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Wall Street, Banks, and American Foreign Policy
In light of this main stream news article admitting things i've known for years it is probably time to move this from "it's a plot" to the news section.


Quote:Everything Is Rigged: The Biggest Price-Fixing Scandal Ever

By Matt Taibbi
April 25, 2013 1:00 PM ET

You may have heard of the Libor scandal, in which at least three â and perhaps as many as 16 â of the name-brand too-big-to-fail banks have been manipulating global interest rates, in the process messing around with the prices of upward of $500 trillion (that's trillion, with a "t") worth of financial instruments. When that sprawling con burst into public view last year, it was easily the biggest financial scandal in history â MIT professor Andrew Lo even said it "dwarfs by orders of magnitude any financial scam in the history of markets."



It should surprise no one that among the players implicated in this scheme to fix the prices of interest-rate swaps are the same megabanks â including Barclays, UBS, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and the Royal Bank of Scotland â that serve on the Libor panel that sets global interest rates. In fact, in recent years many of these banks have already paid multimillion-dollar settlements for anti-competitive manipulation of one form or another (in addition to Libor, some were caught up in an anti-competitive scheme, detailed in Rolling Stone last year, to rig municipal-debt service auctions). Though the jumble of financial acronyms sounds like gibberish to the layperson, the fact that there may now be price-fixing scandals involving both Libor and ISDAfix suggests a single, giant mushrooming conspiracy of collusion and price-fixing hovering under the ostensibly competitive veneer of Wall Street culture.

The Scam Wall Street Learned From the Mafia



The bad news didn't stop with swaps and interest rates. In March, it also came out that two regulators â the CFTC here in the U.S. and the Madrid-based International Organization of Securities Commissions â were spurred by the Libor revelations to investigate the possibility of collusive manipulation of gold and silver prices. "Given the clubby manipulation efforts we saw in Libor benchmarks, I assume other benchmarks â many other benchmarks â are legit areas of inquiry," CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton said.

But the biggest shock came out of a federal courtroom at the end of March â though if you follow these matters closely, it may not have been so shocking at all â when a landmark class-action civil lawsuit against the banks for Libor-related offenses was dismissed. In that case, a federal judge accepted the banker-defendants' incredible argument: If cities and towns and other investors lost money because of Libor manipulation, that was their own fault for ever thinking the banks were competing in the first place.



All of these stories collectively pointed to the same thing: These banks, which already possess enormous power just by virtue of their financial holdings â in the United States, the top six banks, many of them the same names you see on the Libor and ISDAfix panels, own assets equivalent to 60 percent of the nation's GDP â are beginning to realize the awesome possibilities for increased profit and political might that would come with colluding instead of competing. Moreover, it's increasingly clear that both the criminal justice system and the civil courts may be impotent to stop them, even when they do get caught working together to game the system.

this will collapse before November. Probably a lot sooner.

If you have money invested in any kind of "paper asset" get it in your hand while you can, before it is too late.

You have been warned.
So the banks are screwing governments over their debt management actions:- biting the hand that feeds them. Libor was bad enough but this could be one fraud too far, the bursting of their bubble.
EDIT: **it is important to note, the word inflation means a rise in the supply of money, or expansion of credit (the same thing in our monetary system) in the post below, not a rise in prices. Deflation likewise is a shrinking of the money supply or credit outstanding, either by paying it off or default. While it is true that prices generally rise when more money goes into circulation it is not always so, and prices do not always fall when the money supply shrinks.**

The goal is a 1933 type devaluation of the currency again, but there is no way to do so in the heavy handed, confiscatory way Roosevelt did it.

Aside from which the American people don't have any money anyway, all they have is debt in a very real sense.

This is incredibly dangerous for the baby boomer generation more than even mine.

What they will take is the 401k plans, the pensions and any other type of paper portfolio assets.

It's impossible to predict the exact day, or the exact "event" that will cause it but there are a number of very plausible scenarios setting up at this time.

Japan is determined to print till they can over come "deflation", however their deflation is defined as a "shrinking of credit and falling prices". The Japanese are psychologically and culturally adverse to debt, they refuse to take on the kinds of loans Americans do, yet that drive is exactly what the BoJ is "fighting". They are determined to print until prices rise and people can't live within their means anymore, no matter how humbly, so they have to take on debt. If the people refuse to capitulate this will lead to a Wiemar style hyper inflation.

The Euro is falling apart. The entire point of the EU and Eurozone was to allow free flow of people and capital across international boarders, a contrived and controlled simulation of the classical gold standard period of before WW1. The problem is the Politicians and bureaucrats had no intention of allowing people to be free, instead they have created a monster where not all Euros are of equal value and they now have capital controls and price controls in place in southern Europe completely destroying the purpose of the project. Now it's morphed into a "one size fits Germany" economy where Germany exports to everyone else and there is almost no economy left in the periphery nations to buy the imports with. It's turning Europe into a giant 3rd world economy where in there are some very rich and everyone else is dirt poor.....

The Eurozone will break up, or there will be massive defaults or both. This is incredibly deflationary no matter how much the ECB prints. Credit will collapse and so will money velocity, the only way for people to get by will be barter or some kind of currency outside the system. This will be a gradual process, not a major political event like Japan will suffer. In the Japan problem it will happen all at once, in a period of weeks that prices will rise astronomically, not so in Europe. In Europe everything will continue to decline at an ever quickening but never hyper accelerated pace until the entire economy grinds to a halt. The Euro will still have value, but no one will have jobs so they won't be able to earn any Euros in the first place.

This brings us back to the Good ol USA. We are the devil in the details, the driving force destroying these once prosperous nations. Our fate resemble Europe at a slower pace, but with a major caveat that will in fact turn out to be a ticking time bomb.

The USA is in deflation, in spite of the fact that gas goes up and so does food. If we weren't in deflation, with the amount of money pumped into the system, we'd be seeing massive across the board inflation. For those wanting to see the system continue as is they would wish for inflation and a lot of it because the retiring of the boomers is going to sink us. They are going to attempt to retire on fixed income and fixed income investments at the exact same time that either Europe or Japan is going to blow sky high or maybe both. Why does this matter? It will obliterate the stock market (50% loss) and probably several if not all of the "too big to fail banks" when one or both crumbles.

