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.
Zionists make the same mistake NeoCons commit. Too clever by one-half.
If the poor in the US were to organize outside the corrupt Party system, by their sheer numbers, they could prevail. Much smarter to provide life’s necessities and keep the mob mollified. Give them cake instead of the business end of a cudgel.
Stick with farm-raised fish.
http://rt.com/news/fukushima-leak-radioactive-overflow-469/
Today’s suspicious observers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BD8pk6PfG8&feature=c4-overview&list=UUTiL1q9YbrVam5nP2xzFTWQ
Macky,
“There’s ESOl, who is Anon but not before be was “For the return of Habba and Free Speech”, inbetween being Anon with Shades, a bit after he was Anon 3, but not much later than when he was Anon 2, was was preceded by Anon 1, being the alter ego of the Habbu-Clown Troll.”
I post only as Anon (with shades), Macky, so you’ll have to get used to the fact that there’s more than one person who thinks you and your pals stink of shit.
Good job HRW and AI…..now about Israel.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/10/22-0
Is ESOI meant as a corruption of Esau? It could be one ‘hairy’ experience.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esau
If you are not careful, “Israel Everywhere”, our cold, hard Stalinist, St. Mary, will again fail to detect your satire. She has a chronic sense of humour deficiency!
“My name is Ishmael” is the opening to the great novel Moby Dick, but really, what’s in a name?
Most folks don’t know that the Abrahamic promise had an interloper named Ishmael.
His mother, Hagar was the concubine who gave birth to Abrahams first son, Ishmael.
Sara, Abes wife, seemed barren and the promise of YHWH to honor Abe’s bloodline with a direct descendant to the Messiah was losing good faith.
But the promise was fulfilled and Isaac was born to Sara.
Now, about the red-headed step child…….cast him out to Cast Lead.
Mackry,
Further to my post of 4:13 pm, there is only one possible explanation for how the name “Mary” popped up in your ‘Name’ box.
It is that you have posted as Mary.
Ben,
If you could put down your peace pipe for one minute, you will notice that “ESOI” bears little resemblence to “Esau”, but nice try at finding a Jooish connection.
” nice try at finding a Jooish connection.”
It’s pretty easy. ANd you really don’t know much about linguistics/etymology, do you?
Prince Bandar is threatening to scale back intelligence ties with the US, according to WSJ. So we’ll have Saudi-funded heart-eaters fighting CIA-funded “moderates” in Syria while a Russian-armed regime battles to keep an Anglo-French-created country intact.
Maybe Bandar will keep his promise to bomb the Sochi Olympics, now that he’s throwing his toys out of the pram.
To the poster whose name is in Hebrew: Cast Lead killed 1,417 Palestinians— 300 of them kids — while 13 Israelis died, 10 of whom were soldiers. Definitely a “rain of death” over Gaza; more of a light shower over Israel…
Mike; I think he already stated he likes the disproportionate slaughter.
ESLO
“I’m surprised Habba hasn’t come back on the subject of Orwell’s “shitty little orthodoxies”. Orwell’s phrase of course came from his essay on Charles Dickens…”
I was going to, ESLO, but hadn’t prioritised it; anyway, thx for finding the source! I do promise to find some choice quotations from Orwell to distribute for free on the blog as and when I feel they will have a salutary effect 🙂
@ All – keep up the oxygen deprivation, I think it’s starting to work.
““My name is Ishmael” is the opening to the great novel Moby Dick”
Sorry to be pedantic but it’s “Call me Ishmael”.
Further to my post of 4:13 pm, there is only one possible explanation for how the name “Mary” popped up in your ‘Name’ box.
It is that you have posted as Mary.
Not true the other possibility is that Mary posts as Macky – but she has already denied that this is the case. There is of course the other possibility that Hasbara Central have installed some malware into Macky computer – confirmation of this will be when Macky starts posting in a more moderate and conciliatory tone – that is of course it is to their advantage to their cause for him to carry on rant mode.
