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Photo by: joanneleon. August, 2013.
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Clearly the cops think they have the right to beat the crap out of you without being filmed. Those meddlesome livestreamers! This internet thing is a real problem for totalitarians, megalomaniacs, and sadists. And hey, Apple? WTF?
Apple patents tech to let cops switch off iPhone video, camera and wi-fi
Police forces around the world have had the problem that when their officers get a bit carried away and start pepper spraying tied captives there is someone on hand filming the event on their mobile phones.
While six police lay into prone grannies on the floor with long batons, the pictures can be on the net in seconds, meaning supervisors have to answer embarrassing questions.
But they may not need to fear scrutiny much longer - Apple has patented a piece of technology which would allow government and police to block transmission of information, including video and photographs, whenever they like.
Juan Cole has been hitting it out of the park lately. But of course, if you take any of this seriously, you're just a Hair on Fire Hyperbolist! Buncha HOFHs, all a yis. If yer not doing anything wrong, ya got nothing to worry about, hear? Trust me! Buncha haters, all a yis. You should be out banging on doors for Democrats anyway. And phone banking for a solid year. Plus putting money that you don't have on a credit card to give to candidates that don't get quite enough from the banks and the war profiteers. Well they do get enough actually, but they need to be able to say they got a lotta money from small donors too. But I digress. But if you were phone banking and banging on doors, and getting a coupla extra jobs (if there were any) instead of mucking around on those intertoobs and protesting with those need-a-shower-and-a-job Occupiers and ecoterrorists, you wouldn't have much need for that bill of rights anyway now would you? The answer to everything is: 1) get a couple more jobs (if you can't find one work for free); 2) yell about Republicans and libertarians early and often; 3) send money to Democrats; 4) phone bank and bang on doors; 5) STFU about everything else. But I digress again...
Where is our Amsterdam? Lavabits, Snowden & Wikileaks Censorship recall age of Absolutism
The long struggle against censorship in the 18th century at the time of oppressive kings in Europe involved the hand-copying and circulation of unpublished anonymous manuscripts. Sometimes dangerous or proscribed books were printed in places beyond the reach of the French kings, in Amsterdam or Geneva.
The struggle against censorship was not won with the almost miraculous First Amendment to the US constitution. The amendment, which forbids the government to establish an official religion and prescribes freedom of speech, the press, and assembly only slowly over the subsequent two centuries actually came to mean in practice some of what the words seem to imply.
It only took a decade or so for the US government to abolish the First Amendment, taking us back to a censorship regime. It is not the censorship regime of the Sun King in France, but it more resembles that system than it resembles the world imagined in the First Amendment.
However a determination is needed in order to keep sending millions of dollars, and I think the determination has been made to keep sending it. So a determination has been made. Hey, what's another lying dodge in a sea of lying dodges by this administration? Plus, when you're caught lying, you can just deny it or change your story the following week. No biggie!
State Department: 'We have determined that we don't need to make a determination'
Strangelove 1.0
Ex-NSA CIA Chief: Hackers Can't Get the Ladies
OMG.
Insane Police Chief Apologizes for Crazy Rants...Or Not
So that's what I've been seeing here! The Toobin principle. There's a whole contingent of Toobins here.
You Can't Applaud the NSA Debate & Call For Snowden's Jailing
You can't say you welcome the NSA debate and also want to see NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who completely created the debate, put in jail...
I don't know which was worse, watching the press conference or watching Rachel Maddow rehash the whole thing, dedicating half of her show to it, literally, explaining it for those who hadn't watched it for themselves. Yes, it was masochistic to watch the evening shows on MSNBC, but every so often, I figure I should do it. The funniest part was when she said that the press conference was "free wheeling". It was first, a speech, and then some questions, and the president had a list of people whose questions he was going to answer. Only the journalists he chose got to ask questions. Free wheeling? Hardly. Maybe the press will tell us what the rules were yesterday, we'll see. Free wheeling it wasn't. And it was just more of the same. This president banks on his ability to convince the American people of anything through the power of persuasion and when he puts on the folksy character. It remains to be seen if people are going to buy this one, with denials one week, admissions the next, story changing all the time. Telling the truth would be so much less complicated and, you know, stopping the spying on Americans.