The USA could handle that just fine, and i am serious when i say that. It won't be any worse really than 2007-8 by itself, but here's the catch: this time it will take the pensions with it. Hedge funds, 401k funds, pension funds are all loaded up on sovereign debt and not just ours. This will give them the image of being viable to save, when they are already empty in terms of real value not nominal value. What will the government do? it will go all in when the stock half of these portfolios are wiped out, they will roll these into a "national retirement fund", similar to social security and then devalue from there. This is a very appealing prospect and has been proposed very seriously by some of the top economists in the country as a solution to both the problem of under funding our banks (most have an investment side holding the liability end of the pensions) and to how to devalue the currency.

The people will cheer for it and beg for it. The older generation will rejoice, their retirements are saved, they will get their dollars! However such solution will be illusion. Prices of real value assets will soar, much like the prices of food and gas are going up even in an economy suffering a credit deflation, only much worse. We could wind up with price controls or simply high inflation for every day goods but capital and large goods like houses, cars, gold (and silver) will increase dramatically. Meanwhile the dollars will shrink as they do now.

If i was my mother's age i would have followed the advice i gave her in 1999 and bought gold, it's at least 5 times more than it was then even on it's worst day. If i was heavily invested in a 401k i would cash out today, pay the penalties and buy farm land. When the value of the dollar is adjusted down, either through inflation or through decree as it was in 1933, the price of that gold or that farm will go up and it's value will be preserved. Those leaving money in a 401k will be left with an empty account and a monthly check from the government that buys less every day.

As i said i do not know the exact scenario, i do know this will be done before the entire system collapses. To be honest it's also worth noting that i am simplifying very complex events into an overview or summary, some of this is very general where the specifics are very nuanced but the outcome will be the same.

We live in a ponzi scheme economy, if it ever stops expanding it will collapse in on itself.

It is impossible for it to start expanding again, there is no where to go from here but down.
Thought so >
Quote:Submitted by Mark McHugh from Across The Street

Jamie Dimon Has Issues

When just one firm accounts for 99.3% of the physical gold sales at the COMEX in the last three months itâs not what most of us on this side of the rainbow would consider âbroad-basedâ selling.  Of course discovering this kind of relevant information requires an internet connection, 2nd grade math and reading skills, and the desire to do a teeny-weeny bit of reporting.  Sadly theyâve wandered so far down the rabbit hole that the concept of âphysical demandâ (i.e. people actually wanting to take possession of the stuff) is puzzling to them because the vast majority of the worldâs so-called âgold-tradingâ takes place in the realm of make believe (which is their natural habitat).  Itâs all fun and games until somebody loses their metal and âsomebodyâ has lost one hell of a lot of metal in the last 90 days.
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(04-27-2013, 12:58 AM)Morbius link Wrote:EDIT: **it........down.
Let me ask you this. Businesses that operate soley in the US vs international. Wouldnt the local guys end up getting a boost? As they are only operating on the inside. Yes, many places rely upon things imported, but many do not.
Quote:No mountain is too tall if your first step is belief. -Anonymous
...Because even if there were no artifacts anywhere, not studying things of interest is an extreme disservice to science. -Tarius
In the short term yes it will boost local sales, but of what, in what quantities and to whom i don't know.

I honestly don't know how much though. It should result in a continued deflationary pressure simply because everything made in the USA has a huge tax and labor cost component.

More American products will, and in fact already are selling, but the thing is they sell to a much poorer consumer at a much higher price so fewer of them sell.

This compounds the issue by being both deflationary and slowing the velocity of money.
Quote:I had the opportunity yesterday to speak with one of the western worldâs most courageous and astute women, Karen Hudes, Former Senior Counsel to the World Bankânow turned whistle-blower.

It was a powerful conversation, as Karen spent 20 years with the World Bank as an attorney and economist, before being âlet-goâ after reporting internal fraud and corruption.


Starting out by discussing the shocking centralized power she witnessed while working at the World Bank, Karen explained that, âA study done by three [Swiss] systems analysts who used mathematical modeling [shows] how the [world's] 43,000 transnational corporations were being controlled through interlocking corporate directorates. Thereâs a group of 147 companies, most of them are financial institutions, and what theyâve done, is through the interlocking directorates, they control 40% of the net worth of these [43k] companies, and 60% of their earningsâ¦so that group has been using the presidency of the World Bank as kind of a puppet to dominate the worldâthatâs [now] finished.â

A major shock to that centralized power base, according to Karen, was the recent move by BRICs nations leaders to bypass the World Bank for their financing needs, by establishing their own development bank. âAs the BRICs [nations] economic power grows,â she explained, âtheyâre not going to be strangled anymore through the grabbing [of] their resourcesâ¦So their decision to start their own development bank was their way of letting [world] governments knowâ¦that its time to end this corruption.â

Major moves toward monetary independence are also being made by growing numbers of U.S. states, Karen added. She explained that, âThe states are starting to have legislation recognizing gold and silver bullion as legal currency. This is [also] a very strong signal the states are sending to the federal government, that the time to get serious about ending the corruption in the financial system is now here.â

When asked her thoughts on what this all means for the world monetary system, Karen said, âWhatâs going to happen, is weâre going to have all the countries of the world, sit down and figure out whatâs going to be the best, most orderly transition from the current system that we have, [which has] profound imbalance and unsustainable deficitsâ¦[this change] is going to happen as each country makes its preference known, because the system we have now is not transparent, and the biggest change [in the new system], is that thereâs going to be transparency.â

That transparency may be found through a gold-backed currency system, Karen noted, as, âAll of the countries of the world are going to allow precious metals to serve as currency, and this will be an underpinning for paper currency, [as] weâll have both systems at the same time. This is my guess, as I mentionedâI am an economist.â

As a final comment speaking towards her difficult journey as a World Bank whistle-blower, Karen said, âIâve been struggling now for years, to tell the American public whatâs [been] going on. I havenât gotten through, because this [financial] group has bought up the press and has been spreading disinformation systematically. That undermines the whole point of a democracy. How can voters vote without an informed opinion, without the information that theyâre entitled too? So this strangle-hold on information is going to end in very short order.â


To listen to the interview, left click the following link and/or right click and âsave target asâ or âsave link asâ to to your desktop:

>>Interview with Karen Hudes (MP3)

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Russia Not to Tolerate Further Israeli Attacks on Damascus





Moscow is retaliating not just for Israel's air operations against Syria but in anticipation of the Obama administration's impending decision to send the first US arms shipments to the Syrian rebels.