Ben
ESLO – exposing shitty little orthodoxies – see the Orwell references.
Ah, fair enough, Ben. He/she is happy with 300 dead kids. The only democracy in the middle east sure does need a lot of protecting…
See Comet Linear has exploded? Three AU out, or thereabouts. I wonder if it’s fresh from the Oort Cloud like the others?
Preemptive war…now why don’t we look at it that way? Those 300 Palestinian kids would have grown up to be 300 angry adults, so it’s better to take them out before that point. Thus is the future threat neutralised before it even arises.
You have to applaud the farsightedness of such a policy. It’s a perfectly rational strategy for Skynet to adopt.
Cold calculating killing machines. It’s the future.
Zionist terminators!
Hi Grown-ups,
Apologies if my post this morning (8 41am) was a bit intemperate. I slept badly ‘cos I couldn’t get those images of the RCMP pepper-spraying first nation protesters, even babies FFS, out of my head, so I was in a bit of a foul mood when I wrote that.
I see now that the discussion was taken down a bit of a blind alley by my “deliberate infection” claim. I accept, this is not universally accepted, so let me withdraw it for the sake of my main points, which are.
*That pre-technological people are not “primitive” in any sense other than that they have not yet encountered modern industrial technologies and meet their needs with traditional and often ancient tools and locally sourced materials. They explain existence in diverse ways which often appear wrong-headed to those of us raised in modern technological societies but seem usually to work well enough in context. That is not reason enough for us to assume that they are culturally primitive.
*That the arrival of Europeans has been an unmitigated disaster for just about all first peoples.
…
BTW thanks to all who have provided me with free psycho-analysis. You are too kind!
So you made a (gulp) mistake? Dearie me, Miss KN, nobody here makes any of THOSE…
Just don’t engage with those who have no intention of accepting any kind of apology.
You fessed up. Now dodge the flak!
Jemand, these soldiers were killed for lack of food and for being held in dugout in fields after coming back from the front.
Whatever myth you are reading up about on some weirdo websites has nothing to do with me. I do no frequent such websites.
I wanted to research the issue but the only available source for this information, the Red Cross archive in Genf, is refusing to let anybody read the records.
Allied records were destroyed, making it a non event to people who frequent conspiracy websites. Now go and have a try at reading up about ecology.
I do question Israels right to exist, because fasdcists, in my book, have no such rights.
And when someone comes on here who does not know what rain looks or feels like, trying to make out that Palestinian rockets have ‘rained down’ on the hapless Israeli’s, then that is a gross exageration and boring propaganda we all heard many times, yawn.
Israel has been firing missiles at its own people from Gaza and Israel proper, have they not? whether this was a mistake, accident or an attempt to blame Hamas is irrelevant, they were Israeli missiles fired at its own country men, who, by the way, are not all Zionist.
As for you being a good zionist, there is no such thing, moishe, you steal land and imprison children, you harrass AQrabs and Africans in your Apartheid state and your own people are questioning your fascismn.
How did you get to live in this land, presented to you? By the grace of the UN and the world community you so ignore.
Now finish your studies and ask mummy for some more Matzo’s, good boy, and don’t forget to cash in your check from Bibi.
Hear hear!
To continue my earlier analogy.
Terminator: “Give me your clothes, your motorcycle, and your land.”
I’m afraid YHWH gave it to them, Nevermind. Now THERE was a deity who was into murdering children…
Male sky gods always embody the worst aspects of masculinity. Discuss.
Sofia @ 8:41
” If only! Haven’t you noticed what happens to the worlds forest dwellers? They are left in peace only so long as some “civilised” thief doesn’t see a way of turning the forest or what lies beneath it into dosh in their Cayman Island accounts. As soon as that happens they are hunted, deliberately infected, buldozed or pepper-sprayed out of the way, along with all their accumulated knowledge, languages and cultural treasure. Any survivors are required to adopt the belief systems and currencies of their abusers”.
