Indefinite military detention for U.S. citizens now in the hands of a secretive conference committee

Donny Shaw, OpenCongress.org

If Congress does not pass a Department of Defense Authorization bill that Obama will sign by the end of the year, almost all of the U.S. military’s activities around the world would be jeopardized. At this point, the House and Senate have both passed their versions of the bill (H.R.1540 and S.1867), but they have disagreement on several provisions, including a provision opposed by the Obama Administration that would require the military to indefinitely detain terrorism suspects, including American citizens living in the U.S., without charge or trial.

With the House having voted 406-17 to “close” portions of the meetings and avoid public scrutiny, members from both chambers and both parties are meeting in a secretive conference committee to work on reconciling the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. On the military detention provision, their main task is going to be to find a solution that can pass both chambers (again) and not draw a veto from President Obama.

Contrary to popular perception, the Obama Administration is not strongly opposed to the provisions in the bills that would authorize indefinite military detentions for U.S. citizens. Here’s what the Administration had to say in a Statement of Administrative Policy on the Senate bill:

Section 1031 attempts to expressly codify the detention authority that exists under the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40) (the “AUMF”). The authorities granted by the AUMF, including the detention authority, are essential to our ability to protect the American people from the threat posed by al-Qa’ida and its associated forces, and have enabled us to confront the full range of threats this country faces from those organizations and individuals. Because the authorities codified in this section already exist, the Administration does not believe codification is necessary and poses some risk. After a decade of settled jurisprudence on detention authority, Congress must be careful not to open a whole new series of legal questions that will distract from our efforts to protect the country. While the current language minimizes many of those risks, future legislative action must ensure that the codification in statute of express military detention authority does not carry unintended consequences that could compromise our ability to protect the American people.

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Larry Wilkerson: National Defense Authorization Act that passed the Senate giving the military power for indefinite detention without trial is a draconian violation of our rights

URGENT! A soldier's message to all Americans

A soldier claims she has trained with California police to set-up checkpoints and force vaccinations on the public. Those who refuse will be boarded on a bus and taken to a concentration camp. She includes a photo of an RFID device she claims will be used to track people and materiel. She says the military and police will use electronic bracelets to track the vaccinated.

FEMA camps, the NDAA, and reality

Goldman Sachs whistleblower threatened with the sack

Rajeev Syal, guardian.co.uk

A solicitor at HM Revenue & Customs who turned whistleblower to disclose that senior managers had quietly let off Goldman Sachs from paying millions of pounds in tax penalties is facing disciplinary procedures and possible prosecution for speaking out.

Osita Mba has worked within the Revenue for at least four years and claimed to have personal knowledge of the deal that allowed the bank to write off a £10m bill.

He told the National Audit Office and two parliamentary committees the bank's settlement had been agreed with a handshake by Dave Hartnett, the permanent secretary for tax at HMRC.

Mba believed the deal might be illegal and told them he was making the disclosure under whistleblowing legislation. His evidence led to Hartnett being accused of lying to parliament over his role in the Goldman Sachs deal, which he denied. But he admitted his organisation had made a mistake by approving the deal.

Now Revenue & Customs managers have launched an inquiry into Mba's conduct that could lead to his being sacked or face prosecution for disclosing sensitive information.

He has been told not to enter the Revenue's building in Westminster without a personal escort from his line manager and has been summoned to a meeting, according to documents sent to the Commons public accounts committee.

Mba's treatment has angered MPs who say that his disclosures have been of enormous service to Parliament and the public. Margaret Hodge, Labour chair of the committee – which uncovered the deal using Mba's evidence – said: "Whistleblowers play such an important role that the previous government brought in legislation to protect them.

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FKN Newz: EARTH OF MORON

http://www.fknnewz.com

Anonymous Operation Peace: Countering The Media War Against

Dear Citizens Of The World. We Are Anonymous #Operation Peace.

It has come to our attention that the globalist controlled Military Industrial Economic Propaganda machine has been using Iran as a pawn in an attempt to brainwash the Western world into supporting a war with Iran to bring about a WW3 scenario.

The lion has awoken and is currently shaking itself from it's chains. The oligarchy are aware and have began to accelerate their plans for depopulation. WW3 is the distraction they need to implement their One World Government dictatorship.

Time is of the essence. The time of action is now against this deliberate disinformation campaign on Iran. To avert another World War we must turn the information war on it's head against the criminal mafia running our mainstream media. We must make the alternative media the people's mainstream news.

In this release we have provided some basic information on the country and how the disinformation campaign is being delivered against Iran. The tactics that the oligarch controlled mainstream media are using to distract and mind control the masses into believing that Iran is a threat to the stability of the world when infact, Iran has not declared war on any other country in 300 years.

