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.
Mary – did you mean ad feminam? However, you may distinguish me from the trolls by the fact that I don’t go on and on and on about it. Nor should you, IMHO.
Ends.
I should add that if Labour can go in a genuinely social-democratic direction, it should be broadly welcomed by everyone, on the basis that it expands the democratic space in Britain – which for a long time has been dragged to the centre right. And beyond, one might argue!
Personally, whilst I don’t underestimate the propagandistic power of the corporate media, I think there’s plenty of un-mined space on the moderate left that the Labour party could re-occupy. They would be brave to do so, but it would reconnect them with their membership – numbers hugely down thanks to Brown and Blair – and I think done well it could show electoral gains despite the reactionary response we’d be likely too see from The Telegraph and Spectator magazine.
Boris is winning the charm offensive in China
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10377297/Boris-Johnson-out-charms-George-Osborne-in-China.html
but not with members of the Fire Brigades Union in this country.
Dear Friends,
Thank you for signing the petition, “Save our Fire Stations”. The closures of Belsize, Bow, Clerkenwell, Downham, Kingsland, Knightsbridge, Silvertown, Southwark, Westminster and Woolwich Fire Stations will go ahead on 9 January 2014 unless we act.
On 25 October the University of London Union (ULU) showed solidarity with the firefighters on their pensions and protested against the closure of the Fire Stations. You can watch the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch? feature=player_embedded&v= WRVLrA2PGTA
On 15 October 2013, ULU will be hosting a meeting at 6 pm in the ULU Building in Malet St to unite the individual campaigns against the fire station closures. Please let us know if you have been campaigning actively on behalf of one of these stations and would like to attend.
Meantime, can you continue to spread the word by forwarding the link below to your family, friends and colleagues?
http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-our-firestations
and not with this ULU student.
http://london-student.net/comment/10/07/worried-london-fire-stations-closing-get-stuffed-says-boris-johnson/
we have counter agents who post material we can shoot down in flames who get paid even more
You mean Anon-in-shades? The disguise had me fooled, congratulations. Looking forward to Anon-in-a-moustache. But why? What matters so much? In the absence of any serious response, don’t blame me if I jump to conclusions.
‘We Are All Neocons’ may have been making a point. To which he might have added the joys of being a woman in Saudi Arabia, many living in post-invasion ‘democratic’ Iraq, Libya and Egypt, Syria following our encouragement of an unarmed revolution’s turning into a proxy war, or almost anyone in Uzbekistan. Oh, and apartheid Israel. All bloody rotten. Too many for one poor commentator to deal with (it really needs the multitasking talents of a Blair, doesn’t it?). So I’ll do my best with apartheid Israel, a handful of ‘stans and those in our government who advocate making things worse. For them, or us.
Jon Thanks. I got the impression that the initiative for the Sky immigration offensive had come down the line to Sky from Downing Street in an attempt to steal UKIP’s thunder. I think they (the Cons) are in danger of overdoing it and their timing is wrong too.
This is a new alert from the Medialens editors.
Where Journalism Collides With State ‘Security’: BBC News, MI5 And The Mantra Of ‘Keeping People Safe’
14 October 2013
In our May 13 media alert we highlighted how the state, and a compliant media, relentlessly raise fears of the ‘shadows and threats’ that supposedly assail us. We make no apology for again citing the American writer H. L. Mencken:
‘The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.’
In that alert, we pointed to an edition of BBC Newsnight that was devoted to UK ‘defence’ spending and policy. The BBC’s Gavin Esler introduced and presented the programme from the perspective of government; namely, that:
‘National security is the first duty of government. We will remain a first-rate military power.’
Reflecting, and indeed boosting, state priorities is the default mode of BBC News. Last Tuesday, the flagship News at Ten on BBC1 demonstrated this perfectly when celebrity news presenter Fiona Bruce, who also has The Queen’s Palaces and The Antiques Roadshow on her CV, began with the ominous words:
‘A warning from MI5: Britain’s security is threatened on more fronts, in more ways than ever before.’
/..
http://ow.ly/pMNtY
All day long Osborne and Cameron talked of relaxation for Chinese businesses, schmoozing China’s nuclear industry with lucrative work here, i.e. you bring your cheap labour and build us some cheap and cheerfull PWR’s.