Making You "Comfortable" with Spying Is Obama's Big NSA Fix
Barack Obama held a press conference on Friday afternoon, supposedly to announce reforms of the NSA's far-flung surveillance programs. In reality, the White House briefing was the start of a marketing campaign for the spy programs that have turned so controversial in recent months. And the President's message really boiled down to this: It's more important to persuade people surveillance is useful and legal than to make structural changes to the programs.
"The question is, how do I make the American people more comfortable?" Obama said.
[...]
In an awkward analogy, the President said that if he'd told his wife Michelle that he had washed the dishes after dinner, she might not believe him. So he might have to take her into the kitchen and show her the evidence.
The tour of the NSA's kitchen appeared today in the form of two "white papers," one produced by the Justice Department, another by the NSA, that offered a robust defense of the legal basis for the programs, and their value, but offered practically no new details to the administration's already public defense. If the President meant to offer more proof that the programs really are fine, it was not to be found in the information his administration released today.
I keep thinking about that mortgage fraud task force... that wasn't. And the mortgage fraud settlement that gave a few hundred dollars to people whose homes were taken away from them fraudulently, while banks made out well and consultants got $10K per home for 40 hours of work per home at $250/hour. When was the last time that an Obama solution worked out well for the people?
Obama Promises Reform of NSA Spying, But the Devil Will Be in the Details
Other promises aside, President Obama did not commit to reducing the surveillance of Americans’ communications or the communications of individuals abroad who are not suspected of any crime.
There really were only two questions about surveillance issues.
TRANSCRIPT: President Obama’s August 9, 2013, news conference at the White House
PRESIDENT OBAMA: [...] And so in light of the changed environment where a whole set of questions have been raised -- some in the most sensationalized manner possible, where these leaks are released drip by drip, you know, one a week to kind of maximize attention and see if, you know, they can catch us at some imprecision on something -- in light of that, it makes for us to go ahead, lay out what exactly we're doing, have a discussion with Congress, have a discussion with industry, which is also impacted by this, have a discussion with the civil libertarians and see, can we do this better?
I think -- I -- I think the main thing I want to emphasize is, I don't have an interest and the people of the NSA don't have an interest in doing anything other than making sure that where we can prevent a terrorist attack, where we can get information ahead of time, that we're able to carry out that critical task.
[...]
Q: Can you understand, though, why people might not -- not trust what you're saying right now about -- (off mic) --
PRESIDENT OBAMA: No, I can't.
[...]
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, the fact that I said that the programs are operating in a way that prevents abuse, that continues to be true without the reforms.
The question is how do we make the American people more comfortable? If I tell Michelle that I did the dishes -- now, granted, in the White House, I don't do the dishes that much, but back in the day -- (laughter) -- and -- and she's a little skeptical, well, I'd like her to trust me, but maybe I need to bring her back and show her the dishes and not just have her take my word for it.
And so, you know, the program is -- I am comfortable that the program currently is not being abused. I'm comfortable that if the American people examined exactly what was taking place, how it was being used, what the safeguards were, that they would say, you know what, these folks are following the law and doing what they say they're doing. But it is absolutely true that with the expansion of technology, this is an area that's moving very quickly -- with the revelations that have depleted public trust, that if there are some additional things that we can do to build that trust back up, then we should do them.
[...]
Q: So you won't even confirm that we've carried out drone strikes in Yemen?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I will not have a discussion about operational issues.
Again, from the transcript, but I'll use the
transcript on the White House site. I haven't checked to see the differences between it and the WaPo transcript above, which looks like it might have been a rushed version. Let's take a look at all of the questions and who they came from. There is at least one question listed as "off mic", so I'm not sure about that.
[Julie Pace of AP] Q: Thank you, Mr. President. I wanted to ask about some of the foreign policy fallout from the disclosure of the NSA programs that you discussed. Your spokesman said yesterday that there's no question that the U.S. relationship with Russia has gotten worse since Vladimir Putin took office. How much of that decline do you attribute directly to Mr. Putin, given that you seem to have had a good working relationship with his predecessor?
Also, will there be any additional punitive measures taken against Russia for granting asylum to Edward Snowden, or is cancelling the September summit really all you can do given the host of issues the U.S. needs Russian cooperation for?
