military industrial complex

CNN Says Bradley Manning ‘Betrayed’ America

"From simply complaining about our tap water to being political activists, we now have on the record admission from both state and federal officials that the DHS’ classification of a ‘terrorist’ is broad enough to apply to 100% of the population. In fact, all we have to do to see the true extent of this is to go back to the bombshell report out of a recent German newspaper. The article reveals that the United States military is actually targeting those who oppose genetically modified organisms in the food supply. So, with these numbers, that means at least 93-96% of the US population can now be classified as terrorists under this factor alone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCNN Says Bradley Manning ‘Betrayed’ America

Last Hurrah of the Interventionists?

"In what a Washington Post columnist describes as a rout of Rand Paul isolationism, the Senate just voted overwhelmingly to send another $1.5 billion in foreign aid to Egypt. The House voted 400-20 to impose new sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, two days before Iran’s new president, elected on a pledge to re-engage the West on the nuclear issue, takes his oath. Do these triumphs of AIPAC and the War Party, of neocons and liberal internationalists, tell us where we are going? Or are they the last hurrahs of the interventionists, as America’s long retreat proceeds apace." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLast Hurrah of the Interventionists?

Kill Wasteful Missile Defense Efforts

"In the 30 years, since President Ronald Reagan created his expensive pie-in-the-sky Strategic Defense Initiative—quickly and appropriately named 'Star Wars' by critics and journalists alike—the United States has spent a whopping $250 billion on trying to shoot down fast intercontinental ballistic missiles, such as those that might someday be fielded by Iran and North Korea. This government effort has been a boondoggle, but then huge costs and poor performance rarely cause any government program to be terminated—evidence of this effect is exhibited by the continued flow of money to the project despite three decades of failure." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKill Wasteful Missile Defense Efforts

Ron Paul: Iraq Collapse Shows Bankruptcy of Interventionism

"Millions live in constant fear, refugees do not return home, and the economy is destroyed. The Christian community, some 1.2 million persons before 2003, has been nearly wiped off the Iraqi map. Other minorities have likewise disappeared. U.S. support for the Syrian rebels next door has drawn the Shi’ite-led Iraqi government into the spreading regional unrest. The invasion of Iraq opened the door to al-Qaeda in Iraq, which did not exist beforehand, while simultaneously strengthening the hand of Iran in the region. Were the 'experts' who planned for and advocated the U.S. attack really this incompetent?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: Iraq Collapse Shows Bankruptcy of Interventionism

Watch: How GPS spoofing can take control of drones and ships

"A University of Texas researcher who has hacked the navigational systems of drones and ships told PBS on Friday that anyone with his software could do the same. Humphrey’s and and his graduate students used a technique called 'GPS spoofing,' in which false GPS signals are broadcast that trick a vehicle’s GPS receiver. The researchers first used the technique to commandeer an aerial drone. More recently, they commandeered a ship. Milton Clary of Overlook Systems Technologies told PBS that spoofing attacks posed a huge threat." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWatch: How GPS spoofing can take control of drones and ships

Glenn Greenwald: Congress ‘forced to learn about what the NSA is doing’ from newspapers

"Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald on Sunday chided the U.S. government for claiming it had provided 'robust oversight' of the NSA even though members of Congress were forced to go to his paper to learn about secret programs that gather data on American citizens. 'We keep hearing that there’s all kinds of robust oversight by Congress,' Greenwald said, adding that lawmakers had provided 'very detailed letters trying to get this information and they’re being blocked from getting it and they’ve said, and other members have said that they are forced to learn about what the NSA is doing from what they’re reading in our reporting.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Congress ‘forced to learn about what the NSA is doing’ from newspapers

What Bradley Manning’s life will be like in military prison

"Bradley Manning faces the prospect of years of monotony with no Internet access in a small military prison cell but he would likely be allowed to mix with other inmates and exercise outdoors. The 25-year-old Manning, who has yet to be sentenced, would be able to nominate friends and relatives for visits pending official approval. A handshake, a brief kiss or a hug that does not involve touching below the waist are allowed during visits, and visitors and inmates may hold hands. Prisoners are allowed to telephone friends and family through payphones that may only be used at set times, but they are not permitted to send email or browse the Internet." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Bradley Manning’s life will be like in military prison

Senator Chambliss: NSA program helped gather current ‘terror chatter’

"'There is an awful lot of chatter out there,' Senator Saxby Chambliss, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on NBC’s 'Meet the Press.' He said 'chatter' – electronically monitored communications among terrorism suspects about the planning of a possible attack – was 'very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11.' Chambliss said one of the surveillance programs revealed by former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden had helped. Those programs 'allow us to have the ability to gather this chatter,' he said. 'If we did not have these programs then we simply wouldn’t be able to listen in on the bad guys.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenator Chambliss: NSA program helped gather current ‘terror chatter’

Pentagon Papers Leaker Daniel Ellsberg Praises Snowden, Manning

"Ellsberg, then an analyst with the RAND Corporation, leaked a study of U.S.-Vietnam relations from 1945-1967, known colloquially as the Pentagon Papers, handing over the document to newspapers. The release of the Pentagon Papers proved politically embarrassing for President Richard Nixon and the Watergate break-in, which eventually led to Nixon's resignation, was part of a broader White House effort to identify the source of such leaks. Ellsberg was eventually charged with espionage, theft and conspiracy, but the charges were later dismissed, unlike the case of Army Private Bradley Manning." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon Papers Leaker Daniel Ellsberg Praises Snowden, Manning

US issues global travel alert over Al Qaeda threat, prepares to close embassies

"The State Department issued a worldwide travel alert on Friday to U.S. citizens over an Al Qaeda terror threat as Washington prepared to close its embassies and consulates throughout the Muslim world this Sunday over security concerns. U.S. officials have not offered many details on the nature of the threat, but apparently are taking it seriously. A White House official said Friday night President Obama was being updated on 'a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula.' 'There is a significant threat stream and we're reacting to it,' said Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS issues global travel alert over Al Qaeda threat, prepares to close embassies