Ray McGovern and the Sam Adams party have presented the Sam Adams award to Edward Snowden. I am delighted. This from Ray’s account of the event:
In brief remarks from his visitors, Snowden was reassured — first and foremost — that he need no longer be worried that nothing significant would happen as a result of his decision to risk his future by revealing documentary proof that the U.S. government was playing fast and loose with the Constitutional rights of Americans.
Even amid the government shutdown, Establishment Washington and the normally docile “mainstream media” have not been able to deflect attention from the intrusive eavesdropping that makes a mockery of the Fourth Amendment. Even Congress is showing signs of awaking from its torpor.
In the somnolent Senate, a few hardy souls have gone so far as to express displeasure at having been lied to by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and NSA Director Keith Alexander — Clapper having formally apologized for telling the Senate Intelligence Committee eavesdropping-related things that were, in his words, “clearly erroneous” and Alexander having told now-discredited whoppers about the effectiveness of NSA’s intrusive and unconstitutional methods in combating terrorism.
Coleen Rowley, the first winner of the Sam Adams Award (2002), cited some little-known history to remind Snowden that he is in good company as a whistleblower — and not only because of previous Sam Adams honorees. She noted that in 1773, Benjamin Franklin leaked confidential information by releasing letters written by then-Lt. Governor of Massachusetts Thomas Hutchinson to Thomas Whatley, an assistant to the British Prime Minister.
The letters suggested that it was impossible for the colonists to enjoy the same rights as subjects living in England and that “an abridgement of what are called English liberties” might be necessary. The content of the letters was so damaging to the British government that Benjamin Franklin was dismissed as colonial Postmaster General and had to endure an hour-long censure from British Solicitor General Alexander Wedderburn.
There has been a determined attempt by government to justify the need to intercept everybody’s communications, all the time. We have, yet again, had MI5 claim there are many thousand violent Islamic terrorists running around the UK, (yet somehow not managing to kill anybody). The cry of “paedophiles” is raised, as always. I can imagine them suggesting the entire population be shot dead, and justifying it as making sure they get the paedophiles. The tabloids would go with that.
There still had not been a single credible claim by the mainstream media that any named individual has died, despite that contingency being trotted out all the time as the reason Snowden and Manning should not have revealed state crimes and abuse of power. I am hopeful that, with the internet still largely free to the dissemination of information, out next massive whistleblower is only weeks away.
Michael Moore has a picture: http://michaelmoore.com/
https://dwoq5s27enw2w.cloudfront.net/uploads/manual_img/13/10/snowden1.jpg
Congratulations!
@ Me In Us,
side note:
Q: Michael Moore has a picture:
R: F! Now I need 3 screens.
Completely agree. Nothing has more opened my eyes to the corruption of much of our ‘mainstream media’ than their toadying to MI5 and the CIA over Snowden. Just read Stephen Glover in today Mail and weep – he even has the nerve to call himself a journalist. The security services and the military are constantly looking at new ways of empire-building, so the ‘threat’ will never go away.
Warning. Emetic.
Hillary Clinton honoured for diplomacy by Duke of York
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been presented with this year’s Chatham House Prize in recognition of her contribution to international diplomacy.
The central London institute also commended Mrs Clinton for her work towards gender equality and opportunities for women and girls.
Hillary Clinton received the crystal award and a scroll signed by The Queen from Prince Andrew.
The annual prize is awarded at Banqueting House in Whitehall to the statesperson deemed to have made the greatest contribution to improving international relations in the previous year.
Earlier husband Bill Clinton tweeted a photo of the power couple enjoying a “beautiful morning walk” in Hyde Park. Credit: Twitter/@billclinton
http://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-10-11/hillary-clinton-handed-diplomacy-prize-by-prince-andrew/
~~
‘Air Miles’ Andy has just returned from jetting round the world, partly at our expense, when visiting Indonesia and Vietnam. He probably thinks he’s B.Liar! Note that he has joined RUSI, the warmongers’ think tank. who funded the rest of the 21,000 mile journey.
