Losing Our Democracy

This video describes America's Government-Corporate Monstrosity, Eisenhower's Military-Industrial Complex on trillions $ in federal steroids.

Update 2-20-22:  A conservative retired federal judge said "the United States is locked "in a political war to the death" and that "American democracy hangs in the balance."

"Our leaders seem incapable or unwilling to lead us in this moment when we need leadership most. If our leaders refuse to lead us to where we want to go and need to be, then we must go there ourselves — and leave them behind," he wrote.

 

"60 Minutes" Offers NSA's Good Side

CBS News gave the NSA 25 minutes for an infomercial:

The 25-minute segment consisted mostly of NSA officials dismissing concerns that their surveillance has gotten out of hand and showing off their gadgetry to the CBS cameras. There were no anti-NSA advocates or civil libertarians interviewed on-camera for the piece.

This is the same investigative body that missed the spread of private equity underwriters (PEU's).  PEU greed and leverage became ubiquitous under President George W. Bush.  They've ushered in a new period of excess under President Barak Obama.  In an odd overlap many NSA contractors have PEU sponsors.

CBS News did their part to keep hidden the Government-Corporate Monstrosity, Eisenhower's Military-Industrial Complex on trillions in federal steroids.  It's another view through the "almost Orwellian" prism.

James A. Baker, III's Nelson Mandela Wrap

Former Secretary of State and Carlyle Group advisor James A. Baker, III spoke with Bob Scheiffer on Face the Nation on the death of Nelson Mandela.

"Certainly, he (President Ronald Reagan) regretted it (vetoing non-binding resolution calling on South African government to free Mandela),” Mr. Baker said. “On the other hand, once that happened and control of South Africa policy passed through the Congress, President Reagan was really determined to meet with the black leaders of South Africa and deal with the problems of apartheid, and he was able to do so.”

Consider how the U.S. long characterized Mandela:

While revered by politicians today as a human rights icon, Nelson Mandela remained on the U.S. terrorism watch list until 2008, when then-President George W. Bush signed a bill removing Mandela from it.

Mandela made the list for adding violence as a method for overthrowing South Africa's oppressive apartheid system.  Formerly, Mandela's African National Congress solely utilized peaceful protest and nonviolence.  HuffPo reported:

South Africa’s apartheid regime designated Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) as a terrorist organization for its battle against the nation’s legalized system of racial segregation that lasted from 1948 to 1994.

Former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher also described Mandela’s ANC as a “typical terrorist organization” in 1987, refusing to impose sanctions on South Africa’s apartheid regime. President Ronald Reagan did as well.

In 1986, former Vice President Dick Cheney, then a congressman, voted along with 179 other members of the House against a non-binding resolution to recognize the ANC and call on the South African government to release Mandela from prison. The measure finally passed, but not before a veto attempt by Reagan.

In 2000, Cheney maintained that he'd cast the correct vote.

President Ronald Reagan served from 1981 to 1989.  

Reagan initiated a policy of “constructive engagement” toward South Africa’s white supremacists, meaning that he opposed overt pressure such as economic sanctions in favor of quiet diplomacy that sought gradual reform of the apartheid system.

In reality, Reagan’s approach allowed white South African leader P.W. Botha to crack down on the ANC and other revolutionary movements which Reagan viewed as pro-communist. Instead of substantive moves toward full citizenship for blacks, the Pretoria regime instituted largely cosmetic reforms to its apartheid system.

Reagan saw Mandela through a cold war lens.  James Baker's attempt to wrap President Ronald Reagan in Mandela's one term Presidency, punctuated by peace and reconciliation, feels hollow.  Instead of a sincere alignment of leaders' souls, Baker's words feel like a blatant history rewrite. 

Presidential Spying Expansive

America's Unitary Executive ushered in the kind of surveillance state worthy of oppressive societies:

The NSA tracks locations of nearly 5 billion cellphones every day overseas, including those of Americans.

Officials claim information on Americans is collected incidentally.  The White House (Unitary Executive) refused to comment.  This may be a smart move, given the worst is yet to come.

Baker's Insights on Spying

Bloomberg reported:

James A. Baker III said European leaders shouldn’t be surprised by allegations of American espionage. “We couldn’t find a hotel in Paris that wasn’t bugged,” he said about his time as secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush. 

Over short ribs and Texas pecan pie, Baker had the company of fellow Texan Randall Stephenson, the chairman and president of AT&T Inc., Henry Kissinger, and David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group.

Baker dined with three people responsible for ensuring America has an endemic spying culture.  AT&T willingly acquiesced and has profited handsomely, as did The Carlyle Group's Booz Allen Hamilton.  Kissinger represents insider power which wants to win at all costs, laws and constitutional rights be damned.  That group continues to run unchecked. 

NSA Looks to Secure Reputation

General Keith Alexander suggested the media not be allowed to run more stories on the National Security Agency and its countless methods of spying on citizens here, there and everywhere.  It's hard to believe, but the Obama administration out-spied Bush/Cheney.  The Freedom Switch is both Blue and Red.  It's ubiquitous.  