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Quote:Barack Hussein Obama had served 14-State Governors in the United States, National Security Letters (NSLs) warning that the Governorâs actions in attempting to form âState Defense Forcesâ needs to be halted âimmediatelyâ or they will face arrest for the crime of treason. The employment of NSLs was authorized by the Patriot Act introduced by George W. Bush. Contained within the section related to these letters, it is forbidden for anyone receiving a NSL warning to even acknowledge the existence of said communication.

Obama is angered by the several State Governors who have reestablished âState Defense Forces.â These forces are described as: âState Defense Forces (also known as State Guards, State Military Reserves, State Militias) in the United States are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government; they are not regulated by the National Guard Bureau nor are they part of the Army National Guard of the United States. State Defense Forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state. State Defense Forces are distinct from their stateâs National Guard in that they cannot become federal entities.â


The two Governors leading this move are: Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota; and Rick Perry, Governor of Texas. Both of these State Governors stated they have: ââ¦deep fear the President is destroying their Nation.â Governor Pawlentyâs fear of Obama is that since Obama took office he has appeased Americaâs enemies and has shunned some of Americaâs strongest allies, especially Israel. Governor Perry has declared that Obama is punishing his State of Texas by dumping tens-of-thousands of illegal Mexican immigrants into the cities and small towns of Texas. Governor Perry further recently stated: âIf Barack Obamaâs Washington doesnât stop being so oppressive, Texans might feel compelled to renounce their American citizenry and secede from the union.â

Obama fearing a revolution against him by the states, has moved swiftly by nationalizing nearly all National Guard Forces in multiple states; Georgia, Alabama, Kansas, Minnesota, Tennessee, Virginia, Louisiana, South Carolina â to name a few. The Governors of the Great States of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia still have under their Command-and-Control the State Defense Forces to go against U.S. Federal forces should the need arise. Also important to note: There are NO U.S. laws prohibiting National Guard troops from also joining their Stateâs Defense Forces. This dilemma occurred during the Civil War with many âcitizen soldiersâ choosing to serve their states instead of the Federal Government.

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Quote:Shell and BP raided in probe into petrol price fixing: Oil firms investigated over claims they manipulated cost for more than a decade
European Commission launched inquiry into price manipulation
Fear prices have been driven up at the pumps for millions of motorists
Commission suspects firms 'had colluded in reporting distorted prices'
Tory MP Robert Halfon called for 'urgent action' in the UK
The AA said it had repeatedly warned about the issue since 2005

By Rob Davies
PUBLISHED1638 EST, 14 May 2013| UPDATED:18:41 EST, 14 May 2013

BP and Shell are being investigated over allegations that they have fixed petrol prices for more than a decade.

European Commission investigators raided the offices of several major oil companies yesterday as they launched a far-reaching probe into price manipulation.

They fear prices have been driven up at the pumps for millions of motorists. The AA responded to news of the swoop by declaring: âThe lid is about to be blown off.
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Quote:Dept. of Homeland Security freezes accounts between Dwolla and bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox
By Michael Carney
On May 14, 2013



There are certainly more questions than answers at this stage. We are prompted to wonder whether this is this the first of a series of governmental assaults on the exchanges? Thatâs what theyâd target if they want to put the kibosh on bitcoin. Or, is this a case where DHS is investigating some individual or organization who may have used bitcoins, via Dwolla, for some potentially nefarious or terroristic reasons?

Members of the PandoDaily team have spoken to sources close to the bitcoin ecosystem and have been hearing that itâs likely the former.

As Adam Penenberg wrote recently:

Itâs conceivable the government will try to either regulate or destroy it if it becomes widely adopted. With more than $1 billion worth of Bitcoins in circulation that could happen any time now. In the past the government has aggressively fought back threats to the U.S. dollarâs preeminence. Thereâs the lesson of Bernard von Nothaus, a âmonetary architectâ who created his own currency based on precious metals called the âLiberty Dollar.â After von Mothaus managed to inject some $60 million of his homemade currency into circulation, a government prosecutor accused him of âdomestic terrorismâ for attempting to undermine the government. Unlike with Liberty Dollars and Wikileaks, thereâs no single person identified with the movement.

The cryptographic currency has gained popularity at a dramatic rate in the last six months, with more than $1 billion worth bitcoin now in circulation and with an explosion in the number of physical and digital businesses accepting it as a form of payment. Japan-based Mt.Gox is the largest exchange in the ecosystem handling roughly 63 percent of all bitcoin transactions in April 2013. Despite the rapid growth â or perhaps as a consequence of it â things havenât always been easy, with a number of security breaches in critical ecosystem infrastructure and several post-speculative sell-offs.

Most recently, just 10 days ago US-based bitcoin exchange startup CoinLab sued Mt. Gox for $75 million alledging breach of contract related to a partnership between the two companies. According to the lawsuit, CoinLab entered an agreement to license Mt. Goxâs technology, including âexclusive right to certain intellectual propertyâ to exclusively provide exchange services Mt. Goxâs North American customers. The plaintiff, which is backed by Tim Draper, Geoff Entress, Peter Vessenes, and others, claims that Mt. Gox breached this agreement by dealing with North American customers directly and failing to share data as stipulated under this agreement.

Thereâs no immediate link connecting the Coinlab lawsuit to todayâs Department of Homeland Security action regarding Dwolla, but the timing of both events raises some questions.

The IRS and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have also been looking closely at the bitcoin ecosystem and the adherence â or lack-thereof â of leading companies in the space to relevant tax laws. Numerous companies have started offering to pay employees in bitcoin, and small businesses are accepting the virtual currency for the purchase of goods and services. While bitcoin is popular for its pseudo-anonymity, Uncle Sam is obviously less than pleased with the idea of being cut out of the payment loop.

FinCEN regulations state that bitcoin exchanges and miners must register as Money Services Businesses (MSBs) and comply with anti-money laundering regulations, although everyday bitcoin users do not. Whether todayâs action has any connection to these inquiries is currently unclear, but even if not, such action is likely to come shortly.

We have reached out to a number of bitcoin investors, entrepreneurs, and otherwise informed observers for their thoughts on todayâs events. This is obviously an evolving situation and we will strive to update the situation as more information becomes available.
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If you have been following the news lately youâll notice there are 3 government scandals that the media is focusing on 1) The DOJ spying on the AP reporters 2) Benghazi gate 3) IRS targeting of activist groups.


