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George Orwell was only off by thirty years.
(look it up!)
Why doesn't anyone talk about the security measures we had before 9/11/2001? We had all the intelligence we needed to stop that attack. We didn't need everybody's emails? We didn't need to capture all fibre optic communications? We didn't need meta-data derived from phone records? All we needed is the president to listen to the people who worked for him.
I was looking for something else and came across this. Interesting in hindsight, minus some of the editorializing.
====================================================
Are They Syrious?
Brian Doherty|Apr. 14, 2003 12:00 am
The rhetorical groundwork has been laid for step two in Operation: Arab Freedom. President Bush, in his highly imitable style, began vaguely threatening Syria yesterday. "I think that we believe there are chemical weapons in Syria, for example," Bush told reporters. "And we will—each situation will require a different response and, of course, we're—first things first. We're here in Iraq now. And the second thing about Syria is that we expect cooperation. And I'm hopeful we'll receive cooperation."
President Bush might have been sincerely hopeful that Saddam Hussein would voluntarily leave Iraq as well. But the threat is out there, and the Syrians might be wondering what it is they can do to stay the mighty and vengeful hand of its new neighbor, the U.S. military. The Assad regime started with a somewhat poorly-worded denial, given their audience: "We say to him (President Bush) that Syria has no chemical weapons and that the only chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in the region are in Israel, which is threatening its neighbors and occupying their land," Syrian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Buthaina Shaabam said to Reuters.
No less an authority than the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has, on its "Terrorism: Questions and Answers" Web site, laid out the bill of particulars that makes another round of war in the Mideast seem both inevitable and justified, at least by the standards that made the Iraq war the feel-good hit of the season.
"Syria, a secular dictatorship with one of the world's worst human rights records, has been on the State Department list of countries sponsoring terrorism since the list's inception in 1979," the CFR tells us. So, a nation of oppressed people yearning for liberation, check. And with links to evil beyond its borders, check.
So, now how much would you pay to invade Syria? Another $80 billion? But that's not all!
"Syria has an active chemical weapons program, including significant reserves of the deadly nerve agent sarin," according to the CFR Web site. "Its research programs are trying to develop even more toxic nerve agents. It also has a biological weapons program, but experts say Syria is incapable of producing and 'weaponizing' large quantities of dangerous germs without substantial foreign help." No nukes, alas, but what the hell—those uranium processing tubes were fake and that didn't make conquering Iraq any less of a screaming success.
Thus, every reason why the invasion of Iraq was considered a good idea applies equally well to Syria. They have a dictator and they have weapons. So, why not invade? I expect the Bush administration itself won't be able to come up with a good answer. Here are some suggestions.
Sure, a crowd of people will dance in the streets once Assad is on the run. But that is simply not a good enough reason for the United States to wage war. Pro-war arguments sometimes seem to assume that any "good result" from a war somehow makes the costs—in life and wealth and for America's future—worth it.
But that isn't necessarily so. The American government is not a Spider-Man manqué, whose "great power comes with great responsibility" to sock it to supervillains around the globe. It is costly and dangerous to be an empire, and to be the citizen of an empire. We are mighty and wealthy enough to protect our nation and our people without projecting that might and wealth willy-nilly. While this ongoing mission to invade and occupy is somehow sold as an anti-terror measure, there is scarcely a terrorist group in existence whose grievances are not at their root about some extranational power lording it over what is seen as an occupied or subject people. It seems unlikely, then, that spreading American protectorate states throughout the Middle East could possibly help make Americans more secure from terrorism.
America has slowly (since at least the Spanish-American War) been killing that which was most lovely, unique, and irreplaceable about itself: a limited, representative government dedicated to protecting its citizens' life, liberty, and ability to pursue happiness. It was meant to be a nation where the government's mission was tightly prescribed and the people's liberty and property were theirs, a nation that could successfully live in peace—a coiled snake, yes, as per the Gadsden flag, but one that struck only when stepped on.
