Western Intel

The “Dark Side”: Secret Evidence, Illegal Searches, and Dubious Traffic Stops

"The DEA’s Special Operations Division is one of several tools the government uses to hide the origins of criminal investigations nationwide, in potential violation of constitutional protections. In a report released today, 'Dark Side: Secret Origins of Evidence in U.S. Criminal Cases,' Human Rights Watch documents the use of parallel construction by federal and local police agencies, finding the practice is used in the United States 'frequently and possibly even daily.'"

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Senate Shuts Down Rand Paul Filibuster Against Surveillance Act Renewal

"Today's vote means reforms to provide stronger Fourth Amendment protections from unwarranted searches will not happen and a filibuster can't actually stop the scheduled vote. The USA RIGHTS Act is essentially dead, unless the full vote fails. (Spoiler: Since the renewal bill survived a cloture vote, it won't fail.)"

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Alfred McCoy: Tweeting While Rome Burns

"In just one extraordinary year, Trump has destabilized the delicate duality that has long been the foundation for U.S. foreign policy: favoring war over diplomacy, the Pentagon over the State Department, and narrow national interest over international leadership. But in a globalizing world interconnected by trade, the Internet, and the rapid proliferation of nuclear-armed missiles, walls won’t work. There can be no Fortress America."

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James Corbett: How To Engineer A Crisis

"Are you a dictator in need of public support for your latest draconian clampdown on dissent? Or a deep state plotter hoping to topple a foreign government who doesn't comply with your every wish? A low-level Machiavellian schemer looking for the ultimate trick for defeating your enemies without lifting a finger? Then look no further than this handy-dandy guide to 'How To Engineer A Crisis.'"

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Pakistan Suspends Military And Intelligence Cooperation With US

"Kahn emphasized 'a wide field of intelligence cooperation and defense cooperation have been suspended,' but added the supply lines for NATO troops in Afghanistan would remain open. There was little mention of the fate of CIA drone bases operating in the country."

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House Extends Surveillance Law, Rejecting New Privacy Safeguards

"The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to extend the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program for six years with minimal changes, rejecting a push by a bipartisan group of lawmakers to impose significant privacy limits when it sweeps up Americans’ emails and other personal communications. Effectively, the vote was almost certainly the end of a debate over 21st-century surveillance and privacy rights that broke out in 2013 after the leaks by the former N.S.A. contractor Edward J. Snowden."

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Renewal of FISA Section 702 with ‘abouts’ collection slated for Thursday

"The powers in question allow the government to target foreigners overseas, collecting their communications. But Americans’ communications — even those in the U.S. — can be snared if they are part of conversations that the targets are having. The bill allows 'abouts' collection, which is when the government scoops up communications that mention a target, even if he or she isn’t the sender or receiver."

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Ron Paul on Iran Protests…CIA Fingerprints?

"Is it just a coincidence that the biggest protests since 2009 have hit Iran shortly after a secret agreement was revealed between Washington, Tel Aviv, and Riyadh to destabilize Iran? And shortly after a new Executive Order was issued by President Trump allowing him to seize US assets of anyone he deems a 'human rights abuser' ...or anyone who aids a designated 'human rights abuser'?"

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The Deep State’s Christmas Present to America: Surveillance That Never Ends

"The Trump Administration has been actively lobbying Congress to reauthorize Section 702 in its entirety. Now, according to The Intercept, Trump is actively considering a proposal to establish his own global, private spy network that would circumvent official U.S. intelligence agencies and answer directly to the White House. If approved, this would be yet another secret government agency carrying out secret surveillance and counterintelligence, funded by a secret black ops budget that by its very nature does away with transparency, bypasses accountability and completely eludes any form of constitutionality."

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