Homeland Security Director Loves Drones

America's new Homeland Security Director Jeh Johnson cut his teeth as the Pentagon's Chief Lawyer.  There he ensured the "legal basis" for summary execution by drone fired missile.  Think what he can do for Homeland Security with its predicted invasion of the drones. 

Suspicionless Surveillance Widespread

WaPo reported:

The National Security Agency is harvesting hundreds of millions of contact lists from personal e-mail and instant messaging accounts around the world, many of them belonging to Americans, according to senior intelligence officials and top-secret documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald wrote regarding the impact of Edward Snowden's revelations:

...first-ever recognition of just how pervasive and invasive is the system of suspicionless surveillance being built by the US and the UK. It does not surprise me that authoritarian factions, including (especially) establishment journalists, prefer that none of this reporting and debate happened and that we all instead remained blissfully ignorant about it. But it does still surprise me when people calling themselves "journalists" openly admit to thinking this way. But when they do so, they do us a service, as it lays so vividly bare just how wide the gap is between the claimed function of establishment journalists and the actual role they fulfill.

Journalists' Fourth Estate no longer exists.  It's been acquired by the Second Estate which has the media do its bidding and uses the government to enforce breaches.

Spying Obama

NYT reported (and echoed by HuffPo):

For almost three years the National Security Agency has been tapping the data it collects to map out some Americans' social connections, allowing the government to identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information

The NSA can augment the communications data with material from public, commercial and other sources, including bank codes, insurance information, Facebook profiles, passenger manifests, voter registration rolls and GPS location information, as well as property records and unspecified tax data.

This happened under the Obama administration. They can't blame Bush for deepening America's endemic spying regime.  Obama's minions are responsible for heavy handed acts in the President's war on whistleblowers.

As for business opportunity, the typewriter is back for organizations not wanting their communications sucked up by the NSA.

Update 9-29-13:  Next up is U.S. sponsored assassination.  It will be interesting to see criteria, methods and targets. In another surreal revelation, the FBI has employed domestic drones since 2006.  Apparently, the unitary executive and a purchased Congress partnered to look the other way. However, citizens paying attention and asking questions is frowned upon.  One form of retribution is getting slapped with a domestic terrorist label. 

Brazil Schools U.S. on Freedom

The Daily Beast reported:

With Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff leading the day’s speeches at the U.N. General Assembly, she used the opportunity at the podium to shame the United States for spying on her country, saying that cyberspace was turning into a battlefield.

“Personal data of citizens was intercepted indiscriminately,” she said in a fiery speech aimed at a room full of world leaders. “Corporate information—often of high economic and even strategic value—was at the center of espionage activity.”

Last week, the Brazilian leader canceled a state visit to Washington, furious over NSA’s reported spying on her country’s communications, including her own personal emails and text messages.

“Without the right to privacy,” she said, “there is no real freedom of speech and freedom of opinion.”

Intelligence Sharing with America's 51st State

The Guardian reported:

The National Security Agency routinely shares raw intelligence data with Israel without first sifting it to remove information about US citizens, a top-secret document provided to the Guardian by whistleblower Edward Snowden reveals.

Details of the intelligence-sharing agreement are laid out in a memorandum of understanding between the NSA and its Israeli counterpart that shows the US government handed over intercepted communications likely to contain phone calls and emails of American citizens. The agreement places no legally binding limits on the use of the data by the Israelis.

The disclosure that the NSA agreed to provide raw intelligence data to a foreign country contrasts with assurances from the Obama administration that there are rigorous safeguards to protect the privacy of US citizens caught in the dragnet.

The intelligence community calls this process "minimization", but the memorandum makes clear that the information shared with the Israelis would be in its pre-minimized state.

The deal was reached in principle in March 2009, according to the undated memorandum, which lays out the ground rules for the intelligence sharing.

Here's how accountable the Unitary Executive is to the American public:

The Guardian asked the Obama administration how many times US data had been found in the raw intelligence, either by the Israelis or when the NSA reviewed a sample of the files, but officials declined to provide this information. Nor would they disclose how many other countries the NSA shared raw data with, or whether the Fisa court, which is meant to oversee NSA surveillance programs and the procedures to handle US information, had signed off the agreement with Israel.

"Transparent Obama" lies like Bush.  Both cater to Israel, our 51st state. 

Promises of "Freedom" to Egyptian People

Two U.S. Congressmen and one Congresswoman went on film to encourage the Egyptian people to continue their "fight against terrorists," an implicit scolding after Egyptians elected them in free and democratic elections.

This troika's claims of liberty fall flat given the total surveillance state the U.S. descended into on their watch.

As for remembering who conducted 9-11, the U.S. is yet to take any action against Saudi Arabia.

These three Congresspersons had the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce alongside to "help the Egyptian people."  They all mentioned Egypt's President without giving his name, but each cited coup implementing General al-Sisi.

