Edward Snowden NSA Leaker: Boehner Says ‘He’s a Traitor’

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIgUVExgDeo#t=1s

Who is putting Americans at risk? Who is violating our 4th amendment rights? Was Gen. Petraeus in contact with terrorists when they used Prism to blackmail him?

Domestic enemies.

David DeGerolamo

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Small Wars Journal Is Back: Political Violence Prevention: Profiling Domestic Terrorists

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

The five factors used to identify potential terrorist perpetrators are plausible. However to be considered plausible some of the factors had to be placed in the correct context. The factor of religious, ethnic, or political affiliation had to be adjusted to apply to relevant groups, not just muslin or Arab groups. This was supported by quantitative data on the total number of terrorist plots from 1999-2009. Still this has the potential to change based upon the criteria used to define which data of terrorist actions to include. The goals of all included cases were acts of violence intended to cause casualties or catastrophic damage to critical infrastructure. As such 135 animal rights and environmental group attacks were discarded because they were smaller in scale and did not target critical infrastructure such as dams, bridges, power plants, etc. (Storm, Hollywood, Pope, Weintraub, Daye, and Gemeinhardt 2010, 4). Being nearly 200% of the attacks counted, small scale animal and environmental incidents could greatly change the results if included.

The five factors, though plausible, are not the most feasible or the most effective historical method in preventing terrorist attacks. In 80% of the foiled plots, initial clues were identified by law enforcement and from public reporting (Storm, Hollywood, Pope, Weintraub, Daye, and Gemeinhardt 2010, 12). In these cases law enforcement would not need to profile any of the individuals involved as the initial clue is sufficient to identify the plan or to begin an investigation. These clues did not involve estimating an individual’s potential terror but on more tangible elements such as criminal activities, suspicious documents, suspicious activity, and paramilitary training (Storm, Hollywood, Pope, Weintraub, Daye, and Gemeinhardt 2010, 1). If tangible evidence is present it reduces the need for profiling. Because of the reduced need the five factors would likely fall under the remaining 20% of foiled terrorist plots and there is no easy way to determine how many of those may or may not have used or benefited from profiling. There is also no way to definitively answer how many more terrorist operations would be foiled if the five factors were incorporated into a standard-but it can be speculated that the number would increase.

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h/t Matt Bracken

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IRS Buying Spying Equipment: Covert Cameras in Coffee Trays, Plants

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

IRS Purchasing Surveillance Equipment: Hidden Cameras in Coffee Trays, Plants

The IRS, currently in the midst of scandals involving the targeting of conservative groups and lavish taxpayer-funded conferences, is ordering surveillance equipment that includes hidden cameras in coffee trays, plants and clock radios.

The IRS wants to secure the surveillance equipment quickly – it posted a solicitation on June 6 and is looking to close the deal by Monday, June 10.  The agency already has a company lined up for the order but is not commenting on the details.

“The Internal Revenue Service intends to award a Purchase Order to an undisclosed Corporation,” reads the solicitation.

“The following descriptions are vague due to the use and nature of the items,” it says.

“If you feel that you can provide the following equipment, please respond to this email no later than 4 days after the solicitation date,” the IRS said.

Among the items the agency will purchase are four “Covert Coffee tray(s) with Camera concealment,” and four “Remote surveillance system(s)” with “Built-in DVD Burner and 2 Internal HDDs, cameras.”

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Recording Equiptment

Solicitation Number: V-3-V0-02-ST-O15-000
Agency: Department of the Treasury
Office: Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Location: National Office Procurement (OS:A:P)
:
V-3-V0-02-ST-O15-000
:
Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
: Continue reading →
Posted in Domestic Enemies, Editorial | Tagged | 1 Comment

Cyber War Details Revealed by Bill Gertz

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

Flickr user Insipiration Point Studio

President Barack Obama’s internal directive on cyber warfare was disclosed in public last week, showing for the first time details of U.S. policies for waging both offensive and defensive digital operations by military forces and intelligence agencies.

The directive, known as PPD-20, defines the use of what it terms as “defensive cyber effects operations” (DCEO) and “offensive cyber effects operations” (OCEO) against foreign target networks.

It also revealed plans for the use of what the White House calls “Emergency Cyber Action”: urgent responses to cyber attacks or offensive counter cyber actions taken when there is an imminent threat to U.S. government networks or critical private sector infrastructure.

“The United States has an abiding interest in developing and maintaining the use of cyberspace as an integral part of U.S. national capabilities to collect intelligence and to deter, deny, or defeat any adversary that seeks to harm U.S. national interests in peace, crisis, or war,” the order states.

