The media is sure the “strategy” against ISIS has failed & the time has come for boots on the ground in Iraq again, but the real game is a much longer player & the intention is to sell the American public on arming more militants. We’ll break it down.

The Senate fails to reform NSA spying & the Patriot Act is set to expire this Sunday. We’ll explain where things are at & why regardless of anything, the larger transgressions by the NSA are being left untouched.

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The Senate Fails to Reform NSA Spying, Votes Against USA Freedom Act

A last-minute bid to reform NSA spying before lawmakers break for a week-long recess failed early Saturday morning after hours of debate and filibuster overnight when Senate lawmakers voted 57-42 against the USA Freedom Act.

Senator Mitch McConnell then tried to lead an effort to extend the key provision in the Patriot Act that has been used to justify NSA spying, which is set to expire on June 1. But that vote also failed. Temporarily, that means the government’s bulk collection of phone records from U.S. telecoms is on hold.

USA Freedom Act aimed to put an end to that program, first uncovered by USA Today in 2006 and re-exposed in 2013 by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The bill called for records to be retained by telecoms and would have forced the NSA to obtain court orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to gain access to them. It also would have required the agency to use specific search terms to narrow its access to only relevant records.

A companion bill passed in the House earlier this month by a landslide vote of 338 to 88 but encountered trouble in the Senate where opponents said it would handicap the fight against terrorism and harm national security.

Proponents of the bill were pushing to get it passed before lawmakers could vote on whether or not to re-authorize sections of the US Patriot Act. Section 215, which the government has long said legally justifies its collection of phone records, is set to expire at midnight June 1.

• On Patriot Act Renewal and USA Freedom Act: Glenn Greenwald Talks With ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer – The Intercept

Unlike many privacy and civil liberties groups, the ACLU has refrained from endorsing the USA Freedom Act and instead is advocating for allowing the Patriot Act provisions to sunset — i.e., to die a long overdue death rather than being “reformed.” Meanwhile, almost all of the 86 “no” votes in the House were based on the argument that the USA Freedom Act either does not go far enough in limiting the NSA or that it actually makes things worse.

• Defeat in Senate

The USA Freedom Act was rejected by the U.S. Senate on May 22, 2015. By a vote of 57-42, the Senate did not pass the bill that would have required 60 votes to move forward, which means that the NSA must start winding down its domestic mass surveillance program this week. The Senate also rejected, by 54-45, also short of the necessary 60 votes, a two-month extension for the key provision in the Patriot Act that has been used to justify NSA spying, which is set to expire on June 1, 2015.

Inside the battle for Ramadi: Iraqi soldier speaks

He believes that the order to withdraw was a betrayal. The Iraqi government has said it launched an investigation to find out what went wrong and how the order was issued, but so far, no one has given a viable explanation.

“I want to quit the army, I would, if I thought I wouldn’t get into trouble,” Al-Yassiri says. “I want to join the militias and go back to the fight.”

Ramadi Fell to ISIS Fighters Even Though They Were ‘Vastly Outnumbered’ by Iraqi

The city of Ramadi is controlled by “hundreds” of ISIS fighters who were able to seize the city after Iraqi military commanders ordered the withdrawal of several thousand Iraqi troops from the city.

That’s according to a U.S. official who also confirmed that the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Ramadi may have been prompted by the unexplained pullout of the elite Iraqi counterterrorism force based in the city.

The pullout of the Iraqi counterterrorism unit from Ramadi first appeared in the Kurdish news agency Rudaw.

• Ramadi – Wikipedia

Ramadi occupies a highly strategic location on the Euphrates and the road west into Syria and Jordan. This has made it a hub for trade and traffic, from which the city gained significant prosperity. Its position has meant that it has been fought over several times, during the two World Wars and again during the Iraq War and Iraqi insurgency. It was heavily damaged during the Iraq War, when it was a major focus for the insurgency against occupying United States forces. Following the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq in 2011, the city was contested by the Iraqi government and the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and fell to ISIL in May 2015.

The King of Tech Talk Showed Everyone a (His?) Naked Dick

This particular incident occurred on May 24th, during an explanatory segment on Apple’s new Photos app. Most of the clip is the same sort of David Pogue explainer-mush that’s been Laporte’s bread and butter for years. While clicking through his photo library, Laporte brings up a grid of imported images: family, friends, food, and an erect penis.

The Tech Guy Leo Laporte Accidentally Shows A Penis Photo During His Live Tech Program! See The Awkward Moment HERE!

Wikileaks reveal massive haul of 1978 Documents

Today WikiLeaks has released more than half a million US State Department cables from 1978. The cables cover US interactions with, and observations of, every country.

1978 was an unusually important year in geopolitics. The year saw the start of a great many political conflicts and alliances which continue to define the present world order, as well as the rise of still-important personalities and political dynasties.

