Headlines of note for June 2013...

June brings us yet another suspicious death of a journalist - this time Michael Hastings, whose reporting in June of 2010 laid low the career of General Stanley McCrystal. He was apparently pursuing an even bigger story...

Prison Planet: Friend - Michael Hastings Was Working on “Biggest Story Yet” About CIA

KTLA: Hastings Sent Colleagues Email Hours Before Crash

Subject: FBI Investigation, re: NSA
Hey (redacted names) -- the Feds are interviewing my "close friends and associates." Perhaps if the authorities arrive "BuzzFeed GQ," er HQ, may be wise to immediately request legal counsel before any conversations or interviews about our news-gathering practices or related journalism issues.
Also: I'm onto a big story, and need to go off the rada[r] for a bit.
All the best, and hope to see you all soon.
Michael

Infowars:  Richard Clarke - Hastings Accident “Consistent with a Car Cyber Attack”

It wasn't too long ago that the death of a journalist in a foreign country - Russia for instance - would automatically invite the conclusion that it must have been a political hit. My how things can turnabout in so short a time, as the following saga illustrates; for a pesky whistle-blower, Moscow has become the place to run for asylum...

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Old, ignored news suddenly captures the attention of the mainstream, via Glenn Greenwald at The Guardian...

NSA collecting phone records of millions of Verizon customers daily

NSA Prism program taps in to user data of Apple, Google and others

Fisa court oversight: a look inside a secret and empty process

The top secret rules that allow NSA to use US data without a warrant

NSA collected US email records in bulk for more than two years under Obama

How the NSA is still harvesting your online data

The source comes out...

Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations

Neo-cons and Obama loyalists cite this particular story and its timing as evidence of Snowden's treason on behalf of China...

Obama orders US to draw up overseas target list for cyber-attacks

Why, after all, didn't he go to Iceland, a country that has been pursuing legislation to become an international free speech haven?

VOA: Iceland May Not Be the Haven US Leaker Hopes

There was a certain advantage to Hong Kong however that carries a peculiar Greenwaldian irony to it (in so far as Greenwald's forte is to emphasize the opportunistic hypocrisy of political partisans and their media sycophants). Namely, a 2003 resolution passed by Congress in support of protestors of Article 23 - an imposition from the mainland Chinese government that expressly said:

The HKSAR shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the central people's government, or theft of state secrets.

U.S. Congress was hence shooting itself in the foot 10 years in advance, rhetorically at least, since the resolution is just that - non-binding, empty rhetoric. Nevertheless, we imagine that Greenwald has an op-ed in preparation, for the espionage charges that have now (June 22) been brought against Snowden. Yoichi Shimatzu however beat him to the punch...

South China Morning Post: Snowden a test of America's strident stance on civil rights

In the end, the Hong Kong government had to let him go, though not into the hands of U.S. authorities, stating: "the documents provided by the U.S. Government did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law." Indeed.

Reuters: Behind Snowden's Hong Kong exit - fear and persuasion

Now biding his time in Moscow...

WikiLeaks: Statement from Edward Snowden in Moscow

As was the case with Julian Assange during the WikiLeaks document dumps of a couple years ago, many among the independents are questioning the authenticity of the messenger and the stratagem behind the revelation of the message...

Steve Pieczenik Talks: “Catch Me if You Can” - Obama’s Successful Trifecta Strategy

Cryptogon: Naomi Wolf - My Creeping Concern That The NSA Leaker Is Not Who He Purports To Be

Tarpley: How to Identify a CIA Limited Hangout Operation

It may not be the messenger that is suspect, however, but the message's medium. On limited hangouts for whistle-blowers...

Cryptome: Snowden Censored by Craven Media

The critics - player-haters? - meanwhile do not shirk from ample use of the material that the suspect whistle-blowers and publishers make available to them. To elaborate upon John Young of Cryptome's concerns, anyone - not just the original publisher, but the rest of the media of various stripes may cherry-pick the leaked material to focus attention upon that which serves their respective agendas. This was certainly the case with Daniel Ellsberg's Pentagon Papers, which, as Fletcher Prouty had noted at the time - in his The Secret Team - was exploited to pin the blame for the Vietnam War on the Pentagon; when in fact the mess had been created by the CIA.


NSA veteran Russel Tice corroborates and expands upon Snowden's allegations...

Boiling Frogs Post: NSA Whistleblower Goes on Record -Reveals New Information & Names Culprits! 

Lest one buys the protestations, "it's just metadata not content!", yet another NSA veteran William Binney...

Washington's Blog: We Call a Top NSA Whistleblower … And Get the REAL SCOOP on Spying

It’s clear to me that they are collecting most e-mail in full plus other text type data on the web.