EXACTLY..well said, a solid truth, if there’s Anything of value beneath one’s bare feet you’re fucked.
keep a wee eye out for the new Documentary from John Pilger, to be released soon
The Epic new documentary about Australia. Two years in the making, Utopia reveals a shocking national secret behind the postcard image of the “lucky country”. Utopia is released on 15 November in UK cinemas,
http://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2013/oct/22/john-pilger-utopia-watch-trailer-video
Fedup
Some more on Iraq
Here’s Abby at – Breaking the set – calling to attention the gross underestimation of Iraq War casualties, and calls out the WHO over a report that blatantly covers up the connection between the use of depleted uranium by occupation forces and congenital birth defects among Iraqis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPAObuDv5t4#t=11
Ben
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, in a personal visit to President Truman a couple of weeks before the bombings, urged him not to use the atomic bombs. Eisenhower said (in a 1963 interview in Newsweek):
“It wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing . . . to use the atomic bomb, to kill and terrorize civilians, without even attempting [negotiations], was a double crime.”
There are a number of factors that contributed to the Truman administration’s decision to use the bombs.
1) The US had made a huge investment in time, mind and money (a massive 2 billion in 1940 dollars) to produce three bombs, and there was no inclination – and no guts – to stop the momentum.
3) The fissionable material in Hiroshima’s bomb was uranium. The Nagasaki bomb was a plutonium bomb. Scientific curiosity was a significant factor that pushed the project to its completion. The Manhattan Project scientists (and the US Army director of the project, General Leslie Groves) were curious about “what would happen if an entire city was leveled by a single uranium bomb?” “What about a plutonium bomb?”
The decision to use both bombs had been made well in advance of August 1945. Accepting the surrender of Japan was not an option if the science experiment was to go ahead. Of course the three-day interval between the two bombs was unconscionably short if the Hiroshima bomb was designed to coerce immediate surrender. Japan’s communications and transportation capabilities were in shambles, and no one, not even the US military, much less the Japanese high command, fully understood what had happened at Hiroshima. (The Manhattan Project was so top secret that even Douglas MacArthur, commanding general of the entire Pacific theatre, had been kept out of the loop until five days before Hiroshima.)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-hiroshima-myth-unaccountable-war-crimes-and-the-lies-of-us-military-history/5344436
LATE for jui jitsu Again must rush off.
“If God didn’t exist, it would be necessary to invent him.”
Voltaire
“If God really existed, it would be necessary to abolish Him.”
Mikhail Bakunin
“If I get my hands on that Jemand he’ll wish he’d ksufe regf nds sdfe sdffsadr vn gnbzowv, mdf, and that’s before I fdg sernchuh yk!!! I’ll show him “primitive”!
Brawni of the Wathafeks
BrianF; Jui Jitsu? Tai Chi seems to fit you better.
Sorry about that last post.
You can’t leave a laptop unattended for five minutes round here without someone borrowing it to check their emails or, in this case, make blood-curdling threats.
Luckily the program Lokobok wrote during that unpleasantness with the Oomii over who got to use the Gorge Place during the annual pikki run, scrambled the worst bits.
Suffice it to say that Jemand has joined RD in being a persona non grata within three days paddle of the Great Caldera.
…
Meanwhile, in another world…
http://electronicintifada.net/content/reclaiming-judaism-zionism/12859
“The minimum wage has been increased. You know, it was last increased around 2010. And right now workers have been calling for a more than doubling of the minimum wage, to about $100 a month U.S. dollars.”
Ask for the moon; settle for a Moon Pie. Not to belittle this increase, but can you imagine doubling your pay and getting 100 bucks?
I can hear the shareholders and conservative greed heads moan because this means the Beluga won’t be on the buffet as frequently. What is the true cost of poverty wages?
Well, in the US, so many minimum-wage earners are on food stamps and/or welfare because they can’t even pay the rent. Social services for such persons passes the $7 billion mark every year.
Oh, wait. The avaricious swine-herders don’t want to pay that either.