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Thousands flood Istanbul’s protest square after police clashes

"Thousands of demonstrators squared off against riot police on Tuesday and defiantly packed an Istanbul square after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned he had 'no more tolerance' for the mass protests against his Islamic-rooted government. The nationwide unrest first erupted after police cracked down heavily on May 31 on a campaign to save Gezi Park from redevelopment. The trouble spiralled into mass displays of anger against Erdogan, who is seen as increasingly authoritarian, tarnishing Turkey’s image as a model of Islamic democracy. Four people, including a policeman, had died. Nearly 5,000 people have been injured." Continue reading →

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Bradley Manning’s trial is no more than a ‘judicial lynching’

"The military trial of Bradley Manning is a judicial lynching. The government has effectively muzzled the defense team. The Army private first class is not permitted to argue that he had a moral and legal obligation under international law to make public the war crimes he uncovered. The documents that detail the crimes, torture and killing that Manning revealed, because they are classified, have been barred from discussion in court, effectively removing the fundamental issue of war crimes from the trial. Manning is forbidden by the court to challenge the government’s unverified assertion that he harmed national security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBradley Manning’s trial is no more than a ‘judicial lynching’

State Department personnel running amok with drugs and ‘hookers on foreign soil’

"CBS News obtained excerpts from a draft of an Inspector General inquiry into another incident involving 'hookers on foreign soil.' This time, however, rather than Obama’s Secret Service detail getting into trouble abroad, it was the security detail charged with protecting then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The report called the problem of U.S. foreign service employees hiring sex workers while abroad 'endemic' and cited eight different incidents. In 2011, the State Department ordered investigators to halt investigation into a U.S. ambassador who routinely left his post and 'ditched his security detail' to have sex with prostitutes in a public park." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Department personnel running amok with drugs and ‘hookers on foreign soil’

This is the Moment

"We have been seeing this transformation ever since 9/11, and the beginning of the Global War on Terror. Civil liberties have been eroded for the sake of 'protecting us from the terrorists'—with the result that the government has been gaining more and more knowledge of the citizenry. This knowledge of the citizenry means control of the citizenry by the government. By applying a panopticon model to the people—which is what these NSA revelations prove—then every man, woman and child in America is not only controlled by the U.S. government: They are effectively prisoners of the U.S. government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThis is the Moment

Bob Higgs: What the State Fears Most—Revelations of the Truth about the State

"The rulers can continue to plunder and bully the great mass of people only as long as the people believe the Biggest of All Big Lies, which is that the government seeks to be, and is, their essential protector and general benefactor. The Ellsbergs, Mannings, Assanges, and Snowdens, rare as they are, demonstrate that the government’s pose as protector and benefactor is nothing but a ruse to hide its essential nature and functioning. The only protection the rulers aim to provide us is the kind that a shepherd provides his sheep—protection from anything that interferes with his exclusive ability to determine how and when the sheep will be sheared and slaughtered." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBob Higgs: What the State Fears Most—Revelations of the Truth about the State

Edward Snowden And The Disruption Of Government

"What I want to focus on in this post is not Snowden himself, but what he represents, and what this may mean for governments and peoples over the next few decades. I believe we are in the midst of a centuries-long shift of power from state entities to the people those states have traditionally governed. What exactly the result of this evolution will be I don’t know, but I believe 'the State' as we know it has a limited lifespan and what replaces it, while perhaps imperfect, will be an improvement in terms of peace and prosperity. It can be explained in part by examining the research and teachings of noted icons of the business world Clayton Christensen, John Boyd, and Sun Tzu." Continue reading →

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Out of a Spy Movie: How Glenn Greenwald First Met Edward Snowden In Person

"The source had instructed his media contacts to come to Hong Kong, visit a particular out-of-the-way corner of a certain hotel, and ask — loudly — for directions to another part of the hotel. If all seemed well, the source would walk past holding a Rubik’s Cube. So three people — Glenn Greenwald, a civil-liberties writer who recently moved his blog to The Guardian; Laura Poitras, a documentary filmmaker who specializes in surveillance; and Ewen MacAskill, a Guardian reporter — flew from New York to Hong Kong about 12 days ago. They followed the directions. A man with a Rubik’s Cube appeared." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOut of a Spy Movie: How Glenn Greenwald First Met Edward Snowden In Person

Senator Feinstein: U.S. authorities are vigorously pursuing Edward Snowden

"Under the PRISM program, revealed by Snowden, the NSA can issue directives to Internet firms like Google or Facebook to win access to emails, online chats, pictures, files, videos and more, uploaded by foreign users. On Monday, rights watchdog the American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion with the FISA court demanding it publish its findings as to the scope and constitutionality of its powers to trawl Internet and phone records. 'The government appears to have secretly given itself shockingly broad surveillance powers,' ACLU staff attorney Alexander Abdo said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenator Feinstein: U.S. authorities are vigorously pursuing Edward Snowden

Riveting and Chilling: Victims of IRS Targeting Tell Their Stories on Capitol Hill

"Testifying on Capitol Hill Tuesday, witnesses from Tea Party, pro-life and patriotic educational groups from around the country testified about their experience of intimidation and targeting from the Internal Revenue Service. Witnesses described being sent hundreds of pages from the IRS asking invasive questions about members, books, contents of prayers and the names of anyone attending meetings, including children." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRiveting and Chilling: Victims of IRS Targeting Tell Their Stories on Capitol Hill

IRS Buying Spying Equipment: Covert Cameras in Coffee Trays, Plants

"The IRS, currently in the midst of scandals involving the targeting of conservative groups and lavish taxpayer-funded conferences, is ordering surveillance equipment that includes hidden cameras in coffee trays, plants and clock radios. The IRS wants to secure the surveillance equipment quickly – it posted a solicitation on June 6 and is looking to close the deal by Monday, June 10. The agency already has a company lined up for the order but is not commenting on the details." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS Buying Spying Equipment: Covert Cameras in Coffee Trays, Plants