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Mon, 08 Nov 2021
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Attention

The Federal Government admits it will continue warrantless spying regardless if Congress votes to stop it

Rachel Blevins
The Free Thought Project
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 00:00 UTC
Libertymessage
© integratingdarkandlight.com
U.S. officials admit they are not planning on shutting down the government's warrantless spying program, even if it is not reauthorized by 2018.

As the United States Congress runs out of time to vote on a bill that would reauthorize one of the government's most egregious warrantless spying programs, officials are claiming that those programs won't end anytime soon - even if they are not reauthorized by the end of the year.

The USA Liberty Act will reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2017. While the bill's proponents have claimed it will help ensure "security" in the United States, privacy advocates have warned that will provide additional loopholes for the government to continue conducting warrantless surveillance of innocent Americans.

The assumption may be that if the USA Liberty Act is not signed into law, then the provisions from Section 702 will no longer be legal and the U.S. government will stop collecting data from innocent Americans without warrants - but intelligence officials do not see it that way. A spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Brian Hale, told the New York Times that "the government believes it can keep the program going for months," even if it is not reauthorized.

Comment: Liberties and rights are long gone. The government and public are just catching on.

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Nuke

Exactly what sort of nuclear attack would be considered legal?

John LaForge
Counterpunch
Thu, 07 Dec 2017 00:00 UTC
chessboardmissiles
© Pinterest
US general says order to launch nuclear weapons can be refused if illegal
-Chicago Tribune, Nov. 18

US nuclear commander would balk at any "illegal" order
-MSNBC, Nov. 18

General heading Strategic Command says illegal nuclear launch order can be refused
-NBC News, Nov. 18

Top general says he would resist "illegal" nuke order from Trump
-CBS News, Nov. 18

Top US general says he would resist illegal nuclear strike order from Donald Trump
-The Independent, Nov. 18
All these headlines give the direct impression that a nuclear attack could be legal in some circumstances. But is this possible?

Air Force General John Hyten, commander of Strategic Command, told the Halifax International Security Forum Nov. 18, that an order from the president to launch nuclear weapons can be refused if that order is determined to be illegal. In the face of an unlawful order, Gen. Hyten said, he would tell Trump he couldn't carry it out. "If it's illegal, guess what's going to happen?" Hyten asked the gathering. "I'm going to say, 'Mr. President, that's illegal.'"

Comment: An absolutely frightening apocalyptic scenario with descriptions of the physical realities of a nuclear detonation. The fact that it is widely deemed illegal - is that enough assurance? Enough deterrence?

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Snakes in Suits

Nunes cleared by US House ethics panel of classified leak allegations


RT
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 03:02 UTC
DevinNunes
© Joshua Roberts/Reuters
Chair of House Intelligence Committee Devin Nunes
The US House Ethics Committee has cleared Representative Devin Nunes (R-California) on a complaint that he leaked classified information. The surprise decision paves the way for the firebrand lawmaker to reassume chairing a House intelligence panel.

The ethics committee said Thursday in a brief statement that it determined the Republican congressman did not disclose classified information in March, when he made a surprise announcement about the US government picking up information about President Donald Trump's transition team during a surveillance sweep. Nunes was the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee at the time, and was leading the probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Kadyrov blasts Trump's Jerusalem announcement, warns of full-scale ME war


RT
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 11:07 UTC
Kadyrov
© Global Look Press
President of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov
The head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, has described the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel by the US president as a stab in the back for those who tried to reach a settlement in the Middle East, and a step towards a new war.

In a message posted on his page in Russia's most popular social network VKontakte (In Contact), Kadyrov stated that Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was made despite the opinion of the international community and in violation of the resolutions passed by the United Nations and other influential international organizations. He added that the decision deprived Palestinians of the last chance to get an autonomous state.

"In essence, this is a stab in the back for those who spent the last decades trying to develop an algorithm for a political and diplomatic settlement in this complicated region," Kadyrov wrote. He noted that the danger of the US step was especially evident because it was made very soon after the Syrian Army, with support of the Russian Air Force, liberated their country from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS).

