Monday, September 9, 2013

Putin To Obama: "Check Mate - Little Boys Shouldn't Play A Man's Game"

When the shooting starts would you rather be armed or legal?  - Cormac McCarthy,  "The Road"
In a move that I can only describe as the equivalent of Putin changing Obama's political diapers for him, the Russian President has persuaded Syria to place its chemical weapons stockpile under international control:  LINK

This takes away any stated motive for Obama and John Kerry to press their dwindling cast of supporters into firing away at Syria.  Furthermore, it removes the possibility of the U.S. staging another "false flag" chemical weapons show, which is what most rational-minded observers have concluded occurred in Syria.

To be quite frank, I have to say that in the latest footage I've seen of John Kerry making his case for war in Syria, he has a frightening "rabid dog" look in his eyes - he's literally foaming at the mouth to attack Syria and get rid of the Assad Government.  I have to conclude that Obama and Kerry are acting in a politically insane manner here and I stand by my earlier conclusions that the underlying motive for this attempted attack on Syria by the Obama Government is seeded in money - oil-based blood money.

Is this the kind of leadership and political directive this country needs right now (or ever for that matter), when a record number of people sign up for food stamps and social security disability every month:  LINK  I have to believe that Obama has more serious policy agendas at home with the number of people in this country slipping into poverty growing by the day.

How about the Government debt ceiling Barack?  According to your blood money Secretary of Treasury and quiet advocate of your move to attack Syria, the Treasury runs out of money in about weeks.  How about the sinking economy?   Unfortunately money is the ultimate persuader in DC these days and AIPAC, the defense industry and the oil industry are throwing horse bales of it around very liberally.

The truth of the matter is that as the widespread and overt corruption on Wall Street and Capitol Hill grows by day, Obama needs something to divert our attention from our collapsing system.  History has taught us that crumbling empires always resort to war.  I hope this time around, given the historically unprecedented availability of life-destroying weapons technology, that Cormac McCarthy's vision in "The Road" does not spring into reality - it's been my fear since reading this must-read book four years ago...
When we're all gone at last then there'll be nobody here but death and his days will be numbered too. He'll be out in the road there with nothing to do and nobody to do it to. He'll say: where did everybody go? And that's how it will be. What's wrong with that?    Cormac McCarthy, "The Road"

35 comments:

  1. we have snookered ourselves

    ReplyDelete
  2. U.S. Going to Kill Syrians to Show Syria that Killing Syrians is Wrong

    Still More Hypocrisy

    To top of the hypocrisy, the US is the biggest user of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, in the entire world.

    Please read about the use of White Phosphorus by the US military in violation of the convention on chemical weapons.

    http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/09/us-going-to-kill-syrians-to-show-syria.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Hypocrisy is sicking !!!!
      The REAL Reason for the destabilization of the Middle East over the past 3 years and Striking Syria are revealed in these links .
      There are way more reasons for why this strike was being pushed than meets the eye folks !!!!!!
      Is this why Senator McCain has BEEN Making the Push to strike Syria
      ?????????
      Here is a Article that shows you the relationship between Senator John
      McCain and those who can Benefit from a Syrian Strike , and how News Media and
      Business Media would drive the use of force to rally support from the Citizenry
      why their motive is concealed , but thanks to alternative media sites the truth
      can prevail !!!!!
      http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/29/johnmccain.uselections2008

