by Stephen Lendman

Lindsey Graham—a little gift from South Carolina, the state that also kicked off the Civil War, easily one of the vilest examples of humanity in a Congressional cesspool packed with such repulsive specimens.

Count the ways. Obama’s waging financial war on humanity. He’s waging multiple direct and indirect hot ones. He bears full responsibility.  He represents the worst of rogue leadership. He heads America’s coup d’etat government. It “lacks constitutional and legal legitimacy,” said Paul Craig Roberts. 

Washington’s ruled by “usurpers,” he added. “An unconstitutional government is an illegal government.” Regimes operating extrajudicially have no legitimacy. America’s by far the worst.

State terror is official policy. So is rogue state lawlessness. It operates at home and abroad. Tyranny’s the law of the land. Diktat power rules.  FBI, DEA, Homeland Security, other repressive government agencies, and militarized local police collude. They’re America’s Gestapo. They operate extrajudicially.

[pullquote] Lindsey’s filthy alliance with “liberal” Chuck Schumer says more about the latter’s treachery than the former. [/pullquote]

US special forces death squads infest over 120 countries. They operate openly and covertly. CIA agents operate everywhere. They do so destructively. America’s no fit place to live in. It’s unsafe. Its long arm is repressive. Police state laws target nonbelievers. Rule of law principles don’t matter. Democracy’s an illusion. It’s a convenient fiction. Equity and justice are four-letter words. Freedom’s on the chopping block for elimination. It’s practically gone already.

Supporting right over wrong is criminalized. Espionage and other charges follow. Kangaroo court justice awaits. Bradley Manning’s victimized. He’s a world hero. He’s a 2013 Nobel Peace Prize nominee. He faces possible life in prison.

Edward Snowden’s a wanted man. He connected the dots for millions. He told them what they need to know. He’s heroic for doing so. He’s a 2014 Nobel Peace Prize nominee. He can’t go home again. He’ll be imprisoned, tortured, and abused. He’ll be denied all rights like Manning. America honors its worst. It persecutes its best. It bullies other countries. Obey or else.

On Thursday, Senate Appropriation Committee members unanimously approved sanctions on nations offering Snowden help. Doing so is lawless. It doesn’t matter.  Russia’s targeted. So are Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela. More on Russia below. According to Venezuela Analysis, Washington has more than sanctions in mind.

VA headlined ” ‘Overwhelming’ Evidence of Plot to Assassinate Venezuela’s Maduro,” saying:

National Assembly head Diosdado Cabello has “hard evidence of assassination attempts.” He and Maduro are targeted. “We know who they are, what they are, what they want, and we will find them,” said Cabello. Maduro calls them “fascist” groups. They have “crazy plans.” Washington backs them.

“I have appointed Diosdado Cabello as (ruling PSUV political head) to find the truth of how they have prepared for attacks against me for months,” said Maduro. If either leader is killed, “the wrath of god and the people would be unstoppable,” he added.

Lindsey Graham (R. SC) represents the worst of Washington. He’s a right wing extremist. He’s a neocon rogue. He sponsored the Senate measure. It’s an appropriations bill amendment.

It’s a work in progress. It requires imposition of sanctions. It targets countries helping Snowden.

It directs John Kerry “to consult with the appropriate congressional committees on sanction options against any country that provides asylum to Mr. Snowden, including revocation or suspension of trade privileges and preferences.”

According to Graham:

“I don’t know if he’s going to stay in Russia forever. I don’t know where he’s going to go.”

“But I know this: That the right thing to do is to send him back home so he can face charges for the crimes he allegedly committed.”

Graham represents the worst of US ruthlessness. On July 19, his joint press release headlined “Graham, Schumer Resolution Encourages Russia to Turn Over Edward Snowden to American Authorities,” saying:

Both senators “introduced a partisan resolution.” It’s typical American bullying. It demands Russia hand over Snowden. Obey  or else.

It states:

“The Russian Federation’s continued willingness to provide shelter to Edward Snowden is negatively impacting the US-Russia relationship.”

“Russia should immediately turn Edward Snowden over to the appropriate United States authorities so he can stand trial in the United States.”

“President Obama should consider other options, including recommending a different location for the September 2013 G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, should Russia continue to allow shelter for Mr. Snowden.”

According to Graham:

“On multiple fronts, Russia is becoming one of the bad actors in the world.”

“Russia continues to provide cover to the Iranian nuclear program and sell sophisticated weapons to the Assad regime in Syria to butcher tens of thousands of its own citizens.”

“For Russia to grant temporary asylum to Mr. Snowden on top of all this would do serious damage to our relationship.”

