We give a high level overview of the midterm elections in the US & the blood bath the Democrats just suffered. Then after discussing some of the news headlines of the week, we dig further into ISIS oil funding & the steady drumbeat of Lone Wolf fear porn that keeps getting louder.

Plus we go after the media’s coverage of the elections, discuss Obama’s short term challenges & much more!

Direct Download:

Video | MP3 Audio | OGG Audio | Torrent | YouTube

RSS Feeds:

Video Feed | MP3 Feed | OGG Feed | HD Torrent | Mobile Torrent | iTunes

Become an Unfilter supporter on Patreon:

— Show Notes —

News

Disciplined nuclear officers tops 16

The Air Force has fired or disciplined at least 16 nuclear missile commanders or senior officers for misconduct and other failings over the past year and a half, reflecting turmoil in arguably the military’s most sensitive mission.

Another who quit of his own accord lamented upon leaving, “We let the American people down on my watch.”

The latest to be dismissed this week: a colonel accused of “cruelty and maltreatment” of a subordinate and a missile squadron commander found to have illegally discriminated against women under his command. In addition to those actions Monday, another senior officer was administratively disciplined but not removed from command.

This string of leadership lapses has beset a force that remains central to American defense strategy but in some respects has been neglected. The force of 450 Minuteman 3 nuclear missiles is primed to unleash nuclear devastation on a moment’s notice.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is expected soon to announce the results of an independent review of problems in the nuclear force.

Snowden documents reveal British climate espionage – Copenhagen climate summit targeted | Information

Against the backdrop of UN delegates gathering at the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meeting this week in Copenhagen, Dagbladet Information today documents systematic intelligence operations against international climate negotiations by the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Among others, the intelligence service targeted the most recent major UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the COP15, held in December 2009.

NSA Chief Bet Money on AT&T as It Spied on You – The Daily Beast

The former head of the world’s biggest spy agency didn’t just oversee the collection of billions of AT&T records. He also tried to make money off its customers.

US ends ban on ‘domestic propaganda’ — RT USA

The Smith-Mundt Act has ensured for decades that government-made media intended for foreign audiences doesn’t end up on radio networks broadcast within the US. An amendment tagged onto the National Defense Authorization Act removed that prohibition this year

The longstanding federal law made it illegal for the US Department of State to share domestically the internally-authored news stories sent to American-operated
outlets broadcasting around the globe. All of that changed effective July 2, when the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) was given permission to let US households tune-in to hear the
type of programming that has previously only been allowed in outside nations.

ISIS / ISIL

COLD WAR

• Saudi Arabia’s Oil Politics on Syria

But business concerns may not be the main driver of this Saudi oil policy. Instead, the Saudis may be flexing their muscular dominance of the world’s oil markets to advance geopolitical interests, from helping the energy-dependent military government of Egypt — a Saudi ally — to undermining the adversarial regimes in Syria and Iran as well as Russia, which has emerged as a key ally for those two embattled governments.

While falling oil prices certainly do hurt Saudi Arabia, the Saudis with their vast financial reserves are well-positioned to withstand the economic pain. That is less the case with Russia and Iran, both heavily invested in the defense of Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime. In other words, the Saudis may see the precipitous drop in oil prices as a weapon in the broader regional Shiite-Sunni proxy war, with Saudi Arabia leading the Sunni side versus Shiite-ruled Iran.

The depressed oil prices also dovetail with the Obama administration’s geopolitical interests by putting the squeeze on Russia and Iran as the West seeks to consolidate its control over Ukraine and tries to force Iran to capitulate in talks over its nuclear program.

But the Saudi geopolitical calculation to sustain record production above 9.5 million barrels per day is probably most directed at Syria where the Saudis have financed the Sunni-led campaign to overthrow Assad, who largely represents Alawite, Shiite, Christian and other minorities. By toppling Assad and replacing him with a Sunni-dominated government, Saudi Arabia would deal a severe blow to Iran and the region’s Shiites.

Thus, Saudi Arabia is willing to resist pressure from its partners in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in order to advance what the Saudis see as their broader regional interests. For Riyadh, the self-inflicted economic pain is acceptable as long as it contributes to the broader imperative of inflicting pain on Assad and his backers.

High Note

Where America landed on marijuana

Voters legalize recreational pot in Oregon

Oregon becomes the third U.S. state to legalize recreational pot. With two-thirds of precincts reporting, legal pot lead the race by eight percentage points, 54 to 46.

Polls showed Measure 91 was extremely close heading into Election Day.

Opinions on the measure varied by age. The measure had support from 56 percent of voters under age 35, but only 30 percent support from voters older than 65, polls showed.