      Now read the Board member List in this article of those who would
      Benefit from taking Over the Oil and routes in Syria opening the door to a
      pipeline from Saudi / Qatar to the Mediterranean to supply the EU region
      with LNG
      The reason for our Government supporting the very Terrorist
      organizations Like the Muslim Brotherhood and key assets under their command
      that the Military has been fighting since 2001 becomes clear and disgusting !!! These guys would be the security for the Saudi , Qatar ,Lord Rothschild and Rupert Murdoch Invest in Genie Oil & Gas company that would benefit from the Pipeline up though Syria to the Mediterranean .
      This is Treason by the elite hierarchy and is criminal internationally
      it would seem !!!!!!
      http://www.idt.net/about/press/story.aspx?id=41777
      Heres the plan for the Pipeline up through Syria from Qatar ,
      http://www.newswithviews.com/McGuire/paul184.htm
      http://www.examiner.com/article/it-s-not-about-the-chemical-weapons-it-s-about-the-syrian-pipeline
      But whats even more disturbing
      is President Obama is helping Dick Cheney directly here with this strike potential while always being speaking about the Bush Cheney failures in their term in Office !!

      Delete
  3. Now I'm hearing on the News Dave ( not that I watch that shit ) that we have a heightened alert for retaliation here in America and that states ( Massachusetts ) is on higher alert since Al-CIA-DA operatives went over to the Middle East and trained and have since returned so we should be aware of all Americans...Can you believe this shit?

    This Ass clown that so many called smart is Bush x 2 WAKE UP AMERICA!

    ReplyDelete
  4. michael schumacherMonday, 09 September, 2013

    DAve-

    No one has touched the most significant news item of the last few days imo.

    I speak of the Olympics being awarded to Tokyo in 2020.

    That has got to be the single dumbest thing I have ever seen or heard hands down, considering what informed people know about the situation in and around Tokyo. Abe-San is a disgrace.

    or it's one hell, and I do mean ONE HELL of an incredible tell/hint.......


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. I bet that doesn't happen. That place is going to be a cesspool of nuclear waste...

      Delete
    2. michael schumacherTuesday, 10 September, 2013

      sort of my point......informed people know its impossible due to the "cesspool".

      What I speak to is that may be there will be no need for olympics at all...seeing as how holding them in that location flys in the face of any logic whatsoever.

      Someone is displaying an un-godly amount of hubris and it is not Abe-san, he is the messenger ala Obama.

      It's just as ridiculous as the fukushima tourism board announcing to the world, several months after this started, to come enjoy the cherry-blossom festival.

      It's going to be "over" alot sooner than any of us thought and that announcement is the proof to me.

      Delete
    3. michael schumacherTuesday, 10 September, 2013

      Forgot to add....Putin just went up several notches in my book.......beautiful and masterful handling of this situation.
      Goerring and Goebbels would be giving him a standing ovation.

      I wonder if they thought to use the same tactic they did in georgia, handing out russian passports to them and them claiming they were liberating there own citizens.

      Not checkmate yet..........but as in chess you can see who wins long before game over. I just hope the game over part is not a reality for us who are used as the pieces.

      Delete
    4. michael schumacherTuesday, 10 September, 2013

      They are going to spend X billions for olympics and now the latest piece of news is that we are going to see "frozone" from the movie 'The Incredibles' fix the whole thing.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9reKxtQQge4

      comedy gold

      Delete
  5. The Russians play chess while the Americans play checkers.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What's going on in the Chinese gold market at the moment Alex?

    I might have a small advantage over some other gold commentators. I have been invited to China on several occasions to speak. One of those occasions was to speak to the Chinese government - it was a think tank on monetary policy. I know China is ramping up its gold reserves massively during this period of time. I think their likely importing way more than the figures you and I see show. Our firm has got personal experience dealing with the guys that transport the gold, the security companies. One of our partners had lunch in the recent past with the head of the largest global operations company in security transport. He said there is a lot of gold that they're moving into China that's not going through exchanges. If the gold is for the government they don't have to declare where it's going. They don't have to declare where it's going in, or where it's heading. If you look at the way the Chinese do things, why would they tell?

    http://koosjansen.blogspot.nl/2013/09/alex-stanczyk-there-is-way-more-gold.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. Carlyle Group Places a Bet on a Kennedy

    Monday, September 9, 2013
    Carlyle Group Places a Bet on a Kennedy
    The Washington D.C. based Carlyle Group knows you need all sides covered. Carlyle-founder David Rubinstein, for example, has the Bush angle covered. Not only did Rubenstein show up at the White House for a 60th wedding anniversary party for George H.W. and Barbara Bush, but he gave the toast!

