Senator Elizabeth Warren stands up for us again!
By louisehartmann
Senator Elizabeth Warren is fighting hard for government transparency, and it has nothing to do with the NSA. On Thursday, Senator Warren sent a letter to President Obama's U.S. trade negotiations nominee, calling on the Administration to publicly release documents about the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
For several years, the Obama Administration has been negotiating the TPP, which could grant corporations the ability to reject various regulations in several countries, which is a power usually reserved only for other sovereign nations. Despite the international impact the TPP could have, only Congress and members of the so-called “Trade Advisory Committee” - which is stacked with corporate officials - have been able to review the deal.
In her letter, Senator Warren wrote, “I appreciate the willingness of the [U.S. Trade Office] to make various documents available for review by members of Congress, but I do not believe that is a substitute for more robust public transparency.” And, as if to hint that the public would not approve of the plan if details were released, she said, “If transparency would lead to widespread public opposition to a trade agreement, then that trade agreement should not be the policy of the United States.”
The TPP could have a profound impact on our lives. Trade agreements affect everything from the food we eat, to the price of medicine, to the availability of the jobs. Americans do not want these agreements negotiated in secret, where only corporate interests are represented. Senator Elizabeth Warren has proven once again, she's not only tough when it comes to bank regulation. She will fight to protect consumers where ever and how ever it matters.
Comments
#2
Despite Russia warning about the older brother, Boston proves that all that info. was not gathered and used to stop an attack. SO why is our Govt. stockpileing this info?
#3
It looks like Warren is going to be a BIG pain to the big money string pullers in both parties.
#4
Thom,
Bushbama (continuation of bush-cheney political, military, economic policies) has been righteously taken to task by Tarantino, who obviously channeled Malcolm X in his most recent, "Django Unchained"...showing us definitively, and for the first time on video, the difference between "house negro" and "field negro"...right down to metaphorical "white house"...
It is very, very important to support Elizabeth Warren in attempt to provide justifiable "transparency, oversight, accountability" for Wall $treet "criminogenic accounting fraud" (William K Black-Michael Hudson), war crimes, and corporate influence of "the people's representative government"...which is completely undone by "Trans-Pacific Partnership", which bushbama will sign-"NAFTA on Steroids": http://www.thenation.com/article/168627/nafta-steroids#axzz2WFi7TqQo
Let's also remember the "NAFTA Highway" portion-evolution of this corporate legislation secrecy jurisdiction-ports in Mexico, 200 yard wide highway all the way to Kansas City without customs stop-Mexican truck drivers, then branching east, west, Canada..intended to end American shipping-destroy American union trucking.
Here also is another ethical representative standing for "the people's representative government" on the specific issue of financial domination of government:
http://current.com/shows/the-young-turks/videos/ohio-state-rep-dan-ramos...
thanks for all you do, Thom
#5
Secret agreements mean there is a plot against the interests of the American people. To plunder America, corporations must negate the people's rights and give themselves power to do as they want with impunity. There is a phrase I often hear: "What was done to the rest will now be done to the West." We are being set up for wanton plunder.
#6
It appears that President Obama will do anything for people with weath/power, and anything to the rest of us ... as long as we allow it. That he has turned into a corporation puppet is beyond disappointing. Not a day goes by that I'm not grateful for Senator Warren ... I only hope I live long enough to see her inaugurated.
#7
Holding things or activities of individuals in government to be secrets and not available to the public is one of the first actions required for an autocracy. To perform actions and to keep such actions secret is necessary for dictatorships but not appropriate for a democracy. This is one of the first principles for a democratic government and a well ordered and responsible society. Secret orders prior to a military maneuver during war is necessary but only to the extent necessary and such secrecy must be terminated immediately one the conclusion of the battle. Trade secrets are oxymoron expressions. Secrets held by corporations are example of the dictatorship of corporations. Any demonstration of an invention becomes public. the provision to protect the developer of a patent or copyright is to provide the benefit of the idea or creation of the holder of the patent or copyright. the usurpation of patent and copyright benefits by corporations should be limited (but is not under present US practices). It should be the policy of government to minimize and to review all documents held to be confidential, secret or such higher restrictions as soon as possible. The keep activities and policy decision making private beyond the necessary time of negotiation leads to bad government.
