Ellen Nakashima | WashingtonPost.com 

 The Obama administration will largely preserve Bush-era procedures allowing the government to search — without suspicion of wrongdoing — the contents of a traveler’s laptop computer, cellphone or other electronic device, although officials said new policies would expand oversight of such inspections.

The policy, disclosed Thursday in a pair of Department of Homeland Security directives, describes more fully than did the Bush administration the procedures by which travelers’ laptops, iPods, cameras and other digital devices can be searched and seized when they cross a U.S. border. And it sets time limits for completing searches.

But representatives of civil liberties and travelers groups say they see little substantive difference between the Bush-era policy, which prompted controversy, and this one.

“It’s a disappointing ratification of the suspicionless search policy put in place by the Bush administration,” said Catherine Crump, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. “It provides a lot of procedural safeguards, but it doesn’t deal with the fundamental problem, which is that under the policy, government officials are free to search people’s laptops and cellphones for any reason whatsoever.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Robert McMillan | PCWorld.com 

They sometimes call national security the third rail of politics. Touch it and, politically, you’re dead.

The cliché doesn’t seem far off the mark after reading Mark Klein’s new book, “Wiring up the Big Brother Machine … and Fighting It.” It’s an account of his experiences as the whistleblower who exposed a secret room at a Folsom Street facility in San Francisco that was apparently used to monitor the Internet communications of ordinary Americans.

Klein, 64, was a retired AT&T communications technician in December 2005, when he read the New York Times story that blew the lid off the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. Secretly authorized in 2002, the program lets the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) monitor telephone conversations and e-mail messages of people inside the U.S. in order to identify suspected terrorists. Klein knew right away that he had proof — documents from his time at AT&T — that could provide a snapshot of how the program was siphoning data off of the AT&T network in San Francisco.

Amazingly, however, nobody wanted to hear his story. In his book he talks about meetings with reporters and privacy groups that went nowhere until a fateful January 20, 2006, meeting with Kevin Bankston of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Bankston was preparing a lawsuit that he hoped would put a stop to the wiretap program, and Klein was just the kind of witness the EFF was looking for.

With the EFF on board, Klein was briefly a media celebrity — the man who had the guts to expose the NSA’s secret wiretapping program. In his book he provides the documents and the stories that illustrate how all of this transpired.

Read the rest of this entry »

A stinging attack by John Hartigan, the CEO of Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited, labels bloggers and alternative media outlets as “political extremists”. Hartigan implies that bloggers should be jailed as they are in oppressive police states like China and Burma.

In a speech to the National Press Club, Hartigan savagely dismissed blogs as, “Something of such little intellectual value as to be barely discernible from massive ignorance.”

“Bloggers don’t go to jail for their work. They simply aren’t held accountable like real reporters….It could be said the blogosphere is all eyeballs and no insights,” barked Hartigan.

“In the blogosphere, of course, the mainstream media is always found wanting. It really is time this myth was blown apart.”

“Blogs, and a large number of comment sites, specialise in political extremism and personal vilification. Radical sweeping statements without evidence are common.”

Hartigan doesn’t seem to grasp the fact that the mainstream media is always found wanting because they habitually lie about news events and spin stories to suit the demands of their corporate owners. This is the very reason why blogs and alternative media outlets have become so popular and have eaten into the mainstream media’s audience share, because people are sick of being treated like idiots, sick of being lied to, and are desperately in search of the truth.

Indeed, Hartigan’s boss Rupert Murdoch confessed to the fact that his media empire tried to shape public opinion to support the war in Iraq In other words, Murdoch’s many prominent news outlets wantonly put out propaganda supporting the manufactured case for invasion. Murdoch admitted to this while lamenting the corporate media’s “loss of power” to alternative media and Internet blogs, seemingly unaware of the fact that the two are directly connected.

Read the rest of this entry »

Slashdot.org 

Comics writer Mark Sable was detained by security at Los Angeles International Airport because he was carrying a script for a new issue of his comic miniseries, Unthinkable.  Unthinkable follows members of a government think tank that was tasked with coming up with 9/11-type “unthinkable” terrorist scenarios that now are coming true.

Sable wrote about his experience saying, “…I was flagged at the gate for ‘extra screening.’ I was subjected to not one, but two invasive searches of my person and belongings. TSA agents then ‘discovered’ the script for Unthinkable #3. They sat and read the script while I stood there, without any personal items, identification or ticket, which had all been confiscated.

The minute I saw the faces of the agents, I knew I was in trouble.