Waging war on Iran will bring suffering to the 99% while the 1% profits. We must never allow history to repeat itself.
We must unite as a people and expose those who profit from the death and misery of their fellow human beings and outcast these people from society. We must shame them with the truth and consequences of their actions.
We must never let them forget , for we do not forgive , nor forget evil.

We do not support the iranian dictators ,
We do not support the western dictators ,

We stand in solidarity with the people of Iran ,

We Are Anonymous
We Are Legion
We Do Not Forgive
We Do Not Forget
Expect Us!

Guy Just Fkn Lost it on Air

Pentagon provides military grade weapons to local police

Local law enforcement has been getting assistance from the Pentagon. The recent militarization of the police at the Occupy protests has proved this true. The Pentagon program is getting military-grade weapons in the hands of local law enforcement in the US to use on American citizens. The Department of Defense has handed over $500 million worth of weapons this year. Is the government gearing up for mainstream to rise up? Max Blumenthal, writing fellow for The Nation Institute, joins us to answer some of these questions.

See also: Battlefield US: Pentagon arms police departments with free heavy weaponry

From Eviction to Victory, San Francisco Shows the Way to Take Back America

The occupiers retook the park. The crowd considered it a victory for OWS/OSF.

Part of what helped was massive public support from a crowd that stayed until the end, an audible narrative that was repeated by the crowd of what was taking place, cameras everywhere, the presence of newsmen, and the fact that the police actions were in violation of the United States and California Constitutions.

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A New Beginning

A New Beginning from Ardea Films on Vimeo.

On December 5th 2011, after a weekend of emergency clan meetings, the hereditary chiefs and members of all four Gitxsan clans publicly shut down the office where a $7 million dollar deal with the Enbridge Corporation was announced on Dec. 2nd.

The Enbridge deal was brokered behind closed doors without the knowledge or consent of the Gitxsan people.

This announcement shocked the country and Gitxsan members alike, coming just one day after 130 First Nations made a formal declaration of opposition to Enbridge, "forming an unbroken wall of opposition from the US border to the Arctic ocean."

Music by: Ambient_Lounge

Captured US drone (RQ-170) - Iran TV

Iran has released video footage of the most advanced US reconnaissance drone which was downed by the Iranian Army in the eastern part of the Islamic Republic earlier this week.

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Forces Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh Thursday evening appeared in a TV report to explain how Iranian forces downed the United States' highly advanced radar-evading spy drone last week.

"Recently, our collected intelligence and precise electronic monitoring revealed that this aircraft intended to infiltrate our country's airspace for spying missions," the General said, and added, "After it entered the Eastern parts of the country, this aircraft fell into the trap of our armed forces and was downed in Iran with minimum damage."

"The wing-to-wing width of the RQ-170 Sentinel drone is around 26 meters with a length of 4.5 meters and height of 1.84 meters."

"The drone is equipped with highly advanced surveillance, data gathering, electronic communication and radar systems," he continued.

"As far as its platform and coating are concerned, this kind of plane has been designed to evade radar systems and from the view point of technology it is amongst the most recent types of advanced aircraft used by the US," the IRGC commander added.

"The technology used in this aircraft had already been used in B2 and F35 planes," Hajizadeh said, and added, "This aircraft is controlled and guided through satellite link and land stations in Afghanistan and the Untied States."

"Military experts are well aware how precious the technological information of this drone is," he reiterated.

The unmanned surveillance plane lost by the United States in Iran was a stealth aircraft being used for secret missions by the CIA, US officials admitted earlier this week.

The aircraft is among the highly sensitive surveillance platform in the CIA's fleet that was shaped and designed to evade enemy defenses.

The mission of the downed drone remains unclear. The RQ-170 has been used by the CIA for highly sensitive missions into other nations' airspace, including months of surveillance of the compound in Pakistan in which Osama bin Laden was hiding before he was killed in a May raid by Special Operations forces.

Current and former US defense officials said even the US military cannot use such a highly sophisticated stealth aircraft as it is in relatively short supply and is only flown by the CIA.

Iran announced on Sunday that its defense forces downed the aircraft through a sophisticated cyberattack.

The drone is the first such loss by the US.

The RQ-170 has special coatings and a batwing shape designed to help it penetrate other nations' air defenses undetected. The existence of the aircraft, which is made by Lockheed Martin, has been known since 2009, when a model was photographed at the main US airfield in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

IRI Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned the Swiss Ambassador in Tehran as representative of the US Interest Section to express Iran's protests over the violation by a US spy drone of the Iranian airspace.

The IRI's protest letter, handed to the Swiss ambassador on Thursday evening, denounced the growing US provocative and secret moves against the Islamic Republic.

"The move is in violation of all international rules and regulations and runs counter to regional and international peace and security. Surely the responsibility for the illegal move lies with the US authorities," it added.

The statement expressed IRI's strongest protests over the move, adding that the IRI would reserve the right for following the case as deemed appropriate.

