45 Lies in Obama's UN Speech link here
Congress seeks to Limit Free Press and Define Journalism with ""Shield Law"" link here
FFIA (Free Flow of Information Act) would ""protect"" journalists from subpoenas--because who needs them when METADATA works even better?? link here
Bagram---The Other GITMO link here
There are about 60 individuals the U.S. government is holding without charge or trial at Bagram (officially known as the Detention Facility at Parwan).
"The detention system and U.S. narrative surrounding it is intentionally dehumanizing and seeks to erase the humanity and histories and individualities of the victims of such policies," says Belal. "By focusing on the accounts of the families of the detainees, we are challenging the U.S. narrative (which is largely based on classified evidence, hearsay, etc.) of these guys being 'bad men' and terrorists by tracing out their histories, gathering their family histories and compiling accounts of their lives."
The United States transferred control of the Bagram facility to the Afghan government in March 2013, after months of delays cause by tensions between the two countries. Despite handing over control, however, the U.S. has continued to hold around 60 individuals under a stated law of war authority – the same legal rationale that applies to the detainees at Guantanamo. All of the U.S.-held detainees at Bagram are non-Afghans, and about two-thirds of them are Pakistani.
NSA Snowden Job Title was Key to Access to Documents link here
NSA Snowden took documents from internal NSA website link here
Q & A with Senator Ron Wyden about NSA link here
Seymour Hersh ""Bin Laden Story One Big Lie"" link here
"Nothing's been done about that story, it's one big lie, not one word of it is true," he says of the dramatic US Navy Seals raid in 2011.
He isn't even sure if the recent revelations about the depth and breadth of surveillance by the National Security Agency will have a lasting effect. Snowden was significant because he provided documentary evidence – although he is skeptical about whether the revelations will change the US government's policy.
Hersh is on full throttle, a whirlwind of amazing stories of how journalism used to be; how he exposed the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, how he got the Abu Ghraib pictures of American soldiers brutalising Iraqi prisoners, and what he thinks of Edward Snowden.
His story of how he uncovered the My Lai atrocity is one of old-fashioned shoe-leather journalism and doggedness. Back in 1969, he got a tip about a 26-year-old platoon leader, William Calley, who had been charged by the army with alleged mass murder.
Instead of picking up the phone to a press officer, he got into his car and started looking for him in the army camp of Fort Benning in Georgia, where he heard he had been detained. From door to door he searched the vast compound....
For students of journalism his message is put the miles and the hours in. He knew about Abu Ghraib five months before he could write about it, having been tipped off by a senior Iraqi army officer who risked his own life by coming out of Baghdad to Damascus to tell him how prisoners had been writing to their families asking them to come and kill them because they had been "despoiled".
"I went five months looking for a document, because without a document, there's nothing there, it doesn't go anywhere."
"The Bush era, I felt it was much easier to be critical than it is [of] Obama. Much more difficult in the Obama era," he said.
MY COMMENTS ON HERSHOn Seymour Hersh-----I respect him a lot, he is a great reporter----but am waiting for more on this story----He was wrong (as far as I know about Bush attacking Iran ""in the near future"" in 2006---so we will see)
Debt Battle---Where's Paul Ryan??
CR (Continuing [Budget] Resolution) Fatigue link here
If you thought this week was bad, get used to it. The dysfunction in Congress is likely to make Capitol Hill life miserable for at least the next two months — if it doesn’t consume yet another holiday season.
Blah Blah Blah The Government Shutdown is Coming link here
A government shutdown is only [fill in the blank] days, [fill in the blank] hours and [fill in the blank] minutes away. The countdown clock shows the seconds ticking by. The end is near.
Well, maybe that’s true. Maybe the government is going to shut down. The national parks will close. You won’t be able to renew your passport, making it impossible for you to flee to some enlightened land where the government is still open and operating normally. You’ll have to re-schedule your visit to the Washington Monument. (Actually, it is closed for repairs anyway, so don’t blame the shutdown, if there is one.)
Or maybe all of the coverage is just a wee bit exaggerated and premature. Maybe the government won’t shut down at all.
Pardon my blasé attitude about it all, but I’ve seen this movie before, and unless they changed the ending — and it certainly is possible they did — I’m not getting too excited yet.
