi Aramco last year was carried out by the government of Iran. Yet there were members of the intelligence community who believe that the Stuxnet leak had its benefits." Continue reading →

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Marine’s 11-year war crimes conviction overturned

"Sergeant Lawrence Hutchins, 29, was jailed six years ago after a court martial found him guilty of orchestrating the murder of a 52-year-old Iraqi man in the town of Hamdania. Hutchins was convicted of leading an eight-strong squad which kidnapped the father of 11 from his home in a night-time raid, frogmarched him to a ditch and shot him. The group then placed an AK-47 and a shovel beside the dead man’s corpse to make it look as if he had been shot while planting a roadside bomb. Lawyers for Hutchins argued investigators had erred when the Marine was held in solitary confinement without access to a lawyer for seven days." Continue reading →

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India central bank red flags ‘virtual currency’

"The Reserve Bank of India has expressed concern over the rise of 'virtual currencies' which are the likes of bitcoin. Virtual currencies or crypto currencies have also come under the focus of the police. In its financial stability report, RBI has for the first time raised the issue of virtual currency in India. 'The unregulated link between virtual currency (if permitted), and traditional currency with a legal tender status poses challenges as the complete control over the differently denominated virtual currency is given to its issuer, who governs the scheme and manages the supply of money at will,' RBI said." Continue reading →

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Porn, wine and kazoos on IRS worker charge cards

"The IRS allows some of its 90,000 employees to use company charge cards to buy work-related items, such as office supplies. However, employees made a host of 'improper' purchases -- ranging from a dinner averaging $140 per person to Thomas the Tank Engine rubber wristbands. The inspector general said the IRS has been negligent when it comes to catching employees who circumvent $3,000 caps on transactions, by splitting purchases into several transactions. The agency also doesn't have a good record at turning off credit cards as soon as employees depart or retire." Continue reading →

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Retired U.S. Marine Gen. James Cartwright under investigation for alleged Stuxnet leak

"A former high-ranking US military officer is being probed for allegedly leaking details about a US cyberattack on Iran, a US media report said. Citing unnamed legal sources, NBC News said retired Marine Gen. James Cartwright has been told he is under investigation for allegedly disclosing details about the Stuxnet attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Cartwright, 63, is the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The four-star general retired from the military in August 2011. Stuxnet, tailored specifically to target Iran’s uranium enrichment operation, struck Iran in 2010 and reportedly dealt a serious blow to its disputed nuclear program." Continue reading →

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WikiLeaks Volunteer Was a Paid Informant for the FBI

"In 2011, a cherubic 18-year-old Icelandic man named Sigurdur 'Siggi' Thordarson walked through the stately doors of the U.S. embassy in Reykjavík, his jacket pocket concealing his calling card: a crumpled photocopy of an Australian passport, a man with a unruly shock of platinum blonde hair and the name Julian Paul Assange. Thordarson was long time volunteer for WikiLeaks with direct access to Assange and a key position as an organizer in the group. Thordarson served two masters, working for the secret-spilling website and simultaneously spilling its secrets to the U.S. government in exchange, he says, for a total of about $5,000." Continue reading →

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