    Hillary Clinton is set to be the featured attraction at Carlyle Group’s investor conference that starts today in Washington D.C.

    But don't think for a minute that Carlyle has forgotten the Kennedys. NyPo reports:

    [Carlyle managing director] Oliver Sarkozy, the boyfriend of Mary-Kate Olsen and half- brother of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, is getting in bed with another political dynasty. He is hosting a reception in support of Massachusetts congressman Joseph P. Kennedy on Oct. 7 in Manhattan. Sarkozy wrote in an e-mail to invited guests, “I believe Joe is the kind of new leader we need in Washington. He is pragmatic, principled, and willing to look past party labels in the interest of getting things done . . . he brings fresh energy and much-needed perspective to our long-term economic and social challenges.” Suggested contributions to attend range from $1,000 to $5,200 to be named as an event chair.


    And that's how you do it in crony D.C., cover all bases.

    http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/09/carlyle-group-places-bet-on-kennedy.html

    only guarantee is the average citizen is not on the agenda..........

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think you meant Kerry had a "rabid dog" look.


    Personally I think his face looks like a deflated football with eyes.

    Keep up the great work Dave.

    ReplyDelete
  9. After Syria hands over their chemical stockpile, will the Obama administration be satisfied? Surely we can hear Kerry saying, again without evidence, "They have not surrendered all. Let's bomb away."?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kerry..anti war protester...turned hawk...wtf....power certainly corrupts...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Not with a Bang but a Whimper -- the SEC Enforcement Team's Propaganda Campaign

    By William K. Black

    The New York Times has one of those “inside” stories that unintentionally demonstrate the collapse of justice and financial reporting. This genre involves the media reporting gravely (and uncritically) the administration’s claims that its failure to prosecute any elite for the largest and most destructive financial frauds in history actually demonstrates the exceptional ethical rectitude of the non-prosecutors and non-enforcers. Journalists, unlike alchemists, can transmute dross into gold. In the NYT’s account a pathetic failure of competence, integrity, and courage at the SEC is reimagined as a fantastic triumph of vigor and ethics on the part of the SEC enforcement attorney who refused to seek to hold Lehman’s senior officers accountable for their violations but otherwise became the scourge of elite frauds. In the end, he is promoted for his dedication to “justice” and is now the anti-enforcement leader of the SEC’s enforcement group.

    “Justice” became an oxymoron in the Bush and Obama administration

    The entire piece is one extended leak by the SEC’s enforcement leadership which has been severely criticized for its failure to recover the fraudulent profits that elite Wall Street bankers obtained by running the control frauds. The puff piece, with no critical examination, presents these key statements.

    “The S.E.C. … has brought civil cases against 66 senior officers in cases linked to the financial crisis. The agency also extracted nine-figure settlements from banks like Goldman Sachs. According to new research by Stanford University’s Securities Litigation Analytics, the S.E.C. has declined to charge individual employees in only 7 percent of its securities fraud cases.”

    My article is the first installment of a three-part series of articles correcting the NYT propaganda.

    http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2013/09/bang-whimper-sec-enforcement-teams-propaganda-campaign.html#more-6347

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Richard Posner Explains SEC Refusal to Act in Lehman Brothers Case

      Posner is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society, a group devoted to spreading the cause of neoliberalism. I’m sure Judge Posner is delighted to see his theory put into practice by the SEC and the Department of Justice, under Eric Holder and Barack Obama. Posner’s idea is so preposterous that only the feral rich, their neoliberal tools, people utterly insulated from reality, and fools could possibly endorse it. And so we come to George S. Cannellos, who headed up the SEC team of investigators.
      It is deeply moving to see Cannellos’ concerns.

      http://my.firedoglake.com/masaccio/2013/09/09/richard-posner-explains-sec-refusal-to-act-in-lehman-brothers-case/

      Delete
  12. Gog and Magog.. The US to Cause the Next World War?