Government Censorship - Protecting You From Reality
[Image: government-censorship.jpg]

The mediaâs reporting on the scandals has provided the public insights into the operations of the incestuous relationship between the press and the government.


These three scandals forced the corporate media to admit openly what has long been dismissed as merely conspiracy theory â  that the corporate media is now openly admitting that they are in fact controlled stenographers that do nothing more than echo pre-scripted narratives outlined in talking points created by the rulers of Americaâs shadow government.

To be absolutely clear, that is not hyperbole nor is it speculation. Itâs a fact that the corporate media is now openly admitting their reporting on the Benghazi scandal over the last 8 months has been merely the parroting of statements given by government officials who were merely echoing talking points issued by the CIA.




Wake up â Every news outlet in the country is admitting 8 months of news reports about Benghazi were nothing more than the parroting of CIA issued talking points.


Let it sink in.

This is not hyperbole and not sensationalism.


Does that not at all disturb anyone?


That is what the media is telling us the scandal is.




Information Operations, Google it.

But the media wants us to believe that the scandal is that CIAâs talking points were lies and thatâs the only scandal the media wants you to see.




Instead, the only scandal the media sees here is the fact the CIAâs talking points were deliberately falsified so Obama didnât catch heat  sothat he could be reelected.

Now look, I donât disagree that is in fact a scandal and the media by all rights should continue to investigate and expose the truth about that scandal.

But for the well-being of this nation and the protection of its citizenâs that media needs to be held just as accountable because if they didnât take the government at its word despite a continual track record of lies and deception America would be a much safer place today and the citizens of this nation and humanity as a whole would have a much brighter, safer and secure future.





News organizations know if they step out of line they their access to their âinside sourcesâ and be blacklisted by the government. For individuals in those organization committing such acts of bravery are career ending moves. When the media steps out of line and reports anything that contradicts official government narrative we see them get targeted by the government, both covertly and overtly. We saw it with the coalition of journalist that sued the government for being targeted through the NDAA and with WikiLeaks.

This of course ties into the third scandal which is the Associated Press being spied on by the Gestapo for daring to report information that wasnât explicitly authorized in talking points issued by the shadow government.

Yes, every now and then we see outlets such as the Associated Press, The New York Times, or the Washington Post do so-called investigative journalism that adds we are supposed to believe steps outside the boundaries and conflicts with the official narrative. But donât be fooled. Yes the media reports them as âleaksâ coming from âinside sources speaking on the condition of anonymityâ but nothing could be further from the truth. Those reports are nothing more than statements given by officials from the same Gestapo who are quoted on the condition of anonymity and those leaks are authorized.


Look at the reporting on Benghazi. I did several investigative reports which debunked the governmentâs narrative soon after the attacks. Many of the details I uncovered in my reporting still to this day are not being discussed by the corporate media so even the reports we are now being given by corporate media about the scandal are still being controlled by talking points or we would hearing much different information about the scandal from the media.

Of course this is typical of a media that simply echoes government talking points. Just look at the reporting on drone strikes, which in every case echoes government statements that militants were killed despite hundreds of foreign news reports on the bombings showing drone bombings repeatedly kill innocent woman and children. The examples are numerous. Iraqâs WMDs, Libya, the BP oil spill, Fukushima and even now we see the same thing in Syria.




Yet even in the wake of the mediaâs rebellion we should not get to overzealous as government handlers will soon work to stamp out those who are working to resist the machine.


For those in the media who read this, the time to act is now. We cannot continue to allow the information that is communicated to the masses by the media, which is the publicâs tool to keep the government in check and prevent it from becoming overbearing on the people, to be controlled by a few rich and powerful figureheads working as icy manipulators of a well oiled propaganda machine that for a secret shadow government.
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Emergency authority is defined as: a federal military commanderâs authority in extraordinary emergency circumstances where prior authorization by the president is impossible and duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situation to engage temporarily in activities that are necessary to quell large scale, unexpected, civil disturbances because:







(Thanks to chris for sending me the DoD regs.)

I don't give a god damn, I'm the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way. Stop throwing the Constitution in my face, it's just a god damn piece of paper!" George W. Bush 
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Quote:48c. The Bonus March

Bonus Marchers

Many in America wondered if the nation would survive.

Although the United States had little history of massive social upheaval or coup attempts against the government, hunger has an ominous way of stirring those passions among any population. As bread riots and shantytowns grew in number, many began to seek alternatives to the status quo. Demonstrations in the nation's capital increased, as Americans grew increasingly weary with President Hoover's perceived inaction. The demonstration that drew the most national attention was the Bonus Army march of 1932.

In 1924, Congress rewarded veterans of World War I with certificates redeemable in 1945 for $1,000 each. By 1932, many of these former servicemen had lost their jobs and fortunes in the early days of the Depression. They asked Congress to redeem their Bonus certificates early.

Workers on Strike
Workers and their unions fought poor working conditions by walking off the job. Violence often erupted when factory owners tried to break the "strike." These broken windows are a result of the Flint, Michigan, sit-down strike of 1936-37.

Led by Walter Waters of Oregon, the so-called Bonus Expeditionary Force set out for the nation's capital. Hitching rides, hopping trains, and hiking finally brought the Bonus Army, now 15,000 strong, into the capital in June 1932. Although President Hoover refused to address them, the veterans did find an audience with a congressional delegation. Soon a debate began in the Congress over whether to meet the demonstrators' demands.

As deliberation continued on Capitol Hill, the Bonus Army built a shantytown across the Potomac River in Anacostia Flats. When the Senate rejected their demands on June 17, most of the veterans dejectedly returned home. But several thousand remained in the capital with their families. Many had nowhere else to go. The Bonus Army conducted itself with decorum and spent their vigil unarmed.

Apples for sale in Detroit
Conditions during the Depression were so bad that some city governments devised programs that had the unemployed selling apples to make a living. This man was one of nearly 700 apple vendors in Detroit.

However, many believed them a threat to national security. On July 28, Washington police began to clear the demonstrators out of the capital. Two men were killed as tear gas and bayonets assailed the Bonus Marchers. Fearing rising disorder, Hoover ordered an army regiment into the city, under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur. The army, complete with infantry, cavalry, and tanks, rolled into Anacostia Flats forcing the Bonus Army to flee. MacArthur then ordered the shanty settlements burned.