As for phone calls, I don’t think they would record/transcribe the approximately 3 billion US-to-US calls every day. It’s more likely that they are recording and transcribing calls made by the 500,000 to 1,000,000 targets in the US and the world.

Others have put the number of targeted "potential threats to national security" at 8 million - those who comprise the Main Core list...

Activist Post: Main Core - A List Of Millions Of Americans That Will Be Subject To Detention During Martial Law

...by Binney's estimation, however, the NSA would only have the capacity to comprehensively surveil a tenth of these alleged "threats".

And since the cat's out of the bag, the NSA admits it in a closed-door session with Congress...

CNET: NSA spying flap extends to contents of U.S. phone calls


While around the globe...

Zerohedge: The NSA's "Boundless Informant" Collects 3 Billion Intelligence Pieces From US Computer Networks In One Month

It can do this because, as noted in the PRISM power point slide, "Much of the world's communication flows through the U.S." - that is, through Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, etc.

Perhaps not for long...

Reuters: U.S. surveillance revelations deepen European fears of Web giants

They've been there, so they should know...

Germans accuse U.S. of Stasi tactics before Obama visit

There is a good deal of hypocrisy in Merkel's protestations however...

Privacy Surgeon: Former NSA contractor warns of “murky” interception arrangements

He [Wayne Madsen] was particularly concerned about the “sanctimonious outcry” of political leaders who were “feigning shock” about recently disclosed spying operations such as PRISM while staying silent about their own role in global interception arrangements with the United States.

“I can’t understand how Angela Merkel can keep a straight face – demanding assurances from Obama and the UK – while Germany has entered into those exact relationships”

“She’s acting like inspector Reynaud in Casablanca: ‘I’m shocked – shocked – to find gambling going on here’”


The author who four years ago (in his The Shadow Factory) reported much of what is now dominating the headlines, James Bamford...

Building America’s secret surveillance state

More police state news...

Rutherford Institute: Gutting the Fourth Amendment’s Presumption of Innocence, U.S. Supreme Court Allows Warrantless Collection of DNA by Police in 5-4 Ruling

CNET: Judge orders Google to comply with FBI's secret NSL demands

Washington's Blog: The Next NSA Spying Shoe to Drop - “Pre-Crime” Artificial Intelligence

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A shake up at the CIA, where everybody just loves salafist generalissimo John Brennan...

Wayne Madsen Report: CIA number two resigns hours before Obama announces decision to arm Syrian rebels

CIA deputy director Michael Morrell resigned from his post just hours before the Obama White House, through deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes, announced that the Obama administration had decided to provide weapons to the Syrian Free Army and its allied groups. 

Obama's pretext for arming the Al Qaeda-linked guerrillas is that U.S. intelligence concluded, after months of saying there was insufficient proof, that Syria used chemical weapons to kill Syrian civilians. The Russian government says it doesn't believe Obama's claims, especially after Secretary of State Colin Powell's infamous lie to the UN Security Council about Iraqi anthrax was used to justify America's invasion of Iraq.

Among the top allied group of the Syrian Free Army is the Jabhat al Nusra Front, whose leader, Abou Mohamad al-Joulani, recently pledged total allegiance to Al Qaeda's leader and Osama Bin Laden's replacement, Ayman al Zawahri...

WMR's intelligence sources say Morrell has steadfastly argued that there was insufficient proof of claims, mostly emanating from Syrian rebel sources and Israel, that Assad's forces had used chemical weapons, including sarin gas, on civilians. One of Rhodes's sources for his claims of Syrian use of chemical weapons was, as stated in the White House statement, "social media oultets from Syrian opposition groups and other media sources." Some U.S. intelligence sources are mocking Rhodes's contention by calling Obama's decision America's first "war based on Twitter."

Morrell's replacement? Well, not quite Ilsa the She-Wolf, but...

NYPost: Obama's pick to be CIA #2 used to run 'Erotica Nights' readings after dropping out of grad school

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Got him! Aiding and abetting Al Qaeda associated forces. Drone him now Obama!

Voltairenet: John McCain meets with kidnappers in Syria

But then Obama would have to drone himself, as this typifies the ilk he will now be arming...

Al Jazeera: 'Dozens dead' in Aleppo car bomb attack

Monday's blast, carried out by a jihadi group affiliated with al-Qaeda...

PressTV: Militants massacre 60 Shia Muslims in eastern Syria

As for the alleged "proof" of Assad's use of chemical weapons, deja vu to 10 years ago, even to the detail of the news organization that then called a rat on the administration's WMD claims...

