Government – Page 712 – Public Intelligence Blog

One of core component's of the neoliberal agenda is privatization of state assets. Attached is one countries reaction to the inequalities and economic distortions privatization introduces. CS Afloat in the Mediterranean

Piracy as good policy

by Serge Halimi

Le Monde Diplomatique, 1 May, 2012

The head of state, confident after electoral victory, tells the governor of the central bank what to do, introduces forex controls and announces that a key sector of the economy, sold off to private investors 13 years ago, is to be nationalised. Two members of the government are appointed to head this enterprise, now in public hands again, and its private owners are told to go. The European Commission, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times are furious about this “shabby act of economic piracy”. The Economist suggests that the “pirate state” should be excluded from the G20, and that its citizens (who voted in the head of state) must get visas to travel abroad.

This is not Europe. It is Argentina. As President Cristina Kirchner explained on 16 April when most of the assets of the Spanish multinational Repsol, majority shareholder in the Argentinian oil company YPF, were about to be nationalised: “We are the only country in Latin America, and I would say in the world, that doesn’t control its natural resources.” Public ownership is not as prevalent as she suggests — Total, BP, ExxonMobil and others are private companies — but she is thinking of earlier battles to recover common sources of wealth: Mossadeq’s nationalisation of British Petroleum in Iran in 1951, Nasser’s seizure of the Suez Canal for Egypt in 1956, Boumedienne’s acquisition of Elf and Total assets for Algeria in 1971, Putin’s seizure of the Yukos company in Russia in 2003 and Hugo Chávez’s takeover of PDVSA (Petroleum of Venezuela).

Continue reading “Chuck Spinney: Why Doesn't Spain Understand that Integrity is Priceless?”

2012/05/062012/05/06

Eagle: Pentagon report says Defense Department whistleblowers have been left vulnerable to reprisals

Corruption, Government, Military

Pentagon report says Defense Department whistleblowers have been left vulnerable to reprisals

By R. Jeffrey Smith and Aaron Mehta | Center for Public Integrity, 5 May 2012

The Defense Department has inadequately protected from reprisals whistleblowers who have reported wrongdoing, according to an internal Pentagon report, and critics are calling for action to be taken against those who have been negligent.The report, dated May 2011, accuses the officials, who work in the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General, of persistent sloppiness and a systematic disregard for Pentagon rules meant to protect those who report fraud, abuses and the waste of taxpayer funds, according to a previously undisclosed copy. The report was obtained by the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group.

A three-person team of investigators, assigned to review the performance of the Directorate for Military Reprisal Investigations, concluded that in 2010, the directorate repeatedly turned aside evidence of serious punishments inflicted on those who had complained.The actions included threatened or actual discharges, demotions, firings, prosecutions and a mental health referral. At least one of the alleged reprisals was taken because the complainer had written to Congress, an act that Pentagon regulations say is a “protected communication” immune from retaliation. Some of the other whistleblowers had alleged discrimination, travel violations and “criminality,” the report states. Continue reading

2012/05/05

DefDog: FBI reportedly pressing for backdoor access to Facebook, Google

Government, Law Enforcement

FBI reportedly pressing for backdoor access to Facebook, Google

By Jon Fingas

engaget, 5 May 2012

Investigators at the FBI supposedly aren't happy that social networks like Facebook or Google+ don't have the same kind of facility for wiretaps that phones have had for decades. If claimed industry contacts for CNET are right, senior staff at the bureau have floated a proposed amendment to the 1994-era Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) that would require that communication-based websites with large user bases include a backdoor for federal agents to snoop on suspects. It would still include the same requirement for a court order as for phone calls, even if US carriers currently enjoy immunity for cooperating with any warrantless wiretapping. As might be expected, technology firms and civil liberties advocates like the Electronic Frontier Foundation object to deepening CALEA's reach any further, and Apple is thought to be preemptively lobbying against another definition of the law that might require a government back channel for audiovisual chat services like FaceTime or Skype. The FBI didn't explicitly confirm the proposal when asked, but it did say it was worried it might be “going dark” and couldn't enforce wiretaps.