“It is past time we send a strong message to President Putin about Russia’s actions and this resolution will help accomplish that goal.”

Schumer is AIPAC’s man in Washington. He’s no democrat. He represents Israel. He supports its worst crimes. He backs Obama’s war on humanity.  He’s a war criminal multiple times over.

“Time and time again,” he said, “President Putin is too eager to stick a finger in the eye of the United States – whether it is arming the murderous Assad regime in Syria, supporting Iran’s nuclear development or now providing shelter and Russian state protection to Edward Snowden.”

“Enough is enough. It’s time to send a crystal clear message to President Putin about Russia’s deplorable behavior, and this resolution will do just that.”

Washington targets independent countries. Sanctions have no legitimacy. America imposes them ruthlessly. They’re unjustly punitive. They used to intimidate and bully nations into compliance. They don’t work. Russia’s strong enough to retaliate. It values good bilateral relations. It won’t sacrifice its sovereignty. It’s not for sale.

America’s a Big Brother society. It’s no longer fiction. It’s real. It’s institutionalized. It’s universal. It’s lawless. It doesn’t matter. It’s hard-wired. Manufactured national security threats override fundamental freedoms. Anyone can be monitored for any reason or none at all.

Privacy rights are lost. Patriot Act legislation authorized unchecked government surveillance powers. Everyone’s potentially watched. There’s no place to hide. Obama bears fully responsibility. He targets fundamental freedoms. He does so ruthlessly. He’s done it throughout his tenure. Constitutional rights don’t matter. America’s High Court supports him. So do congressional leaders.

On Wednesday, House members defeated a Defense Department appropriations bill amendment. It prohibited NSA from collecting bulk telephone metadata. It “requir(ed) the FISA court under (the Patriot Act’s) Sec. 215 to order the production of records that pertain only to a person under investigation.”

Voting was close. The measure nearly passed. It had bipartisan support. It was defeated 217 – 205. Obama strongly opposed it.  Heavy-handed administration tactics demanded congressional compliance. Ahead of the vote, NSA head General Keith Alexander met with congressional leaders.

He did so secretly. He was dispatched to bully and pressure. He got enough support to win. A White House press release was typical Obama.  Doublespeak duplicity headlined. Lies, damn lies, and ObamaSpeak said:

“In light of the recent unauthorized disclosures, the President has said that he welcomes a debate about how best to simultaneously safeguard both our national security and the privacy of our citizens.”

“The Administration has taken various proactive steps to advance this debate including the President’s meeting with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, his public statements on the disclosed programs, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s release of its own public statements, ODNI General Counsel Bob Litt’s speech at Brookings, and ODNI’s decision to declassify and disclose publicly that the Administration filed an application with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.”

“We look forward to continuing to discuss these critical issues with the American people and the Congress.”

“However, we oppose the current effort in the House to hastily dismantle one of our Intelligence Community’s counterterrorism tools.”

“This blunt approach is not the product of an informed, open, or deliberative process.”

“We urge the House to reject the Amash Amendment, and instead move forward with an approach that appropriately takes into account the need for a reasoned review of what tools can best secure the nation.”

In other words, Obama demands continued lawless NSA spying. House members approved. For sure Senate ones would. According to Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) attorney Kurt Opsahl:

“This amendment reflected the deep discomfort of Americans who don’t want the government collecting data on them indiscriminately.”

“This type of surveillance is unnecessary and unconstitutional, a needless return to the general warrants that our country’s founders fought against.”

EFF’s Rainey Reitman added:

“We were heartened by the many supporters from across the country who called their representative to support the amendment, laying the foundation for further Congressional action to investigate the NSA spying and enact greater privacy protections.”

The fight for justice continues. First Unitarian v. NSA pursues it. EFF represents plaintiffs. Nineteen organizations, Los Angeles Unitarian Church groups and others filed suit.

NSA’s charged with violating First, Fourth and other constitutional rights. In early July, Northern District of California federal Judge Jeffrey White ruled for EFF.  He rejected Obama’s secret privilege claims. Doing so permits EFF’s Jewel v. NSA and Shubert v. Obama suits to proceed.

According to EFF’s Cindy Cohn:

“The court rightly found that the traditional legal system can determine the legality of the mass, dragnet surveillance of innocent Americans and rejected the government’s invocation of the state secrets privilege to have the case dismissed.”

“Over the last month, we came face-to-face with new details of mass, untargeted collection of phone and Internet records, substantially confirmed by the Director of National Intelligence.”

