military industrial complex

Obama doesn’t believe secret NSA surveillance violated privacy rights: chief of staff

"While he defended the surveillance, McDonough said 'the existence of these programs obviously have unnerved many people.' He said Obama 'welcomes a public debate on this question because he does say and he will say in the days ahead that we have to find the right balance, and we will not keep ourselves on a perpetual war footing.' Revelations of the NSA’s broad monitoring of phone and Internet data has drawn criticism that the Obama administration has extended, or even expanded, the security apparatus the George W. Bush administration built after the September 11, 2001, attacks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama doesn’t believe secret NSA surveillance violated privacy rights: chief of staff

Effort to block NDAA indefinite detention fails in U.S. House

"Indefinite detention remains in effect, but this week an effort was made to fix the problem with the Smith-Gibson amendment to the 2014 NDAA act. This bi-partisan amendment, sponsored by Republican Chris Gibson of New York and Democrat Adam Smith of Washington, would have guaranteed any detainee a trial and prohibited the transfer of anyone arrested in the United States to military custody. As happened with the substantially similar Smith-Amash amendment last year, this effort failed by a close 226 to 200 vote on the floor of the House." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEffort to block NDAA indefinite detention fails in U.S. House

Jordan wargames: Patriot batteries, F-16s and 4,500 US troops near Syrian border

"Multinational military exercise 'Eager Lion' has been launched in Jordan amid condemnation from neighboring Syria and its ally Russia. The US brings Patriot missile batteries to the Syrian border, which could remain deployed afterwards. The exercises will last for 12 days, bringing together about 8,000 personnel from 19 countries, mostly Arabic, but also including the US and Europe. The maneuvers will also involve some 3,000 Jordanian and 500 British troops. The US military revealed it may indefinitely leave behind the Patriot batteries and F-16s deployed in Jordan due to the threat of the violence in Syria crossing into Jordanian territory." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJordan wargames: Patriot batteries, F-16s and 4,500 US troops near Syrian border

CIA preparing to deliver Syrian rebels weapons through Turkey and Jordan

"The CIA is preparing to deliver arms to rebel groups in Syria through clandestine bases in Turkey and Jordan that were expanded over the past year in an effort to establish reliable supply routes into the country for nonlethal material, U.S. officials said. The bases are expected to begin conveying limited shipments of weapons and ammunition within weeks, officials said, serving as critical nodes for an escalation of U.S. involvement in a civil war. Syria experts cautioned that the opposition to Assad remains a chaotic mix of secular and Islamist elements, highlighting the risk that some American-provided munitions may be diverted from their intended recipients." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCIA preparing to deliver Syrian rebels weapons through Turkey and Jordan

Tech Companies Concede to NSA Surveillance Program

"When government officials came to Silicon Valley to demand easier ways for the world’s largest Internet companies to turn over user data as part of a secret surveillance program, the companies bristled. In the end, though, many cooperated at least a bit. The negotiations shed a light on how Internet companies, increasingly at the center of people’s personal lives, interact with the spy agencies that look to their vast trove of information — e-mails, videos, online chats, photos and search queries — for intelligence. They illustrate how intricately the government and tech companies work together, and the depth of their behind-the-scenes transactions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTech Companies Concede to NSA Surveillance Program

Welcome to Utah, the NSA’s desert home for eavesdropping on America

"The $1.7bn facility, two years in the making, will soon host supercomputers to store gargantuan quantities of data from emails, phone calls, Google searches and other sources. It was designed to be largely anonymous. Instead, after Guardian disclosures of data-mining programs involving millions of Americans, the Utah Data Center provokes an urgent question: what exactly will it do? 'Revelations about surveillance did not prove abuse of power,' said Bluffdale’s mayor, Derk Timothy. 'I don’t think they crossed the line. They’ve been good partners to us, especially when it comes to water. They’ve been building that facility as if they’re going to stay forever.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWelcome to Utah, the NSA’s desert home for eavesdropping on America

David Galland: Scenarios

"No one can predict the future – the world is too complex, and a big part of that complexity comes from the human species in which all traits, good and bad, are present. (Is there such a thing as an armadillo with bad character? A bunny rabbit?) When people with bad character, or even good character but suffering from delusions, backed by the full power of the state make it their business to protect you against an unforeseeable future, and approach their task with the idea that individual rights should play a distant second fiddle to the greater good, it's time to be cautious." Continue reading →

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FBI director claims NSA spying could have prevented 9/11

"The FBI has shrugged off growing congressional anxiety over its surveillance of US citizens, claiming such programs could have foiled the 9-11 terrorist attacks and would prevent 'another Boston'. In a frequently heated debate over balancing privacy and security, Mueller went further than other government officials in claiming that the collection of data on all American phone calls had become an essential part of counter-terrorism efforts and would make the US 'exceptionally vulnerable' if watered down. He also rejected calls from technology companies such as Google to disclose the scale of the programs, saying even this information could help terrorists." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI director claims NSA spying could have prevented 9/11

Bill Bonner: What the Papers Aren’t Reporting About the NSA Scandal

"Booz Allen earned $1.3 billion pretending to protect approximately nobody from a mostly non-existent threat. What it was actually doing was helping the feds snoop on the law-abiding people who pay the bills. The company shareholders get rich. Its executives get rich. Ex-public servants walk through the revolving door into the company's plush offices... and they get rich too. What's not to like? And who's going to oppose more anti-terrorism spending? But wait, there's more!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: What the Papers Aren’t Reporting About the NSA Scandal

James Bamford: The Secret War

"Tens of thousands of people move through more than 50 buildings—the city has its own post office, fire department, and police force. But as if designed by Kafka, it sits among a forest of trees, surrounded by electrified fences and heavily armed guards, protected by antitank barriers, monitored by sensitive motion detectors, and watched by rotating cameras. To block any telltale electromagnetic signals from escaping, the inner walls of the buildings are wrapped in protective copper shielding and the one-way windows are embedded with a fine copper mesh. This is the undisputed domain of General Keith Alexander, a man few even in Washington would likely recognize." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJames Bamford: The Secret War