Category: General

Even worse than we imagined: AT&T contract for NSA to surveill all internet traffic, foreign and domestic, started before 9/11 | Corrente:

This blog post is full of good information & links.

This is based on leaks from AT&T, and testimony from the former CEO of Qwest. If true, it explains the desperation with which the telco industry is lobbying for retroactive immunity, doesn’t it?

If true it is also terrifying because it shows that Bush/Cheney came into office on day one and immediately started a domestic surveillance program, which suggests that there was an understanding between them and the NSA beforehand that that’s what would happen if they got elected.

The idea of candidates for office being in collusion with the most secretive and unsupervised intelligence service even before they take office is something out of a bad “it can’t happen here” scare novel.

But pretty much everything since 2000 has been out of a bad “it can’t happen here” scare novel.

Blackwater Guards Fired at Fleeing Cars, Soldiers Say – washingtonpost.com:

Blackwater USA guards shot at Iraqi civilians as they tried to drive away from a Baghdad square on Sept. 16, according to a report compiled by the first U.S. soldiers to arrive at the scene, where they found no evidence that Iraqis had fired weapons.

“It appeared to me they were fleeing the scene when they were engaged. It had every indication of an excessive shooting,” said Lt. Col. Mike Tarsa, whose soldiers reached Nisoor Square 20 to 25 minutes after the gunfire subsided.

His soldiers’ report — based upon their observations at the scene, eyewitness interviews and discussions with Iraqi police — concluded that there was “no enemy activity involved” and described the shootings as a “criminal event.” Their conclusions mirrored those reached by the Iraqi government, which has said the Blackwater guards killed 17 people.

Who are you gonna believe, loyal patriotic Blackwater guards or a bunch of pinko commie hippie US Army soldiers?

Daily Kos: BREAKING: SCOTUS Declares Bush the Nobel Peace Prize Winner:

Oslo: A review of the ballots in the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize has shown that George W. Bush is the winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. James Baker III has been sent by the Bush Administration to coordinate efforts on the ground. The United States Supreme Court in a surprise vote of 5 to 4 have declared George W. Bush the winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Does Blackwater Play By Its Own Rules in Iraq? – Newsweek: World News – MSNBC.com:

The colonel was furious. “Can you believe it? They actually drew their weapons on U.S. soldiers.” He was describing a 2006 car accident, in which an SUV full of Blackwater operatives had crashed into a U.S. Army Humvee on a street in Baghdad’s Green Zone. The colonel, who was involved in a follow-up investigation and spoke on the condition he not be named, said the Blackwater guards disarmed the U.S. Army soldiers and made them lie on the ground at gunpoint until they could disentangle the SUV. His account was confirmed by the head of another private security company. Asked to address this and other allegations in this story, Blackwater spokesperson Anne Tyrrell said, “This type of gossip has led to many soap operas in the press.”

Holy crap.

NSA Domestic Surveillance Began 7 Months Before 9/11, Convicted Qwest CEO Claims on Threat Level:

Did the NSA’s massive call records database program pre-date the terrorist attacks of 9/11?

That startling allegation is in court documents released this week which show that former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio — the head of the only company known to have turned down the NSA’s requests for Americans’ phone records — tried, unsuccessfully, to argue just that in his defense against insider trading charges.

Oh my. I mean, I know the invasion of Iraq was going to happen whether or not 9/11 happened, but the domestic surveillance?

That’s whole new levels of evil.