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.
Jphn Goss thinks that the purpose of drone attacks is the following :
“So many children, so much bloodshed, so much trauma, so many more new enemies – that’s the real purpose, to reduce the population for those intent on world domination.”
So ‘those intent on world domination’ are reducing the population via drone attacks.
This argument suffers from at least one logical and one practical flaw, which I owe it to John to point out.
1/. Would not those intent on world domination be happier the more people they had to dominate? Therefore, far from attempting to reduce the population, would they not be seeking to increase it (eg, by sabotaging efforts directed at birth control)?
2/. If the desire were to reduce the population, would not drone attacks be a singularly inefficient way of doing so? Just consider the relative effectivenesss of a hundred or so drone attacks per year with the dropping of a couple of ten thousand pounders on a few large cities.
No, John, I fear that your explanation fails to convince. But I’m sure it would have been accepted as Gospel at one of the Stalinist show trials in the 1930s!
********************
Always look on the bright side of life!
Anon, 2:40 pm; if you mean that Sofia’s ideas lack lack “traction” with our supposedly democratic governments, you would seem to have highlighted a deficit of democracy. In doing so, you may have answered Habbabkuk’s question:
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2013/10/edward-snowden-gets-sam-adams-award/comment-page-14/#comment-436135
…as to why the UK/US governments devote so many resources to illegally spying upon their own populations – they know that their policies contradict the will of the people, and consequently they’re scared.
“The amount it was saving by not paying Ms Reilly, coupled with the fiscal multiplier that adds around 60p to every pound she would have earned if she had been an employee, means Poundland could have made a £1,188.48 profit from the work she was doing for the firm at the taxpayers’ expense.”
http://mikesivier.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/defeated-again-over-work-schemes-iain-duncan-smith-loses-his-case-in-court/
AlcAnon 30 Oct, 2013 – 12:30 pm
Malala should be stating that these strikes are terrorism, not a cause of terrorism. Blowing up people and then sending in another drone 20 minutes later is for one reason and one reason only.
Also, any nation that is being militarily attacked in an illegal war of agression (e.g. Afghanistan, complete with Western imposed puppet government) has a right to defend itself, calling such a defence terrorism while the West engages in it’s own industrialised terrorism is hypocricy beyond any sort of reason.
Also, sending in special forces to bomb mosques, schools and markets and then blaming it on those that oppose military imperialism or to stoke up ethnic tensions where none existed previously (such as in Iraq) is another prime example of Western terrorism.
I’m afraid the saturation of the ‘terrorist’ meme in every facet of Westernm culture, from the news media, TV drama and movies has led to a gross disconnect from reality. People, even the Palestinians, have a right to armed resistence against an occupying power. To do so is not terrorism.
Everything is hitting the fan in Washington. Obomber has apologised to Merkel, his words being ‘he did not know about it’. As if!
We are almost back to Rumsfeld in 2002.
‘Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.’
If it (the denial of knowledge of the surveillance) wasn’t so serious, this would all be rather funny.
Germany’s Merkel sends intelligence delegation to US
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24740284
Obama ‘Should Have Known’ About Spying on Allies, Senator Says
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/10/obama-should-have-known-about-spying-on-allies-senator-says/
There is a long thread on Medialens about poppies, commencing with this post.
University of London Union ‘Bans’ Student Officials From Attending Poppy Remembrance Day Service
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/10/29/university-bans-students-remembrance-day-service_n_4173121.html?ir=UK+Universities+%26+Education
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/thread/1383140068.html
The whole Malala circus has the undoubted stench of spook psyop and Nudge Units about it.
Why one person gets blanket coverage over the other hundreds of thousand of innocents murdered and maimed in the War On Terror,Inc is strange to say the least.
CNN Full interview with Malala http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/21/full-interview-malala-yousafzai/
Interview starts about 8 mins in. I suggest people watch it if they have the time. Note that it was “boys” who attacked and shot her (she is specific about that) not grown men. I watched the interview on CNN at the time (going to watch it again) though) and I thought she came across very well.
