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Snowden asylum deal with Ecuador DOA - the intrigue
Michael Collins
President Rafael Correa changed his tune on Edward Snowden's appeal for asylum after talking with Vice President Joe Biden.
Ecuador is not considering Edward Snowden's asylum request and never intended to facilitate his flight from Hong Kong, president Rafael Correa said as the whistleblower made a personal plea to Quito for his case to be heard.
Snowden was Russia's responsibility and would have to reach Ecuadorean territory before the country would consider any asylum request, the president said in an interview with the Guardian on Monday.
"Are we responsible for getting him to Ecuador? It's not logical. The country that has to give him a safe conduct document is Russia."
I wonder what deal Correa made to abandon the initial offer. It looked like he was preparing to grant asylum having dropped out of a trade pact with the United States in anticipation of problems while he considered asylum or if he granted it. Image: Mike Herbst
Whistleblower Russell Tice Tells More
by Stephen Lendman
Edward Snowden hopes his revelations embolden others to come forward. Tice did years earlier.
He's a former Office of Naval Intelligence/Defense Intelligence Agency/NSA analyst. His career spanned 20 years.
In December 2005, he accused NSA and DIA of unconstitutionally wiretapping US citizens. He got national attention, saying:
"Everyone at NSA knew what they were doing was illegal, because it’s drilled into our heads over and over that it’s against NSA policy, that you do not do that. The choice is to speak out and get fired."
Mass Protests Rock Egypt
by Stephen Lendman
Washington engineered Hosni Mubarak's ouster. He fell from grace. He opposed Obama's regional agenda. It cost him dearly.
He became more liability than asset. Mohammed Morsi replaced him. He's Washington's man in Egypt. Hard line rule continues.
Morsi's its public face. Egypt's anti-democratic tradition persists. Junta power rules. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) runs things.
Politicians serve them. Elections don't matter. They provide a veneer of democratic change. It's illusory. It's fake. It's not real. Wealth, power and privilege are served. Popular interests go begging. Washington wields enormous influence.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Wrongfully Indicted
by Stephen Lendman
On June 27, federal grand jurors indicted him on 30 counts. They did so disgracefully.
Charges include:
"use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and conspiracy;
- bombing of a place of public use resulting in death and conspiracy;
- malicious destruction of property resulting in death and conspiracy;
- use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence;
- use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death;
- carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury;
- interference with commerce by threats or violence; and
- aiding and abetting."
Tsarnaev also faces 15 Massachusetts charges.
America: Government by Terror, Torture and Tyranny
by Stephen Lendman
America governs lawlessly. Out-of-control rogues run things. Conditions go from bad to worse. Tyranny threatens everyone. So does possible global war.
Fear-mongering, saber rattling, hot wars, proxy ones, drone ones, geopolitical ones, financial ones, anti-populist ones, mass incarceration, censorship, lawless sanctions, subversion, sabotage, targeted assassinations, mass murder, cyberwar, and horrific draconian harshness reflect out-of control governance gone mad.
Lying is official policy. So is state terror. Independent governments aren't tolerated. They're targeted. Regime change is prioritized. World peace is threatened. Humanity's menaced. Survival's uncertain.
Daily revelations explain more. War is called peace. State-sponsored assassins are called freedom fighters. Real ones are called terrorists.
More Evidence of Lawless US Spying
by Stephen Lendman
Post-9/11, unprecedented domestic spying began. It did so extrajudicially. It continues under Obama. It's institutionalized. It's warrantless. It's unconstitutional.
It doesn't matter. It's sweeping and all-embracing. It prioritizes everyone Washington wants monitored. Phone calls, emails, web sites visited, and other personal information is routinely collected.
Doing so reflects police state lawlessness writ large. It's official US policy. Constitutional protections don't matter. Government by diktats supersede them. Alleged national security priorities don't wash. They're fabricated to justify policy.
Texas: America's State-Sponsored Execution Capital
by Stephen Lendman
In 1972, the Supreme Court's Furman v. Georgia ruling banned capital punishment, saying:
"(T)he imposition and carrying out of the death penalty constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments."
Doing so is "harsh, freakish, and arbitrary." It's constitutionally "unacceptable."
Forty state death penalty statutes were voided. Over 600 death row inmates nationwide were spared.
In Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the High Court reversed its earlier ruling. It called capital punishment not inherently cruel. It's "an extreme sanction, suitable to the most extreme of crimes." It said so irresponsibly. More on that below.
Obama is as embarrassing as Bush
President Barack Obama's unrelenting warrior spirit and paranoia over leaks of any kind raise this question: Has he become as embarrassing as George W. Bush?
One of the media myths about Ronald Reagan was that he made us feel better about our country. That's such trash. I don't need anybody to make me feel good about my country and fellow citizens. Like tens of millions of others, I can do that on my own based on what I see every day. The vast majority of people of this country are terrific. Unfortunately, thanks to the influence of big money and sketchy elections, the leaders suck.
While my attitude toward the country is uninfluenced by political leaders, I admit that every now and then I feel embarrassed to have the latest charade as president of the United States. I thought that George W. Bush would hold the embarrassment title forever; have his jersey hoisted into the rafters of the big political field house as the all time embarrassment. He could barely speak. He strung sentences together that were often unrelated. He had his own dyslexicon that showed his Freudian slips on a regular basis. (Image)
Senate Passes Racist Immigration Bill
by Stephen Lendman
On June 27, S. 744: Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (BSEOIMA) passed. House members address it next.
On June 28, The New York Times headlined "Senate, 68 to 32, Passes Overhaul for Immigration," saying:
Senators approved "the most significant overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws in a generation with broad support generated by a sense among leading Republicans that the party needed to join with Democrats to remove a wedge between Republicans and Hispanic voters."
Iran's Peaceful Nuclear Program
by Stephen Lendman
Iran complies fully with NPT provisions. Nothing suggests otherwise. It's program is legal and non-military. Washington, other Western nations and Israel know it. They maliciously claim otherwise.
Iranian President-Elect Hassan Rohani promises transparency and outreach. He prioritizes peace and reconciliation. According to the Tehran Times, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi said:
"The Islamic Republic of Iran’s principles and values of foreign policy are unchangeable, and what changes in practice is methods and styles, and as Mr. Rohani said, (the protection of) Iranian nation’s rights is the criterion, and any government in any situation is committed to defending them."
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