    Published on Sep 8, 2013

    The US does not speak softly and carry a big stick, instead it speaks loudly and vacillates. This confirms that the US cannot project empire into the Middle East and thus is setting the conditions of Gog and Magog whereby Israel (and Saudi Arabian leadership as its pair) are isolated and abandoned. This in turn sets the conditions of war worldwide.

    http://youtu.be/m31gxBcH0i4

    ReplyDelete
  13. Why POTUS Allowed Bailouts Without Indictments
    Posted September 10, 2013 By Janet Tavakoli

    Alternative to Treasury Bailouts: One That Does Not Violate the Spirit of Democracy

    The Treasury’s plan was a variation of the Paulson Plan. It used billions of taxpayer dollars and forced risk and potential losses on taxpayers—instead of having those who enjoyed the gains take the consequences. I advocated a viable alternative.

    In September 2008, there was no longer time to break up the banks all at once and no time for unwinding AIG. But a temporary backstop was possible, along with a restructuring in which either 1) creditors agree to discount debt in exchange for warrants (for potentially viable enterprises) or 2) creditors agree to transform (possibly discounted) debt into new equity—a new capital structure in which former shareholders are wiped out.

    Instead of TARP, handing out money to cover banks’ losses, we could have forced creditors to accept a restructuring plan. This is what was done during the Great Depression. Creditors, i.e., debt holders including credit default swap counterparties, would have been compelled to accept a restructuring plan. That required partial forgiveness of debt in many cases and/or a debt for equity swap.

    The government’s bailout plan destroyed capitalism. In a capitalist system, those who stood to gain–and already made off with large gains—would have to bear the risk. The bailouts represented a corruption of capitalism. Crony capitalism violates the spirit of democracy established by the Founding Fathers of the republic known as the United States. I expressed these sentiments in a letter to the Financial Times on September 29. 2008.

    http://www.tavakolistructuredfinance.com/2013/09/potus-bailouts-without-indictments/

    ReplyDelete
  14. Money For Nothing' May Cause American Economy To Self-Destruct Again

    I advise President Barack Obama and his top economic advisers to immediately order up a private viewing of the trenchant and worrisome documentary film “Money For Nothing,” before making a final decision on the next chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank is to be. That’s because producer/director Jim Bruce has raised the spectre of another financial crisis as the ultimate result of the record low cost of money in the United States. The film pretty well nails that the easy money policies begun by Alan Greenspan to bail out Wall Street whenever the economy begins to stutter, no matter the excesses in the financial system, has been followed to a T by Ben Bernanke the last 8 years. In other words, it’s no longer ” In God We Trust,” the mantra on the US dollar bill, but in Bernanke’s Quantitative Easing We Trust.

    Another ramification of QE, the film points out, is the growing and terrible disparity of wealth in the US, because easy money and central bank bailouts simply enabled the nation’s largest investors, bankers, brokers, hedge fund operators, private equity mavens to experience a 4 year comeback in the value of their holdings which did not trickle down to other economic groups. If you don’t believe me you can view “Money For Nothing” at the Quad Cinema in New York on September 13 and in Los Angeles at Laemmle’s Monica 4 September 2oth.

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2013/09/10/money-for-nothing-may-cause-american-economy-to-self-destruct-again/

    ReplyDelete
  15. I do play it and have done so in my youth, not that I was any good, but understands the game and the way to conduct it.

    Poker is for children.

    I have been on the forfront of this economical slide to the bottom of the pitt for years now, and all this time, have only confirmed the downfall of the USA and despite the obvious fabrications of the "growth", its a fata morgana, and is only cept in this stage by lies and deseptions.

    And whats more stunning that the fact the downfall is coming doe to the present economic monetary policy of ever more printing of paper will in the end, simply implode.

