An Open Message To The NSA
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DHS Hopes To Get Same Cyber-Spying Powers As NSA
” Domestic spying capabilities used by the National Security Agency to collect massive amounts of data on American citizens could soon be available to the Department of Homeland Security — a bureaucracy with the power to arrest citizens that is not subject to limitations imposed on the NSA.
Unlike the DHS, the NSA is an intelligence agency, not a domestic law enforcement agency. It cannot arrest those suspected of wrongdoing. That power of the federal government lies with agencies under the jurisdiction of the Justice Department, the Treasury, Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies.
The NSA and DHS have waged a long Capitol Hill turf war over cybersecurity. Bills such as the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act and the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 have sought to clearly define the relationship between the two agencies, but struggled to get off the ground.”
Nothing like making a bad situation worse . Talk about a situation ripe for abuse . The DHS is tailor-made for the Big Brother role , Orwell couldn’t have done better himself .
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UPSTATE EMPIRE STATE POLS WORK TO REPEAL CUOMO’S GUN LAW
” Opposition to New York’s extreme gun control law the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act continues and elected officials are stepping forward to promote full repeal of the bill that was hastily, strong-armed into law.
“The Republican majority made this happen,” said Rep. David J. DiPietro (R.-East Aurora), a freshmen state assemblyman representing parts of Erie and Wyoming County in western New York.
Dean G. Skelos (R.-Rockville Centre) who is the majority leader of the New York State Senate is to blame, he said. “He voted for the bill. He allowed the bill to come to the floor.”
The former Village of Aurora trustee and mayor said that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo brokered a deal with Skelos to enact the SAFE Act. “They threatened Long Island Republicans that if they did not vote for the bill, $1 million would be donated to an opponent for their seat.”
“Skelos and his Long Island delegation sold us out,” he said.
An overwhelming majority of Democrats in the state’s assembly will not pass a repeal bill, and the governor will not sign it, she said. “Our hope is in the lawsuits pending and the courts determining the law unconstitutional.” “
Long Island “Republicans” are nothing of the sort . They are all John McCain style republicans which is to say , no republican at all .
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7 Rifles Enter ‘The Ugly Gun’ Club
” If you want to get technical about it, a rifle is just about any shoulder fired long arm used to hit targets accurately at long distances. Nothing in there says anything about being easy on the eyes and indeed never once did aesthetics alone make one shooter better than another. But it does hurt sales, and with that in mind, we take a look at a number of rifles that no one ever would consider gun porn.”
6. SIG 510
” The Swiss have a firearms legacy that nobody really wants to poke a stick at. After all, they haven’t had to kick out an invader in 500 years even though they were geographically in the middle of both World Wars. But, have you ever looked at the SIG 510? Known in Alps as the Sturmgewehr 57, it was Switzerland’s main battle rifle for most of the Cold War. When most of the world still used wooden stocks, the Swiss went with rubber coated fore and buttstocks that were ribbed for your shooting pleasure. A very long rifle, it tipped the scales at nearly 13-pounds. Still, despite looking like stretched out taffy it shoots like a laser.”
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Political Appointees Helped bin Laden Filmmakers Over Objections Of Career Officials At Pentagon
” Political appointees at the Defense Department, the CIA and the White House brushed aside concerns from career officials about helping two Hollywood filmmakers research their 2012 movie about the top-secret Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a report from the Pentagon’s inspector general.
CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, who had been nominated to take over at the Pentagon; Mike Vickers, defense undersecretary for intelligence; and politically appointed public affairs staff in both agencies and the White House helped secure for the filmmakers a meeting with a participant or planner of the 2011 raid, the report shows.”
This report confirms a post we had earlier in the week about the politicization of the bin-Laden raid and amply demonstrates that political expediency trumps national security every time with the thugs that presently occupy the White House .
” “At the direction of Director Panetta, the CIA is cooperating fully” with the filmmakers, Mr. Vickers wrote to Douglas Wilson, who was assistant defense secretary for public affairs. In reply, Mr. Wilson promised to “check with the [White House] to update them on status.”
Investigators said that, as a result of these efforts, screenwriter Mark Boal attended a June 2011 ceremony at CIA headquarters in which raid participants were honored and were clearly identified, despite efforts to keep their identities secret.”