What he’s not talking off is whether these Chinese workers would be allowed to immigrate here, whether Chinese companies will pay taxes here, whether they are supposed to adher to a fair regulatory regime regarding wage, H&S,etc.
or will these Chinese companies operate in a bubble, such as those who work in various African countries. They live in their own quarters and are not allowed to mix.
This journey is to be seen in the shadow of worsening relations with the US and their crippled system. 14 days without redress, Obama seems like a rabbit in the headlights, with Congress seemingly favouring to wreck their federal system of Governance.
So lets hear more about Chinese immigration and mass tourism, what they propose when Chen Wang ( made up) visits his imaginary relatives at some Chinese restaurant in Wales/Scotland/England/Ireland, overstays and then…..gets his residency because he works for a pitance/ zero hour contract at a local library/has married a local.
And then lets hear it for internatinal workers and making it easier for all of us. China is known for its red tape, and corruption,(no different to us) when it comes to letting business into the country. Unless you have a Chinese director of operations you have problems with producing there.
So lets endure a weeks worth of China news and see whether the US goes bust in the meantime.
anon 14 Oct, 2013 – 1:15 pm
Please don’t talk down to me Komodo. You sound sexist too. 😉
Mary,
i think the wee teeny Vatersay Post Office is safe for now, i hear they are closing 9 or 10 branches on the isle of Lewis though, and a few on the Uists, you may be right though that sometime soon enough – the islanders will have to go to Oban for their mail, or as Nevermind sugests a Helicopter drop off Lol
we went to the old dear post master, and her hubby’s “wee do” for they’re 50th wedding anniversary, the “Do” started at 4;30 p.m. and was still going at 10;30 am it was the Barrafest weekend so lots of bands kicking around, including their son’s Vatersay Boy band, it so Amazing how the Vatersay Boys Fill Glasgow Barrowlands to bursting point every xmas, tickets are gold dust Lol
REDIRECT To –
These Lying Bastards –
“The rates for spontaneous abortion, stillbirths and congenital birth defects found in the study are consistent with or even lower than international estimates. The study provides no clear evidence to suggest an unusually high rate of congenital birth defects in Iraq.”
Jaffar Hussain, WHO’s Head of Mission in Iraq, said that the report is based on survey techniques that are “renowned worldwide” and that the study was peer reviewed “extensively” by international experts.
Filthy Lying Scumbags
Backtrack
But the conclusions contrasted dramatically from previous statements about the research findings from Iraqi Ministry of Health (MOH) officials involved in the study. Earlier this year, BBC News spoke to MOH researchers who confirmed the joint report would furnish “damning evidence” that rates of birth defects are higher in areas experiencing heavy fighting in the 2003 war. In an early press release, WHO similarly acknowledged “existing MOH statistics showing high number of CBD cases” in the “high risk” areas selected for study.
The publication of this ‘summary document’ on the World Health Organisation’s website has raised questions from independent experts and former United Nations and WHO officials, who question the validity of its findings and its anonymous authorship. They highlight the existence of abundant research demonstrating not only significant rates of congenital birth defects in many areas of Iraq, but also a plausible link to the impact of depleted uranium.
For years, medical doctors in Iraq have reported “a high level of birth defects.” Other peer-reviewed studies have documented a dramatic increase in infant mortality, cancer and leukaemia in the aftermath of US military bombardment. In Fallujah, doctors are witnessing a “massive unprecedented number” of heart defects, and an increase in the number of nervous system defects. Analysis of pre-2003 data compared to now showed that “the rate of congenital heart defects was 95 per 1,000 births – 13 times the rate found in Europe.”
Politicised science
Dr. Keith Bavistock of the Department of Environmental Science, University of Eastern Finland, is a retired 13-year WHO expert on radiation and health. He told me that the new ‘summary document’ was at best “disappointing.” He condemned the decision from “the very outset to preclude the possibility of looking at the extent to which the increase of birth defects is linked to the use of depleted uranium”, and further slammed the document’s lack of scientific credibility.
