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.
Who exactly coined the term ‘Nazi’. as it ain’t military?”.
Did anyone else die during WWII?.
Snowden Showing Dangerous Symptoms of Patriotism:
https://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/10/15-8
http://www.thenation.com/article/153993/human-rights-history?page=full
So here’s why US Zionists think human rights is bullshit.
Moyn says human rights fell on deaf ears, a project of UN machinery only, no independent meaning, no one cared about it for decades, etc., etc. The United Nations Association would be kind of surprised to hear that, since they were noticeable enough to be subject to constant hysterical denunciation by the John Birch society as ‘one-worlders’ and ‘eastern-seaboard internationalists.’ W.E.B. Dubois would be kind of surprised to hear that too, since he grounded the NAACP’s petitions to the UN on human rights, and got purged as a commie for his troubles. Where is the Bricker Amendment in this account, and the Dulles Doctrine? Fact is, the US government forged a bipartisan consensus that the state had to be exempt from human rights at home. The US government intently suppressed human rights, but still, it’s human rights’ fault because… it didn’t catch on.
Moyn says self-determination of peoples got lost in the sauce. Except, self-determination of peoples is article 1 clause 1 of the ICCPR and the CESCR, the binding legal implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These took a couple of decades to come into force because the two great statist powers, US and USSR, fought a generation-long war of attrition against binding human rights. A hundred countries ratified the ICCPR before the US did.
Human rights are vague, Moyn says (that’s easy to maintain when you never cite the covenants or general comments). But, Bush used human rights as a rallying cry? Bullshit. Nice try, tarring human rights with that unsavory association, but Bush’s administration was totally infiltrated by Federalist Society opponents of ‘treaty law.’ They bailed out of the Human Rights Commission and hid from the Human Rights Committee. Human rights scared them shitless.
The estimable editor of the Brandeis History of Modern Jewish thought and Modern Judaism seems to have a sideline in deconstructing human rights. Gee, whose bonos does that cui?
Human dignity and worship of God = Islam. Remove the dignity and the NWO is best lovely cherisher of Islam.
Pathetic that humans get a thril out of disturbing the dignity of others. Human dignity starts with the ability to ignore the microwaves of hate that penetrate our souls from tyranny and its slaves.
AlcAnon
“The actions of GCHQ/MI6/whoever would appear to be a criminal offence in Belgium. Whatever you think about Belgium refusing to supply weapons to the UK that does not appear to be a criminal offence.”
1st sentence – you’re very probably right.
2nd sentence – you are certainly right. What I love about this blog is the way commenters keep moving the goalposts : did I say the Belgian refusal was a criminal offence? I didn’t? So why do you throw up this aspect, rather than just admit that the actions of Belgium’s EU and NATO ally the UK (assuming it was the UK) are no more “unfriendly” than the action (or rather, non-action) of the UK’s EU and NATO ally Belgium during the Falklands War?
I’m sure you understand the point and what I find mildly interesting is that none of you who have commented can bring yourselves to just accept it and move on.
Ultimately, computer security is dependent on trust. If you build your own hardware and software, you are trusting your own competence to do the job right. If you’re not an electronic engineer and programmer, then you trust others to be competent and honest in their production of hardware and software for your secure use.
There have been many questions raised over the trustworthiness of hardware manufacturers. Intel was shown to have embedded unique global identifiers in their CPUs and no doubt some microcode for special ops.
Printer manufacturers have enabled their printers to produce ID codes in the printed output that is unreadable to the naked eye. So if you run off a few thousand dollars in counterfeit bills or write an angry letter to the president of the world – you could be caught.
Chinese manufacturer, Huawei, is currently under intense PR pressure from the US with accusations that their network hardware has been constructed with backdoors. It’s all very plausible, very logical but it also puts the spotlight on American manufacturers like Cisco. As if Americans are above spying on their friends, allies and rivals – hah!
So, once again, I say that the fundamental problem is one of trust. Computer systems are so complicated that it is unreasonable to expect political activists and business operators to be expert in protecting their information assets and activities. Having said that, I can see a good commercial opportunity for someone to produce certified, high security systems for online browsing and comms. But who could be trusted to produce such a system with the clout to resist harrassment? Remember Lavabit?
@Nevermind
“Clark is right, shooting targets specificallly in the areas desribed is highly unlikely.
I have shot various calibre’s over 1000 yards and to snipe specifically, i.e. aim for someone’s particulars, is very hard, unless you have top of the range kit, especially if they are moving or running, the whole PR of this report is shite.”
Well given that the sniping was taking place in an urban area I suspect the chance is that the range was somewaht less than 1000 yards – and are you really saying that no one in Syria has top of the range kit? The wikipedia link gave quite a lot of details about sniper accuracy and the ranges of different types of rifle – and none of its demonstrates that Nott’s account may be “shite” as you term it.