To some, this is less glorious or lovely than a nation waging perpetual war until evil is wiped from the earth. Some careful conservatives used to call that fool's mission "immanentizing the eschaton," and were aware that it was an evil temptation. Now, almost all who wrap themselves in the conservative mantle embrace America's seemingly never-ending mission to destroy all evil.
War is not safe, alas, for republics or other living things. Keep your eyes on Damascus.
http://reason.com/archives/2003/04/14/are-they-syrious
No Witch hunt!
Obama is not eligible, WAKE UP PEOPLE Read the facts:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zPRYmTSeOpSvXr0rXVun-WIw1OtWxYY9dOst...
Would my abdication of my first and fourth amendment rights make me safer or would it lead to my citizenship in a thoroughgoing fascist state? I doubt that 'the machine,' as envisioned, can possibly have an acceptable false-positive / false-negative level of performance.
We all want to be secure in our lives from the government’s invasion of our private lives, private homes, personal documents and effects, against unreasonable search and seizure, as is stated in fourth amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. When domestic and foreign terrorism violently disrupt our personal lives in one form or another, as in ourselves or the ones we love, we demand answers from the government on how this happened. So what do we do, accept the fact we live in a dangerous world or do we accept the fact that the government has the ability to, or should I say the limited the ability to track not only us but the ones who are desired to do harm to this country. Which is more dangerous our own government, or the small group who cannot get their agenda approved for us to live under their control.
And as so many others have already pointed out...even if they have the intel...they don't act upon it to really prevent "terrorist" attacks. They had intel from all over the place (Russian, Israel, Italy, even our own FBI agents in the field reporting to headquarters) prior to 9/11 and they didn't act to prevent 9/11 from happening. Same thing with the Boston Marathon bombing..the authorities had intel from the Russians and they chose to ignore it. It is almost as if the authorities wanted these things to happen so that we would all be very afraid and malleable to having our privacy and rights stripped away. They want us all to have a "duck and cover" mentality. They want us to believe that we will all survive if we "duck and cover" and turn over all control to the authorities who love us and want to protect us. Quick! This is a drill...break out your gas masks and duct tape and hide like scared little bunnies under your beds while repeatedly chanting the Pledge of Allegiance!
At least some of those so called "potential terrorist attacks" that they claim they "thwarted" were "set-ups" that were used as a propaganda ploy to justify spying on us. They targeted people who made their dissatisfaction of our government known on the social media... blogs.. cell phones.. Twitter.. Facebook.. and even land line phones, etc. People who may have gone a little too far in fantasizing on-line were targeted to be patsies. These people did not have the means, and if it weren't for government agents, would never have had the means, to carry out any kind of actual "terrorist" attack. Government agents, befriended and encouraged "terrorist" actions and supplied what was needed to carry out terrorist operations. Many people with radical ideas at one moment may very well just cool down and forget about those ideas if they are not encouraged and supplied with the means to carry out their ideas.
These "set-ups", by our government, were examples of entrapment. It would be like putting a wallet full of money on the sidewalk and then arresting whoever picked it up for theft then loudly boasting in the media that the authorities were vigilantly protecting us from crime in order to justify really large-scale theft from the taxpayers to spend millions (or billions) of dollars on crime prevention programs.
I believe that even 911 was a kind of entrapment...a set-up..to get 19 of 20 Muslim men to travel on airliners that were rigged to be guided missiles..remotely hijacked and controlled by those rich and powerful rogue elements working within and quasi-government elements planning and financing the whole false-flag action.
Sounds a lot like the "Mushroom Cloud" propaganda that Bush, Cheney, Rice, etal used to talk us into illegally invading Iraq.
Has it been brought up yet that a single billionaire has bought up most of the 6th largest Hawaiian island? http://developers.slashdot.org/story/13/06/16/031227/larry-ellison-rejuv...
Ellison now owns nearly everything on the island, including many of the candy-colored plantation-style homes and apartments, one of the two grocery stores, the two Four Seasons hotels and golf courses, the community center and pool, water company, movie theater, half the roads and some 88,000 acres of land.
Mr. Ellison's Lanai Resorts owns and manages 400 of the more than 1,500 housing units on the island.
