Ron Paul blasts Obama for killing Americans

Source: RT

Presidential hopeful Ron Paul has publically attacked the Obama administration’s abolishment of due process in a new editorial, calling the move a turning point in American history.

Responding to Attorney General Eric Holder’s recent justification for the extrajudicial killings of three American citizens on foreign soil, Republican Party candidate Ron Paul has penned a scathing op-ed condemning the White House for circumventing the US Constitution. Earlier this month Holder spoke at Chicago’s Northwestern Law School to discuss last year’s execution of alleged terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki and two other US-born clerics in Yemen, a decision he says the White House still defends despite criticism from citizens and lawmakers alike. 

Although both US President Barack Obama and the CIA signed off on the airstrike that killed the American citizens, Washington has been relatively quiet on the matter until Holder spoke earlier this month. 

After Attorney General Holder justified the assassination of Americans, a congressional inquiry revealed that Robert Mueller, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, wasn’t certain that the same laws could be applied to killing Americans on US soil. With the FBI and Oval Office both hiding behind vague verbiage to allow the assassination of their own citizens, Ron Paul is critiquing what he calls a complete disregard of the Constitution.

“It is particularly bizarre to hear the logic of the administration claiming the right to target its citizens according to some secret selection process, when we justified our attacks against Iraq and Libya because their leaders supposedly were targeting their own citizens,” writes Rep. Paul. “We also now plan a covert war against Syria for the same reason.”

DOJ Asks Court To Keep Secret Any Partnership Between Google and NSA

Source: Legal Times

The Justice Department is defending the government's refusal to discuss—or even acknowledge the existence of—any cooperative research and development agreement between Google and the National Security Agency.

The Washington based advocacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center sued in federal district court here to obtain documents about any such agreement between the Internet search giant and the security agency.

The NSA responded to the suit with a so-called “Glomar” response in which the agency said it could neither confirm nor deny whether any responsive records exist. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington sided with the government last July.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is scheduled to hear the dispute March 20.

EPIC filed a Freedom of Information Act request in early 2010, noting media reports at the time that the NSA and Google had agreed to a partnership following the cyber attacks in China that year against Google.

EPIC asked for, among other things, communication between the NSA and Google about Gmail and Google’s “decision to fail to routinely encrypt” messages before Jan. 13, 2010.

The NSA’s response to the request for records noted that the agency “works with a broad range of commercial partners and research associations” to ensure the availability of secure information systems. The agency, however, refused to confirm or deny any partnership with Google.

The Criminalization of Protest: Say Goodbye To Free Speech in America

Source: Global Research
Devon DB

A new bill, HR 347, the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011, also known as the “Trespassing Bill,” is soon to be signed into law by President Obama. This bill effectively criminalizes protest and will hurt protest groups and movements such as Occupy quite hard.

The bill as states that anyone who knowingly “enters or remains in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so” with the “intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct in or [in] proximity to, any restricted building or grounds” or “impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions” will be punished with a fine or “or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both.” (emphasis added)

There are already many problems with the bill as it does not attempt to define what “imped[ing] or disrupt[ing] the orderly conduct of government business or official functions” is, nor does it specify what “government business” is or what an “official function” is. This vagueness will allow for the US government to effectively stifle protest and free speech, thus criminalizing such actions like the upcoming Occupy Chicago anti-NATO/G-8 protests. In addition to this, such a law will make it impossible for Americans to exercise their First Amendment rights when “government business” is being attended to or “official functions” are occurring.

Unsurprisingly, only three people voted against the measure: Paul Broun (R-GA-10), Justin Amash (R-MI-3) and Ron Paul (R-TX-14). This law would allow federal law enforcement “to bring these charges against Americans engaged in political protests anywhere in the country, and violators will face criminal penalties that include imprisonment for up to 10 years.” HR 347 will is ripe for abuse, as the NYPD has, as of recent, assumed the notion that taking photos and videotaping is a form of disorderly conduct. 

The fact that only three people in the House, all Republicans and absolutely no Democrats (see the voting list here), only shows just how both parties are just two sides of the same coin. 

This law comes at the heels of the US government having debated over whether or not to indefinitely detain US citizens and Attorney General Eric Holder- the Obama administration’s version of John Yoo, arguing that the President can assassinate US citizens without providing any evidence whatsoever to anyone.

Feds Threaten Banks to Deny Accounts to Lawful Medicinal Cannabis Shops

Source: Activist Post
Eric Blair

One of the underhanded ways the feds are attempting to defeat legal medical marijuana is by preventing banks from doing business with dispensaries.

Because medical marijuana is illegal under federal law, federally insured banks even in states where it's legal were notified in 2011 to be suspicious of marijuana-related banking activities. The warnings stated that the business of marijuana is a "high-risk area for money laundering" which would put the banks at risk of racketeering and laundering charges.

Even though banks were not directly ordered to deny services to lawful medical cannabis shops, most banks heeded the warnings and closed dispensary accounts anyways.  This forced patients and dispensaries into cash-only transactions.

Clearly, this presented legal dispensaries and patients with challenges; not least becoming an increased target of theft.  Additionally, it's easier for these shops to hide actual profits now that they are forced into a cash operation, seemingly nullifying the scare of money laundering.

In other words, it'd be much easier to track their transactions if allowed to be properly funneled through banks.  In Colorado, around $20 million a year in state and local taxes may be at risk because the business is being forced to operate in the darkness of cash-based black markets.

Colorado lawmakers, seeking a solution, proposed establishing a cooperative financial institution (resembling a credit union) for the state's 600 legal dispensaries. Colorado Congressman, Jared Polis, a supporter of the local measure, also proposed federal legislation to open financial services to lawful medical marijuana businesses.

Corbett Report Radio - FBI Blackballing with Jason Leopold

Source: Corbett Report
James Corbett

James talks to Jason Leopold of truth-out.org about his recent report: “Revealed: The FBI’s Secretive Practice of ‘Blackballing’ Files.” Leopold reveals (yet another) trick the FBI has been using to hide records from FOIA requests, a practice called “blackballing” that has never been previously disclosed. We also discuss the case of former CIA officer John Kiriakou, who was recently charged by the DOJ for leaking classified information.