Sources: IRIB, PressTV, FNA

http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/93299-video-captured-us-drone-rq-170

6th December 2011 Pots and Pans day

European Parliament Office in Ireland -Budget Protest 6th of December 2011

Remains of 274 US troops dumped in landfill (Virginia) Dump

German Village Produces 321% More Energy Than It Needs!

Ok, those Germans are just showing off now. Not only has the nation announced plans to shut down all of its nuclear power plants and started the construction of 2,800 miles of transmission lines for its new renewable energy initiative, but now the village of Wildpoldsried is producing 321% more energy than it needs! The small agricultural village in the state of Bavaria is generating an impressive $5.7 million in annual revenue from renewable energy.

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FEMA plans on suspension of the US constitution exposed during Iran contra hearings

Via BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials: Azerbaijan to Take in Iranian MEK Members, Pentagon Conducts Budget War Games, GOP Senate Muzzles Watchdog, Pepe Escobar: The Dead Drone Sketch, America's Shadow State in Pakistan, China Tries to Mediate Sudan Oil Impasse, Cryptome: CIA's Secret Prison in Romania, The Nazification of America, Obama's Indefinite Detention Powers, Kazakhstan Offering Aktau as a Manas Replacement, Videos, Podcast & More!

CIA 'secret prison' found in Romania - media reports

The CIA operated a secret prison in the Romanian capital Bucharest where terrorism suspects were interrogated, an investigation by the Associated Press and German media has found.

Former CIA operatives identified the building where, they said, detainees were held and tortured.

The building belongs to a Romanian agency, Orniss, which stores classified information from the EU and Nato.

Orniss has denied hosting a CIA prison and the CIA has refused to comment.

The investigation, by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and the German TV network ARD, said those held in the secret prison included Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who has admitted organising the 9/11 attacks.

He was seized in Pakistan in March 2003 under the US programme known as "extraordinary rendition" - the extra-judicial detention and transfer of terrorism suspects.

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American Democracy Disturbia - Things I Don't Remember

Euro summit rocked by row over veto plan

Hours before leaders arrived in Brussels , the Finnish parliament ruled that treaty changes proposed for the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) were “unconstitutional”.

The summit was further put at risk with news that after failing stress tests, European banks need to raise €115bn (£98bn) in fresh capital to satisfy regulators.

Finland’s grand committee said decisions made by the ESM – the eurozone’s permanent bail-out fund set for launch in 2012 – had to remain unanimous, and not changed to the “qualified majority” that French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel have agreed.

The Finns are backed by the Netherlands, which fears proposals to withdraw veto powers from the ESM is an erosion of democracy and would make it vulnerable to funding bail-outs without recourse. Meanwhile, the Irish want to block plans for the “convergence and harmonisation” of the eurozone’s “corporate tax base”.

The rebellion is a serious threat to German and French plans to sign treaty changes today along the lines laid out in their joint letter on Wednesday. In it, the leaders said they hoped all 27 European Union countries would sign.

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Occupied Washington - Grotesque income inequality is just a symptom of our larger political disease

Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery report for Mother Jones:

A few weeks after the Occupy Wall Street protests began, we found ourselves having a random conversation with a couple of San Franciscans at a store counter. What were these kids going on about? they asked. Time was tight, the inquiry a pleasantry, really. Best to keep it simple. "Jobs, the economy, income inequality." Well, one offered, he knew the wife of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf, and according to him, the reason companies aren't hiring is because they are worried about the extra cost of Obama's health care reform.

Stunned silence.

Because what can you really say to that, except…let them eat cake? Stumpf made $17.6 million in 2010—672 times what the average American takes home. And say what you will about Obamacare, but for large companies that already offer health benefits, it imposes pretty much zero costs and might even save money.

But why single out Stumpf, who actually sounds fairly cuddly for a bank CEO? (His hobby is baking bread, for Christ's sake.) Let's turn instead to John Paulson, the billionaire hedge fund manager who unctuously admonished Occupy protesters: "Instead of vilifying our most successful businesses, we should be supporting them and encouraging them to remain in New York City and continue to grow." Or how about the homeless-themed Halloween party thrown by an upstate New York foreclosure mill? Or the financier David Moore, who, having been dressed down by a panhandler for proffering only a dollar, took to the Wall Street Journal op-ed pages to bray about Obama's class-warfare rhetoric: "The president's incendiary message has now reached the streets. His complaints that rich people must 'pay their fair share' have now goaded some of our society's most unfortunate."

Are all of the 1 percent so unmoored from the concerns of ordinary people? We've asked friends in high finance how their colleagues feel about the Occupy protests. Some, we're told, see them as hacky-sacking WTO wannabes, but a more insightful contingent regards the movement as akin to Europe's anti-austerity demonstrations: the understandable yet futile raging of people stranded by the shifting tides of the global economy.

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Occupy Boston Eviction Deadline Passes

Live stream:

Watch live streaming video from occupyboston at livestream.com