“It’s always an uphill battle to win a marijuana legalization initiative in a year like this, when young people are so much less likely to vote, which makes today’s victory all the sweeter,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “The pace of reform is accelerating, other states are sure to follow, and even Congress is poised to wake from its slumber.”

Under the measure, Oregonians 21 and older will be able to possess and smoke marijuana starting July 1 of 2015.

New highs: Marijuana now legal in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, DC | The Verge

Voters in Alaska, Oregon, and the District of Columbia voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use Tuesday, following in the footsteps of Colorado and Washington, which legalized the drug in 2012. A ballot measure to legalize marijuana for medical purposes failed in Florida, the Associated Press reports, where voters failed to meet the 60 percent threshold needed to pass a constitutional amendment.

The post Democrat Midterm Disaster | Unfilter 121 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

The blowback from Edward Snowden’s NBC interview is in full force, and the new director of the NSA shares his thoughts on Snowden.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s rescue has caused a major upset, but is his rescue a clever distraction from the VA scandal?

Plus our thoughts on some recent anti-cannabis news, follow up, and much more!

Direct Download:

Video | MP3 Audio | OGG Audio | Torrent | YouTube

RSS Feeds:

Video Feed | MP3 Feed | OGG Feed | HD Torrent | Mobile Torrent | iTunes

Become an Unfilter supporter on Patreon:

— Show Notes —

Special Supporters Show

NSA is Crazy

Germany opens inquiry into claims NSA tapped Angela Merkel\’s phone

Germany\’s federal prosecutor has defied public expectations by opening an investigation into the alleged tapping of Angela Merkel\’s mobile phone by the US\’s National Security Agency (NSA).

Federal prosecutor Harald Range announced on Wednesday: \”I informed parliament\’s legal affairs committee that I have started a preliminary investigation over tapping of a mobile phone of the chancellor.\”

Most Americans Think Snowden Did the Right Thing, Poll Says

According to a survey commissioned by cloud storage service Tresorit.

The survey found that 55 percent of respondents think Snowden did the right thing in exposing PRISM, the mass data-mining program, while another 29 percent believe he was in the wrong, and 16 percent endorse neither statement. Of Snowden\’s supporters, 80 percent said he exposed constitutional violations.

cryptome.org counting total Snowden doc releases: 42 Years for Snowden Docs Release, Free All Now

— Thanks for Supporting Unfilter —

Become an Unfilter supporter on Patreon

• Unfilter Episode 100 Shirt! | Teespring

• Thanks to our 249 patrons, we gained 61 since last week!

• Supporter perk: Downloadable Pre and Post show. Extra clips, music, hijinks, and off the cuff comments. The ultimate Unfiltered experience. ‘

• Supporter perk: Exclusive BitTorrent Sync share of our production and non-production clips, notes, and more since the NSA scandal broke in episode 54. The ultimate Unfiltered experience, just got more ultimate.

• Supporter Perk: Past 5 supporters shows, in a dedicated bittorrent sync folder.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

Here\’s some Recent Hostage Negotiations:

• After the North Koreans captured the U.S.S. Pueblo in 1968, President Lyndon Johnson apologized for spying as part of negotiations to secure the release of 83 American prisoners.

• In 1970, President Richard Nixon pressured Israel, Switzerland, West Germany and Britain to release Palestinian prisoners after two airlines were hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

• During the Iran hostage crisis of 1979 to 1981, President Jimmy Carter agreed to unfreeze $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets after more than a year of negotiations with the Iranian revolutionaries.

• In perhaps the most famous swap, after seven Americans were captured in Beirut, Lebanon, President Ronald Reagan agreed to send missiles to Iran in what became known as the Iran-Contra scandal.

• President Bill Clinton\’s administration sat down with Hamas in attempts to negotiate peace with Israel. His administration also worked directly with the Taliban nearly two decades ago on several occasions to see if the group would hand over Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders.

• Ronald Reagan, the president who really negotiated with terrorists

Iran-Contra, as you\’ll recall, almost laid waste to the Reagan presidency. Desperate to free U.S. hostages held by Iranian proxies in Lebanon, President Reagan provided weapons Tehran badly needed in its long war with Saddam Hussein (who, of course, was backed by the United States). In a clumsy and illegal attempt to skirt U.S. law, the proceeds of those sales were then funneled to the contras fighting the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. And as the New York Times recalled, Reagan\’s fiasco started with an emissary bearing gifts from the Gipper himself

• Military Code Of Conduct: U.S. Govt. \”Will Use Any Practical Means To Contact, Support And Gain Release\” Of POWs.

