Clipmarks | Intelligence Clips

How Dare They Rip the Fourth Amendment?

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:37:58 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Early next week the US Senate will vote on an extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, with a few small amendments intended to immunize telecommunications corporations that assisted our government in the warrantless and illegal wiretapping it has grown to love.

That such a gutting of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution even made it out of committee is yet another stain on the gutless and seemingly powerless Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.

That a majority on both sides of the aisle - not least of them the presumptive nominees for president of both political parties - intend to vote for such a violation of Americans' right to privacy and of the sanctity of their personal communications is a stunning surrender to those who want us to live in fear forever.

Tags: if, it's, on, paper, it, will, r.i.p., under, bush

Islam's Biggest Enemy Is The Muslims Themselves

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:52:06 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: U.N. Human Rights Council, the Saudi Shura Council raised objections, since reviling other religions is one of Islam's central precepts.

"The ones who harm the Prophet are those who believe that woman is lewd, and that she detracts from the purity of prayer just like a dog or a donkey...and those who believe that a woman lacks intelligence.

"The ones who harm the Prophet are the rulers of Arab states who have made their countries the last bastions of tyranny and dictatorship in the world, and who demand submission to religious texts to justify their crimes.

"The ones who harm the Prophet do not live in the West - they are among us, the Muslims. It is the Muslims who have fashioned an Islamic model that is inherently terrorist, hypocritical, life-negating, and sustained by the murder of others in the name of jihad and by attacks on freedom of opinion under the pretext of defending Islamic national principles. This is what we - and no one else - have produced."

Clip Source: www.memri.org

In an article on the liberal website Aafaq.org, Egyptian writer Ahmad Al-Aswani set out the crimes committed by the Muslim world that he believed have harmed the Prophet Muhammad and discredited the spirit of Islam: "I do not think that cartoons, books, or films can harm a religion or affect the faith of those who adhere to it out of conviction.

"The ones who harm the Prophet are those who butcher and bomb innocents all over the world, from New York to Madrid, London, Bali, Riyadh and Cairo, Kabul and Baghdad - while invoking Allah and the Prophet under the banner of Islamic jihad...

"The ones who harm the Prophet are those who call on the world to pass a resolution against disparaging religion, while they themselves denigrate other religions in each prayer in the mosques, as well as in their schools and on their satellite channels - and especially [the religion] of Christians and Jews, whom they curse in every prayer. When Muslim countries submitted a draft of this resolution to the

Tags: islam, aafaq.org, muslim, muhammad, islamic jihad,

Obama Disappoints on FISA

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:37:45 GMT

clipped by: Wisco
clipper's remarks: The piece goes on:

"This was not an easy call for me," he wrote. "I know that the FISA bill that passed the House is far from perfect. I wouldn't have drafted the legislation like this, and it does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush's abuse of executive power... But I also believe that the compromise bill is far better than the Protect America Act that I voted against last year. The exclusivity provision makes it clear to any President or telecommunications company that no law supersedes the authority of the FISA court."

I think a lot of idealists out there are learning a couple of lessons; 1. If you want a candidate who believes exactly what you do, you're going to have to run. 2. In American Democracy, you pretty much wind up voting for the adversary you'd most want to have.

Clip Source: blog.washingtonpost.com

In recent days, Sen. Barack Obama has been targeted by supporters on his own social networking site, MyBarackObama.com, because of his stance on the FISA compromise. One backer formed a group on MyBO, as users call Obama's site, named "Senator Obama Please Vote NO on Telecom Immunity - Get FISA Right."

Today, that group has grown to more than 16,000 members, making it the single largest group on Obama's site.

In response to the group and a growing online controversy over his FISA stance, Obama took to his blog this afternoon to address concerns about his support for the intelligence surveillance bill.

Tags: news

Russia taxes Western charities

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:40:07 GMT

clipped by: missjackson

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Russia renewed its campaign against Western aid and human rights organizations when Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, abolished tax exemptions for dozens of foreign charities.

The move raised fresh fears that the Kremlin had opened a new front in its war against free speech that could see foreign non-governmental organisations forced out of the country.

A decree signed by Mr Putin, who swapped the presidency for the premiership in May, reduced a list of tax-exempt charities from 101 to 12 and ordered them to pay 24 per cent of their incomes to the treasury.

The prime minister has long accused foreign charities of being fronts for Western intelligence organisations intent on destroying Russia.