Many Americans were outraged. How could the army treat veterans of the Great War with such disrespect? Hoover maintained that political agitators, anarchists, and communists dominated the mob. But facts contradict his claims. Nine out of ten Bonus Marchers were indeed veterans, and 20% were disabled. Despite the fact that the Bonus Army was the largest march on Washington up to that point in history, Hoover and MacArthur clearly overestimated the threat posed to national security. As Hoover campaigned for reelection that summer, his actions turned an already sour public opinion of him even further bottomward.
America sank deeper in Depression.
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The deployment appears to be a warning to Israeli and Western officials against military intervention in Syriaâs bloody civil war, which has now claimed the lives of over 80,000 people.

Russiaâs increased presence in the region â which began raising eyebrows in the US three months ago â represents one of its largest sustained naval deployments since the Cold War, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.


Russian warships enter Mediterranean to form permanent task force

Warships from Russiaâs Pacific Fleet have entered the Mediterranean for the first time in decades. Russiaâs Navy Chief says the task force may be reinforced with nuclear submarines, as the country starts building up a permanent fleet in the region.

âThe task force has successfully passed through the Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean. It is the first time in decades that Pacific Fleet warships have entered this region,â the Pacific Fleet spokesman, Capt. First Rank Roman Martov told RIA Novosti.


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Quote:(PP)- Friday a White House press release was inadvertently distributed early to news organizations announcing that President Barack Hussein Obama had signed an executive order giving himself a pay raise to $500,000 annually.

White House staff failed to squash the story as the press release was intended to be distributed late in the day on Friday, after the deadline when most news agencies are able to publish breaking news stories.

Critics of the Presidentâs executive order say the move makes Obama seem âpolitically tone deafâ because he gave himself a raise at a time when the federal government is arbitrarily cutting services and benefits due to sequestration.
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White House Shakeup: Susan Rice to National Security Advisor, Samantha Power to UN Ambassador
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Uploaded on Oct 11, 2011 

Share this link with EVERYONE you know.

Dylan Ratigan, correctly, schools some liberals who think that the answer to the economic mess is destroying it with printing and lending more money to corporation and banks to save Obama's ass for 20102 - 2017.

Obama and all of Congress are bought and paid for and if Obama would take his head out of his rump, go against the big bankers and corporations and side with the people, he'd go down in history as the President who saved the country, not destroyed it. He wouldn't get a second term but he'd be remembered for an eternity in a positive light.

Send this to EVERYONE you know!

Get out and do something! Our country is going down the pipes quickly!

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Quote:Erdogan backers join protests, see threat of emerging dictatorship

Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA â For the first time, longtime supporters of Prime Minister
Recep Erdogan have joined anti-government protests in Turkey.

Political sources and analysts have reported the increasing presence of
voters of Erdoganâs ruling Justice and Development Party, known as AKP, at
anti-government rallies. They said both voters as well as Erdoganâs allies
have expressed concern that the prime minister was turning into the dictator
of the NATO state.

Anti-government protesters try to protect themselves from a water cannon as riot police disperse them during a protest in Ankara on June 5. /Reuters

âThe rallies have included a number of AKP voters, suggesting that these are not the same as the old anti-AKP secular rallies,â Turkish analyst Soner Cagaptay, a director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said.
âThis is the Turksâ way of saying to the AKP: âWe may vote for you, but it does not mean we will support all your policies.â â

Erdoganâs allies have questioned the prime ministerâs confrontational style with his opposition in which more than 3,000 people were injured over the last 10 days. They said Erdogan tolerated massive police brutality and
baited young demonstrators in what led to the spread of protests from an Istanbul park to cities around Turkey.

âWe need to act smart and see the smallest problems as very big, and we
need to handle them in a smart way,â Fethullah Gulen, who heads one of the
largest Islamist movements in Turkey, said. âIf you are facing an invasion
of ants, you canât disregard it thinking that they are ants
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Quote:Even the Warriors Say the Wars Make Us Less Safe


By davidswanson - Posted on 11 June 2013

Experts Say U.S. Executive Secret War Harming U.S. National Security
collected by Fred Branfman

Admiral Dennis Blair, Former Director Of National Intelligence

âAdmiral Dennis Blair, the former director of National Intelligence (in the) New York Times [49]: While âdrone attacks did help reduce the Qaeda leadership in Pakistan,â he wrote, âthey also increased hatred of America.â He said the drone has also damaged âour ability to work with Pakistan [in] eliminating Taliban sanctuaries, encouraging Indian-Pakistani dialogue, and making Pakistanâs nuclear arsenal more secure.ââ

--"The Petraeus Projection, Part I: The CIA Director's Record Since The Surge [50] - Hero Worship Hides The Military Failures Of The CIA Director's 'Global Killing Machine'", by Fred Branfman, Salon, October 3, 2011

Michael Boyle, Former Obama Counter-Terrorism Adviser

âMichael Boyle, who was on Obama's counter-terrorism group in the run-up to his election in 2008, said the US administration's growing reliance on drone technology was having "adverse strategic effects that have not been properly weighed against the tactical gains associated with killing terrorists â¦ The vast increase in the number of deaths of low-ranking operatives has deepened political resistance to the US programme in Pakistan, Yemen and other countries."

--"US Drone Attacks 'Counter-Productive', Former Obama Security Adviser Claims,â January 7, 2013, The Guardian


âGen. James E. Cartwright, the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a favored adviser during Mr. Obamaâs first term, expressed concern in a speech here on Thursday that Americaâs aggressive campaign of drone strikes could be undermining long-term efforts to battle extremism. âWeâre seeing that blowback. If youâre trying to kill your way to a solution, no matter how precise you are, youâre going to upset people even if theyâre not targeted.ââ

--âAs New Drone Policy Is Weighed, Few Practical Effects Are Seenâ, NYT, March 22, 2013

CIA Station Chief in Islamabad

"The CIA station chief in Islamabad thought the drone strikes in 2005 and 2006 â which, while infrequent at that time, were often based on bad intelligence and had resulted in many civilian casualties â had done little except fuel hatred for the United States inside Pakistan and put Pakistani officials in the uncomfortable position of having to lie about the strikes."

