military industrial complex

Will Grigg: “No Hesitation”

"Among the training targets are images depicting 'non-traditional threats,' such as pregnant women, children, and grandmotherly women – in other words, 'Little People' – carrying guns. The company’s marketing team explains that the 'non-traditional targets' were created at the request of police officers and trainers, who are seeking to dis-inhibit the killing instincts of police 'when deadly force is required on subjects with atypical age, frailty or condition…. This hesitation time may be only seconds but that is not acceptable when officers are losing their lives in these same situations….'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Grigg: “No Hesitation”

Air Force erases drone strike data amid criticisms

"Quietly and without much notice, the Air Force has reversed its policy of publishing statistics on drone strikes in Afghanistan as the debate about drone warfare hits a fever pitch in Washington. In addition, it has erased previously published drone strike statistics from its website." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAir Force erases drone strike data amid criticisms

Anthony Gregory: Obama’s Persecution of Bradley Manning

"The word 'hero' is thrown a lot quite a bit, but Manning surely fits the bill. He put his life and liberty at risk to expose what he viewed as very wrong. He exposed the mistreatment of prisoners and murderous strikes conducted by the Bush administration in Iraq and the Obama administration in Afghanistan. He has already paid a price most of us will never know, and the rest of his life he might very well be destroyed. He sacrificed everything for his country, for innocent victims of the U.S. government, and for the cause of truth. His best hope might be that some day a president pardons him." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnthony Gregory: Obama’s Persecution of Bradley Manning

Rand Paul’s Misplaced Celebration

"Neither Bush nor Obama have ever claimed the authority to assassinate innocent Americans. The authority they have always claimed has been to assassinate guilty Americans (and guilty foreigners)—that is, those people who are guilty of being terrorists. Well, guess who decides whether a person is a terrorist. You got it! The president makes that determination. And once he decides that a person is a terrorist in his global 'war on terrorism,' that’s the end of the discussion. Under our post-9/11 system of government, neither the president nor the military nor the CIA is required to explain, justify, or even acknowledge the assassination." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRand Paul’s Misplaced Celebration

McCain calls Paul, Cruz, Amash ‘wacko birds’ after CIA director filibuster

"Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is continuing to criticize his fellow Republicans for their filibuster of incoming CIA Director John O. Brennan over drone policy. In an interview with the Huffington Post, McCain referred to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) as 'wackos.' McCain and Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) took strong exception to the filibuster, saying they support the possible use of drones to prevent terrorist attacks anywhere in the world. Some Republicans have privately worried that the high-profile stand, while garnering a lot of positive attention, will ultimately be bad for the party." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMcCain calls Paul, Cruz, Amash ‘wacko birds’ after CIA director filibuster

Democratic senator votes against CIA nominee: Too many Bush-era policies continue

"Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon voted against John Brennan’s nomination to be the next director of the CIA, saying he was too cozy with the policies of the Bush administration. Merkley listed warrantless wiretapping, the lack of rights given to those deemed 'enemy combatants,' and the use of drone strikes as his primary concerns. The Democratic senator doubted that Brennan, who has defended warrantless wiretapping, would alleviate his concerns. Brennan has been closely associated with the use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Pakistan, Yemen and other countries. In a 2012 speech, he insisted the practice was legal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDemocratic senator votes against CIA nominee: Too many Bush-era policies continue

Will Grigg: What Holder Really Said

"Like all statements from people who presume to rule others, this brief message from Holder – – who is Nickolai Krylenko to Obama’s Josef Stalin – should be read in terms of the supposed authority claimed thereby. What Holder is saying, in substantive terms, is that the President does have the supposed authority to use a drone to kill an American who is engaged in 'combat,' whether here or abroad. Under the rules of engagement used by the Obama Regime in Pakistan, Yemen, and Afghanistan, any 'military-age' male found within a targeted 'kill zone' is likewise designated a 'combatant,' albeit usually after the fact." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Grigg: What Holder Really Said

Pepe Escobar: El comandante has left the building

"Compare it with US President Barack Obama - in what sounds like a dormant cut and paste by some White House intern - reaffirming US support for 'the Venezuelan people'. Would that be 'the people' who have been electing and re-electing Chavez non-stop since the late 1990s? Or would that be 'the people' who trade Martinis in Miami demonizing him as an evil communist? El Comandante may have left the building - his body defeated by cancer - but the post-mortem demonization will go on forever. One key reason stands out. Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves in the world." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: El comandante has left the building

Top 5 moments of Rand Paul’s filibuster

"It was a long, hard slog for viewers and participants in the filibuster of the vote to confirm new CIA chief John Brennan, most notably for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who, we are sad to say, found time to invoke Hitler and the Nazis, but never in the 13 hours of testimony, resorted to reading aloud from the latest edition of the Ron Paul Family Cookbook. Here are a few highlights of the filibuster, which, although clearly futile in that Brennan’s appointment is all but inevitable, we hope will be entertaining enough to help you weather the disappointment of not having Rep. Ron Paul’s family recipes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTop 5 moments of Rand Paul’s filibuster

McCain blasts Rand Paul’s filibuster as a ‘political stunt’

"Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) tore into Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) 'ridiculous' 13-hour filibuster, chastising the junior senator for a speech that was 'not helpful' and not in keeping with Republican orthodoxy on the terror war. McCain also quoted from a Wall Street Journal editorial that mocked Paul. 'If Mr. Paul wants to be taken seriously, he needs to do more than pull political stunts that fire up impressionable libertarian kids in college dorms,' the editorial jibes. Still, McCain emphasized that 'if someone is an enemy combatant, that enemy combatant has nowhere to hide: not in a cafe, not anywhere.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMcCain blasts Rand Paul’s filibuster as a ‘political stunt’