Winning Hearts & Minds

Groklaw Shuts Down Over U.S. Internet Surveillance

"My personal decision is to get off of the Internet to the degree it's possible. I'm just an ordinary person. But I really know, after all my research and some serious thinking things through, that I can't stay online personally without losing my humanness, now that I know that ensuring privacy online is impossible. I find myself unable to write. I've always been a private person. That's why I never wanted to be a celebrity and why I fought hard to maintain both my privacy and yours. Oddly, if everyone did that, leap off the Internet, the world's economy would collapse, I suppose. I can't really hope for that. But for me, the Internet is over." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGroklaw Shuts Down Over U.S. Internet Surveillance

White House dodges question on Sanjay Gupta’s marijuana reversal

"The White House refused to comment Tuesday on Sanjay Gupta’s vocal support of medical marijuana, continuing a pattern of ignoring the issue. During a press briefing, CQ-Roll Call reporter Steve Dennis asked White House spokesman Josh Earnest if President Barack Obama had any reaction to Gupta’s recent advocacy in favor of medical marijuana. Dennis noted that Obama had once considered appointing Gupta as surgeon general of the United States. 'I have to confess, I did not see the Sanjay Gupta column that you’re referring to, so it is hard for me to comment on it at this point,' Earnest responded." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhite House dodges question on Sanjay Gupta’s marijuana reversal

Judge: California can force-feed inmates on hunger strike

"U.S. District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson, responding to a request by state authorities, ruled that California prison doctors may force-feed select inmates who are near death, even if they had signed orders asking not to be resuscitated. Some 136 inmates are currently taking part in a hunger strike that begun July 8 in prisons statewide to demand an end to a policy of housing inmates believed to be associated with gangs in near-isolation for years. Some 69 of the striking inmates have refused food continuously since the strike began." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge: California can force-feed inmates on hunger strike

Outrageous Julian Assange Tweet By Time Reporter Michael Grunwald

"A TIME magazine reporter caused ire on Twitter Saturday night when he said that he 'can't wait to write a defense of the drone strike that takes out' Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Michael Grunwald's tweet, since deleted, was quickly met with outrage and bewilderment. Glenn Greenwald, who recently broke several revelations about NSA surveillance programs based on documents provided to him by leaker Edward Snowden, was particularly vocal in expressing his disgust with Grunwald's statement. The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOutrageous Julian Assange Tweet By Time Reporter Michael Grunwald

Julian Assange Praised the Paul Family, But He’s Only Half Right

"Assange is certainly right about Ron. The former Texas representative has always been a vocal opponent of his government's liberty-killing actions, including the Patriot Act, the War on Drugs, drone strikes, foreign military bases, and many more. He even praised whistleblowers like Assange, saying they 'expose the fallacies of why we go to war.' But Rand doesn't seem to have the sympathy his father has for whistleblowers. He recently said that Bradley Manning deserved to be tried because of the potential harm his leaks could cause for U.S. agents abroad (note that he used the word 'potential')." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJulian Assange Praised the Paul Family, But He’s Only Half Right

78 Reasons Every American Should Wish Ron Paul a Happy Birthday

"1. He favors sound money. 2. He doesn't care what the legal driving age is. 3. He's a celebrity. 4. He crushes baseballs while wearing a retro Houston Astros uniform. 5. He's not afraid to call Rick Santorum a 'fake' to his face. 6. He thumbs his nose at the establishment. 7. He's suave. 8. He's serious. 9. He enjoys a good laugh. Either that, or he just won the Showcase Showdown. 10. He's for peace, not war. 11. He served in the military, unlike most warmongering politicians. 12. He doesn't go to parties. The parties go to him. 13. He's the only septuagenarian who can pull off the backwards hat look. [..]" Continue reading →

Continue Reading78 Reasons Every American Should Wish Ron Paul a Happy Birthday

CIA admits to helping overthrow Iran’s democratically elected leader in 1953

"The CIA has publicly admitted for the first time that it was behind the notorious 1953 coup against Iran’s democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, in documents that also show how the British government tried to block the release of information about its own involvement in his overthrow. Malcolm Byrne, deputy director of the national security archive, has called on the US intelligence authorities to release the remaining records and documents. 'There is no longer good reason to keep secrets about such a critical episode in our recent past. The basic facts are widely known to every school child in Iran,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCIA admits to helping overthrow Iran’s democratically elected leader in 1953

Bieber and entourage searched by sniffer dogs at Florida airport after drug ‘tip’

"Plain clothes officers and a dog squad swooped on the singer and his crew's luggage as they unloaded on the curb of the airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. TMZ reports law enforcement did not decide to randomly search the luggage but were instead responding to a tip off. According to the site: 'The reason cops searched the bags is because they received an anonymous tip someone in Justin's party had drugs in their luggage. 'Justin's bags, along with the bags of his entourage, were searched. Cops found nothing.' This is not the first time police have searched Justin and his crew." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBieber and entourage searched by sniffer dogs at Florida airport after drug ‘tip’

Yes, We Live in a Communist Country

"Since the hunger strike began in February, the gulag-keepers in Guantanamo Bay have employed the same tactic once used by their Soviet forebears in dealing with dissenters: They have been punishing the hunger-strikers by force-feeding them, an act widely recognized as torture. This involves shackling a victim to a restraint chair, immobilizing his head, and either forcing a feeding tube down his throat, or snaking it down a nasal passage through the alimentary canal into his stomach. Former Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, who underwent force-feeding after being arrested by the KGB and sent to the Soviet psychiatric gulag, has described the experience." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYes, We Live in a Communist Country

Saudi Arabia ready to replace Western military and economic aid to Egypt

"Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries welcomed Egypt’s ouster of Morsi, which infuriated supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s president and sent them to the streets. King Abdullah was the first leader to send a message of congratulations to caretaker president Adly Mansour, who was appointed shortly after the army deposed Morsi following nationwide protests. Saudi Arabia later announced an aid package of $5 billion to Egypt. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates followed suit, bringing the pledges made by the three oil-rich Arab states of the Gulf to $12 billion. The Saudi monarch pledged on Friday the kingdom’s support for Egypt’s fight against 'terrorism'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaudi Arabia ready to replace Western military and economic aid to Egypt