Even the question and answer segment at the end is fake and staged.  This video reveals the extent of America's Freedom Switch, punctuated by the following interview:

Internet Leashed by U.S. and U.K. Tyranny

The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald revealed the widespread nature of internet spying by U.S. and British intelligence agencies:

The National Security Agency and its UK counterpart GCHQ have broadly compromised the guarantees that internet companies have given consumers to reassure them that their communications, online banking and medical records would be indecipherable to criminals or governments.

The agencies, the documents reveal, have adopted a battery of methods in their systematic and ongoing assault on what they see as one of the biggest threats to their ability to access huge swathes of internet traffic – "the use of ubiquitous encryption across the internet".

Those methods include covert measures to ensure NSA control over setting of international encryption standards, the use of supercomputers to break encryption with "brute force", and – the most closely guarded secret of all – collaboration with technology companies and internet service providers themselves.

Through these covert partnerships, the agencies have inserted secret vulnerabilities – known as backdoors or trapdoors – into commercial encryption software.

 
Tyrants need to control their subjects.  Knowing what they think is critical. 

Update 9-27-13:  Senator Ron Wyden said in a Senate committee hearing on NSA spying, "the leadership of NSA built an intelligence collection system that repeatedly deceived the American people."  Actually NSA leaders repeatedly deceived the elected representatives of the American people.  NSA leaders, like Wall Street titans, face zero consequences for any illegal incursions.

Cross-Selling Returns to CNN

Just in time for the 2014 election year CNN will foist CrossFire back on the American cable watchers and airport travelers on Wednesday evenings.

As for the best takeoff version of CrossFire, baby boomers recall Saturday Night Live's "Point-CounterPoint" with Jane Curtain and Dan Ackroyd.

As for this new crew, I'm pretty sure Newt would happy to call Stephanie Cutter an ignorant slut, before propositioning her.

Expect more vitriol as the Reds and Blues look to position for the 2014 elections and CNN to cash in on divisive and untrue election ads.

President Obama Differs from Senator Obama

President Obama believes the Unitary Executive has the power to unilaterally order a military strike on Syria in retribution for use of chemical weapons on civilians,  Senator Obama stated the President needed Congressional authorization for war.  However, in a magnanimous display Obama promised to ask Congress for authorization to attack Syria.

Given President-elect Obama kept his mouth shut when Israel used cluster munitions, white phosphorous and DIME bombs on its neighbors, his outrage on the Syrian attacks looks hollow and one sided.

Obama's Three Days: From MLK to War

President Obama's nightmare for the world continues, as the U.S. prepares to attack Syria, possibly over the Labor Day weekend.  The Obama team is calling an attack the responsibility of the international community with widespread support.

International support for an attack is down to the U.S. White House and the French Prime Minister.  Neither the U.S. Congress nor the French Parliament have voted to support an attack.  The UN hasn't taken up the issue and the Arab League will meet Sunday.  Britain's House of Commons voted against an attack, preventing Prime Minister David Cameron's hands from acquiring more blood.

Three days ago President Obama spoke from the Lincoln Memorial, the site of Reverend Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

The White House has indicated it does not believe it needs the backing of Congress, nor the support of traditional allies, before taking action against Assad.

Obama 's unilateral global parent-policeman is a feature of the Unitary Executive, something candidate Obama ran against.  Secretary of State John Kerry and Pentagon Chief Chuck Hagel gave the world wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as U.S. Senators. 

Kerry wrote of his 2002 vote for the Iraq war resolution, “There’s nothing -- nothing -- in my life in public service I regret more, nothing even close.”

In November 2005, Hagel defended his criticism of the Iraq war, stating "To question your government is not unpatriotic — to not question your government is unpatriotic."

The United Nations team investigating the chemical attacks won't have a report for two weeks.  President Obama won't wait for the report or any legitimate international body to support his violence.

Jimmy Carter urged the White House to seek UN backing. “A punitive military response without a UN mandate or broad support from NATO and the Arab League would be illegal under international law and unlikely to alter the course of the war,” he said.

President Obama, global parent, believes whatever the Unitary Executive does is legal.  That's the kind of organizational hubris and arrogance that makes others second class citizens.

Reverend Martin Luther King said "violence of war is so self defeating."  The British public felt it and responded.  Nobel Peace Prize winner Obama left the site of King's spiritual vision, intent on adding to darkness and hate.

Update:  After Obama called for "limited, narrow" strikes the WSJ reported contingency plans are under way for the collapse of the Syrian regime. "Planning Under Way for Possible Syrian Collapse: U.S., Allies and Syrian Opposition Discuss Plans at Meeting in Istanbul."  Does that mean the U.S. is targeting Syrian President Assad?  If he's killed by a drone attack does that make it a double international crime?

Update 2:  President Obama will deliver a statement on Syria from the Rose Garden at 1:15 Eastern. It's now 1:45 Eastern and Obama is yet to speak.

Obama: The Anti-Martin Luther King

This week saw the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. 