The legislation was condemned in the West, where it was seen as an attempt to close down one of the last avenues of free speech that had been unaffected by Mr Putin's march towards authoritarianism.

Ex-Agent Says CIA Ignored Iran Facts

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:32:36 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: CIA skull-duggery at it's finest.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

A former CIA operative who says he tried to warn the agency about faulty intelligence on Iraqi weapons programs now contends that CIA officials also ignored evidence that Iran had suspended work on a nuclear bomb.

The onetime undercover agent, who has been barred by the CIA from using his real name, filed a motion in federal court late Friday asking the government to declassify legal documents describing what he says was a deliberate suppression of findings on Iran that were contrary to agency views at the time.

The former operative alleged in a 2004 lawsuit that the CIA fired him after he repeatedly clashed with senior managers over his attempts to file reports that challenged the conventional wisdom about weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.

"On five occasions he was ordered to either falsify his reporting on WMD in the Near East, or not to file his reports at all,"

"He is not even allowed to attend court hearings about his own case,"

FBI To Join The "Presumption of Guilt" Parade BushCo Favors

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:28:59 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Civil rights become a fond memory.

Clip Source: www.suntimes.com

The Justice Department is considering letting the FBI investigate Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing, relying instead on a terrorist profile that could single out Muslims, Arabs or other racial and ethnic groups.

Although President Bush has disavowed targeting suspects based on their race or ethnicity, the new rules would allow the FBI to consider those factors among a number of traits that could trigger a national security investigation.

Currently, FBI agents need specific reasons — like evidence or allegations that a law probably has been violated — to investigate U.S. citizens and legal residents. The new policy, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press, would let agents open preliminary terrorism investigations after mining public records and intelligence to build a profile of traits that, taken together, were deemed suspicious.

Critics say the presumption of innocence is lost in the proposal.

New NSA Spying Decision Undermines Arguments for Telecom Immunity

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:35:39 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Seemingly, this effectively cuts executive power off at Georgie's knees.

Clip Source: www.eff.org

Today, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of California, issued an opinion in Al Haramain v. Bush, one of the cases challenging the NSA warrantless wiretapping program. The Court found that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) preempted the state secret privilege. This important decision is particularly timely, as it undermines key arguments for telecom immunity on the eve of the Senate vote on a FISA bill, set for next week.

The good news is that the Court held that "FISA preempts the state secrets privilege in connection with electronic surveillance for intelligence purposes and would appear to displace the state secrets privilege for purposes of plaintiffs’ claims." The Court rejected the expansive view of executive power promoted by the government, holding that the President's authorities under Article II of the Constitution do not give him the power to overrule FISA.

Ex-Agent Says CIA Ignored Iran Facts

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:59:54 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: "On five occasions he was ordered to either falsify his reporting on WMD in the Near East, or not to file his reports at all," Krieger said in an interview.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

The consensus view on Iran's nuclear program shifted dramatically last December

Tags: iran, nukes, intelligence cia, spies, war

UFO Reality

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:20:46 GMT

clipped by: spherepet

Clip Source: www.ufomystic.com

Jun 27 2008

By Stanton T. Friedman

Today we have a guest-post from Stan Friedman. Enjoy!

Some UFOs are extraterrestrial spacecraft.
The subject of flying saucers represents a “Cosmic Watergate” (government cover-up of the best data obtained by intelligence agencies).
Visits to planet Earth and this cover-up represent the biggest story of the millennium.
The next step in humanity’s thinking is to go beyond the “Earth bound” mentality. We are part of a bigger picture and members of a populated universe.

Unfortunately, as a scientist who has lectured on the topic “Flying Saucers ARE Real!” at over 600 colleges and over 100 professional groups in 50 states and 18 countries, and appeared on hundreds of radio and TV programs, I have found that anti-UFO arguments so often made in the name of science are based on ignorance of the facts, arrogance about the critics’ “superior” knowledge, and a strong denial of the evidence

are demonstrably false

major arguments are that there is no evidence of UFO

Tags: ufo, stanton t. friedman

An amazing rescue

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:01:00 GMT

clipped by: sillysam
clipper's remarks: The Che Guevara shirts were a nice touch.

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Old-fashioned fake-out results in freedom for hostages

BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- Government agents posing as rebels tricked a gang of armed desperados into handing over 15 hostages during a rendezvous deep in Colombia's unforgiving jungle.

