In this extract from his new book When Google Met Wikileaks, WikiLeaks' publisher Julian Assange describes the special relationship between Google, Hillary Clinton and the State Department -- and what that means for the future of the internet.
Glenn Greenwald was one of the first reporters to see — and write about — the Edward Snowden files, with their revelations about the United States' extensive surveillance of private citizens. In this searing talk, Greenwald makes the case for why you need to care about privacy, even if you’re “not doing anything you need to hide."
The U.S. government has long lavished overwhelming aid on Israel, providing cash, weapons and surveillance technology that play a crucial role in Israel’s attacks on its neighbors. But top secret documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden shed substantial new light on how the U.S. and its partners directly enable Israel’s military assaults – such as the one on Gaza.
Over the last decade, the NSA has significantly increased the surveillance assistance it provides to its Israeli counterpart, the Israeli SIGINT National Unit (ISNU; also known as Unit 8200), including data used to monitor and target Palestinians. In many cases, the NSA and ISNU work cooperatively with the British and Canadian spy agencies, the GCHQ and CSEC.
The relationship has, on at least one occasion, entailed the covert payment of a large amount of cash to Israeli operatives. Beyond their own surveillance programs, the American and British surveillance agencies rely on U.S.-supported Arab regimes, including the Jordanian monarchy and even the Palestinian Authority Security Forces, to provide vital spying services regarding Palestinian targets.
The new documents underscore the indispensable, direct involvement of the U.S. government and its key allies in Israeli aggression against its neighbors. That covert support is squarely at odds with the posture of helpless detachment typically adopted by Obama officials and their supporters.
President Obama, in his press conference on Friday, said ”it is heartbreaking to see what’s happening there,” referring to the weeks of civilian deaths in Gaza – “as if he’s just a bystander, watching it all unfold,” observed Brooklyn College Professor Corey Robin. Robin added: ”Obama talks about Gaza as if it were a natural disaster, an uncontrollable biological event.”
Each time Israel attacks Gaza and massacres its trapped civilian population – at the end of 2008, in the fall of 2012, and now again this past month – the same process repeats itself in both U.S. media and government circles: the U.S. government feeds Israel the weapons it uses and steadfastly defends its aggression both publicly and at the U.N.; the U.S. Congress unanimously enacts one resolution after the nextto support and enable Israel; and then American media figures pretend that the Israeli attack has nothing to do with their country, that it’s just some sort of unfortunately intractable, distant conflict between two equally intransigent foreign parties in response to which all decent Americans helplessly throw up their hands as though they bear no responsibility.
The Redacted Team asks: Is Earth f**ked? Are you smarter than a teenager? Does a higher minimum wage lead to job growth? Should corporations be able to impose their religions on people? Does fracking cause earthquakes? Could a member of Congress have blown the whistle on the NSA? Does anyone actually read the episode description?
Abby Martin talks about an RT freelance reporter detained by the Ukrainian National Guard, as well as other journalists captured by militants. Journalist Paul Watson discusses the annual Bilderberg meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, and what this secretive gathering means for global policy decisions. A new report by the Intercept showing that the NSA is collecting and recording virtually every single phone call made on the island nation of the Bahamas. John Robbins, heir to Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream, talks about his decision to reject the company and campaign against the dairy industry and other giant food and beverage companies. Finally, RT’s Sam Sacks tells why Congress intentionally bankrupted the US Postal Service and how the push to corporatize the mail industry is hurting us all.
The NSA's ultimate goal is to destroy individual privacy worldwide, working with its UK sidekick GCHQ, journalist Glenn Greenwald warned an EU inquiry, adding that they were far ahead of their rivals in their "ability to destroy privacy."
READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/dgt0n5
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has gone missing and everybody is scrambling to get their stories straight, while Dianne Feinstein has called out the CIA for spying on Congress investigating their shady ways. We discuss Comcast bribery in the government, as the NSA gets a new advisor in "Zelda," and Oregon takes a stand on behalf of bees. Plus, a special message to the Buzzsaw audience from host Tyrel Ventura and producer Tabetha Wallace.
Before Edward Snowden, there was NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake, who joins Jesse Ventura #OffTheGrid to discuss his years as senior executive of the NSA, his meeting with Edward Snowden in Russia, and how it feels to be called a "whistleblower."
- 37,000,000
- People saw the banner Over 24 million Americans and 13 million non-Americans saw The Day We Fight Back banner on Tuesday.
- 555,000
- Emails sent 185,000 Americans registered to send over 555,000 emails, two each to their two Senators and one to their Representative.
- 89,000
- Calls completed The total number of completed calls reached 89,000 and another 7,000 calls went uncompleted because some legislators turned off their voicemail inboxes.
- 301,000
- Signatures 245,000 people internationally signed the necessaryandproportionate.org petition to demand privacy as a human right. Another 56,000 joined petitions on causes.com and change.org.
- 420,000+
- Facebook shares This just the number of times the website itself was shared on Facebook.
