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AT&T: We don't have to disclose NSA dealings

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© Thomas Coex, AFP/Getty ImagesTelecom network cables pictured in Paris.
AT&T, under fire for ongoing revelations that it shares and sells customers' communications records to the National Security Agency and other U.S. intelligence offices, says it isn't required to disclose to shareholders what it does with customers' data.

In a letter sent Thursday to the Securities and Exchange Commission, AT&T said it protects customer information and complies with government requests for records "only to the extent required by law."

The telecom giant's letter was a response to a shareholder revolt sparked on Nov. 20 by the New York State Common Retirement Fund, the ACLU of Northern California and others. The groups are demanding that AT&T and Verizon be more transparent about their dealings with the NSA.

In the letter, AT&T said information about assisting foreign intelligence surveillance activities is almost certainly classified. The company said it should not have to address the issue at its annual shareholders meeting this spring.

Dollar Gold

Amend the Fed: the U.S. needs a bank that serves Main Street, not Wall Street

US Federal Reserve logo
© Inconnu
December 23rd marks the 100th anniversary of the Federal Reserve. Dissatisfaction with its track record has prompted calls to audit the Fed and end the Fed. At the least, Congress needs to amend the Fed, modifying the Federal Reserve Act to give the central bank the tools necessary to carry out its mandates.

The Federal Reserve is the only central bank with a dual mandate. It is charged not only with maintaining low, stable inflation but with promoting maximum sustainable employment. Yet unemployment remains stubbornly high, despite four years of radical tinkering with interest rates and quantitative easing (creating money on the Fed's books). After pushing interest rates as low as they can go, the Fed has admitted that it has run out of tools.

Pistol

SOTT Focus: Behind the Headlines: Assassinated Heroes

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The pages of human history are not only long, they are largely redacted and distorted in a way that not only bolsters the official history of the righteous rule of the 'elite', but simultaneously covers up their long-term corruption and criminality. Those same pages are also replete with, and at times defined by, iconic and notable figures who rose to positions of either power or notoriety (or both) by either chance or design.

Some historical figures are lauded as heroes or even saviors, while others are remembered only as a warning of what can happen when human potential goes horribly awry. Yet, more often than not, when the true details of their lives are subjected to close and objective scrutiny, even the lauded heroes of history fall from grace to one degree or another.

There are however, a vanishingly small group of historical figures who, when scrutinized in the same way, provoke precisely the opposite effect; they are revealed to be true, and largely unsung, heroes. This details of their lives, and their deaths, tell a story of their ultimately unrealized potential to not only change human society for the better but to serve as role models for us all.

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Unfortunately, the lives of most of these individuals were dramatically cut short by an assassins bullet or some equally fatal plot hatched by the established authorities of the day who realised the very real threat posed to their rule by the unchecked emergence of a true champion of the people.

Michael Collins, JFK, RFK, MLK, Ghandi, Lumumba, Lennon, Moro, Sadat, Palme, Diana, Rafik Hariri, Benazir Bhutto, Anna Lindh, Yasser Arafat...this is a short-list of great or potentially great leaders who were assassinated in the 20th century.

Earlier this year on SOTT Talk Radio, we looked at the lives and deaths of these individuals and others who were 'taken out' simply because they had the power and intent to make our world a better place for all.

Running Time: 02:04:00

Download: MP3


Eye 1

SOTT Focus: Behind the Headlines: NSA's PRISM offers neither privacy nor security

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'NSA leaks' continue to pour out thick and fast courtesy of Ed Snowden and the Guardian newspaper. Are we really learning anything new? Do we really think The Guardian and Washington Post would publish stuff they weren't 'allowed' to publish? Who is Ed Snowden really and why do some whistleblowers become famous while others are bumped off quietly?

Earlier this year we discussed the 'NSA privacy scandal' on SOTT Talk Radio. Check it out:

Running Time: 02:33:00

Download: MP3


Star of David

Gilad Atzmon on Ken O'Keefe's Middle East

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Part 1

Atzmon and O'Keefe scrutinize the role of language in political discussion and Palestine solidarity discourse in particular. In this segment they examine Zionism, Israel, Jewish tribalism and the usage of the 'J word'.


Red Flag

France sends military to deal with another 'ex'-colony, Central African Republic, under pretext of intervening in 'humanitarian crisis' it helped create

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© APFrench Special Forces race through Bangui, Central African Republic, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013. They have been given a carte blanche by President François Hollande to beat down the rebels and secure the country's resources for French nuclear industrialists "by any means necessary"
Resolution passed authorising French and African troops to use force to protect civilians amid reports of dozens killed in Bangui

A major French military intervention in the Central African Republic (CAR) is expected within days after the UN security council authorised French and African troops Thursdayto use force to protect civilians as the world races to prevent a sectarian war.

At least 105 people were killed during the heaviest clashes for months between rival militias in the capital, Bangui, according to Reuters. Family members crowded into a mosque in the capital where 53 bodies were laid out, most of which appeared to have been clubbed or hacked to death.

The CAR has been heading towards sectarian warfare since March when mainly Muslim rebels, aided by mercenaries from Chad and Sudan, seized power in a coup in this predominantly Christian nation.

Crackles of gunfire erupted at around 6am in Bangui on Thursday and could still be heard sporadically nearly three hours later close to the city's international airport. There were other reports of arms fire from suburbs north and east of the city. Even the president's and prime minister's homes were looted.

Sylvain Groulx of Médecins Sans Frontières, said he had seen more than 20 bodies lying on a street and a further eight in a hospital morgue. His staff were treating up to 70 casualties "and that tally is going up". He said: "I'm worried what kind of reprisals there will be later. Nobody is moving and it's a real ghost town."

