Bill Bonner: Here’s Proof That Wealthy Elites Control Washington

"We had no proof. Just an observation. But it looks to us as though government always begins and ends as a tool for those who control it. It is not the product of a 'social contract.' It is not an expression of the 'general will.' It is not the 'price we pay for civilization.' It is not 'captured by wealthy special interests.' On the contrary, it is as blunt and stupid as a crowbar. It is used by the elite to pry wealth, status and power away from everyone else. Few victims of the public school system believed us, but now cometh a study from Princeton and Northwestern universities proving we were right." Continue reading

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Here’s Proof That Wealthy Elites Control Washington

War Is a Certainty

"Any country that is considering waging war against another country should first consider that the loser is almost always the country that runs out of money first. No venture is more costly than warfare. The EU and the US are bankrupt now. Those presently living in those locales may escape actual duty in the military, but they will unquestionably be expected to pick up the tab through taxation. Those who presently feel that their obligations to their governments are already barely manageable might wish to consider what they will be, both during and after a major war." Continue reading

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Is The NSA Changing Bank Accounts?

"The panels' recommendations are heartening because they are overwhelmingly critical of the NSA; the panel went so far as to unanimously call for splitting up the agency and for safeguards such as transparency. This is another surprise because the panel was hand-picked by Obama and included the die-hard loyalist Cass Sunstein and former CIA deputy director Michael J. Morell. Obama quickly indicated his rejection of some of the panels' recommendations. Meanwhile, everyone should make sure they have a print copy and a screen shot of their latest financial statements on hand. People should consider holding assets in a less conventional place than large and 'trusted' financial institutions." Continue reading

Continue ReadingIs The NSA Changing Bank Accounts?

Cybersecurity: The NSA’s Big Budget Action Movie

"The exercise had an awesome name, inspired by the movies: 'Quantum Dawn 2.' On July 18, scads of U.S. banks, stock exchanges and government agencies took part in a digital fire drill — a practice run in the event all of Wall Street came under massive cyberattack. The scope of this exercise was systemwide, full-on meltdown. 'In some cases,' reads a new account of the exercise from Reuters, 'a blue chip stock started to plummet inexplicably. Soon, shocking news about the company hit the market, but unbeknownst to the participant, the news was fake. For others, trading systems were on the fritz, or government websites stopped functioning.'" Continue reading

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FBI Releases Information on Michael Hastings

"The FBI has posted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) release regarding Michael Hastings, the reporter who died in a fiery car crash in June. The bureau released what it says is the only material found in FBI records that mention Hastings. The release is 21 pages in total and contains copies of articles written by Hastings, along with heavily redacted FBI notes. The FBI states these are the only records the have on Hastings and that it had no investigative interest in Hastings." Continue reading

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Seymour Hersh on bin Laden death: ‘One big lie, not one word of it is true’

"Seymour Hersh has got some extreme ideas on how to fix journalism – close down the news bureaus of NBC and ABC, sack 90% of editors in publishing and get back to the fundamental job of journalists which, he says, is to be an outsider. Holding court to a packed audience at City University in London’s summer school on investigative journalism, 76-year-old Hersh is on full throttle, a whirlwind of amazing stories of how journalism used to be; how he exposed the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, how he got the Abu Ghraib pictures of American soldiers brutalising Iraqi prisoners, and what he thinks of Edward Snowden." Continue reading

Continue ReadingSeymour Hersh on bin Laden death: ‘One big lie, not one word of it is true’

Seymour Hersh on bin Laden death: ‘One big lie, not one word of it is true’

"Seymour Hersh has got some extreme ideas on how to fix journalism – close down the news bureaus of NBC and ABC, sack 90% of editors in publishing and get back to the fundamental job of journalists which, he says, is to be an outsider. Holding court to a packed audience at City University in London’s summer school on investigative journalism, 76-year-old Hersh is on full throttle, a whirlwind of amazing stories of how journalism used to be; how he exposed the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, how he got the Abu Ghraib pictures of American soldiers brutalising Iraqi prisoners, and what he thinks of Edward Snowden." Continue reading

Continue ReadingSeymour Hersh on bin Laden death: ‘One big lie, not one word of it is true’

Seymour Hersh on bin Laden death: ‘One big lie, not one word of it is true’

"Seymour Hersh has got some extreme ideas on how to fix journalism – close down the news bureaus of NBC and ABC, sack 90% of editors in publishing and get back to the fundamental job of journalists which, he says, is to be an outsider. Holding court to a packed audience at City University in London’s summer school on investigative journalism, 76-year-old Hersh is on full throttle, a whirlwind of amazing stories of how journalism used to be; how he exposed the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, how he got the Abu Ghraib pictures of American soldiers brutalising Iraqi prisoners, and what he thinks of Edward Snowden." Continue reading

Continue ReadingSeymour Hersh on bin Laden death: ‘One big lie, not one word of it is true’

Seymour Hersh on bin Laden death: ‘One big lie, not one word of it is true’

"Seymour Hersh has got some extreme ideas on how to fix journalism – close down the news bureaus of NBC and ABC, sack 90% of editors in publishing and get back to the fundamental job of journalists which, he says, is to be an outsider. Holding court to a packed audience at City University in London’s summer school on investigative journalism, 76-year-old Hersh is on full throttle, a whirlwind of amazing stories of how journalism used to be; how he exposed the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, how he got the Abu Ghraib pictures of American soldiers brutalising Iraqi prisoners, and what he thinks of Edward Snowden." Continue reading

Continue ReadingSeymour Hersh on bin Laden death: ‘One big lie, not one word of it is true’

Seymour Hersh on bin Laden death: ‘One big lie, not one word of it is true’

"Seymour Hersh has got some extreme ideas on how to fix journalism – close down the news bureaus of NBC and ABC, sack 90% of editors in publishing and get back to the fundamental job of journalists which, he says, is to be an outsider. Holding court to a packed audience at City University in London’s summer school on investigative journalism, 76-year-old Hersh is on full throttle, a whirlwind of amazing stories of how journalism used to be; how he exposed the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, how he got the Abu Ghraib pictures of American soldiers brutalising Iraqi prisoners, and what he thinks of Edward Snowden." Continue reading

Continue ReadingSeymour Hersh on bin Laden death: ‘One big lie, not one word of it is true’