“This document is not of scientific quality. It wouldn’t pass peer review in one of the worst journals. One of the biggest methodological problems, among many, is that the document does not even attempt to look at existing medical records in Iraqi hospitals – these are proper clinical records which document the diagnoses of the relevant cases being actually discovered by Iraqi doctors. These medics collecting clinical records are reporting higher birth defects than the study acknowledges. Instead, the document focuses on interviews with mothers as a basis for diagnosis, many of whom are traumatised in this environment, their memories unreliable, and are not qualified to make diagnosis.”
I asked Dr. Baverstock if, given the document’s avoidance of analysing the key evidence – clinical records compiled by Iraqi medics – there was reason to believe the research findings were compromised under political pressure. He said:
“The way this document has been produced is extremely suspicious. There are question marks about the role of the US and UK, who have a conflict of interest in this sort of study due to compensation issues that might arise from findings determining a link between higher birth defects and DU. I can say that the US and UK have been very reluctant to disclose the locations of DU deployment, which might throw further light on this correlation.”
If so, it would not be the first time the WHO had reportedly quashed research on DU potentially embarrassing for the Allies. In 2001, Baverstock was on the editorial board for a WHO research project clearing the US and UK of responsibility for environmental health hazards involved in DU deployment. His detailed editorial recommendations accounting for new research proving uranium’s nature as as a genotoxin (capable of changing DNA) were ignored and overruled:
“My editorial changes were suppressed, even though some of the research was from Department of Defense studies looking at subjects who had ingested DU from friendly fire, clearly proving that DU was genutoxic.”
Baverstock then co-authored his own scientific paper on the subject arguing for plausibility of the link between DU and high rates of birth defects in Iraq, but said that WHO blocked publication of the study “because they didn’t like its conclusions.”
“The extent to which scientific principles are being bent to fit politically convenient conclusions is alarming”, said Baverstock.
How the World Health Organisation covered up Iraq’s nuclear nightmare
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/oct/13/world-health-organisation-iraq-war-depleted-uranium
Nobody likes me
Everybody hates me
Just cos I eat worms…
Assad’s Syria wasn’t all that bad, either. I remember a R4 programme getting quite lyrical about Damascus cafe society a few years back. Sure, it was a surveillance state, but hey, look at ours….and Assad could be relied on to process* terrorists arriving on Gulfstreams from the US and elsewhere…a doughty fighter in the war on tourism, indeed.
* don’t mention electrodes.
“models for freedom of expression they most admire”
None, zilch, zero, not any of these ‘models’ emerged post WWII bull-dozing fear and terrorism while trying to build a global empire by imposing a postwar world order, and supporting regime-change in nations that it deems BY NO MEANS UK-friendly.
The U.K. ‘establishment’ has gone to all lengths to appear before the world as the one that claims the moral high ground, yet covertly doing things that are as audacious as rendition, torturing prisoners of war, slaying civilians in RAF strike drone attacks, spying on UN and world leaders and fighting unwarranted wars under the cover of outright lies.
In what I call ‘Pax-Britannia,’ we fail to see a world where the so called FREE United Kingdom royal dynasty is helping to defuse violence and conflicts, reduce poor and displaced population, and bring about real, lasting peace.
As a result, the world is still crawling its way out of an economic disaster thanks to the voracious City of London elites, while bombings and killings have become virtually daily routines in Iraq, Libya and soon Syria, years after ‘Pray to God’ Blair, Goldsmith, Hoon, Reid and others claimed it has liberated its people from tyrannical rule.
WE WILL REMEMBER this muff and the British people’s intention to seek redress will triumph.
A. Node
Well said..I’m there with you on that, i put that Video up a few weeks ago Too
Here’s some more for you to sift through.
Facts about Libya and Qaddafi
http://vimeo.com/album/1806059/video/41777361
“The war crimes of the US, Israel and NATO in Libya are staggering and thus far have been carried out with impunity. But if this weary old planet survives their economic and environmental crimes, history will judge them, their decision-makers and the corporate cabal that funds their wars … and without mercy”.
– Les Blough, ( Axis Of Logic )
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_64418.shtml
Light relief:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/george-osborne-natalie-rowe-police-2366160
I so wish this were true.
And this:
Miss Rowe went on: “I repeatedly asked why they’d felt the need to raid the house and why they hadn’t used sniffer-dogs if they suspected drugs to be in the house.
“All they’d say is they had a tip-off from a member of the public and they couldn’t use a dog due to Government cutbacks.
