Madison Ruppert, Contributing Writer
Activist Post
United States Senator Charles Schumer and New York state Senator Michael Gianaris of Queens have proposed that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) create a consumer advocate to quickly act on passenger complaints over security screenings.
This comes after three elderly women have reported being strip searched at the JFK International Airport in New York, although the TSA has a long history of abuses.
Yesterday the TSA claimed that they were in the planning stages of launching their own advocacy service, but having the offending agency also act as the advocacy agency seems quite absurd.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Once called Blackwater, firm changes name again
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| A Blackwater helicopter flies over Baghdad © AFP/File Patrick Baz |
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US security firm formerly known as Blackwater, which was barred from Iraq over a deadly 2007 shooting, renamed itself a second time Monday.
USTC Holdings, the investor consortium that acquired ex-Blackwater firm Xe Services in December 2010, announced ACADEMI as the new name and brand for Xe Services.
The rebranding came as President Barack Obama met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Monday, marking America's exit from a war launched to oust Saddam Hussein.
Obama demands Iran return downed US drone
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| Iranian media said that the drone was shot down after making an incursion into the airspace of eastern Iran © AFP/IRAN'S REVOLUTIONARY GUARD/File |
WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama acknowledged for the first time Monday that a US drone was in Iranian hands and said the United States has asked Tehran to return the sophisticated spycraft.
"We've asked for it back. We'll see how the Iranians respond," Obama said at a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
It was the first open confirmation by the Obama administration that Iran was in possession of the drone, which Tehran says it brought down as the plane was flying over its territory.
12 Things You Can do to Fight the Internet Blacklist Bill
A Toolkit for Anti-SOPA Activism
Rainy Reitman
EFF
Congress is debating dangerous legislation that would give the Department of Justice unprecedented power to “blacklist” websites without a trial and give Hollywood copyright holders a fast-track way to shut down a website’s financial services for alleged copyright infringement, endangering sites like Vimeo and Etsy. It’s nothing short of a bill to create a censorship regime in the U.S., and it’s moving fast.
We need your help to stop this legislation before it can undermine Internet security and censor the web. Ready to join EFF, Demand Progress, Fight for the Future, Free Software Foundation, Creative Commons, CDT, the Participatory Politics Foundation, and Public Knowledge in the fight? Here are 12 things you can do right now to help us stop the blacklist bills.
Rainy Reitman
EFF
Congress is debating dangerous legislation that would give the Department of Justice unprecedented power to “blacklist” websites without a trial and give Hollywood copyright holders a fast-track way to shut down a website’s financial services for alleged copyright infringement, endangering sites like Vimeo and Etsy. It’s nothing short of a bill to create a censorship regime in the U.S., and it’s moving fast.
We need your help to stop this legislation before it can undermine Internet security and censor the web. Ready to join EFF, Demand Progress, Fight for the Future, Free Software Foundation, Creative Commons, CDT, the Participatory Politics Foundation, and Public Knowledge in the fight? Here are 12 things you can do right now to help us stop the blacklist bills.
US-Funded "Activist" Becomes President of Tunisia
From A-Z, the Arab Spring is Fake
Tony Cartalucci, Contributing Writer
Activist Post
The BBC hails Tunisia's assembly and their election of a new president in their article, "Tunisian activist, Moncef Marzouki, named president." What the BBC predictably fails to mention is that Marzouki's organization, the Tunisian League for Human Rights, was a US National Endowment for Democracy and George Soros Open Society-funded International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) member organization.
Photo: Tunisia's new "president," Moncef Marzouki, a veteran Western collaborator whose last two decades of political activity have been supported and subsidized by the US government and US corporate-financier funded foundations.
Tony Cartalucci, Contributing Writer
Activist Post
The BBC hails Tunisia's assembly and their election of a new president in their article, "Tunisian activist, Moncef Marzouki, named president." What the BBC predictably fails to mention is that Marzouki's organization, the Tunisian League for Human Rights, was a US National Endowment for Democracy and George Soros Open Society-funded International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) member organization.
Photo: Tunisia's new "president," Moncef Marzouki, a veteran Western collaborator whose last two decades of political activity have been supported and subsidized by the US government and US corporate-financier funded foundations.
Ron Paul Supporters to Collect 10,000lbs of Food for Charity
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| Image source |
Thanks to Ron Paul supporters across the country, Americans in need will be less hungry this holiday season. That’s because Paul’s supporters have come together in a nationwide grassroots effort to collect 10,000 pounds of food this holiday season to help those in need during these times of economic distress while calling attention to Ron Paul's philosophy of voluntary charity being better than government intervention.