You have been the veterans of creative suffering.  Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive... Let freedom ring.-  MLK - August 28, 1963

President Obama plans to unleash untold unearned suffering in Syria and Iran, after doing the same in Libya.

"We are involved in a war on Asian soil, which if not checked and stopped may poison the very soul of our nation....When a nation becomes obsessed with the guns of war it loses its social perspective...Violence is so self defeating." - MLK - May 8, 1967

His Presidency oversaw increased intrusions into citizen freedom, especially the right to a fair trial by peers and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.  With the strike of a pen and no oversight or accountability these freedoms can be taken by the America's Unitary Executive. 

I envision Rev. Martin Luther King, the recipient of intrusive CIA spying in his day, as opposing Obama's wrapping himself in King's mantle.  Obama staked out that law students should have the freedom to finish law school in two years instead of three.  Are they glad the President rallied support for this oppressed group?

Peace Prospect: War Tactic?

Israel hates waging a multi-front war.  This explains why they dangle lengthy peace negotiations with Palestinians while preparing to war with a neighbor.  That's the current situation.  The Irish Times reported:

US secretary of state John Kerry has allocated nine months for the talks, which will alternate between Jerusalem and the West Bank. He insists the sides are serious in their desire to clinch a peace deal that will end the deeply entrenched conflict.

Here's the dangle:

Israeli chief negotiator Tzipi Livni, a veteran of the previous round of talks, warned that “dramatic decisions” will have to be taken by Israel at the end of the negotiating process.

How many wars will Israel and the U.S. embark upon in the next nine months?

Update 8-25-13:  The U.S. and Israel will give Iran less than 6 months to change its nuclear course.  Neocons John McCain and Lindsey Graham want the U.S. to attack Syria with a series of "surgical strikes" after the recent poisoning of Syrian civilians.  Chemical weapons tend to be in the purview of nation states.  That leaves an offensive attack by Syria/Russia or false flag event sponsored by Israel/U.S.

Greenwald's Partner Detained at Heathrow

The White House received a head's up on Britain's retaining Glenn Greewald's partner as he connected through Heathrow Airport

"At the moment anybody can be stopped under this power. There is no need for the police to believe they are a terrorist or to suspect they are a terrorist. The only reason they can talk to them is in order to determine whether they are a terrorist.

"It seems to me there is a question to be answered about whether it should be possible to detain somebody – to keep them for six hours, to download their mobile phone – without the need for any suspicion at all. I hope at least it is something parliament will look at." -- David Anderson QC, independent reviewer of terrorism legislation

This is what a monster wave of retaliation looks like.  British officials refused to say whether they shared the contents of the detainee's electronic devices with U.S. officials.  Given our two countries long history of collaboration, I expect U.S. officials have full access.  Corporate livelihoods are at stake.

Trust the NSA's Internal Reviews

The NSA issued a document on August 9, 2013 supporting President Obama's recently reiterated remarks.  The document closed with typical boilerplate corporate legal language:

NSA personnel are obligated to report when they believe NSA is not, or may not be, acting consistently with law, policy, or procedure. This self reporting is part of the culture and fabric of NSA. If NSA is not acting in accordance with law, policy, or procedure, NSA will report through its internal and external intelligence oversight channels, conduct reviews to understand the root cause, and make appropriate adjustments to constantly improve.

These statements sound great until one explores their use. The NSA's culture and fabric had their leader lie to Congress, the oversight channel, on phone record metadata collection.

In the corporate compliance world language like this is generally used to shift blame for wrongdoing onto the lowest level.  It's also a method for keeping whistle blowers inside, where the company can "manage" the situation.  Frequently, the reporting employee is minimized, shunned or retaliated against.  System problems, rooted in greed or dysfunctional leadership, are ignored and the reporting individual is ostracized. 

When whistleblowers go outside, the company must act in a public way to discredit and destroy the leaker.  I predicted such shortly after Edward Snowden went public.  While the truth teller is hounded, lying leaders remain unscathed.

Update 8-15-13:  WaPo reported on abuses revealed from the NSA's internal reviews.

President Obama on Snowden: Know or No?

HuffPo reported President Obama's contortions on NSA domestic spying.  Before branding Edward Snowden "no patriot," he offered::

"Unfortunately, rather than an orderly and lawful process to debate these issues and come up with appropriate reforms, repeated leaks of classified information have initiated the debate in a very passionate but not always fully informed way," President Obama said. "But given the history of abuse by governments, it's right to ask questions about surveillance, particularly as technology is reshaping every aspect of our lives."

First of all, there is no legal way for issues to be identified to even debate.   Second, it's not history at all.  President Obama is the latest serial abuser.   It's current practice under his Constitutional watch, or lack thereof.

But despite his embrace of reforms, the president had little sympathy for Snowden when asked if the former government contractor could be characterized as a "patriot" and "whistleblower."

"No, I don't think Mr. Snowden was a patriot," Obama said. "The fact is, Mr. Snowden has been charged with three felonies."

What happened to innocent until proven guilty?  This is but more horse hockey from America's latest Chief Executive. 

