November 26, 2014

Greenwald: Talking to James Risen About “Pay Any Price,” the War on Terror and Press Freedoms

Glenn Greenwald November 25, 2014

James Risen

Jim Risen, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for exposing the NSA warrantless eavesdropping program, has long been one of the nation’s most aggressive and adversarial investigative journalists. Over the past several years, he has received at least as much attention for being threatened with prison by the Obama Justice Department (ostensibly) for refusing to reveal the source of one of his stories, a persecution that, in reality, is almost certainly the vindictive by-product of the U.S. Government’s anger over his NSA reporting.

He has published a new book on the War on Terror entitled “Pay Any Price: Greed, Power and Endless War.” There have been lots of critiques of the War on Terror on its own terms, but Risen’s is one of the first to offer large amounts of original reporting on what is almost certainly the most overlooked aspect of this war: the role corporate profiteering plays in ensuring its endless continuation, and how the beneficiaries use rank fear-mongering to sustain it.



That alone makes the book very worth reading, but what independently interests me about Risen is how he seems to have become entirely radicalized by what he’s discovered in the last decade of reporting, as well as by the years-long battle he has had to wage with the U.S. Government to stay out of prison. He now so often eschews the modulated, safe, uncontroversial tones of the standard establishment reporter (such as when he called Obama “the greatest enemy of press freedom in a generation” and said about the administration’s press freedom attacks: “Nice to see the US government is becoming more like the Iranian government”). He at times even channels radical thinkers, sounding almost Chomsky-esque when he delivered a multiple-tweet denunciation – taken from a speech he delivered at Colby College – of how establishment journalists cling to mandated orthodoxies out of fear, arguing:

"It is difficult to recognize the limits a society places on accepted thought at the time it is doing it. When everyone accepts basic assumptions, there don’t seem to be constraints on ideas. That truth often only reveals itself in hindsight. Today, the basic prerequisite to being taken seriously in American politics is to accept the legitimacy of the new national security state. The new basic American assumption is that there really is a need for a global war on terror. Anyone who doesn’t accept that basic assumption is considered dangerous and maybe even a traitor.

The crackdown on leaks by the Obama administration has been designed to suppress the truth about the war on terror. Stay on the interstate highway of conventional wisdom with your journalism, and you will have no problems. Try to get off and challenge basic assumptions, and you will face punishment."

I spent roughly 30 minutes talking to Risen about the book, what he’s endured in his legal case, attacks on press freedoms, and what is and is not new about the War on Terror’s corporate profiteering. The discussion can be heard on the player below, and a transcript is provided. As Risen put it: “I wrote ‘Pay Any Price’ as my answer to the government’s campaign against me.”

GREENWALD: This is Glenn Greenwald with the Intercept and I am speaking today with Jim Risen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times ...

Audio and Transcript of interview:
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/11/25/talking-james-risen-pay-price-war-terror-press-freedoms/

“Pay Any Price: Greed, Power and Endless War.” -James Risen
http://www.amazon.com/Pay-Any-Price-Greed-Endless/dp/0544341414/

4.3 out of 5 stars

178 of 188 people found the following review helpful
Better Than His Last One - Imagine What He'll Write From Prison
By David Swanson on October 14, 2014

When New York Times report James Risen published his previous book, State of War, the Times ended its delay of over a year and published his article on warrantless spying rather than be scooped by the book. The Times claimed it hadn't wanted to influence the 2004 presidential election by informing the public of what the President was doing. But this week a Times editor said on 60 Minutes that the White House had warned him that a terrorist attack on the United States would be blamed on the Times if one followed publication -- so it may be that the Times' claim of contempt for democracy was a cover story for fear and patriotism. The Times never did report various other important stories in Risen's book.

One of those stories, found in the last chapter, was that of Operation Merlin -- possibly named because only reliance on magic could have made it work -- in which the CIA gave nuclear weapon plans to Iran with a few obvious changes in them. This was supposedly supposed to somehow slow down Iran's nonexistent efforts to build nuclear weapons. Risen explained Operation Merlin on Democracy Now this week and was interviewed about it by 60 Minutes which managed to leave out any explanation of what it was. The U.S. government is prosecuting Jeffrey Sterling for allegedly being the whistleblower who served as a source for Risen, and subpoenaing Risen to demand that he reveal his source(s)...MORE
http://www.amazon.com/Pay-Any-Price-Greed-Endless/dp/0544341414/

November 25, 2014

Icelandic Bank Manager Involved in 2008 Financial Crash Sentenced to Prison

Editor | Iceland News | November 21, 2014

The former head of the Icelandic bank Landsbanki, which collapsed in 2008 in the Icesave crisis, Sigurjon Arnason, has been sentenced to one year in prison for market manipulation ahead of the 2008 Icelandic banking crisis. Two other former Landsbanki employees were convicted as well and a fourth former employee was acquitted. According to reports, the Reykjavik District Court reduced Arnason’s sentence to three months, saying that the remaining 9 months were suspended.