As Paul describes in his book The Revolution: A Manifesto, "Imagine the programs that constituted the federal "safety net" were all of the sudden abolished [...] How would you respond? Would you be more likely to volunteer at a food bank? [...] If you were a lawyer or physician, would you be more likely to offer pro bono services? We would all answer yes, wouldn't we? We need to ask ourselves: why aren't we doing these things already? And the answer is that we have bought into the soul-killing logic of the welfare state: somebody else is doing it for me. I don't need to, since a few scribbles on a tax form fulfill my responsibility toward my fellow man. Do our responsibilities as human beings really extend no farther than this?"
“We are part of the grassroots movement,” says Ron Paul supporter and volunteer Danielle Davis, “and grassroots has done so much for Dr. Paul’s campaign, despite mainstream opposition. We would like to show people – just as Ron Paul believes – that grassroots efforts of voluntary charity are a much more efficient and direct way to help those less fortunate than ourselves; government isn’t the only option.”
Food will be collected in many cities across the country throughout most of December and will be distributed to food banks on December 23, 2011.
For more information on the event, please visit http://RonPaulFoodDrive.com.
Or contact Danielle Davis, 775-219-9298, vegandanielle@gmail.com
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Drones Officially Take Flight For Domestic Law Enforcement, Heralding a New Level of the Police State
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| Predator B drone |
Activist Post
It is a sign of just how fast the police state is advancing that drones in American skies have gone from conspiracy theory to admitted fact in about a year.
In a precedent-setting event, local law enforcement in North Dakota nabbed three suspected armed men with the help of a Predator B unmanned drone. It was only after the drone confirmed that the men were unarmed that police moved in to make the arrest.
It has now become clear that, as we have written and warned about for the past year, the drones that were supposedly commissioned strictly as tools for border control will now patrol inland for suspected criminals on American soil, heralding a new level of police state oppression.
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The Pretext for a North American Homeland Security Perimeter
Dana Gabriel
Be Your Own Leader
After months of negotiations, the U.S. and Canada have unveiled new trade, regulatory and security initiatives to speed up the flow of goods and people across the border. The joint action plans provide a framework that goes beyond NAFTA and continues where the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) left off. This will take U.S.-Canada integration to the next level and is the pretext for a North American Homeland Security perimeter.
On December 7, President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the Beyond the Border Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan. The new deal focuses on addressing security threats early, facilitating trade, economic growth and jobs, integrating cross-border law enforcement, as well as improving infrastructure and cyber-security. It will act as a roadmap with different parts being phased in over the next several years. This includes the creation of various pilot projects. Many aspects of the agreement will also depend on the availability of funding from both governments. In addition, the two leaders issued a separate Regulatory Cooperation Council Action Plan that sets out initiatives whereby the U.S. and Canada will seek greater regulatory alignment in the areas of agriculture and food, transportation, environment, health, along with consumer products.
Be Your Own Leader
After months of negotiations, the U.S. and Canada have unveiled new trade, regulatory and security initiatives to speed up the flow of goods and people across the border. The joint action plans provide a framework that goes beyond NAFTA and continues where the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) left off. This will take U.S.-Canada integration to the next level and is the pretext for a North American Homeland Security perimeter.
On December 7, President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the Beyond the Border Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan. The new deal focuses on addressing security threats early, facilitating trade, economic growth and jobs, integrating cross-border law enforcement, as well as improving infrastructure and cyber-security. It will act as a roadmap with different parts being phased in over the next several years. This includes the creation of various pilot projects. Many aspects of the agreement will also depend on the availability of funding from both governments. In addition, the two leaders issued a separate Regulatory Cooperation Council Action Plan that sets out initiatives whereby the U.S. and Canada will seek greater regulatory alignment in the areas of agriculture and food, transportation, environment, health, along with consumer products.
Facebook page removed after uploading video exposing obviously skewed Barbara Walters interview with Assad
Madison Ruppert, Contributing Writer
Activist Post
In a clear act of censorship, after a video was uploaded to the official Facebook page for the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) which exposed the highly manipulated ABC interview with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the page was removed by Facebook.
The video was of a press conference held by the spokesman for the Syrian Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry, Jihad Makdessi, showing how the ABC interview was deceitfully edited.
“The conference showed how the US TV channel ABC manipulated the content of their interview with President Bashar al-Assad and distorted it through editing and omission,” writes SANA.