    But the solution to this mess is mindboggeling simple and will return the USA to it former glory with in just a year or two, like Iceland and Hungary, both going in the same monetary path, is this:
    End the FeD.
    End the Wars.
    Cutt the military Ind. Complex to self defence and stil the rest of the world is nowhere near your size, right now, the USArmy is bigger that the rst of the world combined.
    Reduce the Wall street hands on the strearing weel, by reinstal the GlassSegall act and start Public banking or unions, with NO intress/rents/usury, thats what Hungary is doing and the recovery pace is stunning, thats why nobody in the MSM talks about Hungary.

    Thats it.
    They know it, but You stil dont belive it, its sound to good to be true, thats the dilution they serve You.
    But it is the truth.
    And they know it and now You do to.

    wake up

    peace

    ReplyDelete
  16. Money For Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve

    http://moneyfornothingthemovie.org/

    ReplyDelete
  17. "Make the Economy Scream": Secret Documents Show Nixon, Kissinger Role Backing 1973 Chile Coup


    We continue our coverage of the 40th anniversary of the overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende with a look at the critical U.S. role under President Richard Nixon and his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger. Peter Kornbluh, who spearheaded the effort to declassify more than 20,000 secret documents that revealed the role of the CIA and the White House in the Chilean coup, discusses how Nixon and Kissinger backed the Chilean military’s ouster of Allende and then offered critical support as it committed atrocities to cement its newfound rule. Kornbluh is author of the newly updated book, "The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability," and director of the Chile Documentation Project at the National Security Archive. In 1970, the CIA’s deputy director of plans wrote in a secret memo: "It is firm and continuing policy that Allende be overthrown by a coup. ... It is imperative that these actions be implemented clandestinely and securely so that the USG [the U.S. government] and American hand be well hidden." That same year President Nixon ordered the CIA to "make the economy scream" in Chile to "prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him." We’re also joined by Juan Garcés, a former personal adviser to Allende who later led the successful legal effort to arrest and prosecute coup leader Augusto Pinochet.

    http://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/10/40_years_after_chiles_9_11

    ReplyDelete
  18. Comments here totally destroyed by bad spelling and bad English.
    For example:

    "Reduce the Wall street hands on the strearing weel [steering wheel I assume] by reinstal [reinstalling] the GlassSegall [Glass–Steagall] act and start Public banking or unions, with NO intress [interest?}/rents/usury, thats what Hungary is doing and the recovery pace is stunning. [Period. New sentence] That's why nobody in the MSM talks about Hungary."

    God Almighty people. No wonder your country is falling apart.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Money Laundering Exposed As A Key Component Of The Housing Bubble's "All Cash" Bid

    It appears that a year later this too hypothesis has been proven. Earlier today the Post reported that "U.S. authorities announced Tuesday that they are seeking forfeiture of pricey Manhattan real estate linked to a fraud they say was uncovered by a whistleblowing Russian lawyer before he died behind bars. A civil forfeiture complaint filed against the assets of a Cyprus-based real estate corporation and other holding companies alleges that some of the proceeds from the $230 million tax fraud in Russia were laundered through the purchase of four luxury condominiums located in a Wall Street doorman building and two commercial spaces in prime locations in midtown and Chelsea."

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-10/money-laundering-exposed-key-component-housing-bubbles-all-cash-bid

    ReplyDelete
  20. Dave, thanks so much for your blog updates! I have three things that are on my mind that I hope you can address in future updates. You don't need to publish this comment, just questions I have!

    1. The federal unemployment rate is bogus, but how do states report similar percentages? My state just published an unemployment rate of 7.7%. I don't believe it for one second considering the number of people on food stamps has DOUBLED in five years. How do the states calculate unemployment? They must be using federal manipulated data?

