Kicking the Can | Unfilter 71

Posted on: October 16, 2013

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Kicking the Can | Unfilter 71

The United States of America is licking her wounds from another self-inflicted crisis. While lawmakers pretend to save the day with a last minute deal, we’ll discuss the big picture and ask if real long term damage has been done.

Then: 7 High Ranking Military Officers have been Fired By Obama, a first in US History. One thing they all have in common is their combat roles. We’ll dig into the conspiracy bacon exploding all over the net.

Plus our follow up, your feedback, and much much more.

On this week’s Unfilter.

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— Show Notes —

NSA is CRAZY

Video of NSA leaker Edward Snowden surfaced late Friday. Snowden was last seen on video back in June, when he appears on camera for The Guardian discussing the reasons for releasing the details of the NSA’s surveillance programs. Since then, Snowden received asylum in Russia and just recently was awarded the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence award.

The Washington Post is out with the latest revelations from the Snowden leaks and it shows that the NSA relies on foreign telcos and “allied” intelligence agencies to scoop up data on email contact lists and instant messaging buddy lists to help build its giant database of connections.

And here’s the big problem: because all of this information is collected overseas, rather than at home, it’s not subject to “oversight” (and I use that term loosely) by the FISA court or Congress. Those two only cover oversight for domestic intelligence. The fact that the NSA can scoop up all this data overseas is just a bonus.

The latest revelations about the NSA’s collection of buddy lists and email address books pointed out that those issues weren’t covered by Congressional oversight, since they happened overseas. When the Washington Post questions Feinstein’s office about this, a senior staffer seemed unconcerned, mentioning that perhaps they should be asking questions about it

David Cameron has encouraged a Commons select committee to investigate whether the Guardian has broken the law or damaged national security by publishing secrets leaked by the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.

“Glenn Greenwald, the thorn in the proverbial back of NSA and its colonial cousin GCHQ is leaving the Guardian to start his own news organization. Greenwald said ‘My partnership with the Guardian has been extremely fruitful and fulfilling: I have high regard for the editors and journalists with whom I worked and am incredibly proud of what we achieved. The decision to leave was not an easy one, but I was presented with a once-in-a-career dream journalistic opportunity that no journalist could possibly decline. Because this news leaked before we were prepared to announce it, I’m not yet able to provide any details of this momentous new venture, but it will be unveiled very shortly.’”

Journalists Jeremy Scahill and Laura Poitras will be working with Glenn Greenwald on a new media venture funded by billionaire eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic, social, and political change. To date, Omidyar Network has committed more than $270 million to for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple investment areas, including property rights, government transparency, and social media.

Army General Keith Alexander’s eight-year tenure was rocked this year by revelations contained in documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden about the agency’s widespread scooping up of telephone, email and social-media data.

Alexander has formalized plans to leave by next March or April, while his civilian deputy, John “Chris” Inglis, is due to retire by year’s end, according to U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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This Week’s New Supporters:

The report identifies 22 commentators with industry ties that suggest a financial interest in war. While they appeared on television or were quoted as experts 111 times, their links to military firms were disclosed only 13 of those times.

The following report documents the industry ties of Hadley, 21 other media commentators, and seven think tanks that participated in the media debate around Syria. Like Hadley, these individuals and organizations have strong ties to defense contractors and other defense- and foreign policy-focused firms with a vested interest in the Syria debate, but they were presented to their audiences with a veneer of expertise and independence, as former military officials, retired diplomats, and independent think tanks.

Shutdown Showdown

Senate leaders have reached an agreement on a compromise that would fund the government until Jan. 15 and extend the debt limit until Feb. 7.

“I think it’s important for people in the Republican Party around the country not to just come in at the end and say, ‘Congress was dysfunctional,’ or ‘Congress screwed up.’ That’s too easy to do,” King said. “Say who it was. Because it wasn’t Congress. It was one person who was able to steamroll Congress and unless we target him for what he is, he’s going to do it again. So I’m hoping other Republicans will join me and start going after this guy, and say we’re not going to let it happen again.”

John McCain is clearly glad to have this government shutdown mess behind him, going on the Senate floor today shortly after the bipartisan deal was announced to say the past few weeks have been “one of the more shameful chapters” of the Senate’s history.

Sen. Ted Cruz’ hometown newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, wishes it could take back its endorsement.

The Chronicle’s editorial board, which endorsed Cruz, R-Texas, in his 2012 race, now says it misses his predecessor, former Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

“When we endorsed Ted Cruz in last November’s general election, we did so with many reservations and at least one specific recommendation – that he follow Hutchison’s example in his conduct as a senator,” The Chronicle said. "Obviously, he has not done so.

“Cruz has been part of the problem in specific situations where Hutchison would have been part of the solution,” the board added.

“Is there a little bit of ransom paid? I mean, there is a provision in here that requires verification for recipients of subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.”

Obama’s Curious Purge Of The Military

But Major General Michael Carey and Vice Admiral Tim Giardina (fired amidst rumors of misbehavior involving alcohol and gambling) are just the latest in a recent rash of firings in the military’s top ranks.

Are these the men standing between us and martial law? They have been fired over various things ranging from sexual harassment to lack of trust. One thing they all have in common is their combat roles. They were all commanders of combat units.

The firing of two nuclear commanders in a week adds to a body count that suggests we have either the most corrupt and incompetent general staff in history or our military is being reshaped for other purposes.

Oh no… GMO?

SEATTLE — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Wednesday that his office is filing a suit against the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) for violation of the state’s campaign disclosure law.

Ferguson alleges the GMA skirted the rules in its $7.2 million contribution to the "No on 522″ campaign and that the association illegally collected and spent the monies while shielding the identify of its contributors.

“When Washington state voters overwhelming approved Initiative 276 in 1972, they voiced their desire for transparency and openness in elections,” Ferguson said. “Truly fair elections demand all sides follow the rules by disclosing who their donors are and how much they are spending to advocate their views.”

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