Too much money....I would prefer to say, "There's too much money backing TransCanada's XL Pipeline." There's Big Oil who are busy tearing up the Canadian boreal forest to get at the sticky, gooey tarsand. There's the Canadian government who is looking for a deep port where the tarsand oil can be exported. There is the Pipefitters Union who is looking for jobs. There are the former State Department and congressional employees who are now employed by TransCanada, including Hilary Clinton's former manager who is now lead attorney on the pipeline. Then there is the GOP who is clamoring for the pipeline because of its job potential never mind that the pipeline will only employ 200 people once it is operating and those will probably be Canadians -- at least, upper management will be Canadian. Then there are the bankers who are payrolling the pipeline. Money money everywhere. President Obama in the past has said that his first priority is jobs and the economy which, I think, he would approve the pipeline on these grounds. Besides, the State Department has said they had no objections to the Pipeline.
The poor planet is dying already...this just makes it worst.
The correct pronunciation of Issa is "is a;" and his full name is; "Darrell Is A Crybaby."
Issa has a little credibility problem, that problem includes car theft several times, illegal weapons charge, association with insurance fraud/ arson, attempted insurance fraud by reporting a false car theft, and who knows what else. This man is a congressman???? I know one thing, he's a fraudster.
Reminds me of Rick Scott. I've asked many Florida voters how they could have voted for Scott and it's always the same answer, they were unaware of his Medicaid fraud scandal. Once again, our corp. media is doing a hell of a job.
No my friend I don't think we are there yet. Too much doesn't make sense to me. Why pass legislations eliminating posse comitatus? Why construct prison camps in the wilderness? Why the elimination of habeas corpus and declaration of the policy of indefinite detention? Why the Georgia Guidestone monument?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones
Why issue military weapons to local police forces? Why destroy the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Amendments ? Why destroy our manufacturing base with free trade and plunge our workers wages into infantile servitude with drastic plans for immigration reform and open borders? Why divert every penny from education and social programs to the military? The only answer to these questions in an intentional plan to subject the American masses to abject poverty, desperation, widespread imprisonment and helplessness. That can only mean, if true, a underlying plan for world domination. Convert the population into helpless slaves suited only for military inscription and menial labor. Such ambitious plans in the past have always failed. Too few wanting too much. I doubt this plan has any greater chance of succeeding. Unfortunately, however, we The American People are fated to be the direct and indirect victims of this scheme. First, we will be subdued by the Government. Then we will be attacked by the world. Our fate is sealed; unless, we find a way to stop the madness. The malefactors in this matter are hopelessly outnumbered. So were they in Germany in the 30's. That didn't stop the tyrants from their reign of terror back then. There really is nothing that can stop us from turning this mess around; except the loss of the ability to unify. Only through unification can the shear power of the numbers make its presence known. As John Lennon said, "Come Together, right now!" If we wait we may lose the wherewithal we need to succeed. That, I believe is the whole goal of all this nefarious activity. Weakening the masses beyond the point where they can unify.
Everything else a a charade designed to make us think our problems are less critical than they really are.
ScottFromOZ: Offense by the Democrats regarding the IRS scandal is pretty simple. Although it first might require some testosterone injections, offense by our democratic elected officials would be to flat out demand prosecution of all political groups who lied on their IRS applications by claiming to be primarily active in the promotion of social welfare. That would include all Tea Party organizations with this exempt status. Let the Kochs pay all their legal fees. Incidentally, I notice the corp. media hasn't mentioned a damn word about this......the real scandal....what a shock!
Absolutely, and the sooner the better.
Actually, now that I think about it, repigs "felonious" issa ARE a flesh eating disease.
I know it's crude, but then so are the repigs.
I think "felonious" issa is a sub human piece of s**t.
That's all there is to it.
Just one more small item depicting the bizarre nature of Congress people and their unpricncipled, fraudulent and amoral behavior. This has been happening daily for as long as I can remember. and it will continue until the thinking and value choices of the American people metamorphose out of their fantasies concerning their own lives.