McClatchey: Chemical weapons experts still skeptical about U.S. claim that Syria used sarin

HuffPo: Obama Decision to Arm Syrian Rebels Has Nothing to Do With Alleged Chemical Weapons Use

Nor does the 'wag the dog' explanation suffice. It has more to do with Assad's routing of the rebels in al-Qussair...

Pravda: Syria - Western-backed terrorists running like rats

Elsewhere, in the Sahara, they run like whack-a-moles...

Reuters: Libya becomes 'the new Mali' as Islamists shift in Sahara

The slaughters continue in Benghazi...

Libya Herald: Benghazi Libya Shield Protests - at least 27 dead

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What set off the conflagration against Erdogan? His logistical support of NATO/Salafist brigades in Syria? A planned shopping mall? Or was it the no alcohol served after 10PM rule? - Outside of the tourist districts, that is. In order to have a stiff one after 10PM, then, Turks would have to become tourists in their own country...

Hurriyet: Occupy Taksim?

Asia Times (Spengler): The economics of the 'Turkish Spring'

Erdogan himself blames foreign intervention (the Russians can play this card as well?)...

Al Monitor: Erdogan Blames Foreign Hand In Protests

The "moderate Islamist" shows his teeth...

RT: Tear gas and bulldozers - Istanbul riot police clear Gezi Park protest camp


Elsewhere in the region, Iran elects a new president...

Asia Times: Rouhani - a consensus on the past

Answering Obama's call to escalate the war in Syria...

Independent: Iran to send 4,000 troops to aid President Assad forces in Syria

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June 3, Breaking: Prime Minister David Cameron's wife had an affair with Mayor of London Boris Johnson. And there's a sex tape!

Peter Nunn: Downing Street affair Samantha Cameron Boris Johnson sex tape

And a lovechild!

Disclose.tv: DOWNING STREET AFFAIR BORIS JOHNSON CAMERON LOVECHILD


Meanwhile outside of London, detritus of this year's Bilderberg meeting reveals the global financial racket...

UKcolumn: A New Financial Scandal - Bigger Than LIBOR?

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Updates on some stories that just won't go away...

Fox19: IRS Scandal Timeline


Fukushima Daiichi...

ENE News: Asahi - Locations and condition of melted Fukushima fuel unknown — Mainichi - 450 tons of scattered radioactive rods… unknown where holes in reactors are… plans may be delayed


Boston Marathon Bombing... The FBI pursues a lead, and summarily executes him...

ABC News: Man Linked to Boston Bombing Suspect Was Unarmed When Shot in Violent Encounter With FBI

It is a familiar pattern with such terror events, that a drill is planned around the same time whose details are eerily similar to the actual attack. Here the details were uncanny...

Boston Globe: Police response training planned, but bombs hit first

The basic plot was this: Half a dozen members of Free America Citizens wanted to gauge police response to a bomb scare. They would plant hoax devices, then stay on the scene to watch and record the bomb squad and detectives as they responded, as a dry run to a larger attack.

The participating detectives, however, would not have known they were being watched. They would only be told that they were responding to an urgent terrorist threat. The goal of the training was for them to figure out the motives of Free America Citizens as they investigated the case, the official said.

The planned exercise has eerie similarities to the police investigation that led to the capture of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, whose images were caught on video cameras and who were captured after a car chase and shoot-out with police.

In the training scenario, investigators participating in Urban Shield would have to track down footage of the bombers caught by street surveillance cameras and the phones of “witnesses.”

They would have to call on intelligence analysts to figure out which terrorist cell might be threatening the city.

In the scenario, the terrorists would flee police in stolen cars they would dump in cities outside Boston, which would compel detectives from different jurisdictions to cooperate and share intelligence.

One major clue would have been the body of one of the terrorists found near a stolen car, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. There were also false leads to keep investigators guessing, the official said.

The main difference between drill and real life however was the nature of the terrorists: patriot militia as opposed to Islamic radicals. Looking back at our timeline of the events in April, particularly to what transpired on the afternoon of April 18 - the announcement and quick retraction of an arrest - and we must ask if the militia scenario (more amenable to Obama's agenda) was somehow thwarted, forcing a fall-back on the Chechen scenario (more amenable to what would've been Romney's agenda). But we speculate...


9/11 and Saudi royals...

Broward Bulldog: Mystery of Sarasota Saudis deepens as Justice moves to end FOI lawsuit citing national security

Possible lead on Philip Marshall and kids murder case...

Richard Johnson: Philip Marshall - Murdered?


A source informs us that TWA 800 was shot down by Canada, but you won't read that here...

FOX News: TWA Flight 800 investigators break silence in new documentary, claim original conclusion about cause of crash is wrong


Pedos in the Vatican...

Patheos: Secret Vatican Rentboy Ring Turns Out to be Part of a Pedophile’s Revenge Plot