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9/11 Consequences
Friday, October 10 2008 - 9/11 Consequences
New, controversial FBI guidelines go into effect - ACLU CondemnsGuidelines Released Amid Protest from Congress, Privacy Groups and American Public
Washington, DC -- New FBI guidelines governing investigations were released today after being signed by Attorney General Michael Mukasey. The American Civil Liberties Union quickly blasted the Department of Justice and FBI for ignoring calls for more stringent protections of Americans' rights. The guidelines replace existing bureau guidelines for five types of investigations: general criminal, national security, foreign intelligence, civil disorders and demonstrations. The ACLU has been vocal in its disapproval of the overly broad guidelines, citing both the FBI's and DOJ's documented records of internal abuse.
Monday, October 6 2008 - 9/11 Consequences
PLEASE Watch this Video of Naomi WolfPlease, dear reader, dear neighbor. Take 30 minutes and watch this timely review of events just this past week--critically important, reality-based ... "We have to get out of the habits of thinking in a democracy, we have to understand that we're thinking in a police state. ... October 1st, 2008, the coup in America took place. So we have a small window to act. But we have to realize we have to speed up our reflexes because we're in coup time ... And we're in an emergency. And ...the only safe thing is to arrest the people who have staged a coup."
We try very hard to never be overly sensationalistic at this site, but honestly, there comes a time when someone simply must cry out, "The sky really is falling! Look up!!" Naomi Wolf is doing so, backing up every single thing she says to make calmly, albeit frighteningly, clear why she's saying it. – Ed.
NOTE: Naomi refers here to Rep. Brad Sherman's comments on the floor last week: You can watch that here. She also refers listeners to EndofAmericaMovie.com Interview with Naomi Wolf author of "Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries" given October 4, 2008 on Mind Over Matters, KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle. RELATED article follows
Friday, October 3 2008 - 9/11 Consequences
America's Black Budget & the Manipulation of Mortgage & Financial MarketsIn addition to this valuable, extremely relevant interview from 2004, more from Catherine Austin Fitts to help us make sense of the current financial situation will be posted this afternoon.
– Ed.
Thursday, 27 May 2004 Column: Catherine Austin Fitts Financial Sense NewsHour America's Black Budget & the Investors benefit from understanding the federal budget, credit policies and covert intervention that drive markets -- often overriding fundamental economics. How has the US governmental apparatus become so powerful in the marketplace and what does it mean to the health of our economy? How unstable is the mortgage bubble and where are the opportunities for investors if the bubble bursts? http://www.financialsense.com/Experts/2004/AustinFitts.html
Monday, September 29 2008 - 9/11 Consequences
UPDATED: US Combat Troops have been repatriated INSIDE US to 'help with civil unrest'From the article below:
That's funny. It always made me feel good as an American to know that my country was dedicated to ensuring against military occupation within our borders, via the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878:
Click read more for further background on the use of active duty military within our borders, as well as several articles analyzing the current situation. UPDATE 10/3/08: Exercises have begun for this Army unit, practicing their skills in controlling Americans in the case of "chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive incidents, or CBRNE incidents." – Ed.
Wednesday, September 24 2008 - 9/11 Consequences
Paulson's former firm to be among largest beneficiaries of bailout: bankby John Byrne rawstory.com September 23, 2008 It certainly pays to be Treasury Secretary if your former firm is a brokerage house, a new study says. Goldman Sachs Group -- formerly run by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and Morgan Stanley, stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries of a $700 billion US bailout. "Its benefits, in its current form, will be largely limited to investment banks and other banks that have aggressively written down the value of their holdings and have already recognized the attendant capital impairment," Jeffrey Rosenberg, Bank of America's head of credit strategy research, wrote in a report obtained by Bloomberg News yesterday.
Wednesday, September 17 2008 - 9/11 Consequences
FBI chief: Rules would help root out terroristsHere we go again. Expanding the power of the FBI will "help protect Americans from terror attacks." Since 9/11, this has been the refrain of every government agency justifying their ever expanding lust for more unchecked powers at the sacrifice of our constitutional rights. And yet, get this, although Americans believe another attack is not likely, they believe we are "fully prepared for such an attack should it occur." We continue down the path of national security moral hazard: since they failed to prevent against the 9/11 attacks with the ample tools they already had, we need to relinquish more of our rights to insure our protection. Another way to frame the issue of national security would be: How much are we willing to pay for this miserable protection racket?
– Ed.
New rules for national security investigations will help protect Americans from terror attacks, FBI Director Robert Mueller told lawmakers Tuesday, even if they single out people from the Middle East. By LARA JAKES JORDAN Associated Press Writer New rules for national security investigations will help protect Americans from terror attacks, FBI Director Robert Mueller told lawmakers Tuesday, even if they single out people from the Middle East. Skeptical Democrats clashed with Mueller, who told the House Judiciary Committee that FBI agents would no longer need solid evidence or allegations of wrongdoing to spy on Americans even before opening investigations. Democrats also expressed doubts that the Justice Department and FBI would protect civil liberties and privacy rights after years of previous abuses and stymied congressional oversight.