The grapevine is abuzz with rumours a lot of pre-emptive action has been directed at the CPS and judiciary lest the Halloween case becomes a horror story for Cameron and the Torah Party. Murdoch’s pre-emptive write off of a £200 million asset NOTW, a paper with a hundred year history, may not be enough to prevent the truth surfacing after all. But anything short of “advanced interrogation techniques” will not work with Coulson, however the NSA archives should have all the calls he made divulging the election strategy contents from the hacked inboxes of the Labour leadership , BEFORE the General Election. The witch has already had a £8 million broom from Murdoch, being the settlement (read hush money) from NOTW. The clear winners with blackmail material must be the CIA and Herzliya which is a stakeholder in all the fibre-optic shenanigans of the NSA. Perhaps that explains Camerons frequent profession of undying love of zionism, and we may yet see him (like ex Pope Benedict who was blackmailed with mossads knowledge of the gay going-ons at the Vatican Bank )wear a yarmulke at Yad Veshem !!
I can’t remember which thread it is on here, but there has already been a lengthy discussion about Malala.
And who is Christiane Amanpour (on that link)? Why. Married to James Rubin, a former Assistant Secretary of State and spokesman for the State Department during the Clinton administration and who was an informal adviser to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and President of the United States Barack Obama.
Not long ago, she was pushing for war in Syria so not averse to calling for more killing and lighting the powder keg.
Christiane Amanpour Angrily Calls For Intervention In Syria (VIDEO) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/13/christiane-amanpour-syria_n_3919970.html
Mary,
I am suggesting people listen to the girl, not Amanpour. I am not a particular fan of Amanpour either.
“The whole Malala circus has the undoubted stench of spook psyop and Nudge Units about it.”
_________________
And your comments on matters such as this have the stench of hypocrisy and hate.
“We are almost back to Rumsfeld in 2002.
‘Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”
_____________________
Secretary Rumsfeld regularly gets laughed at – nay, mocked – for the above, latterly by “Mary”.
I wonder if the mockers have read it carefully – or if they have, have they understood what they’ve read?
Think about – it makes perfect sense.
Except of course to various Eminences on this blog, for whom there are no unknowns (when it comes to the evil West, at least….)
********************
Always look on the bright side of life – you KNOW it makes sense!
Habbabkuk,
How very naive of you-or a pretence of naivety.
So Nudge Units and spooks dont do exactly this kind of theatre? They dont have a long record of propaganda and planting ‘hearts and minds’ stories in the media?
You are being deliberately disingenuous and your mock outrage is par for your course.
Run along now Habbabkuk.
Mary @ 8;08 am
Thanks for the Dissident Voice link.
It seems that so much of the cleanup of the radiation waste material that has been ongoing for the past two years but has proved unsuccessful since the material has been collected but lies, piled up, in the affected area. This is due to the refusal of local communities to dispose of the waste near their homes, meaning the time and money spent on the cleanup attempts has seemingly gone to waste.
http://wonderfulengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/HLIC/c5c1c82cde1edf635db69440e866257c.jpg
Drones have killed thousands in Yemen too
Yemen – just like Pakistan – has become a testing ground for revolutionary new methods of warfare, not only technically, but also on politically and legally.
Some more info from an Alkarama report fron july 2013 –
Regardless of the context in which the American intervention in Yemen takes place, the American military and C.I.A continue to use drones, other types of military aircraft as well as warships to commit targeted assassinations that should be considered, and qualified, as extrajudicial executions.
Yemen/USA: License to Kill. Why the American Drone War on Yemen Violates International Law
http://www.globalresearch.ca/does-america-have-a-licence-to-kill-us-drone-war-on-yemen-violates-international-law/5355636
Habbabkuk,
You mean like Rumsfeld’s known unknown about unknowing the knowing of the chemical weapons Rummy and Co knowlingly sold to Saddam as long as it was knowingly unknown,same as the known unknown knowledge they knew about Saddams known unknown WMD’s?
Is that what you mean yes?
Dreoilin: “Here, I rooted this out;
Craig 4 Jul, 2013 – 8:43 am
“Will EVERYBODY please tackle the arguments commenters make, and not refer to their motives for making them – which you cannot know – or that people are paid, or their personality traits, or somebody else.”
I suggest that you read what Craig wrote again, very carefully, and consider the ceaseless attributing of motives by those constantly labellings people as an anti-Semites, or “anti-Western”, etc, and then consider very carefully that Craig himself has had no problem calling people out as trolls, or even banning them for being “counter-productive to informed debate”
Dreoilin: “Mary, You have to get it into your head that people who disagree with you (or even criticise you) are not necessarily “trolls”. Anyway, do whatever you like. Take your cue from Macky and Fedup it that’s what suits you. I have other things to do.”