There is no legal way to have Obama's "healthy debate."  The American people are expected to silently comply. 

Freedom vs. Security According to PEW

"Few See Adequate Limits on NSA Surveillance Program" - July 26, 2013

1776 vs. 2013

The Government-Corporate Monstrosity offers this fresh message from Booz Allen Hamilton's Chairman and CEO:

The most significant news of the past quarter was the abhorrent actions of former employee, Edward Snowden, who had worked at Booz Allen for less than 10 weeks. I spoke to all of our employees at a townhall meeting the week following his announcement that he had leaked highly sensitive national security information. I'd like to share with you something I said to our people that day. I told our employees, Mr. Snowden was on our payroll for a short period of time, but he was not a Booz Allen person and he did not share our values. We cannot and will not let him define us. That is the most important message I can convey. You define us. The work we do for our clients defines us.

Now in that regard, we continue to do everything possible to support our clients' mission and the United States government's law enforcement investigation. Within the firm, we're being vigilant and are supporting our employees, especially those working with the intelligence community. And on a personal note, I've been touched by the words of support from those in the business community and especially from our clients, showing that our long-term clients know the kind of company we are.

I'd like to leave that subject behind now and talk about the things we can control. First and foremost, we're serving our clients with the highest-quality work and commitment to their mission. We're supporting our people and the communities in which we work and live, and are delivering value to our stockholders through effective management of the business and capital deployment choices. And we're making some exciting plans to recognize Booz Allen Hamilton's 100th anniversary year, which begins in January of 2014. 

Ralph W. Shrader - Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President, Chairman of Executive Committee, Chairman of Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee, Chairman of The Board of Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp, Chief Executive Officer of Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp and President of Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp - made these remarks in today's Booz Allen Hamilton earnings call.

How far has the United States come since our founding?  Recall a more mature Thomas Jefferson turned down an inheritance that would've free his slaves, later putting those same slaves up as collateral for a huge loan. 

After 237 years the little people remain. 

"Don't Talk to Listed Terrorists" but Pentagon Won't Share List

The universal defense to the myriad of domestic spying programs is "If you're not talking with terrorists, we're not violating your privacy."  Operationalized, this turns into "if you're not connected to terrorists by three intermediary relationships, think Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon, we're not looking at you."  Those relationships could be as simple as someone reading a blog, Twitter feed or Facebook page.  HuffPo reported:

President Obama said again and again that the U.S. is at war with “Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their associated forces.” 

The Pentagon refused to identify with whom America is at war:

A Pentagon spokesman said revealing such a list (of associated forces) could cause “serious damage to national security.”

“Because elements that might be considered ‘associated forces’ can build credibility by being listed as such by the United States, we have classified the list,” said the spokesman, Lt. Col. Jim Gregory. “We cannot afford to inflate these organizations that rely on violent extremist ideology to strengthen their ranks.”

Americans are supposed to avoid people who know people who might talk to someone who "might be considered associated forces," but those groups are a secret.  And Americans can't look up on a public database and find when Congress declared war and on whom.  Does this make any sense?  Only in today's world of abysmal leadership, spin and hyper-complexity.

No Need for "Get Out of Jail Free"

The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald reported:

...the most powerful political officials cannot commit crimes or engage in serious wrongdoing. The only political crimes come from exposing and aggressively challenging those officials. How is it anything other than pure whistleblowing to disclose secret documents proving that top government officials have been systematically deceiving the public about vital matters and/or skirting if not violating legal and Constitutional limits?

The same applies to the most powerful private officials, specifically the big money boys, many of whom are private equity underwriters (PEU's).  The Carlyle Group somehow avoided a bad name for:

1.  Bilking Medicaid for unnecessary and/or poor quality dental procedures on kids.  - Church Street Health Management
2.  Bribing Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, wife of Rep. John Conyers (D-MI).  -Synagro Technologies
3.  Twenty five patient deaths in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  -LifeCare Hospitals

Carlyle cofounders David Rubenstein, Bill Conway and Danny D'Aniello settled with the New York State Attorney General for $20 million to get out of a pension "pay to play" investigation.

Neither politicians, appointed officials or their financiers are held to account for their misdeeds, much less charged with crimes.  They're insulated and protected by fellow members of the Government-Corporate Monstrosity, Eisnehower's Military-Industrial Complex on trillions in federal steroids.

General James Clapper defended the Government-Corporate Monstrosity by vilifying Snowden and anyone who might show actual concern.  Clapper defended his three years as a Booz Allen Hamilton executive and his subsequent enrichment via the GCM.

(In 1995) Clapper worked as executive director of military intelligence programs for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. In 1998 he moved on to Intelligence Programs director for SRA International, another government contractor.  In October 2006 Clapper was hired as chief operating officer for DFI Government Services, a national security consulting firm. DFI was soon acquired by Detica which was, in turn, bought out by BAE Systems. Also in October 2006, Clapper joined the board of directors of 3001 International, a prime contractor of the NGA that was acquired by Northup Grumman in September 2008.