    2. There is all this talk about tapering, and the latest rumor is that they will taper slightly. Can't they just SAY they will taper but not taper behind the scenes? We have no clue what is going on behind the scenes at the Fed. What is stopping them from the Fed saying they will taper but really not (because they know they can't long-term?). Can they really hide what is going on?

    3. Are you surprised how long it is taking for gold and silver to recover from the manipulated takedowns almost 5 months ago? Considering the huge physical demand overseas, I do not understand how it continues to lag into the low 20s and below 1500 to 1600. I am starting to wonder if the price will always lag until price does not matter because it is time to hunker down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 1) same manipulations at States level as Fed level
      2) anything is possible I guess - see "1984" and "Animal Farm"

      3) huh? silver bounced over 32% off its bottom in about 8 weeks before this pullback started. It's still up over 20% off the bottom. Ditto for gold only not as big of a bounce. Patience my friend.

      Delete
  21. Who Do TV Pundits Really Work For?

    And then there are the times when the ideological lines get a little blurry, if they weren’t blurry enough already. Former RNC chair Michael Steele and Fox News liberal Lanny Davis are cable news fixtures — and business partners. Steele’s tenure at the RNC was marked by gaffes and scandal (Washington Post, 4/7/10), while Davis’ history has included working on behalf of the dictators of Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast (Salon, 12/21/10).

    In June 2012, they founded the bipartisan-themed Purple Nation Solutions, a communications firm that specializes in “solutions through legal means, political lobbying and media management” for “CEOs, Fortune 500 companies, political leaders, lobbyists and individuals facing a crisis.”

    In fact, it’s difficult to catalog all of the possible conflicts of interest among elite TV pundits. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell plays a TV liberal on MSBNC — but he’s also an adviser at investment bank Greenhill & Co, as well as an operating partner at a small firm that makes investments in the energy industry.

    Another TV liberal, Harold Ford, who makes frequent appearances on NBC and MSNBC, also has a day job: He works as a senior managing director for the investment giant Morgan Stanley. Columnist Glenn Greenwald (Salon, 7/9/12) called Ford “the walking, breathing embodiment of virtually everything rotted and corrupt about the American political class”—in other words, a ubiquitous TV pundit.
    Once upon a time, such conflicts were considered ethically questionable—once they were exposed by other journalists.

    http://billmoyers.com/2013/09/10/don%E2%80%99t-quit-your-day-job/

    ReplyDelete
  22. good or bad...you decide...

    Sheldon Adelson to President Obama: 'I Would Be Willing to Help' on Syria
    In an exclusive interview, the billionaire GOP donor offers to help the White House whip the Syria vote–if it's wanted, and needed.

    Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who spent tens of millions of dollars trying to defeat President Obama last year, has a message for the White House: Call me.

    In an interview with National Journal, Adelson said he stands behind the White House's push for American military action against the Syrian government. Perhaps as important, Adelson said he's ready, if asked, to roll up his sleeves and help Obama—the "commander in chief," as he repeatedly referred to him—corral the needed votes in Congress for a strike.

    "He is our commander in chief, whether we like what he says politically or not," Adelson said late Monday evening.

    The 80-year-old, one of the most influential GOP moneymen in the nation, is no Obama apologist. He's still the financier who, along with his wife, spent nearly $100 million trying to defeat Democratic candidates, Obama chief among them, last year. But he is also a pro-Israel hawk who said America's standing in the world is at stake in the showdown with Syria over chemical weapons.

    "I would be willing to help out the administration, because I believe it's the right thing to do. He is our only—we don't have any other commander in chief," he said.

    The comments are Adelson's first public remarks on the Syria situation, although the Republican Jewish Coalition, an advocacy group that he chairs, came out in support of a Syria strike last week. His offer of a helping hand came as Russia floated a diplomatic solution in which Damascus would cede its chemical weapons to avoid a strike, something Obama called a potential "breakthrough" on Monday.
    For Adelson, Israel has long been a defining issue (he owns Israel's biggest-circulation paper).
    http://www.nationaljournal.com/national-security/sheldon-adelson-to-president-obama-i-would-be-willing-to-help-on-syria-20130910

    ReplyDelete
  23. More Americans Are “Rethinking” 9/11 and Why They Should

    http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/09/must-view-more-americans-are-rethinking.html

    ReplyDelete
  24. This was my favorite part of obamas speech
    America is not the world's policeman. Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong, but when with modest effort and risk we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act.