The cables document the start of the Iranian Revolution, leading to the stand-off between Iran and the West (1979 — present); the Second Oil Crisis; the Afghan conflict (1978 — present); the Lebanon–Israel conflict (1978 — present); the Camp David Accords; the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua and the subsequent conflict with US proxies (1978 — 1990); the 1978 Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia; the Ethopian invasion of Eritrea; Carter’s critical decision on the neutron bomb; the break-up of the USSR’s nuclear-powered satellite over Canada, which changed space policy; the US “playing the China card” against Russia; Brzezinski’s visit to China, which led to the subsequent normalisation of relations and a proxy war in Cambodia; with the US, UK, China and Cambodia on one side and Vietnam and the USSR on the other.

Through 1978, Zbigniew “Zbig” Brzezinski was US National Security Advisor. He would become the architect of the destabilisation of Soviet backed Afghanistan through the use of Islamic militants, elements of which would later become known as al-Qaeda. Brzezinski continues to affect US policy as an advisor to Obama. He has been especially visible in the recent conflict between Russia and the Ukraine.

WikiLeaks’ Carter Cables II comprise 500,577 US diplomatic cables and other diplomatic communications from and to US embassies and missions in nearly every country. It follows on from the Carter Cables (368,174 documents from 1977), which WikiLeaks published in April 2014.

The Carter Cables II bring WikiLeaks total published US diplomatic cable collection to 2.7 million documents.

The post Reigning In Blood | Unfilter 145 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

The War on Drugs has never looked more antiquated after receiving a major blow in public opinion, and by the Justice Department. And while the nation moves forward on the issue, ground zero of Cannabis legalization takes a step backward. We’ll reflect on what might be a legitimate turn for the better, in one of the larger embarrassments for the United States.

But first: An interview with Lavabit’s founder brings into focus the depth and reach of the Obama Administration’s attempt to cover up their warrantless surveillance programs.

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

On this week’s Unfilter.

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— Show Notes —

NSA Fallout

• NSA ‘secret backdoor’ paved way to U.S. phone, e-mail snooping

Today’s top-secret document leaked by Snowden reveals that “procedures approved on 3 October 2011 now allow for use of certain United States person names and identifiers as query terms when reviewing collected FAA 702 data.”

FAA 702 is a reference to section 702 of a 2008 law that amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Those amendments created a warrantless surveillance process that could be employed by NSA analysts, but Congress never intended it to be used domestically against American citizens: A congressional report accompanying the law claimed it allows electronic surveillance only of “persons located outside the United States in order to acquire foreign intelligence information.”

• NSA loophole allows warrantless search for US citizens’ emails and phone calls | World news | The Guardian

• White House insists James Clapper will not lead NSA surveillance review | World news | theguardian.com

“The panel will not report to the DNI. As the DNI’s statement yesterday made clear, the review group will brief its interim findings to the president within 60 days of its establishment, and provide a final report with recommendations no later than December 15 2013.”

She added: "As we announced on Friday, the review group will be made up of independent, outside experts. The DNI’s role is one of facilitation, and the group is not under the direction of or led by the DNI.

“The members require security clearances and access to classified information so they need to be administratively connected to the government, and the DNI’s office is the right place to provide that. The review process and findings will be the group’s.”

• Lavabit

• Lavabit.com owner: ‘I could be arrested’ for resisting surveillance order – Investigations

Levison said he started Lavabit 10 years ago to capitalize on public concerns about the Patriot Act, offering customers a paid service — between $8 and $16 a year — that would encrypt their emails in ways that would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for law enforcement agents to decipher. He said that until he shut down, his small company was generating about $100,000 in revenue annually with about 10,000 users paying for the encryption service.

• EXCLUSIVE: Owner of Snowden’s Email Service on Why He Closed Lavabit Rather Than Comply With Gov’t

• Michael Hayden, Bob Schieffer and the media’s reverence of national security officials | Glenn Greenwald | Comment is free | theguardian.com

But inviting Hayden to do exactly that is what establishment media outlets do continually. Just yesterday, Face the Nation featured Hayden as the premiere guest to speak authoritatively about how trustworthy the NSA is, how safe it keeps us, and how wise President Obama is for insisting that all of its programs continue. As usual, no mention was made of the role he played in secretly implementing an illegal warrantless spying program aimed directly at the American people.

• Michael Hayden, Former NSA Chief: After A Major Attack, U.S. Likely To Seize More Surveillance Powers

You’ve got this metadata. It’s now [currently] queried under very, very narrow circumstances. If the nation suffers an attack, there are other things you could do with that metadata. There are other tools. So in that kind of emergency perhaps you would go to the court and say, ‘In addition to these very limited queries we’re allowed to do, we actually want to launch some complex algorithms against it.’"

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WEED

• Sanjay Gupta Changed His Mind On Weed – Business Insider

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, says he was wrong to ignore marijuana’s medical potential when he wrote an opinion piece in 2009 called "Why I would Vote No on Pot

• Sanjay Gupta Shows the Medical Marijuana Tide is Turning – Stephanie Slade (usnews.com)

Polling shows people are increasingly open to the notion that not all drugs should be outlawed. A survey by Pew Research Center back in March found a majority of Americans – 52 percent – now say marijuana should be legal. More strikingly, 72 percent agreed that government efforts to enforce marijuana laws cost more than they are worth, and three in four agreed the drug has “legitimate medical uses.”