Perhaps you should “get it into your head” that your personal animosity towards Mary has blinded you to seeing even the most blatant of trolls, or are you really that clueless ? Can you really not tell apart the people who post here in good faith for an honest exchange of views, from those that only post here to disrupt informed debate ?!! Yes, not everybody who disagrees is a troll, but what are those that mostly choose to avoid a rational debate ? Yes, sometimes even trolls will occasionally try to engage in a rational debate, but it’s the overall behavior that gives the troll away. For most people here, troll tactics stand out a mile, yet you will have us believe that is not you, but us that have a problem, because trolls really don’t exist !
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2010/07/the_ethics_of_b/
Anon. 2 40pm
“Blah blah…Because it is obvious from a mile off that you hate your country and the West in general.”
You missed a great typo at 1 55pm. Maybe you find it hard to read a whole nine lines before the rebuttal / accusation reflex kicks in and your hands feverishly race across the keyboard. Remember Dr Strangelove and his independent-minded hands?
Miss Anne Thrope, at 4 28pm, pretty much completes what I would have said if I hadn’t had to hurry away (Thanks MAT).
“Malala should be stating that these strikes are terrorism, not a cause of terrorism. Blowing up people and then sending in another drone 20 minutes later is for one reason and one reason only.
Also, any nation that is being militarily attacked in an illegal war of agression (e.g. Afghanistan, complete with Western imposed puppet government) has a right to defend itself, calling such a defence terrorism while the West engages in it’s own industrialised terrorism is hypocricy beyond any sort of reason.
Also, sending in special forces to bomb mosques, schools and markets and then blaming it on those that oppose military imperialism or to stoke up ethnic tensions where none existed previously (such as in Iraq) is another prime example of Western terrorism.
I’m afraid the saturation of the ‘terrorist’ meme in every facet of Western culture, from the news media, TV drama and movies has led to a gross disconnect from reality. People, even the Palestinians, have a right to armed resistence against an occupying power. To do so is not terrorism.”
As for your tired old “you hate the West” mantra. Would you ever get a grip for long enough to notice that it is the actions done by our own governments, in our name, that I’m disagreeing with. They are far more my responsibility than the others. My taxes pay for these actions and my vote has no meaningful option except to get more of the same.
I oppose Western terrorism arising from a “gross disconnect from reality”.
As Voltaire observed, “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! trolls trolls trolls trolls trolls trolls trolls trolls trolls trolls trolls trolls trolls trolls !!!!!!!!!!!
They’re coming to get me!!!!!!!! Wahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! TROLLS!!!!!!!!!
I went to the cemetery yesterday to lay some flowers on a grave. As I was standing there I noticed 4 grave diggers walking about with a coffin, 3 hours later and they’re still walking about with it. I thought to myself, they’ve lost the plot!!
—————————————
Medialens:
Launchpad For A Revolution? Russell Brand, The BBC And Elite Power
http://www.medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:launchpad-for-a-revolution-russell-brand-the-bbc-and-elite-power&catid=51:alerts-2013&Itemid=202
(Sorry Sofia … I just hit Refresh)
Another known known was Donny Rummy announced on 10th September 2001 that the US DoD had lost $1.4 trillion. The next day the Naval audit offices in the Pentagon, who were attempting to trace the missing money, was destroyed.
Immediately after the attack on the Pentagon Rummy was running about on the lawn trying to look as if he was coordinating the emergency services and pretending he didn’t know what was going on – even though this was almost an hour after the twin towers were hit and the MSM had already pinned the blame on Osama Bin Laden, and even though his buddy Dick Cheney was getting minute by minute updates (while ensconced in the seat of the Presidents emergency bunker cos W was reading ‘My Pet Goat’) of the incoming plane from 50 miles out, he didn’t bother to give him a call and tell him to get the hell out of there? No, Rummy thought he’d hang about and wait for the news crews to turn up on the lawn. I’m sure his security personnel were happy about that.
Looks a lot like Donny was setting up his alibi in case some of those unknown unknowns became known knowns later. America is under attack and the Secretary of Defence, i.e. the man responsible for the defence of the country, is running about on the lawn of the Pentagon trying to establish ‘what happened’ – pure nonsense that only the brainwashed would swallow.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/september-11-attacks/8753250/911-anniversary-Donald-Rumsfeld-on-how-he-survived-the-September-11-Pentagon-attack.html
Craig Murray. 08 07 10. 6 53pm
“…This is not Larry being mistaken – remember he claimed he had just re-read my posting. It is rather indicative of a very deliberate technique he has used scores of times, that of claiming I hold an opinion which he believes will devalue my other arguments in the mind of other readers, when I do not in fact hold that opinion.”