Globetrotting Prince Andrew under fire over New York stopover during ‘official’ world tour to have dinner with Eugenie as she starts new job
Prince met with youngest daughter during final leg of ‘official’ world tour
Think tank Royal United Services Institute subsidised Prince’s expenses
Palace insists the rest of New York stay was paid by the Prince himself
The body has appointed Prince Andrew to its board of advisors
He was accompanied on his trip by his publicly funded security team
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2445416/Globetrotting-Prince-Andrew-New-York-stopover-official-world-tour-dinner-Eugenie-starts-new-job.html
@ me in us 11 Oct, 2013 – 10:18 pm
The end is near. I find myself on the same side as Michael Moore re Snowden, so he’s not all bad. But there’s a surplus of him; the percentage of not-all-bad is very small. The vile fatist jokes won’t stop. Sorry. Sorta.
I sense a change in America. Obama blinked over Syria, no question. Obamacare is in trouble and the shutdown means FEMA are poised. Maybe now that it’s fracking its way out of the need for foreign oil, America is turning inwards.
Hopefully that isn’t bad news for ordinary Americans. All that Homeland Security has to find some kind of threat, doesn’t it?
Mike, ever thought why Alaskan oil fields are not getting exploited? The drilling goes on but the wells are capped and out goes the rig to drill the next well.
Libya was producing oil, when Iraq was attacked, as the Iraqi oil production plummeted, then just as Iraqi oil production was picking up, the Libyan oil goes off line. Ever thought why the arc of instability covers the current oil production fields, and on goes the charade of the “oil is finished any minute now”?
The kabuki is about propping up the fiat currency which is getting churned out by the tonne on the high speed presses, and the hike in oil prices means the world is soaking up the extra dollars shoved into the world, so that the empires sponsors and underwriters are getting richer as they tax the rest of the world.
There is no shortage of oil, but there is a glut of dollars that is driving the wars. As all good things come to an end, the free ride of US is nearing its ignominious end. The cracks have been appearing for far too long. Do you recollect the years of turmoil in the ex soviet block orbit countries before the USSR fell apart?
No one suspected (so they said) that USSR will implode, but it did, as no one suspects that US will implode, but it will do so too. Hang on to your hat, it is coming and when it hits, you will know it.
But the rich can take fucking comfort, that they will be eaten by the poor, after all the well looked after soft pink flesh will be much more desirable to the taste than the crap fed and over worked slaves and zombies roaming the streets. The rich fucking deserve it, for long they have been working to this end, just like the guy in Germany, who wanted to be eaten.
It is an interesting situation; on one hand there is a distrust of the corporate media, on the other the memes propagated by the said untrustworthy culprits with a fire hose, cloud the thinking of those wishing to break free from the crap on tap available 24/7/52.
Sorry to burst your bubble, Mike, but the shutdown has overshadowed every other piece of news, and the narcissism and ethnocentrism is unabated. The republicans are poised to cave on their demands, and even a weak-kneed Obama seems to tower over their carcasses.
As for FEMA, the US sees themselves as the marketing test for Agenda 21, and they want everyone to know it’s not a genuine threat. Of course that excludes any events not under their control, like terrorism or comets.
WIKILEAKS – SNOWDEN
Six new videos of Edward #Snowden in Moscow; with Sarah Harrison – Wikileaks Twitter –
– http://wikileaks.org/Video-Edward-Snowden-wins-Sam.html
Wikileaks Twitter –
– https://twitter.com/wikileaks
@ Nevermind
Angola [Syria too, but, hey, that’s been dealt with as we speak] LINK
@ NR,
MM’s docus are/were Miramax/Weistein Bro productions [at least most].
@ Ben,
Been wondering about FEMA/DHS for a while and my geustimation is that all that gear is purchased for when the shit hits the fan. I found an article by Ellen Brown on Gordon Brown very interesting. Btw, how about a permanent shutdown of the NSA/DHS and all other agencies sucking the living daylight out of the gov’s perpetually refilling trough?