Agents spent months worming their way into the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, an insurgent force that has waged war on the Colombian state for 40 years, Gen. Freddy Padilla de Leon told CNN.

"We convinced the FARC that they were talking to those of their own," said Gen. Mario Montoya of the Colombian army. "It was all human intelligence."

Once the hostages -- including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three American contractors -- were gathered, the agents ordered a 90-mile march through the steamy jungle, Montoya said.

Colombian security forces posing as FARC rebels jumped out, some wearing shirts emblazoned with the likeness of revolutionary icon Che Guevara

Terrorism Liason Officers in Denver

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:27:46 GMT

clipped by: katsteevns

Clip Source: www.denverpost.com

Terror watch uses local eyes 181 TRAINED IN COLO.

Privacy advocates worry that officers' snooping will entangle innocent people.

By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post

Hundreds of police, firefighters, paramedics and even utility workers have been trained and recently dispatched as "Terrorism Liaison Officers" in Colorado and a handful of other states to hunt for "suspicious activity" — and are reporting their findings into secret government databases.

It's a tactic intended to feed better data into terrorism early-warning systems and uncover intelligence that could help fight anti-U.S. forces. But the vague nature of the TLOs' mission, and their focus on reporting both legal and illegal activity, has generated objections from privacy advocates and civil libertarians.

No Time for the Singularity

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:24:30 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.worldchanging.com

Scientists like to low-ball their estimates. The now-famous IPCC scenarios for the effects of climate change are already known to be woefully, unrealistically conservative (Freeman Dyson's recent comments notwithstanding). Arctic changes expected 20 years from now are happening now, and in North America the beginning of spring has already been pushed back by two weeks, which is enough to play havoc with the fertility cycle of many migratory birds (among other consequences). The worst-case scenarios used in public debate ignore some extremely worrisome factors, such as the possible release of oceanic methane from clathrates. If we're going to deal with this problem, we have to do it now, as in, within the term of your next government.

The ultimate in technological optimism is the idea of the technological singularity, which posits that technological advance is exponential and, driven by progress in artificial intelligence, will soon hit the vertical slope of the curve.

Tags: singularity, scenarios

images of sex

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:22:35 GMT

clipped by: zadoz
clipper's remarks: you can see death in a thousand ways on tv,,,, but oh no not a nipple

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Our Government: Powerless to Outlaw Guns, Able to Outlaw Sexual Expression

By Dr. Marty Klein, Sexual Intelligence. Posted July 2, 2008.

Why is the government allowed to jail people for selling videos of adults having (consensual) sex?

Obscenity law started centuries ago not focused on sex, but on power: as a tool to prevent people from making fun of their ruler, opposing religion, or inciting resistance to the state. Censorship protected rulers from the people.

George Carlin said, "I don't understand why prostitution is illegal. Selling is legal. Screwing is legal. Why isn't selling screwing legal?"

We demand an answer to the same question about sexual imagination: selling is legal. Imagining sex is legal. Why is selling someone's imagination about sex illegal?

Tags: censorship

another animal intelligence reference

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:13:27 GMT

clipped by: lworth02
clipper's remarks: recommendation from “michellezm,” clipmarks user

Clip Source: clipmarks.com

The Octopus and the Orangutan: More True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity (Paperback)

by Eugene Linden (Author)

It will give you stunning insight into the intelligence of animals

Tags: animals, intelligence, cognition, toread

U.S. spies on Iraqi army, sources say

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:05:18 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Oh boy!

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

WASHINGTON -- Caught off guard by recent Iraqi military operations, the United States is using spy satellites that ordinarily are trained on adversaries to monitor the movements of the American-backed Iraqi army, current and former U.S. officials say.

The stepped-up surveillance reflects breakdowns in trust and coordination between the two forces. Officials said it was part of an expanded intelligence effort launched after American commanders were surprised by the timing of the Iraqi army's violent push into Basra three months ago.

The use of the satellites puts the United States in the unusual position of employing some of its most sophisticated espionage technology to track an allied army that American forces helped create, continue to advise, and often fight alongside.

Military officials and experts said the move showed concern by U.S. commanders about whether their Iraqi counterparts would follow U.S. guidance or keep their coalition partners fully informed.

Tags: military, spying, allies?, war, iraq, wtf