The first page of the Unthinkable script mentioned 9/11, terror plots, and the fact that the (fictional) world had become a police state. The TSA agents then proceeded to interrogate me, having a hard time understanding that a comic book could be about anything other than superheroes, let alone that anyone actually wrote scripts for comics.

Read the rest of this entry »

When Obama first unveiled his “preventive detention” policy, many defenders praised him (and claimed he was different than Bush) because of his vow that — as he put it – “my Administration will work with Congress to develop an appropriate legal regime.”  But now, relying exclusively on three Obama officials speaking behind a veil of anonymity, Peter Finn and Dafner Linza of The Washington Post and ProPublicareport that the White House is “crafting language for an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely.”  TPM calls this ”the latest installment in the Obama administration’s tendency to mimic the Bushies on war on terror tactics.”  And the article itself points out the obvious:  ”Such an order would embrace claims by former president George W. Bush that certain people can be detained without trial for long periods under the laws of war.”  Revealingly, the article quotes two Bush national security officials justifying the need for detention without charges.

Anonymous trial balloon articles like this one are difficult to comment on because it’s obviously designed to announce that a certain policy is being considered before it’s actually written, and so none of the key details is known.  Would Obama’s new detention powers apply only to current “War on Terror” prisoners at places like Guantanamo and Bagram, or would they also apply to future, not-yet-abducted detainees as well?  Would these powers apply to detainees picked up anywhere in the world, far away from “war zones”?  Would there be any judicial review or other meaningful oversight provisions so that — even in theory — this was something other than the unilateral, unchecked presidential power to detain indefinitely without charges?  None of these important details is known (though the article notes that, under one White House proposal, “ongoing detention would be subject to annual presidential review“; the Emperor, sitting alone, will decree once a year whether they must remain in a cage).

This specific article is even worse than the usual one of its type, since it’s particularly uncritical in passing along administration claims without any skepticism (I addressed each of the “justifications” for Obama’s preventive detention proposal – Obama has to do this because of what Bush did; we can’t get convictions because of Bush’s torture; it’s common in War to do things like this, etc. etc. – here).  Worse, the article does not provide any information about the Obama officials whose mission the reporters are dutifully carrying out, so there’s no way to assess their motives.

Those journalistic practices produce egregious sentences like this:  ”‘Civil liberties groups have encouraged the administration, that if a prolonged detention system were to be sought, to do it through executive order’, the official said.”  I’d love to know which so-called “civil liberties groups” are pushing the White House for an Executive Order establishing the power of indefinite detention.  It’s certainly not the ACLU or Center for Constitutional Rights, both of which issued statements vehemently condemning the proposal (ACLU’s Anthony Romero:  ”If President Obama issues an executive order authorizing indefinite detention, he’ll be repeating the same mistakes of George Bush”).

Read the rest of this entry »

 fas.org

Conducting Foreign Relations

Read the rest of this entry »

The Carroll National Guard will conduct Gun Confiscation Drills from April 2-5, 2009 in the 10 mile stretch between Carroll, IA to Arcadia, IA. According to Sgt. Mike Kots, readiness NCO for Alpha Company the drill will culminate in the apprehension of a suspected arms dealer. However, Sgt. Kots then goes on to explain “One of the techniques we use in today’s political environment is cordon and knock. We ask for the head of the household, get permission to search, then have them open doors and cupboards. The homeowner maintains control. We peer over their shoulder, and the soldier uses the homeowner’s body language and position to protect him.” The question must be asked if the purpose of the drill is to apprehend a suspected weapons dealer why are they searching in cupboards? Is the dealer hiding in a pantry or a breadbox? Or is it really about searching for those nasty guns and firearms that will be a bane during times of martial law.

According to Daily Times Herald from Carroll, IA the primary phase of the operation will be completed Saturday, April 4, when convoys will be deployed from Carroll to Arcadia. Pictures of the arms dealer will be shown in Arcadia, and soldiers will go door to door asking if residents have seen the suspect. “Once credible intelligence has been gathered,” said Kots, “portions of the town will be road-blocked and more in-depth searches of homes and vehicles will be conducted in accordance with the residents’ wishes.” The unit will use a Blackhawk helicopter for overhead command and control, and to simulate medevacs. If this isn’t a military psychological operation, I’m not sure what is. “We have a lot of extended drills this coming year,” Kots added. So this isn’t the end but rather just the beginning of martial law indoctrination of the public. Watch the Video Here.
Alex Jones discusses the martial law event in Iowa

