military industrial complex

UK deploys toy-sized spy drones in Afghanistan

"British troops in Afghanistan are now using 10-centimeter-long 16-gram spy helicopters to survey Taliban firing spots. The UK Defense Ministry plans to buy 160 of the drones under a contract worth more than $31 million. The remote-controlled PD-100 PRS aircraft, dubbed the Black Hornet, is produced by Norwegian designer Prox Dynamics. Each drone is equipped with a tiny tillable camera, a GPS coordinate receiver and an onboard autopilot system complete with gyros, accelerometers and pressure sensors, which keeps it stable in flight against winds as strong as 10 knots, according to reviews." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUK deploys toy-sized spy drones in Afghanistan

Seattle Mayor Orders Police to Dismantle Its Drone Program After Protests

"In an amazing victory for privacy advocates and drone activists, yesterday, Seattle’s mayor ordered the city's police agency to cease trying use surveillance drones and dismantle its drone program. The police will return the two drones they previously purchased with a Department of Homeland Security grant to the manufacturer. In May of last year, we urged concerned citizens to take their complaints to their local governments, given Congress has been slow to act on any privacy legislation. The events of Seattle proves this strategy can work and should serve as a blueprint for local activism across the country." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSeattle Mayor Orders Police to Dismantle Its Drone Program After Protests

Paul Craig Roberts: It Has Happened Here

"Some Americans claim that we have had police states during other wartimes and that once the war on terror is won, the police state will be dismantled. Others claim that government will be judicious in its use of the power and that if you are doing nothing wrong you have nothing to fear. These are reassurances from the deluded. The Bush/Obama police state is far more comprehensive than Lincoln’s, Wilson’s, or Roosevelt’s, and the war on terror is open-ended and is already three times longer than World War II. The Police State is acquiring 'squatter’s rights.' Moreover, the government needs the police state in order to protect itself from accountability." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: It Has Happened Here

Former Target Store Manager to Oversee Nation’s Nuclear Security

"Ever since last summer, when a 82-year-old nun broke into the Y-12 nuclear weapons complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the National Nuclear Security Administration has scrambled to improve its leadership and beef up security at America's nuke facilities. Now it appears the agency has found the man for the job: NNSA has named as its acting head of nuclear security Steve Asher, a retired Air Force colonel who less than four years ago was working as a 'team leader' at a Target store in Spokane, Washington. Prior to that, he commanded a missile base in Montana that flunked a nuclear security test within five months of his departure." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer Target Store Manager to Oversee Nation’s Nuclear Security

Judge Napolitano on Obama’s Drone Strike Policy: ‘This Is the Power Claimed by Kings and Tyrants’

"'It says 'any informed high-level U.S. government official can strip an American of his or her constitutional protections and order the killing of that American if the person is overseas, if it's difficult to arrest that person,' said Napolitano, explaining that the memo does not clearly define what 'imminent danger' to the United States means. 'This is the power claimed by kings and tyrants. This is about as un-American a power as one could imagine,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Napolitano on Obama’s Drone Strike Policy: ‘This Is the Power Claimed by Kings and Tyrants’

Disarm the police, not the citizens

"Every response by law enforcement seems to resemble a wartime situation these days, something one would think that Americans would be concerned about. Yet, for a nation that was born with a suspicion of standing armies and that wouldn’t tolerate the existence of one during peacetime, virtually no one objects to the increasingly aggressive tactics of local, state and federal police, often acting jointly to address routine local crimes. One can already imagine the response by apologists for the all-powerful state. 'If that’s what it takes to keep our children safe, then it’s worth it.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDisarm the police, not the citizens

Defense Secretary Panetta admits the Pentagon and Clinton supported arming Syrian rebels

"Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday admitted for the first time that the Pentagon had backed proposals to arm the Syrian opposition battling to oust President Bashar al-Assad. The idea was first floated by former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who met privately with David Petraeus, then CIA chief, in the summer of 2012 as the fighting raged in Syria. They proposed vetting rebel groups and training fighters in a plan which they presented to the White House, according to the New York Times, citing administration officials." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDefense Secretary Panetta admits the Pentagon and Clinton supported arming Syrian rebels

Incoming CIA Director John Brennan refuses to say whether waterboarding is torture

"At his confirmation hearing on Thursday, President Barack Obama’s nominee for CIA director refused to state whether or not waterboarding was a form of torture. When pressed by Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, John Brennan said the simulated drowning technique should be banned. However, he repeatedly declined to label the practice torture." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIncoming CIA Director John Brennan refuses to say whether waterboarding is torture

Newspapers accused of ‘shameful’ complicity for hiding existence of secret U.S. drone base

"US news organisations are facing accusations of complicity after it emerged that they bowed to pressure from the Obama administration not to disclose the existence on a secret drone base in Saudi Arabia despite knowing about it for a year. On Tuesday, following Monday’s disclosure by NBC of a leaked Justice Department white paper on the case for its controversial targeted killing programme, the Washington Post revealed it had previously refrained from publishing the base’s location at the behest of the Obama administration over national security concerns. The New York Times followed with its own story." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNewspapers accused of ‘shameful’ complicity for hiding existence of secret U.S. drone base