national security

Big Banks Move Into Uranium Mining, Petroleum Products, Aluminum, Ownership and Operation Of Airports, Toll Roads, and Ports, and Electricity

The Osama Bin Laden raid was suspect from the very beginning.  Not only were key initial descriptions of the assault completely incorrect (such as him being armed and his wife being killed), but the manner in which his body was rapidly tossed into the ocean was beyond bizarre... even Tony Soprano keeps a body longer than that. Well it seems the “most transparent administration ever” has made sure that the American public never receives any information beyond the propaganda of Zero Dark Thirty.

Looking at the banners in the massive Egyptian protests last week, we saw many anti-American slogans. Likewise, the Muslim Brotherhood-led government that was deposed by the military last week was very critical of what it saw as US support for the coup. Why is it that all sides in this Egyptian civil war seem so angry with the United States? Because the United States has at one point or another supported each side, which means also that at some point the US has also opposed each side. It is the constant meddling in Egyptian affairs that has turned Egyptians against us, as we would resent foreign intervention in our own affairs. So, successive US administrations over the decades have supported all sides in Egypt, from dictator to demonstrator to military. There is only one side that the US government has never supported: our side.

EU-US trade talks: they were said to have died a slow and painful death (by surveillance) just a few weeks ago when it was revealed by the National security Agency whistleblower (Edward Snowden)

The next American Revolution will not be an event, it will be a process. We naturally turn to the past for templates of the future, but history has a way of remaining remarkably unpredictable. Indeed, all the conventional long-range forecasts made in 1900, 1928, 1958, 1988 and 2000 missed virtually every key development--not just in the distant future, but just a few years out. The point is that extrapolating the present into the future fails to capture sea changes and developments that completely disrupt the supposedly unchanging, permanent Status Quo. The idea that the next revolution will take a new form does not occur to conventional forecasters, who readily assume the next transition will follow past critical junctures: armed insurrection against the central authority (The first American Revolution, 1781), civil war (1861) or global war (1941). We submit that the next American Revolution circa 2021-23 will not repeat or even echo these past transitions. What seems likely to me is the entire project of centralization that characterized the era 1941-2013 will slip into irrelevance as centralization increasingly yields diminishing returns.

Amid all the barbecues and fireworks today in the Land of the Free, it may be worth a short pause to remember the words of Thomas Jefferson some 237-years ago:  

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,"

"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

By Jefferson’s own standard, it seems rather clear that the government – most governments – have become destructive against their higher purpose: to safeguard the people’s liberty.

Today shouldn’t be a celebration... it should be a memorial service. Or at least a time to reflect heavily – when will enough finally be enough? When will it be time to act?

This weekend's epic indignation by Francois Hollande at the NSA, coupled with his laughable ultimatum for Barack Obama to stop spying, was almost good enough to mask the fact that none other than France has its own version of the NSA happily intercepting and recording every form of electronic communication. Almost. Overnight French Le Monde reported that "France, like the United States with the Prism system, has a large-scale espionage telecommunications device. Le Monde is able to reveal that the General Directorate for External Security (DGSE, special services) has systematically collected and spied on the electromagnetic signals emitted by computers or phones in France, as well as flows between French and abroad all our communications. Politicians are aware of this, but secrecy about the Big Brother operation is the rule."

As I have said since the Egyptian revolution, the United States supports a set of core principles, including opposition to violence, protection of universal human rights, and reform that meets the legitimate aspirations of the people. The United States does not support particular individuals or political parties, but we are committed to the democratic process and respect for the rule of law. Since the current unrest in Egypt began, we have called on all parties to work together to address the legitimate grievances of the Egyptian people, in accordance with the democratic process, and without recourse to violence or the use of force....I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President Morsy and his supporters. Given today’s developments, I have also directed the relevant departments and agencies to review the implications under U.S. law for our assistance to the government of Egypt.

Egypt’s Support for Intervention in Syria Was the Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back

The Egypt drama is reaching its inevitable, and largely expected, conclusion. From Reuters:

• EGYPT PRESIDENT'S NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER SAYS MILITARY COUP UNDER WAY
• NO MILITARY COUP CAN SUCCEED AGAINST POPULAR RESISTANCE WITHOUT CONSIDERABLE BLOODSHED -MURSI AIDE
• MURSI ADVISER SAYS EXPECTS ARMY, POLICE VIOLENCE TO REMOVE PRO-MURSI DEMONSTRATORS
• EGYPT BROTHERHOOD SPOKESMAN SAYS TANKS ON STREETS, VIA TWITTER
• SEVERAL HUNDRED EGYPTIAN SOLDIERS, TOGETHER WITH ARMOURED VEHICLES, PERFORM MILITARY PARADE ON MAIN ROAD NEAR PRESIDENTIAL PALACE - REUTERS WITNESS

In other words, if Morsi leaves, you get a Civil War.

• Portuguese bond yields soar amid political turmoil (FT)
• Portugal Resignation Rocks European Markets (WSJ)
• Portugal, Greece risk reawakening euro zone beast (Reuters)
• Egypt’s military chiefs hold crisis meeting as Mursi snubs ultimatum (Al Arabiya)
• Egypt Crisis Deepens as Mursi Refuses to Step Down (BBG)
• Hidden microphone found in London embassy: Ecuador (AFP)
• Health Law Penalties Delayed (WSJ)
• Rise in mortgage rates cut into homebuyer demand last week (Reuters)
• Bolivia angered by search of president's plane, no sign of Snowden (Reuters)
• Olympus ex-chairman gets suspended sentence (FT)

In the Oval Office on May 16, 1973, Mr. Buzhardt told Nixon about his discussions with the deputy director of the National Security Agency, Louis W. Tordella, about the Huston plan. The N.S.A. conducts international electronic eavesdropping, but like the C.I.A., it is not supposed to spy on Americans at home.

''Anything the N.S.A. did is totally defensible,'' Nixon said, referring to the Huston plan.

Mr. Buzhardt replied: ''They move into a broader category with respect to domestic affairs'' -- an illegal realm.

''What do you mean?'' Nixon asked. ''Electronic surveillance?''

Mr. Buzhardt replied, ''Yes, sir, targeting U.S. citizens' conversations.''

• Egypt on the edge after Mursi rebuffs army ultimatum (Reuters)
• Inside China's Bank-Rate Missteps (WSJ)
• Obama Urges Morsi to Respond to Protesters' Concerns (WSJ)
• How Fed’s 7% Jobless Avoids Deterring Bondholders Is Mystery (BBG)
• Obama Joins With Political Foe Bush at End of Africa Trip (BBG)
• China may introduce deposit insurance by year-end (China Daily)
• China’s Slowdown Could Slam Hong Kong (BBG)
• Government 'to ask Rothschild to advise on RBS split' (Telegraph)
• Martin Feldstein: The Fed Should Start to 'Taper' Now (WSJ)

From massive NSA spying, to IRS targeting of the administration's political opponents, to collection and sharing of our health care information as part of Obamacare, it seems every day we learn of another assault on our privacy. Sadly, this week the Senate took another significant, if little-noticed, step toward creating an authoritarian surveillance state. Buried in the immigration bill is a national identification system called mandatory E-Verify.