“There are many who want to know the status of HJM 4009. This bill was assigned to the State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee. As is the case in all committees, the Chair of each committee decides if a bill assigned to it will receive a hearing or not.I have been informed that the Chair of this committee has decided to not give HJM 4009 a hearing.If a bill does not receive a hearing, its progress is stopped and it is essentially dead.”Call these people TODAY! State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee MembersHunt, Sam (D) Chair(360) 786-7992Appleton, Sherry (D) Vice Chair(360) 786-7934Armstrong, Mike (R) *(360) 786-7832Alexander, Gary (R)(360) 786-7990Flannigan, Dennis (D)(360) 786-7930Hurst, Christopher (D)(360) 786-7866Matt Shea on the Alex Jones Show 02/09/09 - Part 1 of 2

Part 2 after the fold.

Read the rest of this entry »

Washington State Sponsors: Representatives Shea, Klippert, Condotta, Kretz, Anderson, McCune, Kristiansen

Contact your Rep to support this bill.

GeorgeWashingtonBlog.com

The legislatures of Washington and New Hampshire have just introduced bills declaring that they will not submit to the Unites States Government if the federal government acts unconstitutionally.

For example, the New Hampshire legislation would provide that the state does not have to submit to federal authority should the feds take any actions:

Establishing martial law or a state of emergency within one of the States comprising the United States of America without the consent of the legislature of that State.

The Washington bill declares that - pursuant to the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution - all powers not expressly delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states, and so the feds can’t try to grab power not expressly conferred on the United States by the Constitution.

The Washington bill is actually virtually identical to bills previously passed by the California, Oklahoma and other state legislatures.

by Glenn Greenwald

It seems fairly easy — even for those overtly hostile to the basic rules of logic and law — to see what conclusions are compelled by these clear premises:

Associated Press, April 11, 2008:

    Bush administration officials from Vice President Dick Cheney on down signed off on using harsh interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists after asking the Justice Department to endorse their legality, The Associated Press has learned.

    The officials also took care to insulate President Bush from a series of meetings where CIA interrogation methods, including waterboarding, which simulates drowning, were discussed and ultimately approved. . . .

    The meetings were held in the White House Situation Room in the years immediately following the Sept. 11 attacks. Attending the sessions were Cheney, then-Bush aides Attorney General John Ashcroft, Secretary of State Colin Powell, CIA Director George Tenet and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.

Agence France-Presse, October 15, 2008:

    The administration of US President George W. Bush authorized the CIA to waterboard Al-Qaeda suspects according to two secret memos issued in 2003 and 2004, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sify.com

US President-elect Barack Obama set the tone for his historic presidency with a call to Americans to take up anew the principles of the nation’s founders with “a new declaration of independence.”

“Only a handful of times in our history has a generation been confronted with challenges so vast,” Obama said on Saturday on a pre-inaugural train journey from Philadelphia from where the American fight for independence began in 1776 to the nation’s capital.

“While our problems may be new, what is required to overcome them is not,” Obama said kicking off three days of celebration of his inauguration as the first African-American president of the United States. “What is required is the same perseverance and idealism that our founders displayed.”

“Such enormous challenges will not be solved quickly. There will be false starts and setbacks, frustrations and disappointments,” he said at later stops in Wilmington, Delaware, and Baltimore, Maryland.

“We will be called to show patience even as we act with fierce urgency,” he said stressing that it will take time and sacrifice to turn the economy around.

“America faces its own crossroads - a nation at war, an economy in turmoil, an American Dream that feels like its slipping away,” Obama said.

At each stop of the train journey, Obama emphasised the need to band together to tackle America’s problems and rise above “ideology, small thinking, prejudice and bigotry.”

“The trials we face are very different now, but they are severe in their own right,” Obama told thousands assembled outside Baltimore’s City Hall, in the final layover of his train trip.

“What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives - from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry - an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Paul Joseph Watson | PrisonPlanet.com 

Following Northcom’s denial that U.S. Army combat teams would be used to deal with “civil unrest” after the announcement that thousands of active duty military personnel were being moved inside the United States, an Army.com report now concedes that more than 400 Marines assigned to one unit includes a “security force” that would operate within the homeland.

A September 8 Army Times report stated that active duty troops from the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team returning from Iraq would be on call as a “federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks,” for a period of 12 months from October 1st.

This preceded a December 1 Washington Post article which reported on plans to station 20,000 more U.S. troops inside America for purposes of “domestic security” from September 2011.