- 84,000
- Tweets This is just the number of times the thedaywefightback.org was shared on Twitter. #StopSpying and #StopTheNSA were trending on Twitter during the afternoon.
- 1,000,000+
- Homepage visitors The banner, social media and at least 6,000 websites drove over 1 million unique visitors to the homepage.
Photos of Osama Bin Laden’s dead body were supposedly shared with the CIA and then destroyed–setting off conspiracy alarm bells, as Sen. Rand Paul has decided to sue the NSA for surveillance, and more water pollution continues to be divulged. We discuss the Brandon Mayfield surveillance case, James Clapper’s terrorist threat assessment, and Eric Holder’s move to let former prison inmates vote again–all on the Buzzsaw news hosted by Tyrel Ventura with Tabetha Wallace.
Abby Martin calls out National Intelligence Director James Clapper for insinuating that journalists who reported on NSA leaks are criminal accomplices to Edward Snowden. Scarlett Johansson steps down from her role as Oxfam ambassador over her celebrity endorsement of the company SodaStream, whose manufacturing base is located on what is internationally recognized as occupied Palestinian land. Journalist and co-host of Media Roots Radio Robbie Martin talks about his new documentary ‘American Anthrax’. Finally, a closer look at the 3D printer revolution, featuring interviews with Kristen Turner of Sculpteo and Liza Wallach of Honey Bee 3D, discussing how the technology works and the ways it will revolutionize manufacturing and democratize production.
Abby Martin remarks on fears by Iraqi officials that the Al-Qaeda offshoot known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) could be gaining enough strength to attack Baghdad. Six of the most corrupt and least popular members of Congress called out over some of the conflicts of interests and blatant hypocrisy that have come to characterize the 113th Congress. Scott Baker, president of Common Ground NYC, talks about the Georgism Philosophy and how the elimination of all taxes except a land use tax could be applied and sustained. Three recent cases of police abuse in the US, including an instance where an officer ruptured a young man’s testicle. Finally, journalist David Seaman goes over Edward Snowden’s recent live online Q&A in response to Obama’s speech on the most controversial aspects of the NSA’s global spying apparatus.
Obama has given his NSA speech and we read between the lines. We look at the news of police killings overtaking the number of war dead in Iraq, and discuss the disclosure of the DEA working with Mexican drug cartels, + learn how the CIA has turned reporters into intelligence agents in this week’s Buzzsaw news. We look at reports of West Virginia drinking water getting polluted for hundreds of thousands of people, and learn more about the ongoing efforts to suppress Wikileaks, see what Daniel Ellsberg has to say about the latest info fracas, and talk about the new politically independent American majority with Tyrel Ventura and Tabetha Wallace.
Government corruption and the latest in independent media truth digging here on the Buzzsaw news, where we look at protesters in the Ukraine holding mirrors up to police riot squads, John McCain asking for a closer look to be paid to the NSA, US Government connections to sweatshops abroad, and the millionaire majority currently sitting in congress. Tyrel Ventura and producer Tabetha Wallace steer you through the stormy seas in this episode of Buzzsaw.
Ray McGovern is an activist who writes and lectures about, among other issues, war and the role of CIA. He holds an M.A. in Russian Studies from Fordham University, a certificate in Theological Studies from Georgetown University, and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
His intelligence work, beginning in US Army and continuing at the CIA, spanned seven presidents from President Kennedy to President George H.W. Bush. As an analyst on foreign policy, McGovern would synthesize material given to him on a daily basis and then brief senior White House advisers with his conclusions. Now retired, McGovern is proud of the fact that he reported his findings “without fear or favor” to the politicians and was supported in his work by his superiors.As a co-founder in 2003 of Veterans Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), McGovern speaks out against what he sees as corruption in the CIA, which allowed the agency´s integrity to bend to the will of President George W. Bush and his White House officials. During both the Bush and Obama years, the White House has eyed an attack on Iran to stop its apparent development of nuclear capabilities. McGovern has raised concerns over why an attack would be necessary, writing, “The very same men who…brought us the war in Iraq are now focusing on Iran, which they view as the only remaining obstacle to American domination of the entire, oil-rich Middle East.” He also called for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, suggesting, “Why not focus on a high crime that the Bush administration has already admitted to, with claims it is above the law and the Constitution: electronic eavesdropping on Americans without the required court warrant.”
The new Utah Data Center, a massive spy complex, requires 1.7 million gallons over water every single day to operate.
Those massive supercomputers monitoring your personal information are water-cooled. They can't function without the resources to keep them at operating temperature.
That water is scheduled to be provided by the Jordan Valley River Conservancy District, "a political subdivision of the state of Utah."
Because of this, a state law can be passed banning this partnership. In short, they can turn the water off.
This is based on the undisputed legal doctrine of "anti-commandeering." The federal government has no power to require states to help the feds carry out federal acts or programs in any way.
The Supreme Court affirmed this in these cases: 1842 Prigg, 1997 Printz, 2002 New York, and 2012 Sebelius.