2012/05/052012/05/05

Eagle: Temple Mormons By Definition, Cannot Swear an Oath to Uphold the Consitution — Prophet Ubber Alles

Civil Society, Commerce, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government

Romney: Why It’s OK to Stick It to Him for Being a Mormon

Weekend Edition April 6-8, 2012

CounterPunch Diary

by ALEXANDER COCKBURN

Mitt Romney will be the Republican to face President Obama in the fall. Tuesday night was the clincher, as the Mormon zealot won in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington DC. He may stumble on, but the Catholic zealot Rick Santorum is finished.

It’s hard to detect any alluring feature in Romney’s psychic or political make-up, and I’m none too sure about Ann Romney, who at this stage of the game is filling the role played by the late Elizabeth Edwards in the Edwards campaign on its upward trajectory back in early 2008.

– – – – – – – –

Santorum got roughed up for actually espousing conservative Roman Catholic positions. For some reason Romney is being given a pass as a Mormon, as though his religion is of no consequence, as inconsequential a piece of ideological baggage as Bill Clinton’s Baptist label. Columnists evidently feel it’s poor taste to suggest that a candidate’s religion might have some bearing on his conduct and that the candidate should be properly grilled on the matter.

No doubt in the upcoming campaign Romney will attack Obama for his associations with radicals, the lunatic idea — most recently promoted by the late Andrew Breitbart — being that ex-Weatherfolk Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn imparted to the eager Obama the left’s secret plan to take over the United States and put everyone in slave labor camps, have abortions and engage in unmentionable sexual practices.

Alas, the left never did have a plan – secret or overt — to take over the United States. Abortions and unmentionable sexual practices were a different matter. Ayers’ and Dohrn’s actual role was obviously to help hook up the eager Obama with big Democratic Jewish money in Chicago, directing the attention of the latter to this well-mannered Harvard-educated black politician as someone to watch and assist.

The left never had a secret plan or much discipline. But the Mormons really do have secrets and a lot of discipline. Does Romney espouse Mormon doctrines about gays or not? About obedience to the Prophet or not? If not, then isn’t he a fake Mormon, without a shred of principle. Why should be believe him about anything? If yes, then where does that put his loyalties and priorities as someone hoping to be President of the United States and supposed upholder of the Constitution? (Of course Obama has shredded substantial portions of the Constitution without even the excuse of being a Mormon.)

What about Romney’s associations? He is no ordinary Mormon. By lineage, upbringing and personal decision he’s about as dedicated a Mormon as you can be – which is very dedicated indeed. I urge you to check out the piece by a former Mormon in our current newsletter, which delves into Mormon practices and points out that Romney attends a Mormon temple. Temples are only open to those members who adhere completely to the strict standards of Mormonism, including unwavering loyalty to the president of the church.

Continue reading “Eagle: Temple Mormons By Definition, Cannot Swear an Oath to Uphold the Consitution — Prophet Ubber Alles”

2012/05/052012/05/05

Eagle: Google Gives Law Enforcement Everything About You

Commerce, Corruption, Government

Cryptocomb has reviewed many of the documents uploaded by AntiSec from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

One document in particular is most interesting as it confirms Google's diligence at responding to LE(Law Enforcement)requests for information of it's users. Cryptocomb will not post the document, as it appears to involve an active criminal investigation.

Google Provides Local LE/Federal LE with the following data of its users.

Users Email Address
Email Address Status (If it's in use or not)
Date/Time and IP Address used to create user account
User NickName
Real Name
Physical Address
Phone Numbers
Dates/Time/IP Address of User Logins

What Google services the member uses: Adsense Clicks, Bookmarks, Calendar, Checkout, Co-op, Docs, Gmail, Lso provider,
Mobile, Notebook, Personalized Homepage, Reader, Safe search, Search history, Sms auth, Spreadsheets, Strongauth, Talk, Toolbar,
Transliteration, Web history promo, Youtube.

