edward snowden

At first glance, there is not much similarity between the young dictator of North Korea and the Prime Minister of Australia. But over a few drinks, Kim Jong-un and Tony Abbott might find a few points of similarity. One is the idea that a public broadcaster, by necessity, broadcasts the views of the government. The authoritarian mentality, by nature, demands conformity and consistency. The instinct is not alien to the Westminster system. Eventually, if certain agencies do not tow a distinct line, the life support, usually in the form of funding, is turned off.

In his 7,000-word State of the Union speech last month, President Obama waited 5,700 words before stintingly devoting a single sentence to the subject of surveillance. He didn’t mention the rogue NSA, didn’t name specific reforms, adding only that the important thing was that “public confidence” in the “vital work” of the intelligence community was maintained. This cavalier approach to the topic of the year belies the administration’s essential disinterest in the public interest. This perspective was reified in the last two weeks by the voices of the American intelligence community.

The Most Innovative Plot Ever to Put us Back on the Map as the Super-est

Recently I have rediscovered the Stone page of the New York Times editorial section where guests philosophers are invited to write on important issues of our time. That a philosopher’s opinion today would actually have importance for the public at large is somewhat of a mystery, largely because the role of the philosopher as cultural critic or “public intellectual” has largely been usurped by the technological class: individuals whose inventions have largely transformed the way in which we interact as social beings.

In the midst of bipartisan bashing of Edward Snowden in a Senate intelligence hearing on January 29, some stood up for truth in the face of repeated lies and evasion from head intelligence chiefs.
Before the hearing began, activists from CODEPINK stood up holding signs reading ‘Stop – Killing, Lying, Spying’ and called for the firing of James Clapper, Director of Central Intelligence, John Brennan, Director of the CIA, and James Comey, Director of the FBI.

The Hidden Code in the Snowden-Greenwald Mockery

Edward Snowden, speaking from hiding in Russia to German TV station ARD, discusses the threats against him by anonymous US officials and the wider responses to his revelations of major violations of human rights by the NSA and the national security state. Snowden reveals seeing Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lying to Congress was […]

Guillermo Jimenez Presents Douglas Valentine
On this edition of De-Manufacturing Consent: Guillermo is joined by author and CIA expert, Douglas Valentine. We discuss the NSA leaks regarding the agency’s assistance in the CIA assassination program that were promised, but so far not delivered, and how the focus on tactical matters as opposed to strategic may be a diversion.

When he ran for the presidency in 2007-08, Sen. Barack Obama pledged to dismantle the most intrusive aspects of President George W. Bush’s post-9/11 surveillance programs. Instead, since taking office in January 2009, President Obama has secretly (until a few month ago) allowed those programs to expand as well as adding a number of his own measures that increasingly jeopardize American civil liberties.

Peter B. Collins Presents Russell Tice