“Today’s decision sets the stage for finally getting a ruling that can stop the dragnet surveillance and restore Americans’ constitutional rights.”

In his ruling, Judge White said the heart of EFF’s suit isn’t a state secret. Classified details can be litigated. FISA Act provisions apply.

“Congress intended for FISA to displace the common law rules such as the state secrets privilege with regard to matter within FISA’s purview,” he explained.  EFF suits target lawless NSA spying. Millions of ordinary Americans are affected. Government officials remain unaccountable. Hard evidence document’s what’s intolerable.

“We will continue to push Congress to rein in unconstitutional surveillance,” said EFF. It’s Stopwatching.us campaign continues.  It targets police state lawlessness. It persists. It’s worse than ever. It threatens freedom everywhere. Occupy Wall Street is right. The only solution is world revolution. Regime change begins at home. It’s a national priority. It’s essential. The stakes are too high. Challenging extrajudicial authority’s essential.

Electoral politics doesn’t work. It never did. It doesn’t now. Monied interests rule. Politicians are bought like toothpaste. Duopoly power runs America. Vital change is necessary. Popular struggles matter. Sustained commitment works. Collective activism has power. What better time to use it than now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached atlendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.  His new book is titled “Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

By Bill Van Auken, wsws.org

The video above, prepared by an anti-corporate organization, presents a collage of recent sightings of police-military joint maneuvers probably designed to accustom soldiers and the population to such intrusions. 

This week’s deployment of Blackhawk helicopters in Chicago is only the latest in a series of “urban warfare training” exercises that have become a familiar feature of American life.

As elsewhere, this exercise was sprung unannounced on a startled civilian population. Conducted in secrecy, apparently with the collusion of local police agencies and elected officials, Democrats and Republicans alike, the ostensible purpose of these exercises is to give US troops experience in what Pentagon doctrine refers to as “Military Operations on Urban Terrain.”

The Army operates a 1,000 acre Urban Training Center in south-central Indiana that boasts over 1,500 “training structures” designed to simulate houses, schools, hospitals and factories. The center’s web site states that it “can be tailored to replicate both foreign and domestic scenarios.”

What does flying Blackhawks low over Chicago apartment buildings or rolling armored military convoys through the streets of St. Louis accomplish that cannot be achieved through the sprawling training center’s simulations? Last year alone, there were at least seven such exercises, including in Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Tampa, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Creeds, Virginia.

The most obvious answer is that these exercises accustom troops to operating in US cities, while desensitizing the American people to the domestic deployment of US military might.

Preparations for such deployments are already far advanced. Over the past decade, under the pretext of prosecuting a “global war on terror,” Washington has enacted a raft of repressive legislation and created a vast new bureaucracy of state control under the Department of Homeland Security. Under the Obama administration, the White House has claimed the power to throw enemies of the state into indefinite military detention or even assassinate them on US soil by means of drone strikes, while radically expanding electronic spying on the American population.

Part of this process has been the ceaseless growth of the power of the US military and its increasing intervention into domestic affairs. In 2002, the creation of the US Northern Command for the first time dedicated a military command to operations within the US itself.

Just last May, the Pentagon announced the implementation of new rules of engagement for US military forces operating on American soil to provide “support” to “civilian law enforcement authorities, including responses to civil disturbances.”

The document declares sweeping and unprecedented military powers under a section entitled “Emergency Authority.” It asserts the authority of a “federal military commander” in “extraordinary emergency circumstances where prior authorization by the president is impossible and duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situation, to engage temporarily in activities that are necessary to quell large-scale, unexpected civil disturbances.” In other words, the Pentagon brass claims the unilateral authority to impose martial law.

These powers are not being asserted for the purpose of defending the US population against terrorism or to counter some hypothetical emergency. The US military command is quite conscious of where the danger lies.

In a recent article, a senior instructor at the Fort Leavenworth Command and General Staff College and former director of the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies laid out a telling scenario for a situation in which the military could intervene.

“The Great Recession of the early twenty-first century lasts far longer than anyone anticipated. After a change in control of the White House and Congress in 2012, the governing party cuts off all funding that had been dedicated to boosting the economy or toward relief. The United States economy has flatlined, much like Japan’s in the 1990s, for the better part of a decade. By 2016, the economy shows signs of reawakening, but the middle and lower-middle classes have yet to experience much in the way of job growth or pay raises. Unemployment continues to hover perilously close to double digits …”

In other words, the Pentagon sees these conditions—which differ little from what exists in the US today—producing social upheavals that can be quelled only by means of military force.