Today in America, one in every 15 black men is behind bars.

• WEED: A Dr. Sanjay Gupta Special – YouTube

CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta cuts through the smoke and travels around the world to uncover the highs and lows of cannabis.

New Questions in Hastings Death

• Michael Hastings Writing Expose On CIA Chief John Brennan When He Died

Michael Hastings was working on an expose on CIA director John Brennan at the time of his suspicious death, the wife of the Rolling Stone journalist said on Monday.

Last month, a source sent San Diego 6 News an email from Fred Burton, the president of CIA contractor Straffor. The email claims that Brennan was leading the “witch hunts” against journalists.

Text of the email, which was posted on WikiLeaks, read: “Brennan is behind the witch hunts of investigative journalists learning information from inside the beltway sources.”

• Michael Hastings’ 911 Callers and New Video Confirm Large Explosions – YouTube

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The post Gupta: Weed Hypocrisy | Unfilter 63 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

In the wake of the NSA leaks we’re being told to trust the government with our simple data, it’s the leaker we need to worry about. Edward Snowden takes to the web to defend his name, while the top officials in US intelligence answer softball questions read from prepared statements.

This week, we’ll examine the claims, scrutinize the testimonies, and bring you up-to-date on the largest invasion of words privacy we’ve ever seen.

Plus the FBI admits to operating Drones within the US, your feedback, and much much more!

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— Show Notes —

Right and Left Attack Snowden

• The media spins NSA scandal into character assassination against Edward Snowden – Loss of Privacy

As usual, the media has decided that, instead of looking at the problems of the NSA spying on it own citizens and the entire scandal surrounding it, it has taken to attacks on Edward Snowden, the whistleblower behind the leaks. The Guardian article presented the facts and didn’t speculate on Snowden or his character because it isn’t a necessary part of the story. Other media outlets, however, are ignoring the massive violations to the constitution that the NSA has committed and decided to participate in ad hominem attacks.

• Edward Snowden: 10 things to know – POLITICO.com

Edward Snowden burst in public view when the 29-year-old identified himself as the source of leaks about the National Security Agency’s surveillance of Americans. Here are 10 things to know about Snowden.

Snowden Holds Online Chat

• Snowden, in Web site chat, says he can’t get a fair trial in the U.S. – The Washington Post

Edward Snowden, who acknowledged leaking top-secret documents about extensive U.S. surveillance of telephone calls and Internet communications, claimed in an unusual live Web chat Monday that he sees no possibility of a fair trial in the United States and suggested that he would try to elude authorities as long as possible.

• NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden Thread With Questions Broekn Out

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Hearing Party

• NSA chief defends surveillance, says helped prevent terror plots more than 50 times since 9/11 | Fox News

The National Security Agency and Justice Department mounted a vigorous defense of the government’s controversial surveillance efforts on Tuesday, with NSA chief Gen. Keith Alexander claiming they have helped prevent “potential terrorist events” over 50 times since 9/11.

• Leaked: NSA’s Talking Points Defending NSA Surveillance

The government has been passing around some “talking points” to politicians and the press trying to spin the NSA surveillance story. We’ve got the talking points about scooping up business records (i.e., all data on all phone calls) and on the internet program known as PRISM.

• Senators skip classified briefing on NSA snooping to catch flights home – The Hill – covering Congress, Politics, Political Campaigns and Capitol Hill | TheHill.com

A recent briefing by senior intelligence officials on surveillance programs failed to attract even half of the Senate, showing the lack of enthusiasm in Congress for learning about classified security programs.

• NSA hearing: Hot mic catches NSA boss praising FBI chiefs for supportive testimony on surveillance programs | Mail Online

The director of the National Security Agency was overheard offering a round of beer to the FBI’s second-in-command following Tuesday’s congressional hearing on the NSA’s controversial surveillance programs.

Former NSA Employees Corroborate Ed’s Claims

• 3 Former NSA Employees Praise Edward Snowden, Corroborate Key Claims

USA Today has published an extraordinary interview with three former NSA employees who praise Edward Snowden’s leaks, corroborate some of his claims, and warn about unlawful government acts.

• 3 NSA veterans speak out on whistle-blower: We told you so

Thomas Drake, William Binney and J. Kirk Wiebe belong to a select fraternity: the NSA officials who paved the way.

For years, the three whistle-blowers had told anyone who would listen that the NSA collects huge swaths of communications data from U.S. citizens.

Done Update

• FBI director admits domestic use of drones for surveillance

Robert Mueller, the director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, confirmed to lawmakers that the FBI owns several
unmanned aerial vehicles, but has not adopted any strict policies
or guidelines yet to govern the use of the controversial
aircraft.

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The post Snowden is Snowed Under | Unfilter 55 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.