Bosses of two other failed Icelandic banks, Glitnir’s chief, Larus Welding, and Kaupthing bosses Hreidar Már Sigurdsson and Sigurdur Einarsson have also been convicted of similar crimes. Sigurdsson and Einarsson were sentenced to five and five and a half years in prison while Welding received 9 months with 6 months of the sentence suspended.

The three Icelandic banks were heavily exposed abroad. At the time, when the banks went bust, their combined assets were approximately ten times larger than Iceland’s gross domestic product...
MORE: http://upnorth.eu/icelandic-bank-manager-involved-2008-financial-crash-sentenced-prison/

Too big to Jail in the US? Jefferson rolls...

November 23, 2014

EFF.ORG: When the Time Comes We'll Need to Step Up the Fight Against TPP's Secret, Anti User Agenda

November 20, 2014 | By Maira Sutton



If you missed our live teach-in yesterday on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and its restrictive, anti-user provisions, you can still check out the video of our discussion. It's embedded below. We invited experts from digital rights groups from several TPP countries—all members of the Fair Deal Coalition—and we discussed the various ways this massive, secret trade deal threatens our rights on the Internet and over our digital devices.

A recent leak of the TPP's Intellectual Property chapter confirmed that the provisions on anti-circumvention, copyright terms, ISP liability, and criminal enforcement has further deteriorated. But it also revealed new, dangerously vague text on the misuse of trade secrets which could be used to enact harsh criminal punishments against anyone who reveals or even accesses information through a "computer system" that is allegedly confidential. This language could have alarming consequences if nations are obligated to enact new laws that could be used to crack down on journalists and whistle blowers.

We held this teach-in because things are moving fast now. President Obama and the US Trade Representative are determined to conclude this agreement, organizing dozens of meetings with TPP delegates to resolve some of the longstanding disagreements in the text. On the US front, Congress is likely to introduce another Fast Track bill in January that would tie these representatives' own hands from debating or modifying the terms of this agreement after the White House has secretively negotiated it for years...
MORE: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/11/when-time-comes-we-need-be-ready-fight-tpps-secret-anti-user-agenda

Streamed live on Nov 19, 2014

A lot has happened on the Trans-Pacific Partnership front these past couple months. There was another major leak of a recent draft of the TPP’s Intellectual Property chapter that confirmed that many of the most extreme copyright provisions are still there, and in some cases, have even gotten worse. It also showed that it included some new harmful language on “trade secrets” that could be used to crack down on journalists.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty is the complete opposite of 'free trade'
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/19/trans-pacific-partnership-corporate-usurp-congress



Candidate Obama talks about NAFTA

November 22, 2014

Dan Barnum– FAIA and board member for AE911Truth

http://noliesradio.org/archives/91844
This show was broadcast November 20, 2014



AE911Truth board member Dan Barnum, FAIA, sits down with host Andy Steele to discuss the mental barriers that some in his profession put up, knowing that there’s problems with the official story of what happened to the buildings in New York on 9/11, but afraid to look at the evidence of their controlled demolition. He also talks about what it was like for him, realizing from day one that the U.S. government wasn’t telling the truth about 9/11.

Every day more people question the "Official Conspiracy Theory"

November 18, 2014

Scientific American: Hydrogen May Prove Fuel of the Future

Will the most common molecule in the universe make for pollution-free cars?
By Julia Pyper November 18, 2014

Hyundai Fuel Cell Vehicles Arrive in the US

Humans have harnessed hydrogen for a variety of applications, from blasting rockets into space to making common household products like toothpaste. Now, after decades of development, hydrogen is about to find its way into the family car.

In June, Hyundai Motor Co. began leasing its Tucson Fuel Cell and has pledged to produce 1,000 units globally by 2015. Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. will start sales of their next-generation fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) next year. Yesterday, Toyota released a video showing the Mirai, its first commercial fuel cell car.

Several other automakers are aiming to release fuel cell cars in 2017.