Snakes in Suits

And the rich get richer: Government leaders conclude new WTO deal for the benefit of corporations

The World Trade Organisation has sealed its first global trade deal after almost 160 ministers who had gathered on the Indonesian island of Bali agreed to reforms to boost world commerce.

The agreement, which was criticised by anti-poverty charities, came after intense lobbying by India over measures to protect its poorest farmers. A last-minute compromise between the US and Cuba was also needed over references in the final draft to the continuing trade embargo of the Caribbean island.

Activists protest at WTO conference in Bali

Pistol

Newtown, Connecticut 911 tapes: 'They're still running, they're still shooting'


"I think there's somebody shooting in here," says an unidentified woman calling from inside the school.

"What makes you think that?" a 911 dispatcher asks.

"Because somebody's got a gun, I saw a glimpse of somebody running down the hallway," she replies, her voice shaking. "They're still running, they're still shooting."

Harrowing 911 calls made from Sandy Hook Elementary School to police in Newtown, Conn., were released Wednesday, giving the public a small but chilling window into the mass shooting that killed 26 people, including 20 children, last December.

Authorities released seven audio-enhanced calls made as 20-year-old gunman Adam Lanza shot his way into the school and began his killing spree.

Newtown police dispatchers can be heard urging school administrators to take shelter amid the massacre.

"Keep everyone down, keep everyone away from the windows," a female dispatcher calmly tells a teacher. "Try to lock down the school."

A male dispatcher stayed on the line for several minutes with Rick Thorne, the school's custodian.

"There's still shooting going on, please!" Thorne shouts. "I keep hearing shooting. I keep hearing popping." The sound of gunshots can be heard in the background.

The dispatcher picks up several calls in a row while keeping the custodian on the line for updates on the shooting.

"Guys, we've got a shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown," the dispatcher says to his colleagues. "That's why 911 is ringing off the hook right now."

Stephen Sedensky III, a state's attorney, fought against the release of the calls, arguing that the tapes - which were "being made on the murder of children as it occurs" - were too gruesome for residents to bear.

House

Epidemic Evictions: As rent soars, longtime San Francisco tenants fight to stay

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© Curtis Fry/FlickerIn San Francisco, demand for apartments is booming, but for low and middle-income tenants, this means it's hard to find an affordable place to rent
San Francisco has long been a desirable place to live - and that's even more true today as the city is basking in the glow of another tech boom. But the influx of new money and new residents is putting a strain on the city's housing market.

The city has the highest median rent in the nation, and evictions of longtime residents are skyrocketing.

Ground zero for San Francisco's eviction crisis is the Inner Mission District. Until recently, this edgy neighborhood was home to a mix of working-class Latinos, artists and activists.

Tom Rapp, an airport building maintenance worker, rents a modest second-story flat that he has called home for 15 years. He says a lot of his neighbors have been evicted over the past couple of years. Then bad news came knocking on his door, too.

"We received an eviction notice at the end of August," he says.

"But we've gotten like three different ones, right?" adds his roommate, Patricia Kerman.

Kerman, a senior on a fixed income, has lived in this flat for 27 years.

The two are fighting to stay in their rent-controlled apartment as their landlord tries to evict them under what's known as the Ellis Act. It's a state law that allows an eviction if the landlord wants to pull the building out of the rental market, usually with a plan to sell the units.

"They found this loophole where they're now able to get people out of their rent-controlled apartments, and it's just becoming an epidemic," Rapp says.

Bad Guys

EU fueling the protests: EU delegation urges Ukraine protesters to seek referendum

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© RIA Novosti/Alexey KudenkoSupporters of Ukraine's EU integration in Kiev's Independence Square.
Ukraine should hold a referendum to decide its political course, Alexandra Thein, the German MEP from the EU-delegation to Ukraine told RT. The politician believes it is normal to support protests in the streets, if it doesn't incite violence.

A delegation of Members of the European Parliament descended on Ukraine on Saturday, to meet with the opposition leaders and address the crowd in the streets of Kiev, fueling the protest further.

Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, a European Parliament member from Poland expressed full support for the protesters' demand for an early election, calling the situation "unacceptable" when "the choice of the majority of Ukrainians, millions of people, is being put aside."

However, speaking with RT, German MEP Alexandra Thein, said that the "unofficial" visit of the European politicians was all about democracy and the Ukrainian people's desire to associate with Europe, and not the ousting of a democratically elected government which just recently survived a no confidence vote.

RT: We've seen scores of EU politicians come mingle with the protesters in Kiev. Why aren't they letting Ukraine's elected leaders democratically decide?

Alexandra Thein: I think it is not against Ukraine's leadership. I think they just show their solidarity with the protesters and I think we want the Association Agreement with the EU signed and therefore we assist them.


Comment: So now the EU in the name of democracy fuels the protests in another country and talks directly to the crowds???? What is wrong with presenting the views to those people elected by the people themselves? Isn't that how democracy works?

How would it be if Chinese or Russian or Iranian or African delegations start coming to Europe and address the protesters there directly and fuel them on to continue protesting for their rights? If you think that it is not a problem as there are no protests right now, think again as the austerity measures taken, soon will make the population come out in the streets across Europe.


Comment: In the EU, important matters, which are not supported by the people, are not put out to referendum, matters such as joining the euro or not.
In Syria a referendum was held regarding a new constitution and it was supported by 90% with a voter turn out of 60%. Yet the EU did not recognize this result, as it didn't fit with the EU policy of regime change.

Syria: Democracy vs. foreign invasion. Who is Bashar Al Assad?