The GCM has an all out war on whistleblowers, the public servant and private employee kind.  Whistleblowers face a monster wave of retaliation. The politically powerful, who lie with no conscience, face no consequences.  Image must be maintained at all costs.

Chinese "Happy Ending" Massage Freedom

The AP reported on a national discussion in China of the legality of male orgasm at the hands of female masseusses:

Now courts, police, prosecutors, lawyers and academics are being quoted discussing oral sex and other types of sexual services facilitated by body parts excluding genitals, typically taboo topics that have captured the public's attention.

The question is whether such services can be considered prostitution if there is no intercourse.

American President Bill Clinton redefined sex as non-intercourse while in the White House.  "Happy Ending" Bill, that's fitting. 

Freedom to Be Spied Upon

"My understanding is that espionage means giving secret or classified information to the enemy. Since (Edward) Snowden shared information with the American people, his indictment for espionage could reveal (or confirm) that the US Government views you and me as the enemy." - Congressman Ron Paul, M.D.

Shortly after President Obama took office I sensed he wanted to parent the country.  Snowden, like other leakers, incited the wrath of a President consumed with image management.  I predicted Snowden would face a monster wave of retaliation.  That materialized and shows no signs of ending until Snowden is extradited or dead.  

Snowden worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, an affiliate of The Carlyle Group.  President Obama recently held an intimate dinner for Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein.  Rubenstein loaned The White House his copy of The Emancipation Proclamation, which hung in Obama's Oval Office.  It would be no problem for Rubenstein to share his anger and desire for payback for Snowden denting Booz's value.  

Note that no one is angry about Carlyle pulling nearly $1.2 billion in cash out of Booz via special dividends.  As the government provides over 99% of Booz's revenue, taxpayers ensured Carlyle's billionaire co-founders got even richer.  Booz paid Carlyle its special dividends via borrowings, which causes Uncle Sam to bear increased interest costs.  

President Obama, numerous Congressmen and other government officials want payback in the worst way for Edward Snowden.  They will get their way,  The Government-Corporate Monstrosity, Eisenhower's Military Industrial Complex on trillions in federal steroids, will ensure it. 

The Bilderberg Paradox

A number of democratically elected leaders, who promised to run open and transparent governments, have one greater commitment than their promise to the people.  It's fulfilling their promise of secrecy to the Bilderberg Group   The UK's Mirror reported:

David Cameron has been slammed for attending a meeting of the shadowy Bilderberg Group tonight.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman claimed that he was still committed to lead the world’s most transparent government.

But the spokesman refused to say who the PM was seeing or what they would be discussing at the secret gathering of world leaders and global business chiefs.

The gathering, held here for the first time, was a private event even though Mr Cameron was invited as the Prime Minister of the host country, the spokesman insisted.

The spokesman claimed: “That doesn’t mean that he is not determined to lead the most transparent government.”

Someone tell Cameron's assistant that one failure of a theory requires its modification.

The British Prime Minister is latest poster child, but virtually every major Western chief executive or "want-to=be" offered fealty to the Bilderbergers.  Candidate Obama attended Bilderberg in Chantilly, Virginia during his heated primary campaign against Hillary Clinton in 2008. After being elected President Obama promised to beat his predecessors on openness:

My administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.  Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing.

Despite President Obama's promise Treasury Chief Tim Geithner attended Bilderberg in 2009 and OMB Chief Peter Orszag in 2010, prior to his retirement. Recent stories of government spying on reporters and Verizon phone users call into question Obama's transparency "commitment."

2012 President candidate Mitt Romney was the virtual face of the Bilderberg Group's private capital camp.  Many Bilderbergers are worth billions, whether it be dollars, euro's or pounds.

Despite their outsized wealth they gladly accept taxpayer donations:

There is anger that taxpayers are being left to pick up the tab for the huge security operation being mounted to protect the global elite at their love-in at the Hertfordshire retreat.

Bilderbergers want more countries opened for American-branded multinational corporations to ply their goods or access critical resources, energy, human and otherwise.

Bilderbergers' business-oriented governments offer a slow motion race to the bottom on taxes and regulations, even allowing industries to self regulate.  The Obama administration's response to BP's Oil Spew and the Tennessee coal ash spill catered to massive polluters, current and potential.

Bilderbergers incite western militaries to "free" desirable countries, while the less desirable are left in debilitating quagmires.  The globe is something to be tampered with.  Bllderbergers David Petreaus (KKR) and Michael Gfoeller (The Chertoff Group) have direct experience in this regard. 

Bilderberg attendee Alex Karp's Palantir Technologies works on the integration and analysis of large quantities of data, or as Palantir likes to say, helping to solve the world's biggest problems.  According to the NewYorker, Palentir's software "helps government agencies track down terrorists, fraudsters, and other criminals, by detecting subtle patterns in torrents of information." .Palantir Technologies was co-founded by another Bilderberger Peter Thiel.  Palantir means "seeing stone" and its niche is cyber security, offense and defense.  It's likely on the case for this Bilderberg meeting. 