-- The Way of the Knife, Mark Mazetti, Kindle loc. 2275

Council On Foreign Relations

"There appears to be a strong correlation in Yemen between increased targeted killings since December 2009 and heightened anger toward the United States and sympathy with or allegiance to AQAP ... One former senior military official closely involved in U.S. targeted killings argued that `drone strikes are just a signal of arrogance that will boomerang against America' ... A world characterized by the proliferation of armed drones ... would undermine core U.S. interests, such as preventing armed conflict, promoting human rights, and strengthening international legal regimes." Because of drones' inherent advantages over other weapons platforms, states and nonstate actors would be much more likely to use lethal force against the United States and its allies."

-- "Reforming U.S.Drone Strike Policies," January 2013, Micah Zenko, Council on Foreign Relations

Sherard Cowper-Coles, Former U.K. Special Representative To Afghanistan

âSir Sherard Cowper-Coles, close ally Britain's Special Representative to Afghanistan, stated that David Petraeus should be "ashamed of himself," explaining that "he has increased the violence (and) trebled the number of special forces raids." As Cowper-Coles has explained [51], "for every dead Pashtun warrior, there will be 10 pledged to revenge."â

--"Obama's Secret Wars: How Our Shady Counter-Terrorism Policies Are More Dangerous Than Terrorism", by Fred Branfman, AlterNet, July 11, 2011

Muhammed Daudzai, Karzai Chief Of Staff

Muhammed Daudzai, chief of staff for Afghan president Hamid Karzai, said [52] âwhen we do those night raids the enemy will get stronger and stronger in numbers.â


Director of National Intelligenceâs National Intelligence Estimate

"The final report concluded that Iraq had become a '"cause cÃ©lÃ¨bre" for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement.' ...  The report predicted that an increasingly decentralized global jihad movement would splinter even further, with regional militant groups proliferating. "



"We were so focused on getting these high value targets ... I think we ended up exacerbating a lot of the drivers of conflict and exacerbating the insurgency ... It doesn't take a genius to realize that by dragging people out of their homes in the middle of the night ... could inflame tensions, how this could actually exacerbate drivers of conflict,"

-- from Dirty Wars, Jeremy Scahill, Kindle Loc. 3171

Farea al-Muslimi, Yemeni Villager


--Testimony, Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, quoted in âDrone Strikes Turn Allies Into Enemies, Yemeni Saysâ, NYT, April 23, 2013

Robert Grenier, Former Head Of The Cia Counterrorism Center


--"Obama's Secret Wars: How Our Shady Counter-Terrorism Policies Are More Dangerous Than Terrorism", by Fred Branfman Alternet, July 11, 2011


--âDrone Attacks Create Terrorist Safe Havens, Warns Former CIA Officialâ, Guardian, 6-5-12

Michael Hayden, Former Cia Director

âFormer CIA Director Michael Hayden has openly criticized the Obamaâs administration use of pilot-less drones to assassinate suspected militants around the world. Hayden said, "Right now, there isnât a government on the planet that agrees with our legal rationale for these operations, except for Afghanistan and maybe Israel." The drone program began under President George W. Bush but has rapidly expanded under Obama. So far, the Obama administration has carried out drone strikes in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Ethiopia and Libya. Hayden also criticized the U.S. assassination of the U.S. born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. Hayden said, "We needed a court order to eavesdrop on him, but we didnât need a court order to kill him. Isnât that something?"

--âFormer CIA Director Hayden Slams Obama Drone Programâ, Democracy Now, February 7, 2012


"I think we're engendering more hostility. We're wasting a lot of very good assets going after midlevel guys who don't threaten the United States or have no capacity to threaten the United States,"

-- from Dirty Wars, Jeremy Scahill, Kindle Loc. 7393

David Ignatius, Washington Post Columnist


--âDrone attacks in Libya: A mistakeâ, Washington Post, 4-21-11

ISI - The Pakistan Interservices Intelligence Agency

âThe Wall Street Journal reported [54]: Pakistan's main spy agency says homegrown Islamist militants have overtaken the Indian army as the greatest threat to national security ... for the first time in 63 years.

Yes, that's right. Pakistani military intelligence now rates domestic insurgency a greater threat than India for the first time since Pakistan was created -- largely as a result of U.S. actions.â

-- "'Beyond Madness': Obama's War on Terror Setting Nuclear-Armed Pakistan on Fire", Fred Branfman, Alternet, November 3, 2010

Gregory Johnson, Princeton Yemen Expert

âThe most enduring policy legacy of the past four years may well turn out to be an approach to counterterrorism that American officials call the âYemen model,â a mixture of drone strikes and Special Forces raids targeting Al Qaeda leaders â¦ Testimonies from Qaeda fighters and interviews I and local journalists have conducted across Yemen attest to the centrality of civilian casualties in explaining Al Qaedaâs rapid growth there. The United States is killing women, children and members of key tribes. âEach time they kill a tribesman, they create more fighters for Al Qaeda,â one Yemeni explained to me over tea in Sana, the capital, last month. Another told CNN, after a failed strike, âI would not be surprised if a hundred tribesmen joined Al Qaeda as a result of the latest drone mistake.â

--âThe Wrong Man for the C.I.A.â, by Gregory Johnson, N.Y. Times, 11-19-12

David Kilcullen, Former Petraeus Counterinsurgency Advisor

âDavid Kilcullen, Petraeusâ own counterinsurgency adviser in Iraq, has characterized U.S. policy [55] as a fundamental âstrategic error ... our insistence on personalizing this conflict with Al Qaeda and the Taliban, devoting time and resources toward killing or capturing âhigh-valueâ targets ... distracts us from larger problems.â As Kilcullen had noted earlier [56], these âlarger problemsâ include the potential âcollapse of the Pakistani state,â which he called a calamity that in light of the countryâs size, strategic location and nuclear stockpile would âdwarfâ all other dangers in the region â¦ Kilcullen has warned [55] that the drone war âhas created a siege mentality among Pakistani civilians ... [is] now exciting visceral opposition across a broad spectrum of Pakistani opinion in Punjab and Sindh, the nationâs two most populous provinces.â Kilcullen has noted [55],âAl Qaeda and its Taliban allies must be defeated by indigenous forcesânot from the United States, and not even from Punjab, but from the parts of Pakistan in which they now hide. Drone strikes make this harder, not easier.â

--From âReplace Petraeus,â by Fred Branfman, Truthdig, June 2, 2009


--"Mass Assassinations Lie at the Heart of America's Military Strategy in the Muslim World",  by Fred Branfman, Alternet, August 24, 2010

Emile Nakhleh, Senior CIA Analyst

"We are not generating good will in these operations," Emile Nakhleh ... We might target radicals and potential radicals, but unfortunately...other things and other people are being destroyed or killed. So, in the long run ... these operations will not necessarily help to  deradicalize potential recruits ..."