    So basically what he is saying is we cant help all the children in the world but if have to choose just one country to help we are going to choose.........hmmmmm.........Syria........God bless them haha.

    Thank you Obama for being such a courageous and outstanding president and putting the childrens interests ahead of your own lol

    ReplyDelete
  25. NSA shares raw intelligence including Americans' data with Israel

    • Secret deal places no legal limits on use of data by Israelis
    • Only official US government communications protected
    • Agency insists it complies with rules governing privacy
    • Read the NSA and Israel's 'memorandum of understanding'

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

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

    The disclosure that the NSA agreed to provide raw intelligence data to a foreign country contrasts with assurances from the Obama administration that there are rigorous safeguards to protect the privacy of US citizens caught in the dragnet. The intelligence community calls this process "minimization", but the memorandum makes clear that the information shared with the Israelis would be in its pre-minimized state.

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

    The five-page memorandum, termed an agreement between the US and Israeli intelligence agencies "pertaining to the protection of US persons", repeatedly stresses the constitutional rights of Americans to privacy and the need for Israeli intelligence staff to respect these rights.

    But this is undermined by the disclosure that Israel is allowed to receive "raw Sigint" – signal intelligence. The memorandum says: "Raw Sigint includes, but is not limited to, unevaluated and unminimized transcripts, gists, facsimiles, telex, voice and Digital Network Intelligence metadata and content."

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/11/nsa-americans-personal-data-israel-documents



    ReplyDelete
  26. Too Many Years Of Lies
    from Mossadeq to 9/11

    Paul Craig Roberts

    Washington has been at war for 12 years. According to experts such as Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, these wars have cost Americans approximately $6 trillion, enough to keep Social Security and Medicare sound for years. All there is to show for 12 years of war is fat bank balances for the armament industries and a list of destroyed countries with millions of dead and dislocated people who never lifted a hand against the United States.

    The cost paid by American troops and taxpayers is extreme. Secretary of Veteran Affairs Erik Shinseki reported in November 2009 that “more veterans have committed suicide since 2001 than we have lost on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.” Many thousands of our troops have suffered amputations and traumatic brain injuries. At the Marine Corps War College Jim Lacey calculated that the annual cost of the Afghan war was $1.5 billion for each al-Qaeda member in Afghanistan. Many US and coalition troops paid with their lives for every one al-Qaeda member killed. On no basis has the war ever made sense.

    Washington’s wars have destroyed the favorable image of the United States created over the decades of the cold war. No longer the hope of mankind, the US today is viewed as a threat whose government cannot be trusted.

    The wars that have left America’s reputation in tatters are the consequence of 9/11. The neoconservatives who advocate America’s hegemony over the world called for “a new Pearl Harbor” that would allow them to launch wars of conquest. Their plan for conquering the Middle East as their starting point was set out in the neoconservative “Project for the New American Century.” It was stated clearly by Commentary editor Norman Podhoretz and also by many neoconservatives.

    The neocon argument boils down to a claim that history has chosen “democratic capitalism” and not Karl Marx as the future. To comply with history’s choice, the US must beef up its military and impose the American Way on the entire world.

    In other words, as Claes Ryn wrote, the American neoconservatives are the “new Jacobins,” a reference to the French Revolution of 1789 that intended to overthrow aristocratic Europe and replace it with “Liberty, equality, fraternity,” but instead gave Europe a quarter century of war, death, and destruction.

    http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2013/09/10/too-many-years-of-lies-from-mossadeq-to-911/

    ReplyDelete