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Absolute secrecy is a form of absolute power.  If sunshine is the best disinfectant, Bilderberg is a dank, cesspool.

Update 6-11-13:  Is Palantir on the case of Edward Snowden, the Booz Allen Hamilton leaker of NSA secrets?   The NSA is as open and accountable as Bilderberg.  Absolute secrecy is a form of absolute power.  Snowden broke secrecy and must pay.  His revelations lost The Carlyle Group nearly $80 million in Booz Allen stock holdings in two days.

Update 7-9-13:  The Guardian covered Bilderberg before they covered NSA's global spyweb.  

Freedom to Protect Western Oligarchs

Mail Online reported:

British taxpayers will have to foot the bill for the ‘exceptional costs’ of policing of the clandestine Bilderberg meeting to be held in Watford next week.

The annual meeting of royalty, prime ministers and business chiefs - famous for being shrouded in secrecy - is taking place in Britain for the first time since 1998.

Given the amount of – so far unnamed - prestigious people set to attend the event at the luxury Watford hotel in Hertfordshire, local police have been forced to step up security, which will be part-funded by the government.

The cloak of secrecy surrounding the meetings, which ban journalists from attending, has fueled various conspiracy theories, including that attendees are plotting world domination.

The Telegraph expects the security bill to be in the millions.  The public, despite paying a chunk of the freight, has no right to know what Bilderberg's spooks, wankers and PEU bankers are up to. 

More British papers are reporting on the event.  in year's past The Guardian was the only major to send a reporter.

At least Brits know how to throw a protest.  It'll be interesting to see how this turns out. Western oligarchs know how to protect their secrecy. It's something the average citizen cannot afford.

State of U.S. Democracy

A current Congressman stated:

““I won’t dispute for one second the problems of a system that demands immense amount of fund-raisers by its legislators.  It’s appalling, it’s disgusting, it’s wasteful and it opens the possibility of conflicts of interest and corruption. It’s unfortunately the world we live in.”

He did so in the context of Wall Street lobbyists writing legislation that softened financial reform.   The piece personifies America's Government-Corporate Monstrosity, which morphed from President Eisenhower's Military-Industrial Complex due to trillions in federal steroids.

Israel Won't Confirm Attack on Syria

Jerusalem Post reported:

Israeli jets bombed Syria on Sunday, rocking Damascus for hours and sending pillars of flame into the night sky in what a Western source called a new strike on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah. Local people reported massive explosions and internet video showed the capital's skyline lit by flashes; 

Israel, while declining to confirm the strike, stressed its focus was to deny its Lebanese foes new Iranian firepower and not take sides between Assad, long seen as a toothless adversary, and rebels who have won sympathy from Israel's Western allies but who also include al-Qaida Islamists hostile to the Jewish state.

A confidant of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel hoped that by not confirming its attack, it would not force its enemies into serious retaliation.

After an Israeli strike on Friday, US President Barack Obama defended Israel's right to defend itself from Hezbollah, which fired many rockets into Israel during a war in 2006.

Without a declaration of war Israel attacked a sovereign nation, including a Syrian military base.  Israel instituted its "decline to confirm" strategy, which the world allowed it to use for decades on nuclear weapons.  Obama toed the line for Israel as President, something he did twice before, as Senator and President elect.

When does a state have the right to attack another state, multiple times, to get at a terrorist organization?  Apparently for Israel and the U.S., any time and with impunity.  There are no global structures left to reign in those intent on expanding their power through violence.

Obama Jettisons Core Causes

Recall Candidate Obama promising to reverse Bush-Cheney secrecy.  Glenn Greenwald did at The Guardian.

"The American people want to trust in our government again – we just need a government that will trust in us. And making government accountable to the people isn't just a cause of this campaign – it's been a cause of my life for two decades."

Obama jettisoned his core cause of transparency and accountability, just as George W. Bush trashed his promise of bipartisanship.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

Immortalizing the Immoral

President Barack Obama's fawners suggested he be the next face on Mount Rushmore.  Why stop there?  Why not add the last two Presidents, Clinton and Bush?

President Clinton pushed privatization of government services, which got The Carlyle Group off to a smashing early start.  Private equity greed grew mightily under W.'s two terms.  It's exploded during the Obama years.

These three represent the ruling class, where all that matters is being in power.  Principles aren't needed, however principals, the investor type, are required. 

Bifurcated Rule of Law in U.S.

Those in power aren't held to rule of law:



Those sufficiently powerful aren't constrained by rule of law.

Rumsfeld, Petraeus Linked to U.S. Imposed Torture

The Guardian reported:

The Pentagon sent a US veteran of the "dirty wars" in Central America to oversee sectarian police commando units in Iraq that set up secret detention and torture centres to get information from insurgents. These units conducted some of the worst acts of torture during the US occupation and accelerated the country's descent into full-scale civil war.

Colonel James Steele was a 58-year-old retired special forces veteran when he was nominated by Donald Rumsfeld to help organise the paramilitaries in an attempt to quell a Sunni insurgency, an investigation by the Guardian and BBC Arabic shows.