Just as you have a responsibility to your country under the Code of Conduct, the United States government has an equal responsibility**** — ****to keep faith with you and stand by you as you fight for your country. If you are unfortunate enough to become a prisoner of war, you may rest assured that your government will care for your dependents and will never forget you. Furthermore, the government will use every practical means to contact, support and gain release for you and for all other prisoners of war.

Insane in the Ukraine:

Conflicting accounts in heightened eastern Ukraine fighting – CNN.com

A Ukrainian government spokesman claimed that more than 300 pro-Russia militants had been killed and at least 500 wounded during an ongoing Ukrainian military operation in the towns of Krasny Liman and Slovyansk.

The self-declared separatist mayor of Slovyansk, however, said only 10 separatist fighters had died and 12 were injured in the fighting.

CNN could not immediately confirm either report.

But a CNN investigation in Luhansk has found clear evidence that whatever detonations hit the building and the adjoining park came from the air. The tops of trees were splintered, and a series of small craters — about a dozen — had been blasted in a straight line, starting in the park and reaching the walls of the building, blowing out many of its windows and spraying the area with jagged shrapnel. That\’s what appears to have killed most of the victims and injured 20 more.

The pattern of the craters clearly indicated some sort of strafing, according to a munitions expert at the scene with CNN. Their size suggested 30-millimeter ordnance, he said, which is standard equipment on the Su-25, a ground attack fighter, and the Su-27 — both combat aircraft operated by Ukraine.

Obama vows to stand with Ukraine as he meets Poroshenko in Poland – CNN.com

U.S. President Barack Obama voiced his support for Ukraine\’s newly elected president and called for the international community to \”stand solidly behind\” him Wednesday, on a visit to Europe dominated by the crisis in Ukraine.

U.S. reaffirms: No weapons will go to Ukraine

State Department spokesman Jen Psaki reiterated this week that \”we\’ll continue to review their requests\” but that the U.S. policy hasn\’t changed regarding lethal weapons. When asked by a reporter here Tuesday whether the U.S. will provide such aid, Obama pointed out that during the Crimea crisis the U.S. provided non-lethal assistance.

Weed Wackers:

WSP: Driver smoked pot before pile-up that injured 8 | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News

A violent Monday evening car crash on State Route 2 in Snohomish County injured eight people, including five children.

Washington State Patrol troopers said the causing driver had smoked marijuana earlier in the day and she has since been arrested.

Maureen Dowd on pot candy bar: \’I became convinced that I had died\’

In Maureen Dowd\’s latest column for the New York Times, she describes her scary experience eating a pot candy bar while reporting on legalized marijuana in Colorado.

She sat in a Denver hotel room experimenting with the legalized edible, \”nibbling\” on some of the chocolate-flavored bar.

\”For an hour, I felt nothing […] But then I felt a scary shudder go through my body and brain. I barely made it from the desk to the bed, where I lay curled up in a hallucinatory state for the next eight hours,\” Dowd said.

She goes on to explain how her paranoia deepened, saying the high wore off \”distressingly slowly.\”

\”I had been convinced that I had died and no one was telling me,\” Dowd said.

• Colorado Sells $19 Million in Cannabis in March: $1.9 Million Goes to Schools and Crime Down 10% | The Mind Unleashed

Not counting medicinal weed sales, Colorado sold nearly $19 million in their recreational weed market in the month of March, and $1.9 million of that goes straight into government coffers and towards building schools.

• As Medical Marijuana Bill Heads To Senate, States Consider Legislation – Health – Boston.com

The legislation smoked through the Republican-dominated House with a 218-189 vote in favor of the bill Friday. The bill\’s suprising majority vote represents increasingly joint views about federal oversight of state medical marijuana laws between Democrats and Republicans. The vote also reflects public opinion. The ratio of Americans in favor of medical marijuana is high at 73 percent, according to a Pew Research study.

If you’re a Supporter check your inbox!

Call us: 1.425.312.1756

Follow the Us:

• Unfilter on Reddit
• Chris on Twitter
• Chase’s Geek and Gaming Network
• Chase on Twitter

The post War on Truth | Unfilter 100 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

Joint Failures Episode 1: John and Chris discuss their thoughts on Obama’s recent medical marijuana policy. Then we discuss the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Nobel Nook, is it time to switch to eBooks? We follow that up with a series of questions for the audience and then give you our reviews of Bruce Willis movie Surrogates, this season of Mad Men. Then we debate if we should be watching or skipping Stargate Universe and Fringe, plus a review of Dollhouse.

We cap off the show with a look at why it’s becoming particularly harder for geeks to find jobs, and explorer the idea of quitting your day job and going back to school.

The post Joint Failures Episode 1: eBooks and Weed first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.