Mike,
The fracking story isn’t what it is made out to be – this isn’t the time or the place for the full gory details. But yes it is something but don’t believe the over-hype. The US is still a massive net importer of oil and that isn’t going to change (short of collapse). Heck the USA is still a net importer of natural gas despite many years of fracking!
Anybody on for a side bet on the 2015 election. All Labour and Milliband have to do is distribute enough videos of his and Rifkinds Commons contrasting performances during Syria war debate – we had a genuine Milliband pleading for more information about the Ghouta gassing before coming to any decision, as opposed to the Conservatives zio shill Rifkind thundering for war on Camerons behalf, based on YouTube videos and 8200 intercepts. Thanks to CM and others raising doubts based on Trodos,etc the truth finally emerges, the gassing of the 426 (Alawite) children was a contrived Bandar operation and Netanhayu’s “live” intercepts and missile information were fake.
Losing the upcoming 2015 election would be a fair price for Cameron to pay for this attempted MONSTROUS deceit, and we will be saved the spectre of the Gove,Hague and Fox FOIs shilling away, in dread of genuine 8200 held “intercepts” of their twin hotel room Hershey Highway cameos!!
Reference fracking.
Over 865,200 Gallons of Fracked Oil Spill in North Dakota
Public in Dark for Days Due to Government Shutdown
by Steve Horn / October 11th, 2013
http://dissidentvoice.org/2013/10/over-865200-gallons-of-fracked-oil-spill-in-north-dakota/
‘Over 20,600 barrels of oil fracked from the Bakken Shale has spilled from a Tesoro Logistics pipeline in Tioga, North Dakota in one of the biggest onshore oil spills in recent U.S. history.
Though the spill occurred on September 29, the U.S. National Response Center – tasked with responding to chemical and oil spills — did not make the report available until October 8 due to the ongoing government shutdown.
“The center generally makes such reports available on its website within 24 hours of their filing, but services were interrupted last week because of the U.S. government shutdown,” explained Reuters.’
!!
Kedem Forever
A Gove adviser – Who and what the Cons really, really are.
Genetics outweighs teaching, Gove adviser tells his boss
Dominic Cummings’ 250-page paper attacks fear of elitism and waste of billions of pounds, and calls for slimmed-down ministry
Coulson obviously thought that Cummings was toxic but Poison Gove did not see it and saw Cummings as fitting for his elitist agenda.
‘One of the best-known and most controversial of many special advisers working in government, Cummings is due to leave Gove at the end of the year. He worked in the department for two years, having previously advised Gove before the election, although his appointment within the department was initially blocked by David Cameron’s then director of communications, Andy Coulson, who regarded Cummings as untrustworthy.’
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/oct/11/genetics-teaching-gove-adviser
I expect you read that the head of one of Gove’s ‘free’ schools who had no teaching experience has just left her post after six months.
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/oct/09/free-school-head-no-teaching-qualifications-leaves-job
Anti-Taliban propaganda offensive contd.
Was this visit was prearranged on the assumption that she would win the Nobel prize?
Malala meets the Obombers. Ironic when you think he has dispatched many of her fellow citizens, man, woman and child, by drone.
Malala Yousafzai meets Obamas at White House
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24504652#
PS Taliban = Mujahideen = funded and trained by USUKIsNATO to fight the Russians!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mujahideen#Afghanistan
And the Nobel prize for agriculture goes to ” MONSANTO ”
http://action.sumofus.org/a/world-food-prize-monsanto-syngenta/
Manchurian Malala – “Malala is the bravest, sweetest girl I have ever met in my entire life”. They’re not doing all this for nothing, she’s going to be the next Bhutto.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/10374549/Malala-Yousafzai-meets-the-Obamas-at-the-White-House.html
O/T
“Arafat poisoning claim backed by journal”
Lancet publishes peer review supporting findings Palestinian leader may have been poisoned by polonium
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/10/arafat-poisoning-claim-backed-journal-2013101215735508974.html
“Anti- Taliban propaganda offensive”???