What I find interesting is how many here are all too willing to apply the presumption of innocence to teh Assad regime, and will jump to his immediate defence once anyone even suggests that he may just have been ever so slightly naughty – but when it comes to an MSF doctor with a past history of doing decent things that presumption of innocence immediately changes into the opposite just on the basis of one nice comment about Tony Blair. Does anyone remember how the Soviet Union’s fellow travellers often applied similar techniques.
As for the capitals in peoples names – I’m afraid that is something that automatically happens in the tablet I was using – and as far as I can see the tablet concerned has no cut and paste function (an ideal Xmas present for someone we all know?). The rest of the capitals was genuine shouting.
Daniel Rich (or is it someone else?)
And what was the point of that particular intervention? Please explain. I wonder who coined the term sock puppet?
RD, I said its shite, because it sounds shite, but not impossible. That does not mean I give Assad a hand up, he will be judged by Syrians.
He is attacked specifically as an Alawite and by more than one sectarian group, all of them with their own goals and disunited, so it is not impossible for anyone who’s pressured to use such tactics.
There is no law against shooting someone in the head or chest, once shot you are injured, wars are horrid and harry Patch was right.
This sounds more like its the choice of the snipers, and the MSM who picked up on Mr. Notts report making a meal of it.
Some points about overnight’s posts when I was absent.
What I think about Blair is irrelevant to the facts of the BBC/Times/Independent output of the Nott Syrian sniper propaganda. Yes Clark I do overreact when I hear Blair’s name mentioned. He is not a ‘nice man’ in any way. He is a criminal, a warmonger and has the blood of millions of dead and injured Iraqis on his hands, let alone the creation of millions of widows, orphans and refugees. Many of the latter ended up in Syria of course and have had to leave that country because of the war which we are prolonging with our covert support.
Blair presumably received private medical care from Mr Nott. The rest of us will be going hang when the full privatisation of the NHS, which he continued from the Thatcher and Major model, kicks in. Credit cards at the ready then and/or proof of medical cover if you can afford the premiums!
Jemand issues an undertaking to stop using an abusive and slanderous name for me if I ‘moderate’ my posts. Villager giggles in agreement in an infantile manner. There are 8 mentions of the name here now. The trolls resort to bullying but I will not ‘moderate’ (they mean stop) my posts about Israeli atrocities carried out against the captive Palestinians, until the atrocities stop.
RD I have read and read what you wrote:
‘If you bothered to read the link that I provided you would see that David Nott had also worked in Gaza. http://www.msf.org.uk/article/occupied-palestinian-territories-msf-now-operating-second-gaza-hospital‘
I can see NO mention of Mr Nott in the piece.
There are many NGO set ups in Occupied Palestine and Gaza including the long established organisation Medical Aid for Palestinians co founded by an orthopaedic surgeon
after she had witnessed the Sabra and Shatila horrors.
Dr Swee Chai Ang FRCS – A founding Trustee of MAP, she is an orthopaedic consultant surgeon at the London and St Bartholomew’s Hospital Trust. Working in Beirut during the 1982 invasion, she also witnessed and survived the massacre at Sabra and Shatila, writing “From Beirut to Jerusalem” about her experiences. She returned to London to help form MAP and, as the first chair of the projects committee, helped launch the volunteer programme in 1985. She has also co-authored the “Manual of War Surgery” and received the coveted ‘Star of Palestine’ award from the late President, Yasser Arafat.
http://www.map-uk.org/what-we-do/who-we-are.aspx
~~
Al Shifa Hospital has been bombed and shelled by the Israelis in their attacks on Gaza in 2012 Pillar of Cloud and 2008 Cast Lead.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/gaza-doctors-rebuild-medical-center-destroyed-israel/11995
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israeli-officials-use-fake-graphic-justify-bombing-gaza-hospitals
These latter facts should make the trolls think and also ask themselves why there is a need for plastic and restorative surgery in Gaza. Do they know that there is methodical sniping by the IDF of teenage boys working near to the Gaza border, mostly into their legs.