The next time you hear Obama prattle on about the need for secrecy to maintain “national security” keep in mind the fact that the term is actually meaningless to him and his staff . To them EVERYTHING is viewed through the PRISM of politics and how the given situation/event can best be spun to make them look good . There is never any selfless consideration of what’s good for the country , only what’s good for Obama and his Statist agenda .
If you doubt that this could be the case just pause for a moment and consider , Fast & Furious , Benghazi , Sequestration , IRS , James Rosen , AP Phone Records , PRISM , War On Whistleblowers , et al . Observed with an eye towards Obama’s political survival the administration’s seemingly bizarre actions make sense .
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IRS Scandal Brings Out More Charges Of Political Audits
” If reports of political targeting of conservatives by the Internal Revenue Service shocked the nation, they didn’t seem that surprising to many other groups who experienced problems with the tax agency in the past.
Liberal groups such as Greenpeace and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals say they were targeted, too, by past administrations. The conservative group Judicial Watch says it was singled out for tax scrutiny during the Clinton administration because it supported impeachment.
Charges of politically motivated targeting by the IRS are notoriously difficult to prove or disprove. The older cases differ from the current scandal and the evidence of political attacks is circumstantial. But in interviews with McClatchy, leaders of these well-known activist groups assert they were targeted during Bush and Clinton administrations.
“We have been targeted,” said Jeff Kerr, chief counsel for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “
” Many audits are triggered by anonymous or direct information about a group or citizen, a so-called “information item.” The IRS also offers rewards to tipsters equal to about 10 percent of taxes owed.”
The entire concept of anonymous tips that is utilized throughout the law enforcement community is merely an open invitation to corruption , retaliation , spite and greed . It needs to be ended . It harkens back to the old Soviet Union control method of pitting neighbor against neighbor and , just as in the USSR is destroying civil society .
“The process of obtaining an exemption is a privilege. Not everyone in the United States is exempt from taxation . . . you have to meet highly specific criteria, that Congress decided, not the IRS . . . and jump through hoops and answer questions,” he said, adding that he never witnessed political motivation but worked in Washington during the Nixon revelations and was shocked. “I knew a lot of people and nobody I know has ever had that experience.”
The concept of exemptions is another idea that does nothing but foster the culture of abuse of power . Who is to decide who gets “special” treatment ? What ever happened to the founding notion of “equal protection before the law” ?
Further reading on the history of IRS abuse .
RealClearPolitics - History of IRS Abuse
Cato Institute Highlights History of IRS Abuse
Factbox: IRS’s rich history of scandals, political abuse
IRS Has a Long History of Political Abuse - Hit & Run : Reason.com
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Police Arrest Dozens In Raids Across Turkey After Protests
” Police raided addresses across Turkey on Tuesday and detained dozens of people after nearly three weeks of anti-government protests, local media reported.
State media TRT said 25 people had been detained in the capital Ankara, 13 in Eskisehir to the west and “many” in Turkey’s biggest city Istanbul.
A police source confirmed the operation and said: “For now, only provocateurs will be taken for questioning.” “
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America’s Gaudy ‘Palace of Versailles’ To Be Finished In 2015 After 11 YEARS Of Construction
” The owners of America’s largest family home, the gold-encrusted ‘Palace Of Versailles’, have announced that it will finally be completed in 2015, after 11 years of construction.
Self-made billionaire David Siegel, told CNBC that he’s excited about moving into the property located in Windermere, Florida, although, if someone offered him enough money – $100 million to be exact – he might consider selling out.”
” However, his 47-year-old former beauty queen wife, Jackie, seemed distraught at the thought of letting her dream mansion go and jokingly interjected: ‘Or I could live there and you could sell your half right?’
Work stopped on the 90,000-square-foot build in 2009 after creditors went after Mr Siegel’s timeshare company, Westgate Resorts, but recommenced this year after business bounced back.
Now the finish date is just two years away.”
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America Falls Behind In Creating Rich Entrepreneurs
” The creation myth of American wealth is almost always rooted in the entrepreneur.
It’s the two kids who start a computer company in their garage or dorm room. Or the former standup comic who creates form-shaping undergarments, or the South African immigrant who creates a new electric car and private space program.
But despite the high-profile examples, America may actually be falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to creating entrepreneurial wealth. A new study from Barclays, “Origins and Legacy: the Changing Order of Wealth Creation,” finds developing countries now lead the U.S. when comes to wealth creation by entrepreneurs.