 A second special adviser reported directly to David Petraeus.  Neither Rumsfeld or Petraeus have been charged with war crimes.  Our "democracy,"  where the ruling class makes the rules, would have it no other way. 

The Guardian/BBC Arabic investigation was sparked by the release of classified US military logs on WikiLeaks that detailed hundreds of incidents where US soldiers came across tortured detainees in a network of detention centres run by the police commandos across Iraq. Private Bradley Manning, 25, is facing a prison sentence of up to 20 years after he pleaded guilty to leaking the documents.

The little people, however principled, must pay.  

Political Theater of the Murdering Absurd

AirForce Times reported that drone air strikes in Afghanistan would no longer be reported.  Oddly, this piece outed Rand Paul on his "spontaneous filibuster."

On Feb. 20 Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., sent a letter to Brennan saying that he would filibuster the nomination over concerns about using RPA strikes inside the U.S., a threat he carried out for over 12 hours on March 6 (Brennan was confirmed the next day). 

Obama hides his program to create more terrorists, while Rand had over two weeks to prepare for his political stunt, which firmly aligned him .with NeoCons, who desperately need the Ron Paul's liberty followers to retake the White House.

Update 3-9-11:  As for democracies killing their citizens with drones, consider Pakistan.  

Annual AIPAC Powerfest

Speaking and attending the annual AIPAC meeting is in a critical event for America's political leaders.  AIPAC's website states the following elected leaders will participate:

Members of Congress

• The Honorable Shelley Berkley, Former Member, United States House of Representatives
• The Honorable Eric Cantor (R-VA), Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
• The Honorable John Cornyn (R-TX), Republican Whip, United States Senate
• The Honorable Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Vice Chair, Democratic Caucus; Member, Foreign Affairs Committee, United States House of Representatives
• The Honorable Ted Cruz (R-TX), Member, Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate
• The Honorable Ted Deutch (D-FL), Ranking Member, Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia, United States House of Representatives
• The Honorable Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Member, Foreign Affairs Committee, United States House of Representatives
• The Honorable Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ranking Member, Foreign Affairs Committee, United States House of Representatives
• The Honorable Marcia Fudge (D-OH), Chairwoman, Congressional Black Caucus, United States House of Representatives
• The Honorable Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Democratic Whip, United States House of Representatives
• The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman, Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia, United States House of Representatives
• The Honorable Peter King (R-NY), Chairman, Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, United States House of Representatives
• The Honorable Michael McCaul (R-TX), Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security, United States House of Representatives
• The Honorable Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman, Foreign Relations Committee, United States Senate
• The Honorable Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, United States House of Representatives
• The Honorable Brad Sherman (D-CA), Rannking Member, Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, United States House of Representatives

Top issues include 1) more war. 2) more war and 3) money for more wars. The session kicks off in earnest tomorrow.  Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will meet with U.S. Defense Chief Chuck Hagel after AIPAC.

Update 3-9-11:  This year's AIPANDER results included one House and two Senate bills.  House bill would support an Israeli strike against Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program.  One Senate bill called on the U.S. to logistically support Israel should it feel "compelled" to strike Iran to stop its suspected bomb-making, while the other created a new "super ally designation" for Israel, confirming its 51st state status.

Update 4-19-13:   Jerusalem Post reported  "An overwhelming majority of the US Senate approved a resolution on Monday that stated the intent of Congress to support the “legitimate self-defense” of Israel, with American diplomatic and military power, if the Jewish state chooses to move ahead with a strike on Iran."

America's Surveillance State Knows No Bounds

The Guardian reported on one facet of America's descent into a total surveillance state:

The battered credibility of the Guantánamo trials has been further dented by revelations of hidden microphones, intelligence service interference with court proceedings and protests from lawyers who say the US military is preventing a proper defence of the alleged organisers of the 9/11 attacks.

The increasingly chaotic pre-trial hearings for the alleged mastermind of the attacks on the World Trade Center, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four co-accused have slowed progress toward the full trial, to the point where it will now not start until at least 2014. But the latest developments also further undermine confidence in a military court whose legitimacy has long been questioned.

In recent days, the commander of the Guantánamo prison, Colonel John Bogdan, was forced to admit on the witness stand that secret listening devices disguised as smoke detectors were installed in the cell where lawyers met their clients, and that he knew nothing about them.

This means citizens must rely on whistle blowers, those in the inside of the surveillance state, for revelations on its depth and mendacity.  Which brings us to America's treatment of Bradley Manning.

Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of being behind the largest leak of state secrets in America's history, has been denied the chance to make a whistleblower defence in his upcoming court martial in which he faces possible life in military custody with no chance of parole.

Checkmate, the surveillance state wins.  Obama must be very proud of the payoff that awaits him post public service.

Update 1-2-2017:  President Obama's zero tolerance war on whistleblowers paves the way for President elect Donald Trump, who has already expressed extreme disregard for the press and the role it's played in keeping government responsible and accountable.