Imperial Hubris

Credit card donations to WikiLeaks once again flowing through Iceland

"International credit card donations to WikiLeaks are flowing again after an Icelandic court ruling forced MasterCard’s and Visa’s local agent to process payments, the companies involved in processing the funds said. One of WikiLeaks’ most important sources of funding – donations made from Visa and MasterCard users around the globe – was cut off in 2010 when the firms stopped processing donations to WikiLeaks’ direct payment line in Iceland. Their move came after criticism by the United States of the anti-secrecy organization’s release of thousands of sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables, which embarrassed Washington." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCredit card donations to WikiLeaks once again flowing through Iceland

Bolivian President Morales’ Flight Diverted On Suspicions He Was Transporting Edward Snowden

"Bolivia's foreign minister David Choquehuanca has told reporters that France and Portugal abruptly cancelled air permits, causing the plane to make an unscheduled landing in Vienna, Austria. He said the cancellations were made over 'technical issues' but that further investigation revealed 'there appeared to be some unfounded suspicions that Mr. Snowden was on the plane'. 'We don't know who invented this lie,' Mr Choquehuanca added. Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Schallenberg told The Associated Press that Snowden is not with Morales and that the Bolivian president is spending the night at a Vienna hotel." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBolivian President Morales’ Flight Diverted On Suspicions He Was Transporting Edward Snowden

‘There’s element of panic in US policy towards Edward Snowden’

"US civil rights activist Norman Solomon tells RT that hardly any government will want to challenge the US in this way. Solomon believes US attempts at grabbing Snowden and bringing him to the US are a sign of panic. No one, including Snowden, is capable of stopping further leaks, as the documents have been handed to journalists or other people who can make them public. Norman Solomon is one of the organizers of the 'Hands Off Edward Snowden!' online campaign, which calls on US citizens to individually email President Obama asking him not to interfere in Snowden’s attempts to seek asylum. 46,000 signatories have already sent emails." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘There’s element of panic in US policy towards Edward Snowden’

Edward Snowden’s “Safe and Dreary” Global Prison

"Not even Caligula, Commodus, or Diocletian had the ability to kill their enemies by remote control from half-way around the world. Rome's enemies, Gibbon pointed out, were condemned 'to wear out a life of exile on the barren rock of Seriphus, or the frozen banks of the Danube' -- assuming that they managed to elude the Empire's enforcers. As Edward Snowden can testify, Washington's reach is universal, and those who control its apparatus of repression are utterly pitiless. Snowden's sole sanctuary -- his 'safe and dreary prison' -- is a small section of an airport in Moscow." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden’s “Safe and Dreary” Global Prison

Egypt’s Tamarod protest movement

"Tamarod is a new grassroots protest movement in Egypt. The group, whose name means 'rebel' in Arabic, claims it has collected more than 22 million signatures for a petition demanding President Mohammed Morsi step down and allow fresh presidential elections to be held. Following Sunday's massive demonstrations, in which millions of people took to the streets in Cairo and other cities, Tamarod gave the president an ultimatum to resign or face a campaign of 'complete civil disobedience'. It urged 'state institutions including the army, the police and the judiciary, to clearly side with the popular will as represented by the crowds'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt’s Tamarod protest movement

State Department bureau spent $630,000 on Facebook ‘likes’

"State Department officials spent $630,000 to get more Facebook 'likes,' prompting employees to complain to a government watchdog that the bureau was 'buying fans' in social media, the agency's inspector general says. The department's Bureau of International Information Programs spent the money to increase its 'likes' count between 2011 and March 2013. Despite the surge in likes, the IG said the effort failed to reach the bureau's target audience, which is largely older and more influential than the people liking its pages. Only about 2 percent of fans actually engage with the pages by liking, sharing or commenting." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Department bureau spent $630,000 on Facebook ‘likes’

U.S. Helping Iranians With Surveillance Circumvention Technologies

"While Americans are making a big deal that the NSA is spying on everyone, Obama comes out and fervently defends the practice. NSA spying on you is the good kind. The 'bad' surveillance happens over in Iran. So what else for the U.S. government to do than supply Iranian citizens with surveillance circumvention technologies! Bloomberg reports: 'The U.S. State Department is helping develop a number of general-use surveillance circumvention technologies,' Sascha Meinrath, founder of the Commotion Wireless Project, a non-profit group trying to build such devices, said in an email.' The irony is so thick, you can barely see!" Continue reading →

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If Syria Falls, Expect a Pop in Oil Prices

"If Syria does fall, the next logical target would be Iran, which would create chaos in the global oil markets. Today, Iran provides about 20% of China's daily imported oil – only Russia provides more. If Iranian oil stops flowing to China, the Chinese will be required to go to other sources to buy over 500,000 barrels of oil, which would instantly increase the spot price of oil. Just what is going on in Syria? Syria is the first salvo in a war that puts Iran, China, and Russia against the US and its allies. The American government has thrown its weight behind the Sunnis, whereas Iran, China, and Russia have been backing Bashar al-Assad, the Shi'a leader in Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIf Syria Falls, Expect a Pop in Oil Prices

Americans troubled more by governmental abuse than terrorism

"In the dozen years since 9/11, frequent polling conducted by Fox has suggests that the majority of Americans have all the while said they’d give up their freedoms for the sake of security. Only with the latest inquiry though are those answers reversed: the last time a majority of Americans opposed giving up privacy for security was May 2001. Not only are Americans more opposed now to giving up personal freedoms for the sake of security than they were after 9/11, but other statistics show that distrust against the federal government continues to climb." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmericans troubled more by governmental abuse than terrorism

Public Approval of Supreme Court Falls to All-Time Low

"The U.S. Supreme Court finished its term with big decisions on voting rights, affirmative action and same-sex marriage. Following those rulings, public approval of the court has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded in more than nine years of polling. Just 28% believe the Supreme Court is doing a good or an excellent job. At the same time, 30% rate its performance as poor. That’s the highest-ever poor rating. It’s also the first time ever that the poor ratings have topped the positive assessments. These numbers are even weaker than the numbers recorded following the Supreme Court ruling upholding the president’s health care law last year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPublic Approval of Supreme Court Falls to All-Time Low