According to the Army Times article, their duties would include dealing with “civil unrest and crowd control”. This admission was later denied by Northcom’s operations division chief Army Col. Michael Boatner, who told Homeland Security Today, “This response force will not be called upon to help with law enforcement, civil disturbance or crowd control, but will be used to support lead agencies involved in saving lives, relieving suffering and meeting the needs of communities affected by weapons of mass destruction attacks, accidents or even natural disasters.”

However, a January 7 American Forces Press Service story posted on Army.com confirms that at least some units operating inside the U.S. will rely on a “security force” to provide protection for troops responding to a mass casualty event in America.

Read the rest of this entry »

On December 11, 2008, WeAreChangeLAs Jeremy Rothe-Kushel and Bruno Bruhwiler were on hand to cover an event with William Bratton, the Chief of the LAPD. Bratton was at a Townhall LA event in West Los Angeles to drum up support for using funds promised to hire more LAPD officers.
Read the rest of this entry »

The global elite will not rest until they have undermined the last bastion that stands in their way as they attempt to dominate and subjugate of the once great republic of the United States — the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Over the years — but especially since September 11, 2001, and the creation of the phony GWOT against manufactured terrorists — the government has made great strides in curtailing the Bill of Rights.

Government has singled out and specifically attacked the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. However, for the global elite and their minions in government, this piecemeal approach is too slow and often results in organized resistance and legal challenges.

So the global elite have decided on another tactic — change forever the Constitution and the Bill of Rights through a Constitutional Convention.

Read the rest of this entry »

William Glaberson | NYTimes.com 

A federal judge issued the Bush administration a sharp setback on Thursday, ruling that five Algerian men have been held unlawfully at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp for nearly seven years and ordering their release.

It was the first hearing on the government’s evidence for holding detainees at Guantánamo. The judge, Richard J. Leon of Federal District Court in Washington, said the government’s secret evidence in the case had been weak: what he described as “a classified document from an unnamed source” for its central claim against the men, with little way to measure credibility.

“To rest on so thin a reed would be inconsistent with this court’s obligation,” Judge Leon said. He urged the government not to appeal and said the men should be released “forthwith.”
The habeas corpus case was an important test of the administration’s detention policies, which critics have long argued swept up innocent men and low-level foot soldiers along with hardened fighters and terrorist commanders.
Read the rest of this entry »

@3:58″…The first thing I will do, when I am President, is to call in my Attorney General. Uh, and have he or she review every executive order, to determine which of those have undermined civil liberties, which are unconstitutional and I will reverse those with a stroke of a pen…” Hope?

ACLU.org

Washington
Estimated state population (2007): 6,468,424
Estimated border population (2007): 6,076,268
Percentage of population in Constitution-Free Zone: 93.94%

Using data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, the ACLU has determined that nearly 2/3 of the entire US population (197.4 million people) live within 100 miles of the US land and coastal borders.

The government is assuming extraordinary powers to stop and search individuals within this zone. This is not just about the border: This ” Constitution-Free Zone” includes most of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.

We urge you to call on Congress to hold hearings on and pass legislation to end these egregious violations of Americans’ civil rights.

Tom Burghardt
Antifascist Calling…
October 7, 2008

Ten months before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved an updated version of the U.S. Army’s secret operational Continuity of Government (COG) plans.

A draft document published by the whistleblowing website Wikileaks entitled, “Army Regulation 500-3, Emergency Employment of Army and Other Resources. Army Continuity of Operations (COOP) Program,” dated 19 January 2001, spells out changes in Army doctrine.

Issued by Headquarters, Department of the Army and signed off by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the Secretary of the Army, the document is affixed with a warning: “Destruction Notice: Destroy by any method that will prevent disclosure of contents or reconstruction of the document.” The restricted document as published by Wikileaks states:

History. This regulation is a revision of the original regulation that was effective on 10 July 1989. Since that time, no changes have been published to amend the original.

Summary. This regulation on the Army Continuity of Operations (COOP) Program has been revised to update Army COOP policy and extend the requirement for all-hazards COOP planning to all Army organizations. Classified information contained in the 1989 version of this AR has been removed and placed in a classified HQDA Operations Plan (OPLAN).

Applicability. This regulation applies to the Active Army, the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR), and when federalized to the Army National Guard (ARNG). In the event of conflict between this regulation and approved OSD or JCS publications, the provisions of the latter will apply. (”Army Regulation 500-3, Emergency Employment of Army and Other Resources. Army Continuity of Operations (COOP) Program,” 19 January 2001, p. 3) [emphasis added]

Read the rest of this entry »