Syrians on Facebook have apparently already created a new page dedicated to the Syrian TV station, but this instance of Facebook controlling the narrative is hardly something which can be ignored.
Activist Post
In a clear act of censorship, after a video was uploaded to the official Facebook page for the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) which exposed the highly manipulated ABC interview with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the page was removed by Facebook.
The video was of a press conference held by the spokesman for the Syrian Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry, Jihad Makdessi, showing how the ABC interview was deceitfully edited.
“The conference showed how the US TV channel ABC manipulated the content of their interview with President Bashar al-Assad and distorted it through editing and omission,” writes SANA.
Syrians on Facebook have apparently already created a new page dedicated to the Syrian TV station, but this instance of Facebook controlling the narrative is hardly something which can be ignored.
Signs of Disintegration
Greg Hunter
USA Watchdog
“Disintegration.” That’s the word both billionaire George Soros and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have recently used to describe what’s going on with the European economic crisis.
It is really a solvency crisis for the big banks there, and leaders are trying desperately to fix the problem.
Last week, 26 European countries agreed to give up sovereignty and vote for new rules on tax and spending and tough sanctions to enforce them. One country, the United Kingdom, voted “no” in the form of a veto from Prime Minister David Cameron.
USA Watchdog
“Disintegration.” That’s the word both billionaire George Soros and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have recently used to describe what’s going on with the European economic crisis.
It is really a solvency crisis for the big banks there, and leaders are trying desperately to fix the problem.
Last week, 26 European countries agreed to give up sovereignty and vote for new rules on tax and spending and tough sanctions to enforce them. One country, the United Kingdom, voted “no” in the form of a veto from Prime Minister David Cameron.
EPA Admits Fracking Causing Groundwater Pollution
Anthony Gucciardi
Activist Post
The EPA has finally admitted that fracking; the controversial act of pumping water and chemicals underground in order to facilitate the flow of oil or gas, is causing groundwater pollution.
The chemicals involved in the fracking process are highly toxic, and many activists have been speaking out against fracking due to the threat to public health that the technique poses. Many viral videos have actually shown residents of fracking towns lighting their tap water on fire due to the high gas content.
The new EPA findings could significantly impact the fracking process, with the possibility of future regulations going into place to halt the environmental impact of fracking. The real question is whether or not the EPA will take the appropriate steps to reduce or even stop fracking, after ignoring the threat for quite some time.
Activist Post
The EPA has finally admitted that fracking; the controversial act of pumping water and chemicals underground in order to facilitate the flow of oil or gas, is causing groundwater pollution.
The chemicals involved in the fracking process are highly toxic, and many activists have been speaking out against fracking due to the threat to public health that the technique poses. Many viral videos have actually shown residents of fracking towns lighting their tap water on fire due to the high gas content.
The new EPA findings could significantly impact the fracking process, with the possibility of future regulations going into place to halt the environmental impact of fracking. The real question is whether or not the EPA will take the appropriate steps to reduce or even stop fracking, after ignoring the threat for quite some time.
The Spirit of Revolution
17-year-old Andrew Barrows invokes the spirit of the Founding Fathers to question America's current direction.
Andrew Barrows
Activist Post
I want to start with some quotes from past presidents of the United States Of America, as well as important activists who discussed freedom and oppression.
Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves. -- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object. -- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
Andrew BarrowsActivist Post
I want to start with some quotes from past presidents of the United States Of America, as well as important activists who discussed freedom and oppression.
Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves. -- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object. -- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
BREAKING: US Troops Deploying on Jordan-Syria Border
James Corbett
MUST READ Developing Story: 100s US-NATO Soldiers On Jordan-Syria Border
MUST READ Developing Story: 100s US-NATO Soldiers On Jordan-Syria Border
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In a World of Violence and Oppression, Peace and Freedom are Extremist Views
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| Anthony Freda Art |
Activist Post
What do people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King and John Lennon all have in common? Well, they were all extremists, extremists who wouldn’t hurt a fly. In a world where violence and oppression is the norm, those of us who dare to seek peace and freedom are automatically labeled as dangerous extremists.
I guess this makes some sense, considering that peace and freedom is extremely different from the values that truly direct our civilization at this point. Is this situation just another consequence of the “might makes right” philosophy that taints our society? “Might makes right” is basically another way of saying that the most popular ideas are absolute truth and that whatever those in power do is morally virtuous.
Logically, these ideas go hand in hand. If people believe that authority and popularity are the conditions that define truth and morality, then they are bound to be uncomfortable when someone starts talking about unpopular ideas that lie in opposition of the establishment values.
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