Judge Asks for More Information About NSA Spying Evidence Destruction After Emergency Hearing San Francisco - A federal judge asked for more briefing today after an emergency court hearing over destruction in a case challenging NSA spying from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Andrew Crocker, Rick Wiebe, and Cindy Cohn "We are pleased the court is receptive to our arguments – that this is the information that court ordered the government to retain, and is an important element of our litigation," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "It's unfortunate that the court's order today allows the government to continue destroying evidence that the government itself insists we need, but we are looking forward to giving the judge all the information he needs to come to a final decision." U.S. EFF has been litigating against illegal NSA surveillance for more than eight years. For more on Jewel v. Contact: Rebecca Jeschke Media Relations Director Electronic Frontier Foundation press@eff.org
GBU-28 The Guided Bomb Unit 28 (GBU-28) is a 5,000-pound (2,268 kg) laser-guided "bunker busting" bomb nicknamed "Deep Throat" produced originally by the Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, New York. It was designed, manufactured, and deployed in less than three weeks due to an urgent need during Operation Desert Storm to penetrate hardened Iraqi command centers located deep underground. Only two of the weapons were dropped in Desert Storm, both by F-111Fs.[1] The Enhanced GBU-28 augments the laser-guidance with Inertial navigation and GPS guidance systems.[2] Design and development[edit] In August 1990, the U.S. military began planning an air offensive campaign against Iraq. The GBU-28 C/B version uses the 4450 pound BLU-122 bomb body, which contains AFX-757 explosive in a 3500 pound casing machined from a single piece of ES-1 Eglin-defined steel alloy.[5][6] The operator illuminates a target with a laser designator and the munition guides itself to the spot of laser light reflected from the target.
United States of ALEC BILL MOYERS: Welcome, to a story that's been unfolding for more than 30 years but has gone largely untold. That's the way the central characters wanted it. They were smart and understood something very important: that they might more easily get what they wanted from state capitals than from Washington, DC. Politicians and lobbyists at the core of this clever enterprise figured out how to pull it off in an organized, camouflaged way -- covering their tracks while they put one over on an unsuspecting public. ARIZONA DEM. JOHN NICHOLS: If you really want to influence the politics of this country you don’t just give money to presidential campaigns, you don’t just give money to congressional campaign committees. FORMER PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: ALEC has forged a unique partnership between state legislators and leaders from the corporate and business community. HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER: ALEC, has been I think a wonderful organization. BILL MOYERS: But ALEC is partisan. WISCONSIN DEM.
Science and Public Policy The “War on Terror” is a Criminal Fraud TEHRAN (FNA)- Canadian scholar Prof. Michael Keefer believes that the US-engineered project of War on Terror is a “criminal fraud” that has virtually extinguished the American democracy and the civil liberties of the American people. “The so-called War on Terror is a criminal fraud, designed to frighten Americans and the citizens of its allies into supporting systematic violations of international law. On the US special relationship with Israel and Washington’s unconditional support for the Tel Aviv regime, Prof. “The powerful and well-funded Israel lobby supports these policies—though there is evidence of a growing alienation among young Jews both from this lobby and from the state of Israel,” he added. Michael Keefer is a professor emeritus at the University of Guelph’s School of English and Theater Studies. He has published widely on English Renaissance literature and early modern philosophy, and has also written widely on issues of contemporary politics and cultural politics.
Alien Tort Statute Text[edit] The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States.[1] History[edit] The ATS was part of the Judiciary Act of 1789.[2] There is little surviving legislative history regarding the Act, and its original meaning and purpose are uncertain.[3][4] However, scholars have surmised that the Act was intended to assure foreign governments that the U.S. would act to prevent and provide remedies for breaches of customary international law, especially breaches concerning diplomats and merchants.[5] The ATS may have been enacted in response to a number of international incidents caused by the non-availability of remedies for foreign citizens in the United States.[6] For example, the peace treaty ending the American Revolution provided for the satisfaction of debts to British creditors. From 1789 until 1980, only two courts based jurisdiction on the ATS.[7] The U.S.
'Dark Cloud' of ALEC Converges at Annual Corporate-Political Lovefest This post was first published Common Dreams. We’re reprinting it here as part of our continuing coverage of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. In 2012, Moyers & Company produced a documentary that revealed how corporations and state legislators are colluding to write laws and remake America, one statehouse at a time. Protesters carried signs and chanted “ALEC, go home” during an afternoon demonstration outside the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel on Wednesday. (Photo: Chris Stone/Times of San Diego) Fighting to protect dark money. These are just some of the “hot topics” on the agenda this week as conservative lawmakers, corporate lobbyists, and top GOP candidates from around the country gather in San Diego for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)’s annual meeting. ALEC, Busby explained, “is a ‘bill mill’ funded by corporations and billionaires. “This is a no ALEC zone. The United States of ALEC Deirdre Fulton is a staff writer for Common Dreams.
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China v America’s cyber-hegemony — RT Op-Edge Eric Draitser is an independent geopolitical analyst based in New York City and the founder of StopImperialism.com. Published time: May 23, 2014 09:26 Reuters / Pichi Chuang This week’s indictment by a US grand jury of five Chinese military officials on charges of cyber espionage is both revealing and hypocritical. Moreover, these latest charges should be understood against the broader backdrop of Washington’s ‘pivot to Asia’, including the much-touted corporate monopoly ‘free trade’ of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Seen in this context, the charges brought against Chinese military officials are more about protecting corporate interests and US hegemony than about protecting national security. Emperor has no clothes The indictment against the Chinese military officials is particularly noteworthy for the fact that it is the first time hacking and ‘cyber espionage’ charges have been brought against a state in this manner. National Security Agency. Making war in cyberspace
Pacifica Foundation Koch's Dark Money and what it funds Smart Meter Health Alert Newly Released Documents Show Outgrowth of ‘Homeland Security’ Is Corrupted Federal and Local Law Enforcement By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: May 27, 2014 Washington, DC Police Pose Next to High Tech Equipment Provided by the U.S. Navy's Naval Research Laboratory to Monitor Protestors on September 27, 2002. Last week, the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) released a trove of some 4,000 documents it obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showing that the movements of the mostly peaceful participants in the Occupy Wall Street protests were subjected to an “enormous spying and monitoring apparatus” that included coordination between the Pentagon, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, local police, private security contractors and corporate interests. Increasingly, Americans’ time-honored First Amendment rights to peacefully assemble and dissent are playing out as open-season on protesters and mass arrests, followed by years of evidence destruction or tampering in court cases. As Wall Street On Parade perused the new documents from PCJF, one in particular raised red flags.