So is America losing its entrepreneurial mojo? There is some evidence that entrepreneurial activity is flagging. The latest data from the Kauffman Foundation found that there were 514,000 new business owners a month in 2012, down from 543,000 in 2011. The 2012 numbers marked the lowest in five years.”
Another one for the Obama record books … killing the entrepreneurial spirit … all is proceeding as Alinsky planned .
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The World To U.S. Congress: I’m Not American But I Have Privacy Rights
” In a letter sent today to the United States Congress, an international coalition of non-profit organizations called upon the U.S. government to protect the privacy and freedoms of not only its citizens, but of people everywhere. As news of the alarmingly broad reach and scope of America’s surveillance program reverberates around the globe, now is the time for the United States to pass formal privacy safeguards to protect the billions of foreign Internet users whose communications are stored in U.S. servers or whose data travels across U.S. networks.
EFF joined more than 50 NGOs—including European Digital Rights, Association For Progressive Communications, Center for Technology and Society (Brazil) and Thai Netizen Network—in signing the letter, which was organized through Best Bits, a global network of civil society organizations. In its letter, the coalition also expressed grave concern over information-sharing between U.S. authorities and the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium and New Zealand.”
How can America continue to lay claim to being the custodian of the internet and the guardian of free speech when the world looks on and sees nothing but a massive violation of privacy rights , both of Americans and themselves ? The hypocrisy is plain for all to see , even if DC refuses to acknowledge it .
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1965 Shelby Cobra 427 SC CSX4000
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Biggest Protests In 20 Years Sweep Brazil
” As many as 200,000 demonstrators marched through the streets of Brazil’s biggest cities on Monday in a swelling wave of protest tapping into widespread anger at poor public services, police violence and government corruption.
The marches, organized mostly through snowballing social media campaigns, blocked streets and halted traffic in more than a half-dozen cities, including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasilia, where demonstrators climbed onto the roof of Brazil’s Congress building and then stormed it.
Monday’s demonstrations were the latest in a flurry of protests in the past two weeks that have added to growing unease over Brazil’s sluggish economy, high inflation and a spurt in violent crime.”
Related articles
- Biggest protests in 20 years sweep Brazil (scooprocket.com)
- Protests now in Brazil as discontent spreads (lunaticoutpost.com)
- Brazil Bedlam: Largest-in-decades protests sweep country (realfreedomnews.wordpress.com)
- Protests build in Brazil as discontent spreads (dokmz.wordpress.com)
- Protest in Brazil Goes out of control (disclose.tv)
- Tens of thousands return for further fare hike protests across Brazil (rt.com)
- Brazil protests spread in Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Rio (arunbabyveranakunnel.wordpress.com)
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Supreme Court Rules Fifth Amendment Has To Actually Be Invoked
” In a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court ruled today that a potential defendant’s silence can be used against him if he is being interviewed by police but is not arrested (and read his Miranda rights) and has not verbally invoked the protection of the Fifth Amendment.
Tim Lynch at the Cato Institute explains that the Salinas v. Texas case was intended to be about whether prosecutors during a trial could cast aspersions on a defendant’s silence during questioning that took place prior to arrest — prior to the defendant being told he had the right to remain silent. Instead, the Supreme Court determined that they wouldn’t need to rule on the matter because the defendant had never invoked the Fifth Amendment’s protection. This decision means that it’s the responsibility of the individual to know about the protections offered by the Fifth Amendment even prior to arrest and to actually verbally invoke it:
The Court said Salinas simply remained silent and did not “formally” invoke any constitutional right, so prosecutors could offer commentary to the jury. What’s most disturbing about the ruling is its discussion of “burdens.” The plurality put the onus on the individual, not the government. That is the profound error in the decision. As the dissenters noted, in the circumstances of the case, it was evident what Salinas was doing. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has complicated the law for persons who are the most vulnerable–persons who lack education, persons who do not speak English very well, persons who may suffer from mental problems, and persons who may be under the influence of alcohol. This is a bad day for the Bill of Rights.“
It is becoming painfully obvious that the judicial branch is every bit as corrupt as the executive and legislative branches of government . It is the “Government” versus the governed . But remember , they cannot govern without our consent .
