September 21, 2013

Academics join CUNY protests against David Petraeus as NYPD arrests six students

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/20/academics-join-cuny-protests-against-david-petraeus-as-nypd-arrests-six-students/



Academics join CUNY protests against David Petraeus as NYPD arrests six students
By Adam Gabbatt, The Guardian
Friday, September 20, 2013 14:21 EDT

Scores of academics at the City University of New York have signed a petition calling for charges against six students, arrested during a protest against David Petraeus, to be dropped. The academics have also called for the former four-star general to resign from his teaching role at CUNY.

The six students were detained on Tuesday as they demonstrated outside a fundraiser being attended by Petraeus, who began his career as a CUNY adjunct professor this month. The students were charged on Wednesday night with multiple offences including disorderly conduct, riot, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration.

However protesters argue that police were heavy-handed as they conducted the arrests. Video footage showed one demonstrator being repeatedly struck in the ribs as officers place him in handcuffs.

The arrests, which were conducted at what demonstrators insist was a peaceful protest, have galvanised support for the protesters from CUNY students and professors and from professors elsewhere in New York and beyond.

September 21, 2013

Pentagon deletes Twitter account for joking about movie theatre bombing

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/20/pentagon-deletes-twitter-account-for-joking-about-movie-theatre-bombing/



Pentagon deletes Twitter account for joking about movie theatre bombing
By Agence France-Presse
Friday, September 20, 2013 15:25 EDT

The Pentagon has scrapped the Twitter account of an agency that counters homemade explosives after it posted joking comments about a bombing in the Philippines, officials said Friday.

After explosions at two movie theaters in the Philippines, a staff member at the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Organization (JIEDDO) wrote in a tweet Wednesday that perhaps the cinemas were showing the film “Gigli,” a 2003 romantic comedy starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez that flopped at the box office.

“Were they re-showing Gigli? Bomb explosions occur at 2 movie theaters in the Philippines… the IED is a global threat,” said the post.

When the posting sparked critical reaction online, the agency tried to make another joke along the same lines. “Bad ppl doing bad thing didn’t warrant bad movie reference. Will punish #socialmedia rep by forcing 2 watch Gigli,” the agency wrote on its Twitter account.

September 21, 2013

Private prisons demand states maintain maximum capacity or pay fees

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/20/low-crime-rates-bad-for-business-so-private-prisons-require-maximum-capacity/



Private prisons demand states maintain maximum capacity or pay fees
By Travis Gettys
Friday, September 20, 2013 12:44 EDT

Falling crime rates are bad for business at privately run prisons, and a new report shows the companies that own them require them to be filled near capacity to maintain their profit margin.

A new report from the advocacy group In the Public Interest shows private prison companies mandate high inmate occupancy rates through their contracts with states – in some cases, up to 100 percent.

The report, “Criminal: How Lockup Quotas and ‘Low-Crime Taxes’ Guarantee Profits for Private Prison Corporations,” finds three Arizona prisons must be filled to capacity under terms of its contract with Management and Training Corporation.

If those beds aren’t filled, the state must compensate the company.
The report found that occupancy requirements were standard language in contracts drawn up by big private prison companies.

September 20, 2013

Navy Yard shooter latest in series of servicemen booted from military but still able to buy guns

http://www.marinij.com/ci_24135721/navy-yard-shooter-latest-series-servicemen-booted-from

Navy Yard shooter latest in series of servicemen booted from military but still able to buy guns
By Josh Richman
Posted: 09/19/2013 05:18:10 PM PDT

They were deemed unfit to continue serving in the military -- yet nothing stopped Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis and a series of other former servicemen from buying guns as civilians before going on rampages in the last 14 months.

The law only keeps guns from the worst of the worst military rejects -- fewer than 800 in the most recent year data is available -- but does nothing to restrict gun purchases by thousands more who are discharged for what the military considers serious offenses.

Since last August alone, men booted from military service have used legally purchased firearms to slay six Sikh worshipers in Wisconsin, two co-workers in a New Jersey grocery store, two police detectives in Santa Cruz, and on Monday, 12 people in the Washington massacre.

Yet, the idea of depriving guns from anyone who served their country is so sensitive, a pending bill in Congress defends the gun rights of people whom the Department of Veterans Affairs deems mentally incompetent.

September 20, 2013

NATO 'Conducting Investigation' into Drone Strike That May Have Killed a Dozen Civilians

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/09/19-5



Ongoing war in Afghanistan continues to bring lethal toll to civilians

NATO 'Conducting Investigation' into Drone Strike That May Have Killed a Dozen Civilians
- Jacob Chamberlain, staff writer
Published on Thursday, September 19, 2013 by Common Dreams

Following a recent NATO drone strike in Afghanistan which reportedly killed up to 12 civilians including women and children, NATO said on Thursday that it has begun an investigation into the civilian deaths it had originally denied.