Incident: Shooting of children working near the border
Location: North Gaza, Occupied Palestinian Territory
Number of incidents: 23
Date of incidents: 26 March to 23 December 2010
Date of issue: 16 October 2010
Last update: 29 December 2010
http://www.dci-pal.org/english/doc/press/UA_4_10_Children_of_the_Gravel_UPDATE_29_DEC_%202010(b).pdf
Correcting that last link.
http://www.dci-pal.org/english/doc/press/UA_4_10_Children_of_the_Gravel_UPDATE_29_DEC_%202010(b).pdf
A surgeon who worked in Gaza throughout Cast Lead is Mads Gilbert. A heroic and charismatic man whom I was lucky to meet when he spoke in London. During his talk there was disruption from a known member of the JNF.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mads_Gilbert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3DQCQc3R64 Three parts
At the time of the attack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG1q7Z-DWec
RD. 9 09am
“What I find interesting is how many here are all too willing to apply the presumption of innocence to teh Assad regime, and will jump to his immediate defence once anyone even suggests that he may just have been ever so slightly naughty…”,/em>
Can you link some examples. I must have missed them. Thanks in advance.
Indubitably, you are a scrounger, a rotter, lazy …….. (remember?)
While the technical arguments are raging about the technicalities, there is a slight oversight; for a standing army to use snipers is to target the specific enemy targets with precision, and accuracy.
On the other hand a bunch of terrorists and hooligans bent on creating havoc and mayhem will be using this fucking tactic to its fullest extent. As you have already mentioned, the “terrorists” come “rebels” are outside elements and mostly criminals, rapists, murderers, and cut throats, these will be all too ready to use the sly and hidden positions to open fire on population.
After all whose houses are these fuckwtis using as trenches?
Stormfront Mary, stop pretending that you’re an intrepid journalist doing the dangerous work of collecting information in the warzone and reporting it to an audience who has no other means of reading about such things elsewhere. You’re a garden variety internet gnome, so get over yerself.
I’m quite supportive of the reporting of real Isr@eli atrocities and political developments in that area but that is only about 1% of what you cut and paste here (after we’ve already read about it on a real news website). Your only ‘original’ contribution within your plagiarised commentary is the predictable scoff-n-sneer that is prepended or appended for dramatic and emotional effect. No analysis, no follow-up discussion. Just cut-n-paste, scoff-n-sneer.
Most of the crap you dump-and-run on here is standard anti-establishment and anti-J3wish gossip and rumour absent of any of the wisdom, humour and intelligence that you laughably claimed for yourself on a previous page. That kind of low-value shite belongs on crackpot websites like Stormfront that help lonely crackpots share their interest in cracked pottery.
So please try to *moderate* your posts as per dictionary definition, not imaginary euphemism, to add value, focus, clarity and real purpose to your otherwise unreadable posts, thank you.
A comment from Jon Donnison on the BBC report on the Australian fires. Donnison reported for the BBC in Gaza previously.
‘Analysis
Jon Donnison
BBC News, Sydney
New South Wales’s worst fires in more than a decade look to be far from over.
After several cooler days giving firefighters some respite, hot weather has returned with temperatures expected to rise. The coming week will be difficult and dangerous. Hopes of rain seem to have vanished.
Predicted high winds pose a particular threat allowing fires to jump containment lines.
The state of emergency will allow authorities to force people to leave their homes if necessary. Many will not know what they’ll find when they get to return. Hundreds have already lost everything.
People here are well used to living with the threat of bushfires but not so early in the season. It’s not even summer here yet.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology recently announced the past year was the country’s hottest on record. It’s leading some to ask the inevitable questions about the impact of climate change.’
20 October 2013
Australia bushfires: New South Wales declares state of emergency
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24599925#
I hope that friends who emigrated to live near Sydney are safe and everyone else too.
Jane Corbin on the al Hilli family murders, preliminary to tomorrow’s Panorama.
Alps murders: French police ‘covering up’, says brother
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24476624#
@10.51am That makes 9 mentions of the slander.
The ozzie nunce throwing his weight around is shoving the “stormfront” (respect for freedom of expression) left right and the middle just to make sure his credentials of “whywontgodhealamputees” and why wont god let us have free beer, and shit.
In an attempt to perpetuate the “Jewish” hatred myth which is based on religious hatreds, but hey who give a fuck when it comes to a ziofuckwit who is on record; “Well it’s quite clear that this blog’s comment section doesn’t need me to tear itself up ” Note the notation used as per the Talmudic imperatives. Spweing shite all over the board.
‘All the access comes through Texas’ humdydum.
The US is trying to improve its relations with seemingly every country it spies upon; and for what? So that companies such as HSBC get away with drugmoney laundering?
So that the cross border arms tarde seizes? Not a word its good business and keeps the Mexicans shooting each other.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/nsa-hacked-email-account-of-mexican-president-a-928817.html
‘Operation Flat liquid’ another of Snowdens disclosures first conjoured up a picture of Apartheid lovey jemand, also called various other apt names, sitting in his shared swimming pool holding the laptop aloft and ‘keeping cool’ from the ravages
But behold it was a mere Fata Morgana, in reality the breaches of trust will take much longer to heal than the ravages of Australia’s annual bonfires, lets hope it rains for them.