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Six-In-Ten Say Opposition May Be No Better Than Current Government
” Broad majorities continue to oppose the U.S. and its allies sending arms and military supplies to anti-government groups in Syria. Last Thursday’s announcement that the U.S. would aid the rebels has not increased public support for action, and majorities of all partisan groups are opposed.
Overall, 70% oppose the U.S. and its allies sending arms and military supplies to anti-government groups in Syria; just 20% favor this. Opinion is little changed from December of last year (24% favor) and support is down slightly from March, 2012 (29% favor).”
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Corporate Comedian John Pinette
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What is Freezer Burn?
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Herbert Spencer
” Be it or be it not true that Man is shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin, it is unquestionably true that Government is begotten of aggression, and by aggression.”
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Today In The Past
Events
860 - Swedish Vikings attack Constantinople
1682 - William Penn founds Philadelphia, US
1812 - War of 1812 begins as US declares war against Britain
1815 - Battle of Waterloo; Napoleon defeated by Wellington & Blucher
1873 - Susan B Anthony fined $100 for voting for President
1898 - 1st amusement pier opens in Atlantic City, NJ
1900 - Empress Douairiere orders I-Ho-Chuan (Boxers) to kill all foreigners
1928 - Amelia Earhart becomes 1st female to fly across Atlantic Ocean
1940 - Winston Churchill urges perseverance so that future generations would remember that “this was their finest hour”
1941 - Joe Louis KOs Billy Conn in 13 for heavyweight boxing
1956 - Last of foreign troops leaves Egypt as Brits leave Suez Canal
1959 - 1st telecast transmitted from England to US
1960 - Real Madrid wins 5th Europe Cup 1
1968 - Supreme Court bans racial discrimination in sale & rental of housing
1973 - NCAA makes urine testing mandatory for participants
1977 - Billy Martin & Reggie Jackson get into a dug out altercation
1977 - Space Shuttle test model “Enterprise” carries a crew aloft for 1st time, It was fixed to a modified Boeing 747
1979 - Pres Carter & Leonid I Brezhnev sign SALT 2 treaty
1981 - Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart retires (replaced by Sandra Day O’Connor, 1st woman on high court)
1982 - ABC’s All Talk radio network expands to 22 stations
1985 - Boston Red Sox Fred Lynn gets 10 RBIs
1996 - Ted Kaczynski, suspected of being the Unabomber, is indicted on ten criminal counts.
Births
1839 - William Henry Seward Jr, Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1920
1886 - George Mallory, England, mountain climber (“because it is there”)
1906 - Kay Kyser, Rocky Mount NC, orchestra leader (Kay Kyser’s Kollege)
1910 - E G Marshall, Owatonna Minn, actor (Playhouse 90, Chicago Hope)
1917 - Richard Boone, LA California, actor (Paladin-Have Gun Will Travel)
1942 - Paul McCartney, Liverpool, English rocker & pop star (Beatles)
1952 - Isabella Rossellini, Rome Italy, actress (Big Night, Blue Velvet)
1976 - Blake Shelton, American Country Singer
1989 - Renee Olstead, American singer and actress
Deaths
1234 - Emperor Chukyo of Japan (b. 1218)
1629 - Piet Heyn, lt-admiral (Spanish silver fleet), dies in battle at 51
1788 - Adam Gib, Scottish religious leader (b. 1714)
1880 - John Sutter, US colonist (gold discovered on his land), dies at 77
1902 - Samuel Butler, British writer (Erewhom), dies at 66
1916 - Max Immelmann, German pilot (WW I), killed
1928 - Roald E G Amundsen, Norwegian pole explorer, dies
1936 - Maxim Gorky, [Alexei M Peshkov], Russian writer (Mother), dies at 68
1959 - Ethel Barrymore, [Blythe], actress (None but the lonely), dies at 79
1967 - Beat Fehr, Swiss racing driver (b. 1942)
1974 - Georgi K Zhukov, Russian marshal/minister of Defense, dies at 77
1984 - Alan Berg, American radio talk show host
2011 - Clarence Clemons, American saxophonist (b. 1942)
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Over 200 Million People Are In The Facial Recognition Database
Anonymous offers tips on beating facial recognition
” Using the vague criteria of “law enforcement purposes”, the United States has more than 200 million Americans filed away in various facial recognition databases. If you have a driver’s license or any other government photo ID, your face is probably one of them.