#8
Excepts from an AP article released today entitled:"Secret to Prism success: Even bigger data seizure. What makes Prism shine? National Security Agency's megadata collection from Internet pipeline"
Quote Stephen Braun, Anne Flaherty, Jack Gillum and Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press, who:Inside Microsoft, some called it "Hoovering" — not after the vacuum cleaner, but after J. Edgar Hoover, the first FBI director, who gathered dirt on countless Americans.The article then goes on to describe how the data is treated:
Quote Stephen Braun, Anne Flaherty, Jack Gillum and Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press, who:The government has said it minimizes all conversations and emails involving Americans. Exactly what that means remains classified. But former U.S. officials familiar with the process say it allows the government to keep the information as long as it is labeled as belonging to an American and stored in a special, restricted part of a computer.That means Americans' personal emails can live in government computers, but analysts can't access, read or listen to them unless the emails become relevant to a national security investigation.
The government doesn't automatically delete the data, officials said, because an email or phone conversation that seems innocuous today might be significant a year from now.
What's unclear to the public is how long the government keeps the data. That is significant because the U.S. someday will have a new enemy. Two decades from now, the government could have a trove of American emails and phone records it can tap to investigative whatever Congress declares a threat to national security.
How and what data is confiscated by the Government?
Quote Stephen Braun, Anne Flaherty, Jack Gillum and Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press, who:Prism, as its name suggests, helps narrow and focus the stream. If eavesdroppers spot a suspicious email among the torrent of data pouring into the United States, analysts can use information from Internet companies to pinpoint the user.With Prism, the government gets a user's entire email inbox. Every email, including contacts with American citizens, becomes government property.
Once the NSA has an inbox, it can search its huge archives for information about everyone with whom the target communicated. All those people can be investigated, too.
That's one example of how emails belonging to Americans can become swept up in the hunt.
How far does this unconstitutional digital intrusion on American's go?
Quote Stephen Braun, Anne Flaherty, Jack Gillum and Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press, who:"I'm much more frightened and concerned about real-time monitoring on the Internet backbone," said Wolf Ruzicka, CEO of EastBanc Technologies, a Washington software company. "I cannot think of anything, outside of a face-to-face conversation, that they could not have access to."One unanswered question, according to a former technology executive at one of the companies involved, is whether the government can use the data from Prism to work backward.
For example, not every company archives instant message conversations, chat room exchanges or videoconferences. But if Prism provided general details, known as metadata, about when a user began chatting, could the government "rewind" its copy of the global Internet stream, find the conversation and replay it in full?
That would take enormous computing, storage and code-breaking power. It's possible the NSA could use supercomputers to decrypt some transmissions, but it's unlikely it would have the ability to do that in volume. In other words, it would help to know what messages to zero in on.
Whether the government has that power and whether it uses Prism this way remains a closely guarded secret.
Reprinted from:
Secret to Prism success: Even bigger data seizure
What makes Prism shine? National Security Agency's megadata collection from Internet pipeline
By Stephen Braun, Anne Flaherty, Jack Gillum and Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press | Associated Press
http://news.yahoo.com/secret-prism-success-even-bigger-123031861.html
#9
If we ever witness those standing up for us to urge us to bring public attention to the long standing and flagrant conflicts of interest that allowed for creation of the problems we face, and now stand between us and needed change, then we can recognize opportunity for leveling the field we all compete on. The greatest conflict of interest of all is the disgraceful ownership makeup of our nation's news media. I suggest we must demand public funding of a national segment of news media to compete with that owned by titans of industry. Show me a nation that once had fair media, that conscience of nations, and I'll show you a nation that once had better government and better society!
#10
Media run by the government has never been fair. Provda (sp?) for one.
#11
Our media and commercial news services is a big problem. Mostly, because it has been allowed to become a Monopoly. The other problem is the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine under the Reagan Administration which allowed Corporate entities to paint the news any "color" the Monopoly puppet masters desired with impunity. Corporate censorship of the battlefield in our armed conflicts as well as protest demonstrations is reprehensible, irresponsible, and dangerous. Most media content has become commercially motivated sensationalization of the trivial combined with a flag waving cheering squad for Corporate/Political policy. Major stories lack the full coverage of both sides; and, as such, the so-called "mainstream" media is nothing more than a Corporately operated propaganda machine designed to entrance and mislead the American public into acceptance of Corporate/Political policy and condition them to the consumer lifestyle.
