thenatureofmind

The Question of Edward Snowden

"What did [Snowden[ offer in return for the risk he hoped she would take? The answer was compelling. He knew things that the American public ought to know. The director of the National Security Agency, General Keith Alexander, had 'lied to Congress, which I can prove.' Alexander denied under oath that the NSA had ever engaged in the mass surveillance of Americans that was then going forward under the codenames PRISM and XKeyscore. Citizenfour could also demonstrate that General James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, came no closer than General Alexander to telling the truth. When asked, under oath, by Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon whether the NSA collects data on 'millions or hundreds of millions of Americans,' Clapper had answered: 'Not wittingly.'”

And here's the line: "Clapper’s statement was false in every possible sense of the words 'not' and 'wittingly.'”

The Question of Edward Snowden

Putin to Western elites: Play-time is over

In his recent speech, Vladimir Putin has thrown down the gauntlet to the United States. The gloves are off, the diplomatic speech is thrown aside. 

We who live in the US, most of us will never actually read it because the US press if they mention it at all, will only paint it in terns of the current US propaganda based (Neocon) world view. I think everyone should read it. We all should know what the actions of the Bush and Obama administration are doing to destroy the possibilities of world peace and cooperation and are dragging us into another unwinable war, this time with nuclear weapons. Below are the salient points of the speech, summarized by a Russian blogger.

1. Russia will no longer play games and engage in back-room negotiations over trifles. But Russia is prepared for serious conversations and agreements, if these are conducive to collective security, are based on fairness and take into account the interests of each side.

2. All systems of global collective security now lie in ruins. There are no longer any international security guarantees at all. And the entity that destroyed them has a name: The United States of America.

3. The builders of the New World Order have failed, having built a sand castle. Whether or not a new world order of any sort is to be built is not just Russia's decision, but it is a decision that will not be made without Russia.

U.N.: Obama Takes Torture Seriously? Give Us A Break

America, the Obama administration says, takes its history of torture seriously. President Barack Obama outlawed the harsh practices of the Bush era days after taking office. The government has released documents, attempting to demonstrate accountability. There’s a 6,300-page Senate report that has been given to the White House and even a Justice Department investigation into abuses of the Bush years.

The United Nations doesn’t buy it.

U.N.: Obama Takes Torture Seriously? Give Us A Break

Sen. Mark Udall Contemplates Revealing CIA Torture Report

As Colorado Senator Mark Udall’s time in Congress comes to a close, he has some things he’d like to get off his chest. 

In his first interview since losing his seat in the midterm elections, the Democrat told The Denver Post on Thursday that in his final weeks in office he will “keep all options on the table” to expose the severe interrogation techniques currently tucked away in the Senate’s still-classified CIA torture report.

Among those options is a rarely used power afforded to members of Congress that would allow him to read the report into the congressional record. A chorus of people, from civil liberties advocates to politicians, have urged Udall to take advantage of this power, but there are consequences he must consider.

Sen. Mark Udall Contemplates Revealing CIA Torture Report

Psychologists Are Rethinking Their Cozy Relationship With Bush Torture Program

The top professional organization for psychologists is launching an independent investigation over how it may have sanctioned the brutal interrogation methods used against terror suspects by the Bush administration. The American Psychological Association announced this week that it has tapped an unaffiliated lawyer, David Hoffman, to lead the review.

Psychologists Are Rethinking Their Cozy Relationship With Bush Torture Program