Trolls take note.
Thanks for the link Mackey.
Dreoilin: “Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
Yes, that’s right, do the equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears & go La La La !
Your Posts of late, have become increasingly lame, a bit like your graveyard joke; better watch-out that you don’t become a troll by default, like the Village Idiot or Techn-nosense.
ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz …….
Heapofjunk
For the avoidance of doubt, I believe the shooting of Malala was an intended act of terrorism, committed seemingly by boys of school age, indoctrinated by the Taliban.
Despite this act of terrorism against her this still only 16 year old girl told President Obama to his face that he should stop the drone strikes against the Taliban. She lists her heroes as Nelson Mandela, Benazir Bhutto and Desmond Tutu. Not Cameron and Obama.
After watching her talk at length it would not surprise me if she actually does become a leading Pakistani politician one day.
Abbott is really crass.
October 30, 2013
Australia in Afghanistan
The War to End Nothing
by BINOY KAMPMARK
Rupert Murdoch’s The Australian, that extensive rag that said it all, said it again when it came to Australia’s imminent withdrawal from Afghanistan. “Our Afghan war ends not with victory, nor defeat.” This was the surprise occasion of Prime Minister Tony Abbot’s visit to Afghanistan, characterised by few words, ghastly photography and chatter by everyone else except the Prime Minister. Since assuming office, the Prime Minister is the nation’s incubated leader, occasionally allowed out to cool, but always happy to fall back into pouch padded security.
When he did speak ahead of the handing over of Australian control (the term is used advisedly) of Uruzgan back to local forces, he gave the dull stagnant terms that have been paraded since imperialism became the sexually molesting bedfellow of freedom. “Australians do not fight wars of conquest, we fight wars of freedom.” Similar remarks have been made by US President George W. Bush, who was proud to term individuals like Abbott Texans in mentality and spirit. This might have insulted Texans, but gave certain Australians a tumescent thrill.
[..]
The Prime Minister did call the wind down of Australian forces in Afghanistan (the ADF does not retreat or withdraw) a “bittersweet moment”. The casualty list: 40 soldiers dead; 256 wounded. Its Special Forces are exhausted. Its material is withered and worn. Spare parts are hard to come by. Wear and tear is rampant. Not that the Australian Defence Force’s Public Relations department is letting on. For the years of conflict Australians have been in Afghanistan, information on what exactly has taken place from the side of those soldiers has been threadbare.
[..]
/..
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/10/30/the-war-to-end-nothing/
Hobnobtake
Pile the shite higher please…
Water is the new oil..how are you fixed in the UK?
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/blue-gold-coming-water-wars
“And it is becoming scarce. In the twentieth century, the world’s population grew by a factor of 3.8 and water use by nine. Today, with the number of people passing the seven billion mark, it should come as no surprise that more than half of humankind lives in water-stressed areas. That figure could increase to two-thirds during the next decade.
At this time, more than a fifth of the inhabitants of this planet do not have easy access to potable water. Scarcity causes illness, thereby making the lack of this resource “the greatest killer on the globe.” There are, incredibly, more people with a mobile phone than access to water-sanitation services. Already, bottled water at the grocery store is more expensive than crude oil on the spot market.
The Yemeni city of Sanaa, now home to two million, will be the first national capital to run dry in this century, if its groundwater reserves are depleted, which could happen as soon as 2025. Abu Dhabi and Quetta, experts believe, might also turn to dust. The international community should expect “water refugees” in just over a decade, Chellaney warns, and there could be two hundred million of them by the midpoint of this century.”
Techie bit…
In just the last week or so I notice I’ve had over 100,000 attempts (individual username/pass or interestingly sshd key pair attempts (I wonder what keys they are using? Presumably they work with something or they wouldn’t be tried) to break into my little cloud server. And that’s with the only place I’ve posted a link being here. One attempt (apparently from China) spent hours making over ten-thousand attempts in total, firing off up to 50 simultaneous login attempts at a time against mail servers, sshd (remote login) web and ftp. If I blocked it on one IP it reappeared after a short time carrying on where it left off on another.
Almost all of the attacks appear to originate in China, The Ukraine or Turkey. That’s where they are relayed anyway. Doesn’t mean to say that’s where they were controlled from of course.
Now I know that popular servers are routinely hammered by bots trying every combination but I was surprised just how many break-in attempts I’ve had so far. Guess that’s the internet these days but I wonder if posting it here attracted more attempts. I really didn’t expect that number so quickly.
Techie bit over.