This country's elected representstives of both corrupt parties have been responsible for the ongoing murders of hundreds of thousands Islamic people for years now. We have had two presidents, one from each disgusting political party, start massive criminal assaults on at least three Islamic countries, with the murder of thousands of innocents. Obama's drones have and are mudering scores of innocent children and we have time to talk about a possible IRS scandal! Our rotten political system has actually taken down this country in every way possible and still we have the time and energy to choose to discuss this sordid issue.
The Bush president hi jacked the American Military, lied to the country he was elected to the presidency of, lied to the rest of the world, criminally invaded Iraq to satisfy his own personal agenda, destroyed the infrastructure of that country, is personally responsible for the murdering hundreds of thousands of innocent civilian men, women and children and we helped him build his personal library while he enjoys the ardor of so many empty headed and immoral Americans, plus a very large pension 'for a job well done'!!
And now we another president who has continued the murder of innocent civilian men, women and children, has placed himself above the American constitution, has made himself prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner of Americans he decides that should be assassinated. He has already murdered four Americans with no charges or evidence or court trial. The Fourth Amendment exists only on some old decrepit parchment called the Bill of Rights. He lies daily, has allowed the Federal Government and private corporations of his choice to listen into and steal the records of communication of American citizens. And this is only a partial list of his criminal activities.
So here we have two men, each belonging to a supposed different ideological political party, both of whom were elected to the highest office of the land, both are criminals, liars, murderers and both are celebrated by the citizens of their country.
Truly, what strange and peculiar limits are forced upon the electorate of this country, to, in actuality, not have the option of electing a law abiding man/woman of integrity, honesty and morality. In other words, the two major political parties were quite satisfied with their choice of iniquitous candidates leaving the electorate no choice. And both while in office, with their overt nefarious behavior on display, supported by an equally corrupt congress.
Just where, with an intellect and moral sense like ours do you think this country is headed? Are we there already? I think so!
So let the powers that be coral our focus with more political finger pointing, while the evil that truly runs this wretched country continues to work to dismantle the last underpinnings of this place called the USA.
GHW Bush has more influence over IRS, among other agencies, than the White House.
I've never met Darrell Issa, but I think he will succumb to a horrible flesh-eating brain disease. It will be party time.
You're correct in saying that the truth won't stop the witch hunt. The Republicans have NEVER been seeking the truth. Their only interest is in confecting scandal after scandal in the hope of improving their election prospects...the truth is irrelevant. Just as the birthers wouldn't believe documented evidence of Obama's heritage (it didn't suit their bias and hatred) the Republicans flatly reject any reality that doesn't suit their agenda.
What really needs to happen is for Obama and the Democrats to take this game up to the Republicans and stop playing defense. They need to go on the attack about how much time and money the Republicans are wasting on smear campaigns instead of getting on helping govern the country which is what we pay those bastards to do. The Pres and the Dems need to start the drumbeat of deadbeat Repubs and just hammer them endlessly. No press conference or public statement by any administration official should be missed as an opportunity to bad-mouth the Republicans for their intransigence, obstructionism and treasonous actions. The administration needs to put the Republicans on the defensive for a change.
I think the witch hunt is over they already found the witch. It is very clear what went on there, and it was under the watch of the Feds. Shame on them.
"What?! Florida just Outlawed Sick Leave" is completely misleading. Fox-News quality reporting. I'm embarrassed when my side does that.
We've been misled.
We've been misled about the number of potential terrorist attacks twarted since the spying on Americans issue was first disclosed. From a potential attack to some potential attacks, to a dozen, to more than a dozen, to several dozen and now 50 - all in an attempt to sell the issue "Madison Avenue style" to the American people via a complacent and unquestioning media.
Spying had not kept Americans safe - it has eroded our Constitution, Bill of Rights and our basic protections and left a vacuum of trust in our government and the Obama administration that is more George Bush-like than Bush was himself. The government-terror-industrial-complex is alive, living and well, and the beat goes on...
Then you need to carry on the moon; as a result of, the country I sleep in was supported on the principle that every one men shall be entitled to privacy--to be secure in their papers, homes and effects. while not this tradition this country not exists. What square measure you attempting to protect? A totalitarian Fascist Regime?