Finally the vatican is making moves to rid itself of Mafia money in its banks, some 300 million Euros of alledgedly illicit loot.
Could this be the real reasons why strange fruit hang of London Bridges.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/officials-order-clients-to-close-accounts-as-part-of-vatican-bank-cleanup-a-926818.html
The stark reality of tomorrow:
The year is 2040. There have been riots in the streets of London after Britain has run out of petrol because of an oil crisis in the Middle East. Protestors have attacked public buildings. Several policemen have died. Consequently, the government has deployed the army to curb the protests.
After two days the protest has been stopped but twenty-five protesters have been killed by the Army. You are the Prime Minister. Write the script for a speech to be broadcast to the nation in which you explain why employing the Army against violent protesters was the only option available to you and one which was both necessary and moral..
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/05/eton-scholarship-question-how-british-elite-are-trained-think
Thanks Mark G., these ‘rethorical’ questions might not be designed to reflect reality in the future, they are preparatory brain washing for similar situations.
These youngsters are being groomed and their parents think its great that they receive a great indoctrination/education, turning them into level headed thinkers.
There is no difference between these sweet boys being prepared to be ‘morally nasty’, to the military brainwashing recrutis into deadly killing machines.
Should we disengage with the state and decentralise power, once a Green party policy with guts, but since they elected a central leader, a mere remote dream? Now there is a question.
Should we refuse indoctrination by a morally disfunct church, a morally ethically and financially disfunct state and from a biased fraudulent tax system that only serves the rich?
The feeling of animosity possessed by Jemand and directed at me is the result of my outing of his racist views on the immigrant boat people arriving in Australia (now being sent to Narau) and the native Aboriginal Australians whose lives are a misery. I must remember not to upset the trolls!
an·i·mus (n-ms)
n.
1. An attitude that informs one’s actions; disposition.
2. A feeling of animosity; ill will
I see their Border Agency’s activities are referred to here as ‘Operation Sovereign Borders’. That will give Mrs May ideas. Rescued and then dumped on islands for ‘offshore processing’. Nice.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/rescued-asylum-seekers-in-detention-as-abbott-heads-to-indonesia/story-fn9hm1gu-1226729980300
I suppose very few immigrants, if any, live in homes in the suburbs of Sydney and beyond where the fires are.
Spelling s/be Nauru, not Narau.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/nauru/10192187/Asylum-seekers-riot-on-tiny-island-of-Nauru.html
RD.
Wassamadda said I’m silly pretending to have a grown-up debate with you ‘cos once you did’nt answer A Node’s original and perfectly reasonable question it was clear you just wanted a scrap.
A Node. 1.29pm yesterday
“If you’d heard someone question the honesty of the sobbing nurse who described Saddam’s troops throwing babies out of their incubators, would you have said: “What a pathetic and cowardly attack on a good woman who gives of her own time and skills to help those injured in the conflict in Iraq.”?
She said you just want to let off steam…. nothing that a night with the Luskus Sisters and a bunch of gwari-figs won’t cure, but Brawni said if she got her hands on you she’d give you something real to worry about and that’s after you’d removed the prikki gourd from yo….
Thanks to Kwami, who led her off at that point to move the Mother Stone across the Dance-patch you are probably safe…. for the moment!
“What I think about Blair is irrelevant to the facts of the BBC/Times/Independent output of the Nott Syrian sniper propaganda.”
You clearly did not believe that when you first posted.
The reference to Nott working in Gaza was in my previous post – I added the last post your referenced to afterwards.
Nevermind – Have we ‘bought’ into this system or have we been conditioned and grown accustomed to this paradigm. On our present level of consciousness we are doomed, dead ducks, sentenced to a life of ‘incoherant’ bickering, ego-sparing with each other and slavery.
We can fight back; we are many; it just takes a small leap in thinking to connect with each other and intend to evolve.
Sofia
I didn’t answer the question re the incubators as it was pretty obvious that it was a leading question and to where it was leading – it was also pretty irrlevant to the matter in hand. It would be very easy for me to make up similar questions for you to answer – but that would just be silly and diverting wouldn’t it?
But will it be a gradual disgust with the state or an eruptive one?
Will the City of London soon be fenced off to anyhting but their own ilk? will the great unwasched realise that they don’t have to go to London for their protests?
And finally is this the time for a modern Communist revival on the basis of crass inequality, poverty, a them and us system? a federation of decentralised autonomous counties that runs themselves and selecting/appointing/pulling out of a hat their representatives for a central parliament that is dependent on its various regions?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Wagenknecht
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_USA
He looks nothing like anybody in the family, well maybe the way he looks don yonder.