The Washington Post reported:
Law enforcement use of such facial searches is blurring the traditional boundaries between criminal and non-criminal databases, putting images of people never arrested in what amount to perpetual digital lineups. The most advanced systems allow police to run searches from laptop computers in their patrol cars and offer access to the FBI and other federal authorities.
Only 13 states have not gone into full-out Big Brother mode with facial recognition…yet. At this time, the states without the technology are Alaska, California, Wyoming, Arizona, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Maine, and New Hampshire. However, even though they don’t have the technology to readily identify residents, they still have millions of photos in their databases.
Here’s the breakdown of who has a photo database:
- The State Department has about 15 million photos of passport or visa holders
- The FBI has about15 million photos of people who have been arrested or convicted of crimes
- The Department of Defense has about 6 million photos, mainly of Iraqis and Afghans
- Various police agencies and states have at least 210 million driver’s license photos “
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Sessions: Let’s Face It, This Immigration Bill Is Beyond Repair
” Washington is bickering over whether the Cornyn amendment to the Gang of Eight framework is a deal-breaking and onerous “poison pill,” or a totally inadequate “Trojan horse.” The New York Times published a piece pondering that exact question on Friday. It quoted Chuck Schumer panning the plan as a “nonstarter” and “deal-killer,” without specifying a single policy flaw. How does any of this go “too far”? One Republican Senator is having none of this entire show. Alabama’s Jeff Sessions released a blistering statement Sunday morning preemptively rejecting any “cosmetic fixes” to the legislation (hyperlinks and emphasis his):
When the Gang of Eight first announced their immigration bill they declared it was the toughest enforcement plan in history. They declared enforcement would come before legalization. And they declared that anyone who suggested otherwise didn’t know what they were talking about. Now the bill has been reviewed and there can be no dispute: it weakens current law, undermines future enforcement and puts amnesty—not enforcement—first. So new promises of amendment ‘fixes’ to save the bill should be viewed with great skepticism: every time, on every issue, the promises have not matched with reality. They promised back taxes—but the requirement isn’t there; they promised tight restrictions on welfare benefits—but state and local benefits, as well as tax credits,will be available immediately and federal welfare access is granted to millions of illegal immigrants starting in five years; they promised to protect workers—but this bill would devastate workers by tripling the number of legal immigrants over the next decade and doubling the number of guest workers.
No small cosmetic fix can save this bill, with so many provisions clearly authored by special interests whose chief desires are lower wages and amnesty—rather than a lawful, rational system of immigration. As the ICE officers’ association warned: ‘instead of cracking down on the Administration’s abuse of power, S. 744 places unprecedented new restrictions on interior enforcement—making the current situation much worse and much more hazardous. It is as if S. 744 were explicitly written to handcuff law enforcement officials—binding their hands while giving virtually unchecked authority to executive branch officials to prevent future removals, including removals of criminal aliens.’ And as the USCIS adjudications officers warned: ‘the legislation was written with special interests—producing a bill that makes the current system worse, not better. S. 744 will damage public safety and national security and should be opposed by lawmakers.’ It’s time for the Gang of Eight to start being straight with the American public.” “
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CNN Poll: Majority Doesn’t Trust Obama, Approval Rating Suffers Severe Drop
” President Barack Obama’s approval rating dropped a shocking 8 percentage points over the last month — one of sharpest, fastest plunges in his presidency, according to a new CNN poll released early Monday morning.
For the first time in Obama’s time in office, more than half of the public doesn’t feel that the president is honest and trustworthy, the CNN/ORC International poll showed.
Specifically, Obama’s approval rating stands at 45 percent, down from 53 percent in mid-May, CNN reported. A shocking 54 percent of respondents told pollsters they disapprove of how Obama is handling his job. That was up 9 points in just a month. “
Related articles
- CNN Poll: Obama approval falls amid controversies (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
- Poll: Obama’s approval rating falls (usatoday.com)
- Finally, Obama’s Poll Numbers Tumble (nationalreview.com)
- Obama approval at lowest in more than year and half in CNN poll (blogs.marketwatch.com)
- Poll: Obama approval rating drops to his lowest rating in over a year and a half (patdollard.com)
- CNN Poll: Obama approval rating unharmed by controversies (washingtonpost.com)
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