What is being upended, behind the scenes and with virtually no media coverage, much less public debate, are constitutional principles dating back centuries that bar the use of the military in civilian law enforcement. In the Declaration of Independence itself, the indictment justifying revolution against King George included the charge that he had “affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.”

Side by side with the rising domestic power of the military, the supposedly civilian police have been militarized. An article published by the Wall Street Journal last weekend entitled “The Rise of the Warrior Cop” graphically described this process:

“Driven by martial rhetoric and the availability of military-style equipment—from bayonets and M-16 rifles to armored personnel carriers—American police forces have often adopted a mind-set previously reserved for the battlefield. The war on drugs and, more recently, post-9/11 antiterrorism efforts have created a new figure on the US scene: the warrior cop—armed to the teeth, ready to deal harshly with targeted wrongdoers, and a growing threat to familiar American liberties.”

The article describes the vast proliferation of SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) units to virtually every town in America, fueled by some $35 billion in grants from the Department of Homeland Security, “with much of the money going to purchase military gear such as armored personnel carriers.”

This armed force was on full display in April when what amounted to a state of siege was imposed on the city of Boston, ostensibly to capture one teenage suspect. The entire population of a major American city was locked in their homes as combat-equipped police, virtually indistinguishable from troops, occupied the streets and conducted warrantless house-to-house searches.

Underlying this unprecedented militarization of US society are two parallel processes. The immense widening of the social chasm separating the billionaires and multi-millionaires who control economic and political life from American working people, the great majority of the population, is fundamentally incompatible with democracy and requires other forms of rule. At the same time, the turn to militarism as the principal instrument of US foreign policy has vastly increased the power of the military within the US state apparatus.

Both America’s ruling oligarchy and the Pentagon command recognize that profound social polarization and deepening economic crisis must give rise to social upheavals. They are preparing accordingly.

The working class must draw the appropriate conclusions and make its own political preparations for the inevitable confrontations to come.

Bill Van Auken is a senior member of the Social Equality Party, publisher of wsws.org. 

By Chris Hedges

By Stephen Lendman

He’s an environmental/animal rights activist. A previous article discussed him. He was victimized by “green scare.” It refers to legal and extralegal government actions against animal liberation and environmental activists. In October 2001, the USA Patriot Act created the federal crime of “domestic terrorism.” It applies to US citizens and aliens.

It was used against McGowan. It was done disgracefully. He’s no terrorist. He wasunjustly charged with multiple criminal counts. They included:

“unlawfully and willfully caus(ing) and aid(ing), abett(ing), counsel(ing), command(ing), induc(ing), and procur(ing) the malicious damaging and destroying, by means of fire and an explosive, of a building and other real and personal property used in interstate commerce and used in activities affecting interstate commerce, namely, a building and its contents located at Superior Lumber Company (Oregon).”

He pled guilty to minor arson charges. He did so conditionally. He wanted no one else implicated.  He said “actions were not those of (a) terrorist but of a concerned young man who was deeply troubled by the destruction of Oregon’s beautiful old-growth forests and the dangers of genetically modified trees.”

He knows participating in two actions involving “burning things down (violated his) visions or belief about how to create a better world. So (he) stopped committing these crimes.”

He “never intended to hurt people.” He expressed “great remorse.” He did so “for the harm (he) caused.”

He was unjustly treated like a hardened criminal. On June 4, 2007, he got seven years hard time.  He should have gotten nothing more than a reprimand, perhaps a suspended sentence, probation, and an appropriate fine.  Not in America. Police states don’t operate that way. For sure not this one. Cruel and unusual punishment is standard practice.

Last December, McGowan was freed. He was sent to a halfway house for six months. He was placed under supervisory release for three years. He was held at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI), Terre Haute, IN. He was in its Communication Management Unit (CMU). It’s for “high-security risk” prisoners.

It’s mainly for Muslim political ones. Others like McGowan are sent there to make it look otherwise. It’s exceptionally harsh. Prisoner rights are denied. Inmates are separated from the general prison population. It’s done punitively. They’re treated like terrorists. Their outside contacts are limited. They’re closely monitored. They’re treated harshly.

Cruel and unusual punishment is standard practice. Viciousness defines it. Leniency’s denied.  Bureau of Prisons rules don’t apply. Nor do US statutes and Supreme Court decisions. Authorities do what they please.

Prisoners have no say. They’re at their mercy. They get none. On April 4, McGowan was rearrested and jailed. Center for Constitutional Rights lawyers represented him. They said it was because of an article he wrote.

Their statement elaborated, saying:

He was “released from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where he was taken into custody yesterday and is back at the halfway house where he has been residing since his release from prison in December.”