Sunday, September 7 2008 - 9/11 Consequences
9/11 National Emergency Extended by Bush Yet Againby Peter Dale Scott Though few Americans realize it, Cheney and Rumsfeld worked through the 1980s and 1990s on emergency nuclear-response plans which allegedly suspended the American Constitution and also Congress.1 (Through these decades Rumsfeld was CEO of a major pharmaceutical firm, and in the later 1990s Cheney was CEO of Halliburton; but their private status did not deter them from continuing to exercise a supra-constitutional planning power conferred on them by Ronald Reagan.) Even fewer Americans know that these rules, originally dealing with a nuclear attack on America, were extended by Reagan Executive Order 12656 to cover "any occurrence, including natural disaster, military attack, technological emergency, or other emergency, that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national security of the United States."2 And few Americans realize that at least some of these rules, known technically as Continuity of Government (COG) rules, were invoked before 10:00 AM on September 11, 2001.3
Thursday, September 4 2008 - 9/11 Consequences
Political Prisoner Sami Al-Arian ReleasedBy Liliana Segura After five years in legal limbo, the Palestinian university professor falsely accused of terrorism is free, but faces contempt charges. Breaking, from ABC News. Former professor Sami Al-Arian, who was once charged by the U.S. government with being a top Palestinian terrorist, has been released from custody for the first time in more than five years. Immigration authorities released Al-Arian to the custody of his daughter, just hours before a federal judge had ordered the agency to explain Al-Arian's continued detention.
Monday, September 1 2008 - 9/11 Consequences
Police State Shows Its Violent Face in MinneapolisUPDATE 9/1/08: Right now, National Guard are reportedly marching through downtown Minneapolis. Journalists (in addition to literally hundreds of activists) are now being rounded up and arrested in Minneapolis, which will prevent us from being able to get information about what's happening there. There is certainly no coverage of this on corporate TV. This has become very serious--pepper spray, concussion grenades, teargas, rubber bullets... Today Amy Goodman and two other producers from Democracy Now have been included in the list of journalists arrested (Video here). Activists are being charged with FELONIES including "conspiracy to incite a riot," their personal belongings are being confiscated (laptops, office computers, cell phones, an entire privately owned bus!, food, every way you can think of to get the word out is being preemptively taken!) Twincities.Indymedia.org reports: "Police authorities said of those arrested today, 119 were charged with felonies, 89 with gross misdemeanors, and 48 with misdemeanors." Please watch Coldsnap Legal Collective for more on this aspect.
YOU NEED TO CALL Mayor Coleman of Minneapolis at 651-266-8535 or 651-266-8510, Mayor Rybak of St. Paul at 612 673-2100, the Ramsey County Jail at 651-266-9350, Governor Pawlenty at 651-296-3391 (fax 651-296-2089), elected officials throughout the state, media--whomever you can think of! Make some noise, People. This is not acceptable and we can not just sit back and watch it happen! – Ed.
Posted 8/31/08: We encourage readers to pay close attention to this next week's events in Minneapolis, site of the upcoming Republican National Convention, and be prepared to help activists who may need assistance. Already, activists who have spent two years preparing to express the will of the People during the convention, are being rounded up, personal belongings seized, doors broken down with guns drawn, food from Food Not Bombs taken ... Glenn Greenwald is blogging this at Salon (partial entry below): "[B]oth journalists and lawyers -- in addition to protesters -- have been detained and arrested even though not a single violent or criminal act has occurred. We direct your attention also to Twin Cities Indymedia for moment to moment updates and Indymedia.us and the i-Witness Video Blog for more. As always, we must BE the MEDIA right now. Please pass along this information so that others will be informed, and able to help as it's needed. Information will be posted at these Indymedia sites to clarify what's useful. We are grateful to know that the National Lawyers Guild has sent legal observers, as they have for most actions of dissent in the last many years. (Thanks, NLG!!) At this point, i-Witness has requested, "We are asking the public to contact the office of St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman at 651-266-8510 to stop this house arrest, this gross intimidation by police officers, and the detention of media activists and reporters." It is imperative that we let the powers that be know, without any doubt, that the nation's eyes are upon them--both in Minneapolis, and as events begin unfolding in Mississippi and Louisiana with Hurricane Gustav approaching. Already Blackwater has put out a call for security personnel to respond to the POTENTIAL disaster, and Bush has issued federal emergencies for both states. In light of what happened just three years ago, we must be alert, watchful, and ready to respond in whatever ways become needed. I'm sure legal funds will be needed in Minneapolis, and we've seen many examples of court systems make the right decisions when they start getting thousands of calls from around the nation. Please keep an eye on watch Indymedia and Glenn Greenwald for more.
Monday, September 1 2008 - 9/11 Consequences
Run up to MinneapolisFrom Jon Gold and the History Commons project: I was inspired to make this today after reading this report from Glenn Greenwald about events in Minneapolis.
Sunday, August 31 2008 - 9/11 Consequences
Bush quietly seeks to make war powers permanent, by declaring indefinite state of warAugust 30, 2008 As the nation focuses on Sen. John McCain's choice of running mate, President Bush has quietly moved to expand the reach of presidential power by ensuring that America remains in a state of permanent war. Buried in a recent proposal by the Administration is a sentence that has received scant attention -- and was buried itself in the very newspaper that exposed it Saturday. It is an affirmation that the United States remains at war with al Qaeda, the Taliban and "associated organizations."
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