“Given the evolution in U.S. experience, policy, capabilities, and understanding of the cyber threat, and in information and communications technology, this directive establishes updated principles and processes as part of an overarching national cyber policy framework.”

It is the first time the Obama administration policy on cyber warfare was revealed. The 18-page document, “U.S. Cyber Operations Policy,” is labeled “Top Secret/Noforn,” a term barring non-U.S. citizens from access. The directive was disclosed by Britain’s Guardian newspaper.

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The LEAST They Could Do Is Provide A Viable Service!

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

Source

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Did You Ever Wonder Why…

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

Whatever your viewpoint of Edward Snowden, he did expose an illegal program operated by the federal government in violation of the 4th amendment. Do you wonder why no one in Congress is asking to hold closed hearings on this program with immunity granted under the federal whistleblower’s act?

I suspect that more information will be exposed over time by Mr. Snowden, who has only released 41 pages of information of which only 4 were published. I wonder how many Congressmen knew about this abuse of power? I wonder how these Congressmen can question Mr. Snowden’s supposed breach of his oath since it is now apparent that the oath of the Constitution in Washington and the elite military leadership means as much as this:

David DeGerolamo

Posted in Domestic Enemies, Editorial | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

More than 80 arrested at NC NAACP demonstrations

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

Etheridge at Moral Monday

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge speaks to Moral Monday protesters on June 10, 2013.

North Carolina Republicans are pushing back harder against weekly protests as another group of demonstrators aligned with the state NAACP face police charges.

Many in the group of 84 people arrested Monday at the state legislature were clergy who say the Republican-controlled General Assembly is making policies that hurt the poor and children.

“Biblically, we speak of a time when we care for the least of these, that we care for those who cannot care from themselves,” said Rev. Clarence Shuford, of St. Phillip AME Zion in Greensboro.

The arrests bring the total over six rounds of near-weekly demonstrations to more than 350. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and a growing number of left-leaning groups are lashing out at a host of GOP policies ranging from education to voting rights.

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Press Preview Of German Constitutional Court Decision

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

Starting today, and continuing through tomorrow, the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) will consider the legality and conformability of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the ECB’s Outright Monetary Transaction programme (OMT) in particular. What does the press expect will be the outcome of the FCC’s deliberations (spoiler alert: nobody will dare to threaten Deutsche Bank’s towering mountain of derivatives, all $56 trillion of them, but let’s pretend it is exciting). Here is a brief recap via Bruegel Think Tank.

On 11 and 12 June, 2013 the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) will once again debate and consider the legality and conformability of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) in general and the ECB’s Outright Monetary Transaction programme (OMT) in particular. In September last year, the court preliminarily approved the ESM on condition that German financial liabilities have to remain within the amount set by the German parliament (Court decision from September 2012 here). In the current hearing the FCC will consider several constitutional complaints (“Verfassungsbeschwerde”). According to the FCC’s press statement (here), the court will evaluate (1) scope and boundaries of the ECB’s monetary policy mandate, in particular the independence of the ECB and the OMT programme, (2) consequences of the OMT programme on the parliament’s budget right, (3) the role of the Bundesbank in the European System of Central Banks, and (4) possibilities of the parliament and the government react and respond to the ECB’s policies. The Court will invoke a joint assessment of whether or not the ECB acts ultra-vires and violates Germany’s constitutional identify.

The focus of this hearing will be on the ECB’s rescue policies and specifically whether or not the ECB’s OMT is indirectly circumventing the prohibition of financing euro zone countries’ budgets. While the programme eases borrowing costs of struggling states, critics stress that it also eases pressure on governments to reform their fiscal policies and render the independent central bank dependent on governments’ policy choices. The ECB argues that its primary goal to safeguard price stability has to be accompanied by secondary goals, in particular maintaining the stability of financial markets.  The Bundesbank, by contrast, argues that OMT exceeds the boundaries set by the ECB’s mandate. In December last year, a statement by the Bundesbank in which the ECB’s OMT program is criticised was leaked and published by Handelsblatt.

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Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

"Group View"London, 1772.

I have been asked by my superiors to give a brief demonstration of the surprising effectiveness of even the simplest techniques of the new-fangled Social Networke Analysis in the pursuit of those who would seek to undermine the liberty enjoyed by His Majesty’s subjects. This is in connection with the discussion of the role of “metadata” in certain recent events and the assurances of various respectable parties that the government was merely “sifting through this so-called metadata” and that the “information acquired does not include the content of any communications”. I will show how we can use this “metadata” to find key persons involved in terrorist groups operating within the Colonies at the present time. I shall also endeavour to show how these methods work in what might be called a relational manner.

Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic Enemies, Editorial | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Turkish riot police clash with protesters in Taksim Square

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

Turkish riot police fire water cannon and teargas during a protest at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 11, 2013. REUTERS-Yannis Behrakis

Turkish riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at hundreds of protesters armed with rocks and fireworks on Tuesday as they tried to take back control of a central Istanbul square at the heart of fierce anti-government demonstrations.

Hundreds of riot police backed by armored vehicles surrounded Taksim Square as bulldozers began removing barricades of paving stones and corrugated iron built by the protesters. What began as a protest at redevelopment plans for the square has grown into an unprecedented challenge to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted government and divided Turks.

The unrest has damaged investor confidence in Turkey, previously an emerging market success story. The central bank said it would intervene if needed to support the lira, after the currency fell to its weakest against its dollar/euro basket since October 2011. The cost of insuring Turkish debt against default rose to the highest in ten months, although it remained far from crisis levels.

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Plan B: Obama allows morning-after pill for under-17s

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

Plan B contraceptives, known as the morning-after pill.

The Obama administration will stop trying to limit sales of emergency contraception pills, making the morning-after pill available to women of all ages without a prescription.

The US justice department said in a letter on Monday that it planned to comply with a court’s ruling to allow unrestricted sales of Plan B One-Step and that it would withdraw its appeal on the matter.

The move is the latest in a lengthy legal fight over the morning-after pill, which was until recently only available without a prescription to women 17 and older who presented proof of age at a pharmacist’s counter.

Plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against the FDA said the limit unfairly kept women and girls from accessing the drug, which is most effective when taken within 72 hours of intercourse.

On 5 April US district Judge Edward Korman said the US Food and Drug Administration had been “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable” in rejecting a citizen petition to make emergency contraception available over the counter to girls of all ages.

Korman ordered the FDA to make emergency contraception available without age and point-of-sale restrictions but said the agency could lift restrictions on only the one-pill version of the drug, Plan B One-Step, if the FDA believed there was a significant difference between that and the two-pill version.

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NSA leak is treason, says Feinstein

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is guilty of treason, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Monday.

“I don’t look at this as being a whistle-blower,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calf.) said. “I think it’s an act of treason.”

The whereabouts of Snowden were unclear Monday as authorities ramped up an investigation that could lead to his extradition and prosecution.

The White House ducked questions about Snowden even as it came under conflicting pressures from across the political spectrum to either prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law or show leniency.

Republican lawmakers urged the Obama administration to extradite Snowden “at the earliest date” possible, after he revealed on Sunday that he was responsible for one of the largest intelligence leaks in U.S. history.

Democrats like Feinstein also said the source behind the leak of the NSA’s Internet and phone surveillance programs must be prosecuted.

“He took an oath — that oath is important,” she said. “He violated the oath, he violated the law. It’s an act of treason in my view.”

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FIREARMS FUTURE

Posted on June 11, 2013 by DRenegade

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za_8TOQFA8o#t=33s

h/t Bob L

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A Silent Monologue: Last Words

Posted on June 10, 2013 by DRenegade

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What if laws applied to everyone?

Posted on June 10, 2013 by DRenegade

What if government officials have written laws that apply only to us and not to them? What if we gave them the power to protect our freedoms and our safety and they used that power to trick and trap some of us? What if government officials broke the laws we hired them to enforce? What if they prosecuted others for breaking the same laws they broke?

What if the government enacted a law making it a crime to provide material assistance to terrorist organizations? What if that law was intended to stop people from giving cash and weapons to organizations that bomb and maim and kill? What if the government looked at that law and claimed it applied to a dentist or a shopkeeper who sold services or goods to a terrorist organization, and not just to financiers and bomb makers?

What if an organization that killed also owned a hospital or a school and the law made it a crime to contribute to the hospital or the school? What if the Supreme Court ruled that the law is so broad that it covers backslapping, advocacy and free speech? What if the court ruled that the law makes it a crime to encourage any terrorist organization to do anything — fix teeth, educate children, save lives or kill people? What if the law makes it a crime to talk to any person known to be a terrorist? What if the law is so broad that it punishes ideas and the free expression of those ideas, even if no one is harmed thereby?

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