Vigorous enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act on media Monopolies, combined with reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine by the FCC would do much to repair our dysfunctional Corporately owned media news services as well as enhance our commercial media content in general.
I must agree with akunard concerning government media. Such an entity would be like a Monopoly of propaganda on steroids. The same Corporations that already own the media and the government would have the control of the media handed to them at the expense of the taxpayer. Corporations would love that. Government sponsored media should be restricted to public forums and coverage of Congressional meetings, hearings, and events. Commentary of any kind should be banned from such coverage.
The government's main legitimate task is to ensure the protections of the first amendment and that companies adhere to fair business practices. It is in the arena of the public that the media should be owned and controlled by. That being said, I certainly support the notion of Publicly funded media. Where the media is owned and controlled by the people themselves is where the greatest potential for fair, progressive, and rewarding content is possible.
#12
Holder is a PUNK !!!!
#13
The secret trade agreements and war policy are all tied together.
The news of the decade is “the concept of secret deception”, yet the mainstream media can sit on secret stuff for years at the whim of political pressure.
And please do not believe journalist, or current Congressional representatives, because today’s government characters in America have politicalized everything and anything, being done as normal politics since the time of Pontius Pilate. Snowden may have turned the tide of understanding by letting America know of huge mistakes being made at high levels in our government. Treason sometimes is the door to open to understand liberty.
From my view what Snowden did was very personal yet he himself considers it to be patriotic. Perhaps my history is a little skewed but was not a famous saying that we all learned as children in grade school one of the most famous men in history claimed: “Give me liberty or give me death”. Done by Patrick Henry
More over one of the blogs in history claim Henery said; “It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.”
And Patrick Henry especially saying
I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. Obama should deeply consider is thought by Patrick Henery rather than mainstream media or the Congressional Profiteers, or the corrupted military industrial complex.
If America had an Eisenhower Republican type to continue to build the High ways to Pease and freedom the tea baggers would take their money and runaway.
Its obvious mistakes are being made by American Congressional persons because the new view is America sending arms of military materials to rebels in Syria. Yet Iran is sending troops to defend Assad. A new form of war profiteering in trade agreements is obviously repeating itself. A new war written with treaties America has no knowledge of and promoted by the mainstream media that is hard wired to the corrupt corporate military complex. Especially now via American tax dollars paid to secret spy operations on all American is ad nauseum.
This has to be the last resort of the war mongering Republican Wahhabi Tea Party through the shield of free speech where money considered freedom of speech that is the new device that will ruin America all supported by our Supreme Court and corporate crazies will destroy the middle class in this effort of war profiteering through secret trade. Elizabeth Warren may very well be grabbing the neck of the beast of the real treason.
Elizabeth squeeze this neck of the beast hard and fast. Take the wind out this war mongering profiteering treasonous beast as fast as you can. For it seems President Obama needs help to understand what to do.
#14
Hurray for Elizabeth Warren and those who stand up and speak out against injustices that infringe upon ALL American Citizens.
But wait...Why are we pining over people like Warren???She's no different than you or I; We all have an obligation as U.S. citizens to alter or abolish any government that becomes destructive of the Equal Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Once again I pose the question; When will Americans exercise their rights and take to the street in protest against belligerent policies and practices by bellicose adminastrations that have continued term after term to ignor, undermind, dismantle the U.S. Constitution and make a mockery out of our Bill of Rights?
When will Americans boycott Corporations that have hijacked the Government from We the People?
What is it going to take???
In the past 3+ decades - what has become known as the "information age" - there has been, questionable incident after incident, and explotation after expoltation, and exposé after exposé...All with sound and solid enough reason for Americans as a collective to boycot and protest against a government gone rogue.
When will Americans WAKE UP and realize that this is a serious matter...One that cannot just wait for another two party corporate run election where the choices for jesture are tweedle dee and tweedle dumb and either way the out come is in favour of more of the same Corporate Puppet Master Policies.
Again I say hurray for Elizabeth Warren and the like...But our fate does not rest on her shoulders; such a responsability depends on a collection of the masses that she and the like represents.
You don't like that Verizon, AT&T, etc. have/are cooperating with the Governments intrusion on your RIGHT TO PRIVACY then get a fricken back bone and boycott them! Cancel your service, sacrafice a little to gain soooooo so much more!
I'm reminded of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and specifically the song "Run Like Hell".
#15
The other big conflict of interest is when Legislative Members or their families have a direct stake in the outcome of bills they are voting on and are not required to excuse themselves from the vote or even disclose the conflict.
#16
Quote MMmmNACHOS:You don't like that Verizon, AT&T, etc. have/are cooperating with the Governments intrusion on your RIGHT TO PRIVACY then get a fricken back bone and boycott them! Cancel your service, sacrafice a little to gain soooooo so much more!
MMmmNACHOS ~ I have mixed feelings about that idea. The telecom industry isn't behind this mess. They are just cooperating with the law. After all, they need FCC approval to exist. They have no choice but to do what they are told. It is the law makers and their corporate sponsors who are behind this mess. Huge multi-national corporations who stand to profit the most by oppressing the people with threats of digital blackmail.
If you read my post above quoting the AP article, Microsoft calls it "Hoovering" after J. Edgar Hoover. There is no question as to what all this data collection is about--its about blackmail and control. If the spies got to Microsoft they probably have encoded "spy ware" right into the operating systems of all of our computers. Even as I type this it is probably being recorded and stored in a database somewhere. Very well. I write it to be publicly read anyway.
There is little action we can take to prevent this other than demanding our constitutional rights. Of course, a boycott, in and of itself isn't a bad idea. To do that effectively one would need to know exactly whom are behind pushing this legislation. Palindromedary might be a good source for that list. I don't have the time to dig for it today but I'll take a poke in the dark: The Petroleum Industry and The Pentagon (Military Industrial Complex ~ including every one of their contractors)
I might be wrong. It's just an educated guess. There are probably many more Corporate entities with their hand in the pie as well. So for a start I imagine that if you are willing to stop driving your car and paying your taxes you might be able to make a dent in the source of the problem. Good luck getting everyone else to do the same on cue. Don't forget, there is already a large group in the population that are already doing just that--they are called homeless people. Their sacrifices are going unnoticed.
Fortunately, there is a better plan that is already in place and ready to deal with just this kind of a problem. You may have heard of it. It is called The Constitution. Patient insistence on adhering to the document that all our representatives have already sworn an oath to protect and defend is the most powerful and effective tool we have at our disposal to remedy the situation at hand. You may interpret the word "insistence" as you wish. A class action lawsuit against the United States government that goes all the way to the Supreme Court might be a good idea. We the People vs The United States Government. Catchy name, isn't it? How much is your privacy worth to you?
The writing is already on "The Wall!"
#17
Follow this link to sign a petition on the whitehouse.gov website to demand the pardon of Edward Snowden. At this posting there are 81 thousand signatures--only 19 thousand short of the 100 thousand signature goal. Thank you!
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/pardon-edward-snowden/Dp03vGYD
#18
Warren 2016 !!!!
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Representative Alan Grayson (D-Fl) is passing around this petition to repeal the NSA spying program and restore The Constitution:
http://mindyourownbusinessact.com/?source=Jun13Email
I urge everyone to sign it immediately. This spying technique makes me feel less safe.The intelligence community pre-911 had done its job and provided President Bush in ample time all the information he needed to prevent that attack. They knew who, where and how. 911 happened because President Bush chose to ignore that intelligence. We don't need this illegal, unconstitutional, ridiculous and indiscriminate mass collection of data. No Government agency, or private company, or system of computers is capable of making heads or tails out of all this mostly garbage information. Garbage in garbage out. Meanwhile this poses a serious threat to the security of the nation by telling would be terrorists that they cannot communicate remotely. This drives them off the radar chart completely. In addition, it ties the hands of our investigators by making them look for a needle in a haystack instead of focusing on probable cause and likely suspects. Eventually, because of ignoring The Constitution and trying to do their job the easiest way possible, we will be hit again. It is only a matter of time. This nonsense will not work to defend our nation and will only accomplish destroying The Constitution and the rule of law--the only thing this nation really has of timeless value. Destroying our Constitution, fundamental principles of human rights, and our way of life is the most damage any terrorist can ever hope to achieve! Yet, we are doing that for them!
Like President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said and we keep forgetting, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!"