-- from Dirty Wars, Jeremy Scahill, Kindle Loc. 9824

General Stanley McChrystal


-- " [58]The Runaway General [58]," Rolling Stone [58], 6/22/10

âThereâs widespread resentment against drone strikes in Pakistan, says the former commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal. At the launching ceremony of his book, âMy Share of the Taskâ, on Friday evening, the retired general repeated what he had said earlier that US drone strikes were âhated on a visceral levelâ. He warned that too many drone strikes in Pakistan without identifying suspected militants individually can be a bad thing. Gen McChrystal said he understood why Pakistanis, even in the areas not affected by the drones, reacted negatively against the strikes. He asked the Americans how they would react if a neighbouring country like Mexico started firing drone missiles at targets in Texas. The Pakistanis, he said, saw the drones as a demonstration of Americaâs might against their nation and reacted accordingly. âWhat scares me about drone strikes is how they are perceived around the world,â Gen McChrystal said in an earlier interview. âThe resentment created by American use of unmanned strikes â¦ is much greater than the average American appreciates. They are hated on a visceral level, even by people whoâve never seen one or seen the effects of one.ââ

--âMcChrystal opposes drone strikes [59]â, Dawn, 2-10-13

Cameron Munter, Former U.S. Ambassador To Pakistan

âThe problem is the political fallout â¦ Do you want to win a few battles and lose the war? â¦ The definition is a male between the ages of 20 and 40 â¦ My feeling is one manâs combatant is another manâsâwell, a chump who went to a meeting.â

--âA Former Ambassador to Pakistan Speaks Outâ, Daily Beast, Nov 20, 2012

Anne Patterson , Ex-U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan

âPattersonâs cables also reveal that U.S. leaders know that present policy is destabilizing Pakistan, thus making a nuclear disaster more likely. Referring to U.S. âunilateral operationsâ in northwest Pakistan (such as drone strikes, ground assassination and other infringements of Pakistani sovereignty), she wrote that âincreased unilateral operations in these areas risk destabilizing the Pakistani state, alienating both the civilian government and military leadership, and provoking a broader governance crisis in Pakistan without finally achieving the goal.â She then added that âto be effective, we must extend the writ of the Pakistani state into the FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas] in such a way that Taliban groups can no longer offer effective protection to al-Qaeda from Pakistanâs own security and law enforcement agencies in these areasâ (9-23-09 cable) [60].

--"WikiLeaks Exposes the Danger of Pakistanâs Nukes", Fred Branfman, Truthdig, January 13, 2011

Bruce Riedel, Obama âAfPakâ Advisor


--"Mass Assassinations Lie at the Heart of America's Military Strategy in the Muslim World", Fred Branfman, Alternet, August 24, 2010

Jeremy Scahill, Author, Dirty Wars, On Somalia


-- from Dirty Wars, Jeremy Scahill, Kindle Loc. 2689

Michael Scheueur, Former CIA Counterterrorism Operative

âFormer CIA counterrorism operative Michael Scheuer has stated [51] that "Petraeus's 'decapitation' approach was also unlikely to work. 'The Red Army tried that for 10 years, and they were far more ruthless and cruel about it than us, and it didn't work so well for them.'"

--"Obama's Secret Wars: How Our Shady Counter-Terrorism Policies Are More Dangerous Than Terrorism", by Fred Branfman, Alternet, July 11, 2011
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[Image: 1017660_4341890445572_1713888685_n.jpg]
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[Image: 1003642_266139436860941_961776746_n.jpg]
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Surveillance contractors gave millions in campaign cash to congressional lawmakers - GOP Sen. John McCain On The Top Of The List -
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Quote:Revealed: secret European deals to hand over private data to America
June 29, 2013 by Admin

Germany âamong countries offering intelligenceâ according to new claims by former US defence analyst

At least six European Union countries in addition to Britain have been colluding with the US over the mass harvesting of personal communications data, according to a former contractor to Americaâs National Security Agency, who said the public should not be âkept in the darkâ.


Madsen said the countries had âformal second and third party statusâ under signal intelligence (Sigint) agreements that compels them to hand over data, including mobile phone and internet information to the NSA if requested.


In an interview published last night on the PrivacySurgeon.org blog, Madsen, who has been attacked for holding controversial views on espionage issues, said he had decided to speak out after becoming concerned about the âhalf storyâ told by EU politicians regarding the extent of the NSAâs activities in Europe.

He said that under the agreements, which were drawn up after the second world war, the âNSA gets the lionâs shareâ of the Sigint âtakeâ. In return, the third parties to the NSA agreements received âhighly sanitised intelligenceâ.

Madsen said he was alarmed at the âsanctimonious outcryâ of political leaders who were âfeigning shockâ about the spying operations while staying silent about their own arrangements with the US, and was particularly concerned that senior German politicians had accused the UK of spying when their country had a similar third party deal with the NSA.


âI canât understand how Angela Merkel can keep a straight face, demanding assurances from Obama and the UK while Germany has entered into those exact relationships,â Madsen said.

The Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Ludford, a senior member of the European parliamentâs civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee, said Madsenâs allegations confirmed that â¦read more

Via: The Guardian







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Quote:In this age where politics is presented as entertainment, it's the most entertaining politicians who ascend.

As we all sit behind the desk and the theme tune begins to play, I regard the faces of my fellow panellists. Apprehensive, like me. In makeup, like me. Whenever we see David Cameron or Barack Obama on the box â knitted brows, index finger and thumb of dominant hand pinched in that contemporary rhetorical fist, powerful but not too powerful â they, in spite of what they're telling us, are always covering something up: their true faces.
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Quote:Stephen Lendman
Activist Post



He's waging multiple imperial wars. He's doing so on humanity. He plans others.

He looted the nation's wealth. He handed it to Wall Street, war profiteers, and other corporate crooks.