District officials have been warned that bucking requirements to suspend nonessential services if the federal government shuts down could result in arrests or hefty fines, but prospects of federal prosecution or a punishment from Capitol Hill appear slim.
“The reality of how so-called shutdowns work are that, retroactively, we pay every federal employee, including the ones that stay home. So from a practical standpoint in these short-term shutdowns, there is no money being saved by sending people home,” said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. “I rather doubt that Congress would take punitive actions against the District of Columbia for keeping their personnel on.”
GOP still won't call Obamacare the law link here
Republicans often refer to President Obama’s signature healthcare law either as “ObamaCare” or a healthcare “bill” — subtly implying that it’s not truly permanent.
SYRIA CHEMICAL WEAPONS link here
GOP plans to let guns on Military Bases after DC Navy Yard Shooting link here
Pensions---How Wall St Robs State Public Workers link here
2011 Debt Ceiling fight leads to S & P Downgrade BECAUASE OF POLITICS link here
NSA---Telco Exec released from jail after 4 years link here
However, it was only later that it started to come out that Nacchio was alone among all of the major telco execs to tell the NSA to get lost when they came calling, demanding the ability to basically tap Qwest's entire network. For years, Nacchio has insisted that the entire lawsuit against him was retaliation for his refusal. When he first made those claims, it sounded far fetched and ridiculous. However, in the intervening years, as more and more details of the NSA's activities have become clear, Nacchio's initial arguments seem a hell of a lot more plausible.
Larry Ellison of Oracle---after 9/11 promoted National ID Cards link here
“The reality of how so-called shutdowns work are that, retroactively, we pay every federal employee, including the ones that stay home. So from a practical standpoint in these short-term shutdowns, there is no money being saved by sending people home,” said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. “I rather doubt that Congress would take punitive actions against the District of Columbia for keeping their personnel on.”
Republicans often refer to President Obama’s signature healthcare law either as “ObamaCare” or a healthcare “bill” — subtly implying that it’s not truly permanent.
SYRIA CHEMICAL WEAPONS link here
On Friday, the U.N. said chemical or biological weapons might have been deployed three more times after the Aug. 21 attack.
U.N. officials in Syria say in the next few days, they will investigate incidents reported just days after in Bahhariyeh Aug. 22, in Jobar Aug. 24, and in Ashrafiah Sahnaya Aug. 25.
Altogether, seven incidents were reported this year where chemical weapons might have been used. The three earlier events happened in March and April.
Inspectors plan to launch their investigation by Tuesday and hope to have a report completed by late October, the United Nations said.
GOP plans to let guns on Military Bases after DC Navy Yard Shooting link here
The bill is a response to this month's shooting spree on a Washington, D.C., naval base that left 13 dead.
House Republicans on Thursday introduced legislation that would end the ban on carrying firearms on military bases in response to this month's shooting spree on a Washington, D.C., naval base that left 13 dead, including the shooter.
Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) proposed the Safe Military Bases Act, H.R. 3199, along with six other House Republicans. Stockman said the bill would reverse the Clinton-era gun policy that he said has led to two mass shootings on bases.
Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) proposed the Safe Military Bases Act, H.R. 3199, along with six other House Republicans. Stockman said the bill would reverse the Clinton-era gun policy that he said has led to two mass shootings on bases.
"Our disarmed military bases are vulnerable targets for terrorists, as we saw in Fort Hood and the Navy Yard," Stockman said Thursday. "Despite that, soldiers trained to use guns cannot carry on base.
Pensions---How Wall St Robs State Public Workers link here
2011 Debt Ceiling fight leads to S & P Downgrade BECAUASE OF POLITICS link here
NSA---Telco Exec released from jail after 4 years link here
However, it was only later that it started to come out that Nacchio was alone among all of the major telco execs to tell the NSA to get lost when they came calling, demanding the ability to basically tap Qwest's entire network. For years, Nacchio has insisted that the entire lawsuit against him was retaliation for his refusal. When he first made those claims, it sounded far fetched and ridiculous. However, in the intervening years, as more and more details of the NSA's activities have become clear, Nacchio's initial arguments seem a hell of a lot more plausible.
Larry Ellison of Oracle---after 9/11 promoted National ID Cards link here
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