"When allegations arose of civilian fatalities as a result of this mission, ISAF initiated an investigation," NATO spokeswoman Colonel Jane Crichton told Reuters.

Original reports from Afghan officials on the strike, which took place on September 7th, varied between 8 and 12 civilian deaths—numbers which conflicted with NATO's claim that 10 non-civilians, or "enemy forces," had been taken out, with no civilian casualties.

"Four women, four children, two drivers, a merchant and three suspected (insurgents) were killed," and a four-year-old girl was seriously wounded, Kunar governor Shuja ul-Mulkh Jalala told Reuters, echoing the original reports.

September 20, 2013

Major US Phone Companies' Silence on NSA Bulk Data Collection Speaks Volumes

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/09/19-2



Having acted in concert with the government to execute secret surveillance programs, telecoms seem unwilling to divulge their legal stance despite privacy concerns

Major US Phone Companies' Silence on NSA Bulk Data Collection Speaks Volumes
- Jon Queally, staff writer
Published on Thursday, September 19, 2013 by Common Dreams

If U.S. telecom companies have the capacity to challenge government requests for their customer data, why haven't they done so?

More than two days after a declassified opinion from the secretive court that overseas the National Security Agency's surveillance programs said that the absence of challenges by these companies—including Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and others—is among the reasons it continues to approve authorization for the bulk collection of this kind of data, none of these corporate entities have commented publicly about how they perceive the legality of such programs.

“To date, no holder of records who has received an Order to produce bulk telephony metadata has challenged the legality of such an Order,” wrote FISA court Judge Clair V. Eagan in her "declassified" ruling, written on August 29 of this year and released to the public in redacted form on Tuesday.

However, trying to obtain clarification on exactly how these giant firms interpret the requests from the NSA, the Guardian's Ed Pilkington hit a dead end.

September 20, 2013

'Winning the Race to the Bottom': Obama Moves to Fast-Track the TPP

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/09/19-9



'Winning the Race to the Bottom': Obama Moves to Fast-Track the TPP
- Sarah Lazare, staff writer
Published on Thursday, September 19, 2013 by Common Dreams

As Obama moves to fast-track the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), critics are blasting the highly-secretive trade deal as "NAFTA on steroids" and a tool for advancing U.S. and corporate power.

"If impoverishing working people around the world is the goal, then the trade policies like this are working quite effectively," Chris Townsend, political director for United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), told Common Dreams. "This is the grand-daddy of trade deals, a very destructive project, and it is happening completely under the radar."

Meeting with his corporation-heavy Export Council, President Barack Obama declared Thursday he intends to push for renewal of Trade Promotion Authority legislation to allow him to fast-track so-called trade agreements by giving Congress a yes or no vote but taking away powers to amend.

~snip~

The global public has been shut out of the negotiation process of the TPP, although it will profoundly impact domestic policies and the international economy. Press coverage of negotiations is prohibited, and even U.S. Senators are denied access to the most basic information about the proposals the U.S. is bringing. However, corporate "trade advisers" do get access to this information, as well as a role in the process. "Think of the TPP as a stealthy delivery mechanism for policies that could not survive public scrutiny," writes Lori Wallach for The Nation.

September 20, 2013

Counting the Afghan Dead: America's 'Unconscionable Oversight'

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/09/19-8

Counting the Afghan Dead: America's 'Unconscionable Oversight'
- Jon Queally, staff writer
Published on Thursday, September 19, 2013 by Common Dreams

Citing the broad aversion among U.S. media outlets, politicians, and the American public at large to grapple with the untold amount of death and human destruction suffered by the civilian population of Afghanistan after almost 12 years of U.S.-waged war, The Nation magazine this week has released an in-depth report on the issue in hopes of correcting "this unconscionable oversight."

Written by staff writer Bob Dreyfuss and investigative journalist Nick Turse, the report—titled America’s Afghan Victims—includes a comprehensive look at the various efforts made throughout the course of the war to track, assess, or otherwise tally the number of civilian deaths and casualties caused by military-related violence in Afghanistan.

In addition to offering a thorough history of those efforts, The Nation also produced an interactive database drawn from the report's findings, providing a visual interpretation of some of the casualty statistics.

With a look at the role of independent investigators, the Afghan government, numerous NGOs, the United Nations, and the US/NATO military establishment itself, what the report found was a colossal failure—despite earnest and important work by some and willful disregard for Afghan human life by others—to accurately document the number of civilians killed over the course of the conflict.