Thank you. [...] Q Are there going to be any additional punitive measures for Russia, beyond canceling the summit?
[...]
[Chuck Todd.] Q Thank you, Mr. President. Given that you just announced a whole bunch of reforms based on essentially the leaks that Edward Snowden made on all of these surveillance programs, is that change -- is your mindset changed about him? Is he now more a whistle-blower than he is a hacker, as you called him at one point, or somebody that shouldn’t be filed charges? And should he be provided more protection? Is he a patriot? You just used those words. And then just to follow up on the personal -- I want to follow up on a personal -- [...] Q No, I understand. It was a part of a question that you didn’t answer. Can you get stuff done with Russia, big stuff done, without having a good personal relationship with Putin?
[...]
[Major Garrett.] Q Thank you, Mr. President. I’d like to ask you about this debate that's playing itself out in editorial pages, in the blogosphere, even in the Senate Democratic caucus, about the choice you eventually will make for the next Federal Reserve chairman. There is a perception among Democrats that Larry Summers has the inside track, and perhaps you’ve made some assurances to him about that. Janet Yellen is the vice chair of the Federal Reserve. There are many women in the Senate who are Democrats who believe that breaking the glass ceiling there would be historic and important. [...] Q Are you annoyed by this sort of roiling debate? Do you find it any way unseemly? And do you believe this will be one of the most important -- if not the most important -- economic decisions you’ll make in the remainder of your presidency? [...] Q Can you see how the perception of you defending Larry Summers as vigorously as you just did and in other quarters lead some to believe you’ve already made up your mind?
[...]
[Carol Lee.] Q: I appreciate you making this slow news week. (Laughter.) I wanted to ask you about your evolution on the surveillance issues. I mean, part of what you're talking about today is restoring the public trust. And the public has seen you evolve from when you were in the U.S. Senate to now.
And even as recently as June, you said that these -- the process was such that people should be comfortable with it. And now you're saying -- you're making these reforms and people should be comfortable with those. So why should the public trust you on this issue and why did you change your position multiple times? [...] Q: Can you understand, though, why people might not -- not trust what you're saying right now about [...] Q -- that they should be comfortable with the process?
[...]
[Jonathan Karl.] Q: Thank you, Mr. President. You have said that core al-Qaida has been decimated, that its leaders are on the run. Now that we've seen this terror threat that has resulted in embassies closed throughout the Arab world, much of Africa, do you still believe that al-Qaida has been decimated? And if I can ask, in the interest of transparency, can you tell us about these drone strikes that we've seen over the last couple of weeks in Yemen? [...] Q: So you won't even confirm that we've carried out drone strikes in Yemen?
[...]
[Ed Henry.] Q: OK, thank you. I want to ask you about two important dates that are coming up. October 1st, you're going to implement your signature health care law. You recently decided on your own to delay a key part of that. And I wonder, if you pick and choose what parts of the law to implement, couldn't your successor down the road pick and choose whether they'll implement your law and keep it in place?
And on September 11th we'll have the first anniversary of Benghazi. And you said on September 12th, make no mistake, we'll bring to justice to killers who attacked our people. Eleven months later, where are they, sir? [...] Q: And you're close to having the suspects in custody?
[...]
[Jessica Yellin.] Q: Thank you, Mr. President. And following on what you just said, Republicans in the House might give you that choice soon to either allow the government to shut down, or see "Obamacare" defunded. Would you choose to let the government shut down to ensure that "Obamacare" remains funded? [...] Q And if they do, sir, you will have to make that choice? [...] Q: When was the last time you spoke to Speaker Boehner about the budget?
[...]
[Scott Horsley.] Q: Thank you, Mr. President.
Part of the political logic behind immigration reform was the strong showing by Latino voters last November, you know. That doesn't seem to resonate with a lot of House Republicans, who represent overwhelmingly white districts. What other political leverage can you bring to bear to help move a bill in the house?
If this is true... They bomb Syria. They bomb Gaza. They bomb Lebanon. They're itching to bomb Iran. Now they bomb Egypt. What's next? While we are hitting supposed AQ targets in Yemen, Israel is doing the same in Sinai? A big AQ clean up operation across multiple countries? Israel's new defense shield against rocket attacks? Plus, the intelligence and coordinates had to come from somewhere. Seriously, what could go wrong here? This is the story according to AP. I think it's likely that other versions will emerge as well. Israel, as is customary, did not officially take responsibility for the strike but did coyly leak some information. Already there are conflicting stories about whether or not the Israeli drone was in Egyptian airspace. The militants were preparing a rocket launch into Israel and had supposedly posted that confession on a "militant web site", which seems kind of odd. This looks like it could be a new, or maybe more accurately, a transformed war in Sinai. I wonder if our special forces were involved.
SINAI GROUP SAYS IT WAS TARGET OF ISRAELI DRONE
CAIRO (AP) — An al-Qaida-linked group active in the Sinai Peninsula said Saturday that its fighters were the target of a reported Israeli drone strike into Egyptian territory, a rare operation that could indicate increased Egyptian-Israeli security cooperation against militants in the lawless border zone.
[...]
The strike could signal a significant new level of security cooperation between Egypt and Israel following the military coup that ousted Egypt's president, Mohammed Morsi, last month. The military has alleged that Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood movement had turned a blind eye to Islamic militants in the Sinai. [...] A tribal leader in the area said that an Egyptian helicopter flew over the site a few minutes after the drone strike.
Same story, Egyptian news source. Eye witnesses say it was an Israeli aircraft. Egyptian military says it wasn't. They give the location as being near Rafa, and close to the Israeli border. Looking at a map, Rafa is on the Gaza border.
No Israeli involvement in Sinai explosions: Egyptian armed forces
Contrary to reports by the Israeli press and wire services, the Egyptian Armed Forces spokesman’s office confirmed to the Daily News Egypt that there was no evidence of an Israeli missile strike in the Sinai, near the Egyptian-Israeli border.
Two explosions were reported by local residents close to the Egyptian-Israeli border after afternoon prayers on Friday, according to a statement released by the Egyptian armed forces.
NYT, same story. It says that the Egyptian military has recently intensified its campaign against Islamic militants. Do they mean post coup? If this drone strike blows over without causing chaos, will Israel now start using drone strikes on a regular basis? It seems like a recipe for a major regional uprising.
Sinai Blasts Kill Up to 5 Thought to Be Militants
CAIRO — Up to five suspected Islamic militants were killed Friday in two explosions in the restive Sinai Peninsula close to Egypt’s border with Israel, according to Egypt’s official state media. The Egyptian military has recently intensified its campaign against Islamic militants operating against Egyptian forces in the region.
[...]
An Israeli attack of this kind inside Egyptian territory would be extremely rare, if not unprecedented since the two countries signed a peace treaty in 1979.
[...]
Israeli experts said that it was convenient for both sides to remain vague to maintain deniability and avoid any affront to Egyptian sovereignty.
Although the Israeli Air Force has a long history of using pilotless drones, Israel acknowledges using them only for surveillance and has not admitted using armed drones for deadly attacks, despite many reports by witnesses of such attacks over the years from Gaza.
And from the right-wing Jerusalem Post. So it looks like, immediately after the coup, the Egyptian military started a crack down in Sinai.
Report: IAF drone strikes jihadist rocket launching site in Sinai, killing 4 terrorists
On Wednesday, the Egyptian army announced that it had killed 60 terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula in the month since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Citing widening “terrorist operations” in “recent times,” the Egyptian military said it was conducting an intensified campaign in Sinai in coordination with the country’s Interior Ministry to crack down on terrorists who “threaten Egyptian national security.”
Govn't calls final witnesses in case against Pfc Manning
Army Private first class Bradley Manning has already been convicted of a number of counts related to his role with the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, but Col. Denise Lind — the presiding judge in the case — will refrain from announcing what punishment the soldier will receive until the sentencing phase of the court-martial comes to a close. Prosecutors in the case prepared to call their final witnesses on Friday, setting the stage for a slew of testimonies expected to be made in the coming days by guests of the defense.
Australia Has $16 Minimum Wage and is the Only Rich Country to Dodge the Global Recession
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Action
Stop Watching Us.
The revelations about the National Security Agency's surveillance apparatus, if true, represent a stunning abuse of our basic rights. We demand the U.S. Congress reveal the full extent of the NSA's spying programs.
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