If a member uses Googles Checkout, Google stores the users CC data, which includes all users personal information, Who the user pays, who pays them, how much money is involved in transaction, date/time of transactions.

It also appears that Google provides data on ALL of it's services to local/federal LE. LE has the ability to ask what youtube videos
a user posts and watches, what documents/URL's a user has translated, Document titles stored in a users GoogleDoc storage area (its
unknown if LE can request copies of a users documents, but we assume that they can), a users calender data, the list goes on and on.

Phi Beta Iota: Evidently all of this is done without a warrant being required, provided, or asked for.

Source: http://cryptocomb.org/

2012/05/042012/05/04

Mini-Me: Another Version of the Bin Laden Show From Pakistan Plus Bin Laden’s Ghost Planned to Kill Petraeus and Obama — Ed Rollins as Bin Laden?

Corruption, Government, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency

Huh?

The Truth Behind the Official Story of Finding Bin Laden

truthdig via antiwar.com

EXTRACT:

In fact, during his six years in Abbottabad, bin Laden was not the functioning head of al-Qaeda at all, but an isolated figurehead who had become irrelevant to the actual operations of the organization. The real story, told here for the first time, is that bin Laden was in the compound in Abbottabad because he had been forced into exile by the al-Qaeda leadership.

The CIA’s claim that it found bin Laden on its own is equally false. In fact, the intensive focus on the compound in Abbottabad was the result of crucial intelligence provided by the Pakistani intelligence agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Read full story.

Bin Laden was planning to kill Obama and General Petraeus

EXTRACT:

Osama bin Ladenthe founder of Al Qaeda , He was killed by U.S. special forces in May 2011 at his residence in Abbottabad Pakistan , The Washington Post reported Osama Bin Laden was planning to kill Barack Obama by shooting down his plane from U.S. land , according to the instructions to his subordinates from the hiding place of Abbottabad and included in the documentation gathered there by U.S. special forces This information is now being declassified in the near future will be made public and has already been consulted by some media as “The Washington Post” and ” ABC”.

According to the newspaper, bin Laden ordered to organize a network of special cells in Afghanistan and Pakistan to attack the plane of President Obama.

Read full article.

Phi Beta Iota. The insanity continues.

2012/05/042012/05/04

Mini-Me: Fears Grow of Big Tokyo Quake That (A) Blows Up the Spent Nuclear Fuel and (B) Brings Down Transportation, All Trapped in Tokyo … + RECAP

05 Energy, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, Corruption, Government

Huh?

Fears Grow of Big Tokyo Quake

By Sam Eaton ⋅ May 4, 2012

Color-coded lines track seismic activity at Tokyo University’s Earthquake Research Center. The yellow and red clumps reveal a small quake in the Tokyo-area district of Tsukuba. (Photo: Sam Eaton)

In a quiet room at Tokyo University, seismologist Shinichi Sakai points to steady, color-coded lines on a digital monitor. The screen displays real-time readings from Japan’s extensive network of seismometers. This is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, and the flat lines show that all is quiet across the region, at least for the moment.

Then, as if on cue, two of the lines start to jump violently, splashing the screen with red and yellow pixels. They’re tracking a very small earthquake, centered just outside of Tokyo.

Sakai says small quakes like this happen about ten thousand times a year in Japan, and for geologists like him, even the small earthquakes are worth paying attention to. He says there’s been a fivefold increase in small tremors around Tokyo since the huge quake off Japan’s northeast coast in March of last year. And that adds up to a mathematical omen for scientists like him.

In January, Sakai and the University’s Earthquake Research Institute crunched the new numbers and came up with a shocking prediction: a 70-percent chance that a major earthquake would hit Tokyo within the next four years.

Continue reading “Mini-Me: Fears Grow of Big Tokyo Quake That (A) Blows Up the Spent Nuclear Fuel and (B) Brings Down Transportation, All Trapped in Tokyo … + RECAP”

Category: Government

Chuck Spinney: Why Doesn’t Spain Understand that Integrity is Priceless?