The Nation's article --> http://www.thenation.com/article/176256/americas-afghan-victims?page=full#

September 20, 2013

Afghanistan, corruption and Karzai

http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/SOU-02-200913.html



Afghanistan, corruption and Karzai
by Brian Cloughley
Sep 20, '13

~snip~

None of this can be excused, of course, but in Afghanistan corruption has achieved an art form and is probably one of the gravest problems the country has to face. It starts right at the top. In April, the New York Times reported that, "For more than a decade, wads of American dollars packed into suitcases, backpacks and, on occasion, plastic shopping bags have been dropped off every month or so at the offices of Afghanistan's president - courtesy of the Central Intelligence Agency. All told, tens of millions of dollars have flowed from the CIA to the office of President Hamid Karzai ... An American official said 'The biggest source of corruption in Afghanistan [is] the United States'."

Now that's pretty blunt, but perhaps just this once the US is not entirely to blame for the shambles in a country it invaded. The CIA and other foreign organizations certainly helped, but the final responsibility for corruption throughout Afghanistan rests with Afghans themselves.

The head of the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime, Jean Luc Lemahieu, said in February that "The bribes that Afghan citizens paid in 2012 equal double Afghanistan's domestic revenue." This revelation attracted no condemnatory reaction from President Karzai or any other influential Afghan, which is not surprising because he and many members of his government and officialdom are the main benefactors from the sleaze that swamps their country.

Karzai's character was well described by US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry in a leaked cable in which he wrote of "a paranoid and weak individual unfamiliar with the basics of nation-building". That sums him up very well. His posturing on the world stage has been as unimpressive as it has been counterproductive - and his August visit to Pakistan was both.

September 19, 2013

Sequestration Blues

http://breakingdefense.com/2013/09/17/gen-welch-dismisses-talk-of-scrapping-air-force-pledges-to-protect-kc-46-f-35a-long-range-bomber/



Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh speaks at annual Air Force Association conference.

Gen. Welsh Dismisses Talk Of Scrapping Air Force; Pledges To Protect KC-46, F-35A, Long Range Bomber
By Colin Clark on September 17, 2013 at 6:21 PM

Why is the Air Force so adamant about protecting the F-35 and Long Range Strike bomber? (We assume you know that tankers are a key reason America is a global power and our 50-year-old tankers need replacing)?

The head of Air Combat Command, Gen. Mike Hostage, made the point plainly this afternoon at the Air Force Association’s annual conference. If we are to be a global power capable of deterring and defeating possible threats then we need fifth-generation aircraft. The “tiny fleet” of roughly than 185 F-22s isn’t large enough to meet the Clausewitzian need for numbers, Hostage said: “The 1,763 F-35s is not a luxury; it’s a national security imperative.”

The bombers are needed because the aging but still highly capable fleet of 20 B-2s is just too small to be effective in the aggressive anti-access/area denial warfare the military predicts is likely. Think lots of highly accurate and relatively long-range surface-to-air missiles, with enormous amounts of electronic jamming and tactical aircraft.

The Pentagon currently plans to build 100 of the new bombers, armed with highly sophisticated sensors, electronic jamming gear and boasting built-in stealth that would be much more resilient than that used on the B-2s. It would also allow the United States, several Air Force officers here told me, to boast enough bombers to hold at bay even an enormous country like China since we could penetrate its airspace at multiple points across a wide swath. The most recent budget included at least $400 million for the new bomber.



unhappycamper comment: "The “tiny fleet” of roughly than 185 F-22s isn’t large enough...". Yea, but that 'tiny' fleet of F-22s cost 185 x $418 million = $77,330,000,000.

".. aging but still highly capable fleet of 20 B-2s ". Those B-2s were also somewhat expensive: 20 x $2.1 billion = $22,100,000,000.


--
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2013/09/18/winnefeld-to-congress-need-to-know-budget-for-2014/

Winnefeld to Congress: Need to Know Budget for 2014
By Richard Sisk Wednesday, September 18th, 2013 1:48 pm

“We need to get our old stuff out of the system so we can buy and maintain new stuff,” he said.


---
http://www.stripes.com/top-military-leaders-stop-continuing-sequestration-before-capabilities-are-jeopardized-1.242023


Top military leaders: Stop continuing sequestration before capabilities are jeopardized
By J. Taylor Rushing
Published: September 18, 2013

WASHINGTON -- A House committee heard an alarming message on Wednesday from the leaders of the top four U.S. armed forces about the continuing impacts of forced federal budget cuts that would slice into the “muscle and bone” of the military’s maintenance and readiness.