He destroyed hard won labor rights. He's commodifying education. He wants it made another business profit center.


He pronounced Bradley Manning guilty by accusation. Doing so assures conviction. His trial continues secretly. It reflects the worst of kangaroo court justice. It violates constitutional law. The Sixth Amendment states:


The Constitution mandates ALL criminal prosecutions. Pentagon ones aren't exempt. High-profile ones are especially important. They attract world attention.

Laws are made to be obeyed. Obama spurns them. He does so with impunity. He targets anyone challenging rogue state power. He wants whistleblowers silenced. He wants Edward Snowden arrested, extradited and imprisoned.

He threatens retaliation against nations willing to help him. The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations lets diplomats function freely. They can do so without coercion, harassment or interference. Host countries are mandated to protect them.

It's the basis of diplomatic immunity. It's considered milestone international relations legislation. Through June 2013, it has 189 signatories.

Host countries must grant all foreign officials free movement and travel throughout their territory. Treating them with respect is required.

All appropriate steps must be taken to do so. Inviolable law must be obeyed. No exceptions are permitted.

Article 29 states:


If states want their diplomats treated lawfully, they're obligated to treat foreign officials the same way. International law mandates it.

Washington spurns it with impunity. It violates core constitutional and US statute law provisions. It operates extrajudicially. It does so unapologetically.

On July 2, London's Guardian headlined "Bolivian president's jet rerouted amid suspicions Edward Snowden on board."

Evo Morales attended Moscow's second Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). He said he's "ready to give political asylum to people who expose spying activities.If we receive a request, we are willing to consider it."

He's targeted for saying so. Bolivia expressed outrage. Morales' plane was diverted to Vienna. Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said:


France and Portugal cancelled air permits, he explained. "They say it was due to technical issues, but after getting explanations from some authorities we found that there appeared to be some unfounded suspicions that Mr. Snowden was on the plane."

Their decision "put at risk the life of the president."

Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia held a midnight press conference. He said Italy and Spain refused airspace passage rights.

Morales was "kidnapped by imperialism," he added. He blamed EU complicity with Washington.

According to Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra:

"The ambassador for Spain in Austria has just informed us that there is no authorization to fly over Spanish territory, and that at 9AM Wednesday they would be in contact with us again."

Spain's government made "revision of the presidential plane" a condition for granting free passage.

Saavedra was aboard the flight. He was unequivocal. He pointed fingers the right way, saying:


Later he said France and Portugal reconsidered. They "changed their positions." Italy and Spain remained hardline.

"We will patiently seek to resolve the negative position taken by Italy and Spain, according to international norms," he added.

Early Wednesday, Bolivian officials rescheduled flight plans. They did so to return home. Obama officials were silent. Behind the scenes pressure targeted Morales. Complicit EU allies obliged. They did so disgracefully. They acted lawlessly.

Snowden's father Lon defended his son. He did so jointly with attorney Bruce Fein. They wrote Edward by open letter. It said in part:




He exposed Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's lies. He committed perjury. He told Congress NSA doesn't spy on Americans. Obama let him get away with it without comment.

Lon Snowden and Fein continued, saying:

"We leave it to the American people to decide whether you or Director Clapper is the superior patriot."


"We believe your actions fall within that honorable tradition, a conviction we believe is shared by many."



"(W)e will be unflagging in efforts to educate the American people about the impending ruination of the Constitution and the rule of law unless they abandon their complacency or indifference."

"Your actions are making our challenge easier."



Very truly yours,

Bruce Fein

Counsel for Lon Snowden

Lon Snowden

At 11:30AM Vienna time, Morales' plane (FAB1) departed. London's Guardian provided realtime radar tracking heading home.

A Final Comment

Obama breaches inviolable international principles egregiously. He does so with impunity. None remain too sacred not to violate. Targeting patriots like Manning and Snowden reflect the worst of rogue state governance.

Endangering Evo Morales' life shows he'll stop at nothing to force universal compliance. Obey Washington diktats or else. Failure risks isolation, targeted assassinations or war.

Snowden remains in limbo. Washington revoked his passport. It did so maliciously. He's stateless. He's a man without a country. No nation so far offered him asylum. Whether any will remains unknown.

He's punished for doing the right thing. Media scoundrels march in lockstep with lawlessness. They back ruthless Obama persecution. They do so disgracefully. They're apologists for injustice.

On July 1, Washington Post editors headlined "Plugging the leaks in the Edward Snowden case."

They called him a "naive hacker." Stop him at all costs, they urged. Prevent him "from leaking information that harms efforts to fight terrorism and conduct legitimate operations."

Fact check

Snowden acted honorably, courageously and legally. He exposed lawless NSA spying. Doing so revealed what everyone needs to know. Washington doesn't fight terrorism. It commits it at home and abroad.

New York Times editors stopped short of accusing Snowden of treason. They want him punished for disclosing classified information.

Civil disobedience means "accepting the consequences of one's actions," they said. Resisting tyranny's a universal right. Times editors didn't explain.

Separately they called spying on EU allies "perfectly legal under United States law." Jurists call it espionage. It's done for political, economic or military advantage.

US law prohibits it except when legitimately protecting national security. America has no enemies. EU nations are allies. Times editors exclude what readers most need to know.

Wall Street Journal editors want Snowden's head. "(N)othing prevents him from returning to the US to demonstrate the courage of his transparency convictions," they said.

Mercy isn't in Washington's vocabulary. Media scoundrels condemn what deserves praise. Snowden's on his own for justice. Itâs elusive. It remains for one or more world leaders to help. None officially did so.




Visit his blog site at http://www.sjlendman.blogspot.com.




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Quote:"Clearly Snowden is reporting serious crimes that took place on German soil and may even have been directed against people in office," said Peter Gauweiler, parliamentarian for the Christian Social Union, Bavarian sister party to Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union.

Speaking to the SÃ¼ddeutsche Zeitung, Gauweiler said that federal state prosecutors are already obliged to investigate the US spying that Snowden has uncovered, since they are responsible for the protection of state secrets.

"Edward Snowden should be questioned as a witness," he said. "That man has vital evidence."

He said the German judiciary has the power to grant Snowden safe passage if he is being called as a witness, at least for a limited amount of time. This would take the matter out of the hands of the government, which denied the whistleblower political asylum on Tuesday evening.
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Air Farce One: Morales skyjacking sparks anger in S. America
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