Must have missed that in the Budget speech…..
Risible.
@A Node & BrianFujisan
Re: Libya
You may have missed this link, put up by Dreoilin a few threads back:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article36429.htm
And the video linked in the article –
Lies Behind Lies Behind the “Humanitarian War” in Libya:
“Soliman Bouchuiguir, former president of the Libyan League for Human Rights with symbiotic ties to the National Transitional Council, generated the pack of lies that justified NATO’s war allegedly to protect the Libyan population. He is currently the new Libyan ambassador to Switzerland.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gJz45K4Q50
EXCELLENT link Brian:
In 2010, BAE Systems, Barclays Capital and BP financed a Chatham House project called RETHINKING the UK’s NATIONAL AMBITIONS and CHOICES. The authors of one of the key reports, which laid the basis for the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review, explained that “voters [in the UK] will not actively call for a more effective foreign policy.” Therefore, “The government should define its international mission as managing risks on behalf of British citizens”, rather than on behalf of the sponsors of UK foreign policy.
http://vimeo.com/album/1806059/video/41777361
No one seems to have noticed that the ‘terror tunnel’ uncovered by Israel is not only very well made compared to the Palestinian tunnels uncovered in Egypt, completely concrete and with properly installed services running it’s entire length, but would also be very handy for a group of agent provocateurs to nip into Gaza and fire a few harmless bottle rockets before nipping back to Israel before the inevtiable military response.
Every single news report says that this is a tunnel runing from Gaza to Israel, it could just as easily be said that it’s a tunnel running from Israel to Gaza, but every media outlet seems to beleive the IDF statements without question. Once upon a time they would have at least attempted to contact the ‘other side’ for a statement. No doubt a Hamas spokesperson will be quoted dismissing Israels claim in a few days, once the idea it’s a ‘terror tunnel’ has been firmly established in peoples minds.
Hamas are not shy to admit when they fire rockets, but have also repeatedly stated that many such attacks are the work of Israeli infiltrators to justify military attacks. If this was intended for Palestinians to kidnap Israelis as claimed (yawn) then why make it out of materials that are in desperate short supply when their usual method would have been just as effective, and quicker to build? Also, why hadn’t they used it already? What are they waiting for, peace to break out?
Even the notion that the Palestinians built this without Israel being aware is frankly laughable. The Gaza border is the most militarised and monitored in the world, even compared to the Korean North/South border, and they monitor seismic activity for just such tunnels, which they expect to be dug out by hand and made out of bit’s of scrap wood and lit by candles. One containing thousands of tons of concrete, much of it in prefabricated sections should have been detected before it got even close to the border. Honestly, you have to be a retard to beleive any of this is remotely possible.
The Palestinians have probably sussed out what was going on and blocked it at their end. Hence the Israelis can not use it anymore for it’s intended purpopse so they just cash in on a cheap bit of publicity, call it a terror tunnel, and will probably use that as justification for yet another assault on the people of Gaza. All Israel is interested in is making their intransigence at the peace talks, which has been widely reported, justified by cheap stories like this. At least it could be a sign of their desperation, and desperate people are apt to make basic mistakes.
Have they gone?
@ Rouge,
Q: An inquiry carried out in the UK reveals that the middle class is on the way down:
R: The middle class is dead. The smell of its demise is pungent and instantly recognizable. The US’ is a ff-ing zombie on its way to the late night graveyard shift. Too bad she will not come back to live another day.
Golly, what are ‘m IDFers gonna do next to refill/restock their war chests? Court China?
Bohica!
@Brian and Rouge (and Anon if you really care about the answer to your question):
Even more ironic (in an absolutely not-funny sort of way), the UN was about to present an award to Gaddafi for his Human Rights record when the Western invasion kicked off. It was hurriedly hushed up.
http://libyanfreepress.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/report_working_group_universal_periodic_review.pdf
Daniel Rich
14 Oct, 2013 – 4:47 pm
Funny you should say ‘Bohica’. Our chancellor, with a connection to the dominatrix linked to by Komodo above, is now in China looking to attract rich Chinese visitors and bend the immigration laws just for them.
“Dreoilin – I blame you”
Do ye now. Well you can blame me for this too – made me smile this morning.
“Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu follows – and quickly unfollows – Iranian ‘hot sex books’ Twitter feed”
Iranian public relishes opportunity to poke fun at Bibi after he last week slammed the ‘fact’ that they are not allowed to wear jeans
“This is the second time in a week that Iranians have taken the opportunity to mock Mr Netanyahu on social media. After the Israeli leader said in an interview on BBC Persian TV that people in Iran won’t be free until they are allowed to wear jeans, thousands posted pictures of themselves wearing them, and others posed in Iranian shops with wall-to-wall denim.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-pm-benjamin-netanyahu-follows–and-quickly-unfollows–iranian-hot-sex-books-twitter-feed-8878639.html
I don’t like Benjamin Netanyahu. Apart from the fact that he’s a blood-thirsty racist warmonger, he tells lies. Blatant lies. And about a lot more than jeans.
Does Craig ever read the comments on his blog, and realise it is being trashed?
AWE atomic weapons site leaks tritium gas into stream
Levels of tritium did not pose an environmental hazard, the Environment Agency said
Related Stories
Alert over nuclear plant groundwater
Atomic weapons site fire charges
The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) has been criticised for leaking radioactive gas into a stream.
There was an increase in levels of tritium in Aldermaston Stream after AWE turned off a ventilation fan in a radioactive waste storage unit.
/..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-24518372
The normal procedure is to allow tritium gas to disperse into the atmosphere. Is this a safe practice?
‘The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent. AWE plc is responsible for the day-to-day operations of AWE. AWE plc is owned by a consortium of Jacobs Engineering Group, Lockheed Martin UK, and Serco through AWE Management Ltd who hold a 25‑year contract (until March 2025) to operate AWE.’
Not the Palestinians alone. The Bedouins too when you read on to the later section.
The Desert of Israeli Democracy
by Max Blumenthal and Tom Engelhardt, October 14, 2013
In case you hadn’t noticed, Israel has been in the news a lot lately. After all, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the U.N. in the midst of an Iranian “charm offensive,” just as presidents Obama and Rouhani were having the first conversation between Iranian and American heads of state since Jimmy Carter’s day, and gave the usual hellfire sermon. He said Israel would, if necessary, “stand alone,” implicitly threatening to launch an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities without Washington’s support (an act that is, in reality, increasingly unlikely), and generally acted like the odd man out. Soon after, he made a comment reflecting his ignorance of life among the Iranian young – “If the people of Iran were free, they could wear jeans, listen to Western music, and have free elections ” – and the next thing you knew, indignant Iranian tweets were going up along with photos of jeans and Western music albums. And so another round of news stories hit the wires.
/..
http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2013/10/13/the-desert-of-israeli-democracy/
Komodo 14 Oct, 2013 – 9:01 am
…. (3) ensure that only those selected institutional investors who have agreed to sell on their shares to T.N.T at a pre-agreed profit within a pre-agreed time scale are allowed to get their snouts in the trough.
well spotted emMPy, I looked at it and wondered why it was so well made, but my bells didn’t ring loud enough, off course, there’s no comparrisson to the tunnels that were/are again vital lifelines to Egypt.
Indeed Rouge, our alledged coke nosed emperor, wants to silence Ms Romwe. I mean how could they skimp on the dogs when searching? Was it a dare and scare her mission?
Finally an autobiography to look forward to. And what about poor Dr. Kelly who was denied writing his memoirs? Is that why the boss keeps Gideon on?
Forgive my typos Ms Rowe, I have been a naughty boy….
A Node
14 Oct, 2013 – 4:57 pm
“Even more ironic (in an absolutely not-funny sort of way), the UN was about to present an award to Gaddafi for his Human Rights record when the Western invasion kicked off. It was hurriedly hushed up.”
http://libyanfreepress.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/report_working_group_universal_periodic_review.pdfII.
Some gems of irony amongst the recommendations in this report, include:
“93.3. Adopt domestic legislation to absolutely abolish practices of torture on its territory (United States);”
“96.8. Review the assessment regarding the absence of any racial discrimination within the country, as recommended by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and adopt legislation that prohibits racial discrimination, especially against Black Africans, as well as guarantee that migrant workers are treated on a non-discriminatory basis, as recommended by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Israel);”