Ah, yes, those poor Talibs are so misunderstood by the Evil West. All they want is a fair and progressive society, with women’s rights and freedom of expression for all. Yes, Mary, vile propaganda it is, having one’s face shot for attending school. Poor, poor Taliban.
http://dawn.com/news/1048776/malala-the-real-story-with-evidence
More Mary c&p drivel:
“Reference fracking.
Over 865,200 Gallons of Fracked Oil Spill in North Dakota
Public in Dark for Days Due to Government Shutdown”
865, 200 gallons? The mind boggles at such a figure, as it is intended to.
Until one realises that an Olympic-sized swimming pool contains 660, 000 gallons.
So not a very significant spill as it turns out.
Only the other day we had Mary whinging about high energy prices (a large part due to environmental taxes), now we have Mary whinging about fracking in the US, which has reduced energy prices there considerably. No pleasing some!
Be careful anon of challenging Mary’s pronouncements – exercising the freedom to disagree is just proof of your bourgeois deviance. The next thing will be that they accuse you of being the school bully – and her none too clever sidekicks will turn up with their side line in none too original insults. What you will never get is a thing like a serious counter argument or anything amounting to an intellectual challenge. The leader of the gang has already made the position clear.
Ignore the tag team simpletons.
Incidents of destitute people setting themselves alight in Manchester and Birmingham, and in the US and France.
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/thread/1381569830.html
The British Red Cross are stepping in to the food aid programmes in this country.
Exclusive: Red Cross launches emergency food aid plan for UK’s hungry
Welfare cuts and the economic downturn send soaring numbers of people to soup kitchens and food banks across Europe
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/exclusive-red-cross-launches-emergency-food-aid-plan-for-uks-hungry-8872496.html
Where next Agent Cameron and our own male version of Cruella de Vil, IDS?
~~
Royal news catchup.
Pipps will be OK though in these times of hardship. She can eat pheasant!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2446132/Having-pheasant-break-Pippa-poses-50-dead-birds-shooting-trip-Scotland.html
Her little nephew George will be spending Christmas with both sets of grandparents at Sandringham. Granny Queen has just had a £6.9m pay rise so she will be able to get some nice treats and goodies for the family party. What a jolly time awaits them!
http://global.christianpost.com/news/prince-george-first-christmas-at-sandringham-queen-elizabeth-invites-middleton-family-106459/
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/436014/Queen-down-to-last-million-as-she-gets-22-per-cent-pay-rise
“Ignore the tag team simpletons.”
Did you bother to read Resident Dissident’s post before performing that spectacular own goal, Jives?
Mary drivels on, this time from the Mail’s celeb trash column:
“Royal news catchup. Pipps will be OK though in these times of hardship. She can eat pheasant.”
Though not a common sight in the leafy lanes of suburban Surrey, where most birds tend to get run over by Waitrose home delivery vans, pheasants are two a penny during the shooting season, as any fule no. So our resident Glenda Slagg can get on with writing tomorrow’s headline: “Hurrah for Pipps for dining on cheap poultry!”
I was genuinely shocked to read Mary’s post about destitute people setting themselves alight in Manchester and Birmingham.
So I clicked on the link.
And it turns out that a man on benefits set fire to the telephones in his job centre.
Saudi-Israelia seek to destroy Syria: Expert
“So our resident Glenda Slagg” – more of a Davina Spart I think – reporting from deep undercover with the huddled masses of Surrey working to protect the local wildlife from being converted into pate for delivery to the local fascisti in the vans of the faux workers co-operative.
Tut tut – such frivolity when people are setting fire to telephones.
I am sort of chuckling (no offence) at the idea of there being a ‘hard-line’ faction of neo-conservatives. Given the luantic nonsense your average neo-conservative spouts daily, I am truly disturbed at the idea that there is a fringe-group that there is a faction that is even worse.
But there is though, isn’t there? These neo-conservatives truly are fucking insane. I’m quite sure they talk idly about rolling out the ‘tactical’ nukes, and accepting a 10 year war with Putin as part of the price. Loons, all of them. Loons with power, and influence at that. Shudder.