“Yesterday, Daniel was given an ‘incident report’ indicating that his Huffington Post blog post, ‘Court Documents Prove I Was Sent to Communication Management Units (CMU) for My Political Speech,’ violated a BOP regulation prohibiting inmates from ‘publishing under a byline.’ “

“The BOP regulation in question was declared unconstitutional by a federal court in 2007, and eliminated by the BOP in 2010.”

“After we brought this to the BOP’s attention, the incident report was expunged.”

They called BOP retaliation against him “an outrage.”  McGowan got CMU hard time for writing articles and letters about animal rights. His constitutional rights were violated. On April 4, he was jailed again briefly. He was released on condition he’d sacrifice his First Amendment rights. He was told no more articles.

According to CCR, it’s a “made-up rule applied only to Daniel.” It’s a “further attempt to chill his freedom of speech.”

On June 5, he was released from halfway house confinement. He’s free under supervised release. “I am out of the reach of the Bureau of Prisons,” he said. He’s working as a receptionist for a law firm. He and other plaintiffs sued the federal Bureau of Prisons (Aref, et al v. Holder). They challenged CMU practices and conditions.

They’re illegal. They violate BOP rules. They spurn Supreme Court decisions. They disregard common decency. It doesn’t matter.  In March 2010, their case was filed in US District Court for the District of Columbia. In November 2012, they got permission to amend their complaint. They included damages against Les Smith. He heads BOP’s Counterterrorism Unit. He recommended plaintiffs be harshly treated. He wanted them held in CMU confinement.

He cited their political activism and religious beliefs. Five plaintiffs sued. So did two of their wives.  The five were classified low or medium security. Their disciplinary histories were clean. They committed no infractions.

They were treated like hardened criminals. It was vicious. It was unjustifiable. They deserved better. They were denied. They shouldn’t have been imprisoned. It didn’t matter. They got hard time. Police states operate that way. Five original plaintiffs sued. They became three. It’s now one. McGowan and three others were denied.

On July 15, the Center for Constitutional Rights headlined “Former Prisoner’s First Amendment Claims Dismissed Under ‘Second Class System of Justice.’ BOP Not Liable for Retaliation Against Activist Daniel McGowan,” saying:

“We are deeply disappointed by the court’s dismissal of Daniel McGowan’s claims against the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).”

“Mr. McGowan was designated, and then re-designated, to the Communications Management Units (CMU) in blatant retaliation for his political speech and activities.”

“At the CMUs, he had severely restricted access to telephone calls and social visits – including a total ban on contact visits with his loved ones.”

“Once he had been released to a halfway house, the BOP once again retaliated against Mr. McGowan, unconstitutionally placing him in federal custody days after he published blog piece about the CMUs on the Huffington Post.”

“While our claims challenging broad due process violations at the CMUs will proceed, Aref v. Holder also sought accountability for these acts of retaliation against protected First Amendment activity.”

“Now, the court has held that, while non-prisoners may sue under these circumstances, the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) bars Mr. McGowan’s damages claims because he was not subjected to physical harm.”

“CCR condemns the second class system of justice created by the PLRA, which places unjust hurdles between prisoners and redress for constitutional violations. We will continue to vigorously pursue our case against the BOP.”

McGowan expressed disappointment, saying:

“That my claims can be dismissed on what amounts to a technicality is just a sad example of how badly our system of justice works.”

“The PLRA (Prison Litigation Reform Act) essentially states that prisoners cannot seek relief from the courts for emotional or mental injuries, only physical injuries. There is something very gross and unjust about that.”

“After spending 48 months in the CMU, I’m appalled that I will not get my day in court and be able to testify about what it is like to live in those conditions and the severe impact CMU designation has on one’s family and community ties.”

Justice in America denies it. Thousands of political prisoners fill its gulag. It’s by far the world’s largest.  America’s most vulnerable are victimized. Due process and judicial fairness are spurned. Habeas rights are quaint and out-of-date. Guilt by accusation is policy. Victims are imprisoned for supporting what’s right.

An earlier article called America’s gulag the shame of the nation. It’s for good reason. It’s that and much more. It violates fundamental rule of law, ethical and moral standards. They don’t apply.

Diktat power decides. Authorities make their own rules. They do so extrajudicially. It’s the American way. It’s longstanding. It’s unconscionable. It’s standard practice.  Fundamental rights are systematically denied. People are treated like yesterday’s garbage. Victims suffer horrifically.

Justice doesn’t apply. It’s a four-letter word. It’s spurned. Police states operate that way. America’s by far the worst.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour