At his confirmation hearing on Thursday, President Barack Obama’s nominee for CIA director refused to state whether or not waterboarding was a form of torture.
Daily Archives: 7. Februar 2013
Senate Committee Hears from CIA Director Nominee
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) stopped the hearing about 20 minutes in to clear the room after several outbursts from protesters seemed likely to delay the hearing. Members of the public wishing to return to the hearing had to be screened by Capitol Police.
Code Pink Protestors Force Suspension Of Brennan Confirmation Hearing
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Joe Scarborough Accuses Obama Of Acting Like An `American King` With His Drone Policy
„An American king who actually gets the list of people who he decides who should be killed and who should not be killed and he goes down that list. There are so many things that are chilling here,” Scarborough said.
Nearly Half of All US Farms Now Have Superweeds
Back in 2011, such weeds were already spreading fast. „Monsanto‘s ‚Superweeds‘ Gallop Through Midwest,“ declared the headline of a post I wrote then. What‘s the word you use when an already-galloping horse speeds up? Because that‘s what‘s happening. Let‘s try this: „Monsanto‘s ‚Superweeds‘ Stampede Through Midwest.“
DN! Part 2: Daniel Ellsberg and Jacob Appelbaum on the NDAA, WikiLeaks and Unconstitutional Surveillance
As a lawsuit challenging a law that gives the government the power to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens is back in federal court this week, we continue our conversation with perhaps the country’s most famous whistleblower, Daniel Ellsberg, and computer security researcher, Jacob Appelbaum, who is also a former Wikileaks volunteer.
Brennan Defends Counterterrorism Policies at Hearing
Protesters briefly disrupted the confirmation hearing for John O. Brennan, President Obama’s nominee to be C.I.A. director, on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
Russian Flyover Prompts Japanese Fighter Jet Scramble As Abe Opens Second `Disputed Island` Front
While the collapse in China-Japan foreign relations (and subsequently, and much more importantly, trade) over a handful of islands in the East China Sea and strategically located near potentially vast maritime oil and gas reserves is by now well-known to everyone, what may come as a surprise is that while Japan is engaged in one mini cold war over disputed rocks with China, none other than Russia tested the waters overnight so to speak, with a fighter jet flyover above yet another set of disputed islands, the Kuriles located in the far north of Japan.
Panetta defends military response in Libya attack
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., asked whether Panetta and Dempsey would describe the Benghazi incident as an „intelligence failure.“
Panetta stopped short of using that term, saying simply that „some of the initial assessments were not on the money.“ Dempsey called it an „intelligence gap.“
Protesters interrupt CIA nominee Brennan hearing
The chairman of a Senate committee recessed John Brennan‘s CIA confirmation hearing and cleared the room after protesters persistently interrupted the proceedings.
Obama Gives Himself Permission To Kill
Did you consent to a government that can kill whom it wishes? How about one that plays tricks on federal judges? How long will it be before the presidential killing comes home?
CDU steht nach Alkoholfahrt zu Busemann
Der Justizminister hatte selbst eine 0,3- statt der aktuellen 0,5-Promille-Grenze gefordert. Um darauf aufmerksam zu machen, wie schnell der Alkoholpegel steigen kann, lud er vor etwa zwei Jahren zum Selbstversuch und kam dabei auf etwa 0,6 Promille. Damals hatte er an die Autofahrer appelliert, bei Alkoholgenuss den Wagen grundsätzlich stehen zu lassen.
Michael Moore asks citizens to stand up to Obama’s ‘dangerous’ erosion of civil liberties
The case has been brought against a little known piece of legislation called the National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA) which critics say has been changed to grant Obama the power to indefinitely detain American citizens without charge.
EZB-Hilfe erspart Irland Milliarden
Die irische Zentralbank warf die Notenpresse an und gewährte Anglo Kredite. (..)
Insgesamt gab Irland Schuldscheine in Höhe von 31 Milliarden Euro aus. (..)
Die Notes werden durch eine irische Staatsanleihe ersetzt, die die Zentralbank in Dublin erhalten wird.
Der Effekt: Anstatt jährlicher Rückzahlungen wird die Anleihe erst ab 2038 bedient.
Fracking soll in der Bundesrepublik zugelassen werden
Berlin. Die Bundesregierung plant eine einheitliche Regelung bei erfolgreicher Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung für das sogenannte Fracking. Am 31. Januar wurde dieses durch die schwarz-gelbe Koalition beschlossen, nachdem bereits am 5. Dezember im Bundesrat ein entsprechender Beschluss gefasst wurde. Die Länder kritisieren die Fördermethode.
Weil aber das Bergrecht Angelegenheit des Bundes ist, hat bei einer entsprechenden Änderung für die Freigabe, an bestimmten Orten Erdgas zu fördern, auch der Freistaat kein Mitspracherecht. Der Bund erhofft sich, unabhängiger von Rohstoff-Importen zu werden und mittelfristig die Preise im Energiebereich zu senken.
Decade After Iraq WMD Speech at UN, Ex-Powell Aide Lawrence Wilkerson Debates Author Norman Solomon
Ten years ago this week, a defining moment occurred in the Bush administration’s push to invade Iraq. On Feb. 5, 2003, then-Secretary of State General Colin Powell addressed the United Nations Security Council. His message was clear: Iraq possessed extremely dangerous weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein was systematically trying to deceive U.N. inspectors by hiding prohibited weapons.
Government: Project Red ‚means €20bn less in borrowings‘
– At least €1bn less in taxes and spending cuts will be needed up to 2015.
