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"Pakistani authorities have long denounced the strikes, out of concern that civilian deaths caused by drone strikes inflame the local population, bolster militant groups and violate Pakistan’s sovereignty." - CNN [2], July 26

"Analysts said the administration was still grappling with the fact that drones remained the crucial instrument for going after terrorists in Yemen and Pakistan — yet speaking about them publicly could generate a backlash in those countries because of issues like civilian casualties." – New York Times [3], Aug. 2

Oh, the serious news! I read it with ever-fresh incredulity. It’s written for gamers. It reduces us to gamers as it updates us on the latest bends and twists in the geopolitical scene. We’re still playing War on Terror, the aim of which is to kill as many insurgents as possible; when they’re all dead, we win (apparently). The trick is to avoid inflaming the locals, who then transition out of passive irrelevance and join the insurgency. They get inflamed when we kill civilians, such as their children.

The anonymous browser TOR is the most popular end user security tool in the world. Using this browser allows people to surf the internet anonymously. The service is used worldwide to avoid secret police surveillance by dissidents living under repressive regimes in places like Syria, Turkey and the United States. It is also used by hackers and others to conceal their identities. According to Wired Magazine's security blog “Threat Level,” the service was compromised by a hack Sunday night.

The malware inserted itself into the browser via a compromised website and immediately began broadcasting the infected computer's MAC address, user name, IP address, and any websites visited subsequently to an IP address in Herndon Virginia owned by Verizon and block leased to SAIC, a major defense and intelligence contractor.

With the closing of American embassies across the Middle East and Africa, the latest terror threat emanating from Yemen is severe enough to give U.S. security officials pause. In the meantime, as many people curiously seek out Yemen on a world map, we might ask ourselves why a terror threat this serious should arise from such a small player on the world stage. As the United States has withdrawn its troops from Iraq and plans an organized withdraw from Afghanistan, this broad security threat against American diplomatic posts seems unwarranted at the very least, and still has nothing whatever to do with Yemen.

After suffering another loss on the national stage in 2012 the Republican Party seemed ready for a period of serious reflection. Thereafter, Republicans in the House of Representatives re-launched their numerous attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and reassured the American people that any real immigration reform is out of the question. Both political maneuvers call into question the earnestness of that reflective period after the 2012 Presidential Election. A recent squabble between two Republicans concerning national security and personal privacy, however, has resurrected that period for thoughtful contemplation about the GOP’s future direction.

An interview with Jill Stein, President of the Green Shadow Cabinet: The Green Shadow Cabinet calls on President Obama to pardon Bradley Manning for his courageous work exposing U.S. war crimes and State Department deception. Thanks to Manning’s revelations of Iraqi deaths and human rights abuses by the American military, Iraq refused to renew immunity for U.S. soldiers, forcing President Obama to pull out at the end of 2011. Thus, Manning deserves much of the credit for ending the immoral, devastating, multi-trillion dollar U.S. occupation of Iraq. (read full statement here)
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Harry Truman spoke in the U.S. Senate on June 23, 1941: "If we see that Germany is winning," he said, "we ought to help Russia, and if Russia is winning we ought to help Germany, and that way let them kill as many as possible."

Did Truman value Japanese lives above Russian and German? There is nothing anywhere to suggest that he did. Yet we debate, every August 6th or so, whether Truman was willing to unnecessarily sacrifice Japanese lives in order to scare Russians with his nuclear bombs. He was willing; he was not willing; he was willing. Left out of this debate is the obvious possibility that killing as many Japanese as possible was among Truman's goals.

Americans are just beginning to discover that a secret court has been quietly erasing their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. They are also learning that this court is made up primarily of conservative activists from the Republican Party who have no respect for the original intent of the Constitution’s framers.

With the blessing of this secret court, the National Security Agency (and well-paid companies like Booz Allen) have recorded billions of phone calls and e-mails belonging to nearly all Americans, with the intent of searching them later.

One media pundit described the event as an earthquake caused by so many jaws hitting the floor at once. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos just bought the Washington Post for a cool $250 million. A family owned and operated newspaper for nearly eight decades was just gobbled up for a little more than 1% of Bezos's massive personal fortune.

The Washington Post was the gold standard for investigative journalism in America when it came to national security. It broke the Watergate scandal. It defied Nixon again when it published the Pentagon Papers along with the New York Times. It was an early partner with the Guardian in publishing some of Edward Snowden's revelations, although it seems to have gotten cold feet as of late. Perhaps we are seeing why.

Had Bezos been shopping for just any big marque newspaper he could have picked up the Boston Globe for a paltry $70 million just last month. He is one of the few that could easily outbid the Koch brothers for the LA Times and/or the Chicago Tribune. Big name newspapers are a steal for tech moguls. The Washington Post was what he wanted and the Washington Post is what he got.

Michael Moore and his team of volunteers has again wowed the film industry and viewers with more films, film panels, film school, and film parties than ever before. Moore is committed to making the festival more accessible to all viewing guests and had several free film screenings as well as free panels and discussions. As Moore described, "This year we worked harder than ever to provide a fun and affordable festival for everyone, no matter their budget. We want everyone to be able to enjoy just great movies in the one of the most beautiful areas of the country."

And "Just Great Movies" were exactly that. From documentaries on Afghanistan, Gore Vidal, Nixon, and Nuclear Energy, the film festival viewers were changed and intrigued by the in-depth and thoughtful presentations. Narrative films such as "Kon Tiki", "Much Ado About Nothing," and "Bypass" among many others thrilled the viewers with their humor and sexy style.

My, my. The coverup starts in the Metro section lead which begins, “[Franklin] County election officials say they think a clerical error is to blame for 19 Columbus police officers having their voting addresses listed as the Downtown police headquarters.”

Now, if a lower-class black male had used his work address as a voting address, and tried to vote in the inner-city Driving Park area, the headline would have read: “Massive voter fraud uncovered in urban inner-city precinct: ACORN is suspected.”

It is a fifth-degree felony to intentionally register to vote at your work address instead of your residence. The police might enforce the laws, but it doesn’t mean they obey them.

As the Dispatch pointed out, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, who supervises the vote in Ohio, “…isn’t particularly concerned about police officers registering their work address.”

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