"How shall we understand the US president's policy? It is simple - now we lost our last doubts about who had created this terrorist base on the territory of Iraq and Syria in order to establish their 'new world order'," he wrote. "I can state with certainty that by this, to put it mildly, crude decision Trump throws the state of Israel into the abyss of bloody confrontation and puts in under threat of a new, more powerful and organized Intifada. Which means a large-scale war," Kadyrov says.

Comment: Unfortunately there is no 'undo' possible. The corner has been turned and it is impossible to see any upside of this action.

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Monkey Wrench

Subsequent to the 'unmasking' of Flynn, US to tighten the screws on spies


RT
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 17:58 UTC
Mr.TMr.F
© Carlos Barria / Reuters
Amid persistent claims the Obama administration eavesdropped on members of Trump's transition team and leaked General Michael Flynn's name to the media, tough new restrictions are on the horizon. The Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said new rules to address the issue of 'unmasking' are set to go into effect on January 15, 2018.

The new procedures will "make clear that IC (intelligence community) elements may not engage in political activity, including dissemination of US person identities to the White House, for the purpose of affecting the political process of the United States," Coats wrote to Congress. Considering the ongoing probe by Special Counsel Robert Mueller against former and present members of the Trump administration, that statement will be heard like a crack of thunder around Washington, DC.

That's because behind the ongoing drama known as 'Russiagate' - which is becoming less a story of 'collusion' between Trump and Russia, and more a tale of Republican vs. Democrat intrigue - the nagging question persists: who leaked information to the media that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had engaged in conversation with Russian officials during the transition period?

Comment: For more background, see also:

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Red Flag

Nasrallah calls for severing Arab ties with Israel - says "Trump's decision on Jerusalem is a new Balfour Declaration"


Naharnet
Thu, 07 Dec 2017 00:00 UTC
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday slammed U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration on Jerusalem as a "new Balfour Declaration," urging Arab states to sever "public and secret" ties with Israel.

"Trump's decision on Jerusalem is a new Balfour Declaration and we will soon hear Arab voices trying to downplay its importance," Nasrallah warned in a televised address dedicated to commenting on the U.S. president's move.

"Israel does not care about what the Arab states, Europe, Russia or China would say, and it is only concerned with the U.S. stance," Nasrallah added, noting that Trump's move would encourage Israel to further violate "international resolutions and conventions."

"The Israelis were maybe building a limited number of settlements, but from now on we will witness an unrestricted construction process," Hizbullah's chief lamented.

Comment: Nasrallah's following in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East is quite large. He, as well as others, now see Trump's acts as a provocation - not just towards Palestinians but to the entire Arab and Muslim world. It remains to be seen what events this will set in motion, but it largely depends on how emboldened Israel is to act on its newfound "recognition" - not to mention how murderous they are feeling.

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Gear

S. Korea set to launch 'decapitation unit' targeting N. Korea government


RT
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 17:10 UTC
South Korean decapitation unit
© Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
The South Korean government has allocated the first $310,000 to its newly created "decapitation unit," which, in the event of war with Pyongyang, will be tasked with neutralizing its leadership and sabotaging crucial military facilities, local media report.

The ministry announced the first tranche of 340 million won ($310,000) Wednesday, South Korean media reported citing defense ministry sources. This sum, however, is just a fraction of the nearly $40 billion budget awarded to the ministry for 2018.

"The money will be spent on purchasing equipment for the special forces... The equipment includes suicide drones, surveillance drones and grenade machine guns," a defense ministry official told the Korea Herald on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, another official cited by Yonhap said the budget "will be used for such weapons as sub-machine guns for special operation purposes and drones."
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Eye 2

The dogs that didn't bark - Saudi Prince MBS imprisons and tortures Saudi oligarchs - World leaders and MSM remain silent

Israel Shamir
The Unz Review
Thu, 30 Nov 2017 20:13 UTC
Trump and Prince Mohammed bin Salman
© AFP/Getty Images
The best solutions to difficult problems are simple. The Columbus Egg. The Gordian Knot. The Procrustean Bed. So many people strained their fingers trying to untangle the messy knot, until Alexander came and slashed it open with one fine stroke of his mighty sword. Wise men vainly tried to make an egg stand upright on its end on the table, until Columbus smashed one end. Procrustes solved the problem of the great diversity of population height-wise, by chopping off the legs of the tall and stretching the legs of the short.

Now the glorious if a tad too long name of the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (or MBS) should join the list of the great solution-makers. He faced the problem of having a broke country, an empty treasury, and a lot of very rich citizens with full coffers.

Trump faces a similar problem; in the US, the top dogs have the whole hog, while the state is in multi-trillion debt. Just three well-to-do gentlemen-Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg-have as much in their coffers as all the ordinary folk. The annual deficit is about $400 billion; the Rockefellers would not even notice if this paltry sum went amiss from their holdings, estimated at well over a trillion dollars, that is twelve zeroes after the first digit.
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Crusader

Democrats play at being outraged by the Islamophobia they helped to create

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Tue, 05 Dec 2017 00:00 UTC
Chelsea Clinton
© http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/us/chelsea-clinton.htm
Days after America's reality TV president sparked outrage by sharing three violent and misleading anti-Muslim videos by the far-right ultranationalist group Britain First, the US Supreme Court has lifted two injunctions that had been placed by lower courts on the president's controversial immigration ban. And boy howdy are Democrats pretending to be upset about it.

This is going to be another one of those times where I focus on attacking Democrats for something the Republicans do at least as much, and I make no apologies for that. When you come home to find the babysitter and the baby passed out drunk, you don't get equally mad at both of them. Democrats present themselves as the party on the American left, which means they're supposed to be the grownups in the room when it comes to things like peace and social justice, but they've been anything but. The GOP has been a party of racist warmongers for a long time and we all know that already - it's the Democrats who have hijacked and corrupted the space that is supposed to be meant for putting up a robust resistance to those things.

Comment: Just like 'humanitarian intervention' or other such phrases, the Democrats willingly and deceitfully use any phrase or idea to conceal their true intentions - which is usually exactly the opposite of the image they try to present.

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Attention

Whistleblower says FBI had personal motive to target Flynn

Cristina Laila
Gateway Pundit
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 20:13 UTC
flynn mueller

Michael Flynn and Robert Mueller
A whistleblower told Rep Ron DeSantis that he witnessed a senior FBI executive suggest the FBI had a personal motive and targeted Flynn with the purpose of ruining his career.

A video of this exchange between FBI brass and agents commenting on ruining Flynn's career may exist.

Via The Hill:
....He said he also had talked to another whistleblower who witnessed a video teleconference last February between bureau leadership and their special agents in charge on the day former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned over lying to Vice President Pence over his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to making false statements to the FBI.

DeSantis said the person he spoke with said a senior FBI executive made an inappropriate comment suggesting the bureau had a personal motive in investigating Flynn and ruining his career. DeSantis wants the FBI to tell him if the videotape was saved.

"The wildly divergent ways these investigations have been conducted appear to dovetail with the political bias that has been uncovered," DeSantis said.
No doubt General Flynn was targeted.

Comment: Flynn was obviously targeted. The FBI "meeting" was obviously entrapment. The whole thing is obviously political. In the bizarro world of deep-state America, the following are all great reasons for hating on Flynn: he is against U.S. support for al-Qaeda and ISIS in Syria, he is against Turkish terrorist and CIA asset Fethullah Gulen, he sees the benefit of better relations with Russia, he supported Trump in questioning the joke of an ODNI report on "Russian hacking", and he supports Trump in general. There are plenty of reasons to be critical of Flynn - his rabid anti-Iran stance, and the fact that he wrote a book with arch-neocon Michael Ledeen, for instance - but the reasons listed above are not any of them.

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