– The final bond will not mature until 2054.
The arrangement, unanimously backed by ECB chiefs at their meeting in Frankfurt, cancels annual debt repayments of €3.1bn next month and every March for the next 10 years for the collapse of Anglo.
Kenny says ECB deal could cut borrowing by €20 billion
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the agreement was not a silver bullet but declared that it would reduce state borrowing by €20 billion over the next decade.
“Step-by-step, this Government is undoing the disastrous banking policies that brought this state to the brink of national bankruptcy,” the Taoiseach said.
Frostige Stimmung bei EU-Gipfel: Treffen in Brüssel ohne Kompromisspapier begonnen
Die europäischen Staats- und Regierungschefs haben Donnerstag Abend mit großer Verspätung ihre Verhandlungen über den künftigen EU-Finanzrahmen begonnen.
Fox News credibility at record low
Additionally, Fox News featured Dick Morris, a former pollster and advisor to Bill Clinton who redefined himself as a Republican analyst and operator. Using his fame and publicity, he solicited money for his super PAC and may have contributed to the channel’s credibility loss.
Will Congress and Law Enforcement Let Email Providers Keep Protecting Americans’ Privacy?
The Hill broke a fascinating story last week: many major email providers are already requiring a warrant for the content of the communications they hold. What you say, this doesn‘t sound fascinating at all? It really is—just bear with me.
Dear Bill Kristol: More People Than You Thought Are Vulgar, Disgusting and Far-Left
(05.01.) I just sent this to Bill Kristol, the editor of the Weekly Standard magazine and one of the most influential advocates of our invasion of Iraq. He posted something this morning about my post where I found an old quote from Chuck Hagel about how the Iraq War is all about the oil. I‘ll let you know when Bill gets back to me. (If you don‘t know much about Bill, you can find a good introduction here about his pre-war debate with Daniel Ellsberg.)
Draghi aalglatt zum Banken-Skandal: „Der übliche Lärm einer Wahl in Italien“
Angesprochen auf die Frage, ob er den Skandal um die italienische Bank unter den Teppich gekehrt habe, um sich seine Chancen beim Wechsel von der italienischen Zentralbank hin zur EZB nicht zu verderben, antwortet Draghi: „Ich will im italienischen Wahlkampf keine Partei ergreifen, aber Sie sollten alles, was Sie darüber lesen, als üblichen Lärm einer italienischen Wahl bewerten.“
Penelope Soto, Miami Teen, Flips Off Judge And Gets A Month In Jail or 10,000$ Bail
According to Local 10, the teen was arrested Sunday evening after telling police she crashed her bike while high on the prescription drug.
John Brennan and John Kiriakou: how to get ahead in the CIA, and how not to
Kiriakou, who blew the whistle on CIA waterboarding, goes to prison, while Brennan, who approved it, is set to lead the agency
Wir möchten da galanten Widerspruch anmelden, Herr Lanzmann.
http://t.co/vVOchkVu
„Die Utopien sind tot, auch die schönen“
Lanzmann: ..Die Utopien sind tot, auch die schönen.
STANDARD: Für immer?
Lanzmann: Ich glaube schon. Das Verlangen nach Utopien ist die Essenz des Menschen, aber sinnvoll zu leben ist schwierig.
Another Terrible Idea From Russia: Using Whitelists To Control Access To The Internet
Techdirt has been reporting on a steady stream of bad tech ideas coming out of Russia, including content monitoring, banning children from using WiFi, anti-piracy laws requiring takedowns in 24 hours and — of course — site blocking. But such blacklists are too permissive for some Russians: over on Google+, Peter Lemenkov pointed out that one region is now introducing whitelists (original in Russian):
Veterans and Former Government Officials Sign Letter Calling for Rejection of John Brennan as Director of the CIA
A Call from former Military Personnel and Government Officials to Reject Nomination of John Brennan as Director of the CIA
‚Obama‘s anti-terror policy most dangerous for Americans‘
For more analysis on Barack Obama‘s pick for CIA head and his upcoming confirmation hearing RT talked to John Glaser, senior editor at Antiwar dot com.
Nach Hacker-Angriff und Kritik: Aus für „peerblog“
teinkühler wollte mit „peerblog.de“ nach Vorbild des US-Wahlkampfs für Steinbrück bloggen. Laut „Spiegel“ haben fünf Unternehmer eine sechsstellige Summe zur Verfügung gestellt. Die Spender waren anonym, was von Grünen, Linkspartei und Anti-Korruptionsgruppen kritisiert wurde. Der Bundestag hatte eine Prüfung angekündigt.
Stuttgart 21Bahn-Vorstand Kefer kommt unter Druck
Fragen zur Zukunft von Vorstand Volker Kefer? Die Antwort kommt wie aus der Pistole geschossen: „Kein Kommentar“, heißt es momentan in der Zentrale der Deutschen Bahn AG in Berlin. Die Sache Kefer gilt als Tabu in diesen Tagen. „Darüber reden wir nicht einmal innerhalb des Hauses“, gesteht der Mitarbeiter.
Beratungen über EU-Finanzen: Cameron droht mit Scheitern des Gipfeltreffens
Nach dem gescheiterten Gipfeltreffen im November haben die europäischen Staats- und Regierungschefs am Donnerstag in Brüssel abermals mit den Beratungen über die künftigen EU-Finanzen begonnen. Es wurden schwierige Verhandlungen erwartet. Die Sitzung soll mindestens bis diesen Freitag dauern.