One benefit is that FCVs bring tailpipe emissions down to zero, so tightening auto emission standards will be less of a problem for automakers. Another benefit is that while plug-in electric cars have range limits and time-consuming refueling, FCVs—which use hydrogen to make electricity—will be very familiar to car buyers.

They can be refueled in less than five minutes and boast a 300-mile driving range. For these reasons, several governments and car companies are betting on hydrogen as the clean transportation fuel of the future and one that will ultimately win consumers' favor...
FULL ARTICLE: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hydrogen-may-prove-fuel-of-the-future/

Related: Hydrogen fuel becomes a practical reality


ITV Presenter Rebecca Broxton walks through the new Honda SolarPark in Swindon, UK

The launch of the UK’s first commercial-scale hydrogen production and refuelling facility powered by solar energy heralds the dawn of an era of true carbon-free fuel.
http://www.shdlogistics.com/news/view/hydrogen-fuel-becomes-a-practical-reality

November 18, 2014

Explained: Why the 2016 Toyota Mirai, Honda FCV Concept, Have CHAdeMO Sockets on Them

November 18, 2014 By Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

Honda’s Hydrogen FCV Concept- Coming in 2016

Yesterday, Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda both unveiled their latest hydrogen fuel cell sedans, with the official pre-LA Auto Show press events for the production-ready 2016 Toyota Mirai fuel cell sedan and the 2014 Honda FCV Concept car.


Behind the small panel in the upper-left corner of the Toyota Mirai’s trunk is a CHAdeMO DC connector. But what is it for?

On paper, the two cars serve a similar function in the automotive world. Both offer seating for four, a range of around 300 miles per fill of their hydrogen tanks, feature the latest high-pressure, energy dense hydrogen fuel cell stack technology and have similar performance figures. They also both come with something that has many plug-in car fans scratching their heads in disbelief: built-in CHAdeMO DC sockets.


The Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell Sedan can use this CHAdeMO socket to provide emergency power when required.

Usually found on cars like the 2015 Nissan LEAF electric car and 2015 Kia Soul EV, CHAdeMO sockets have traditionally been used to connect fully electric or plug-in hybrid cars to CHAdeMO DC quick charge stations. Designed to refill the car’s battery packs from empty to 80 percent full in around 30 minutes, CHAdeMO DC sockets bypass a car’s on-board charger and pump high current, high voltage power direct into a car’s battery pack...


The Honda Power Exporter Concept features a CHAdeMO plug, which draws power from the Honda FCV Concept and turns it into mains electricity.

The presence of CHAdeMO sockets on both cars also explains why Honda’s Power Generator Concept — a small external inverter unveiled yesterday which is about the same size as a small internal combustion generator — also has a CHAdeMO connector on it. Small and portable, it can draw up to 9 kilowatts form the Honda FCV concept via its CHAdeMO socket to provide emergency power when and wherever it’s needed...

Full Article: https://transportevolved.com/2014/11/18/explained-2016-toyota-mirai-honda-fcv-concept-chademo-sockets/

To see how serious Toyota is about a Hydrogen future here is the Mirai Launch Press Conference in Tokyo Recorded Live on November 18, 2014
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/toyota-en
(Translation provided)

Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corp. introduces Toyota's "Mirai" Fuel Cell Sedan



Related: Future hydrogen fueling station delivers power or hydrogen

(Nanowerk News) The pilot hydrogen storage and production facility that EPFL has built in Martigny (VS), France had a public open house yesterday. It was an opportunity to get a glimpse into the fueling stations of the future.

“Fill it up with hydrogen, please!”

In just a few years, this request won’t be a fictional one. The clean vehicles we occasionally see on the roads will increasingly become the norm...
http://www.nanowerk.com/news2/green/newsid=38102.php

November 14, 2014

Bibendum 2014: ITM Power wants to make nearly free hydrogen. No, really

Electrolyzers, Natural Gas And Grid Balancing Are The Keys

Sebastian Blanco | Green Autoblog.com | Nov 14, 2014

There's a problem that need solving when it comes to renewable energy. Where do you put it when it's not needed? Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power, has what he says is the best answer: you turn it into hydrogen. Speaking at the 2014 Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Chengdu, China this week, Cooley explained how ITM's electrolyzer system, when connected to the electric grid and the local natural gas pipeline, can basically get you zero-cost hydrogen fuel for your fuel cell vehicle. It's not a completely new idea, but here's how it works.



Cooley started by noting that the UK has tremendous wind power potential, especially in the north, in Ireland and Scotland. Cooley said it was, "the richest wind resource in Europe, which would be fantastic if we could harness it properly." That's a catch, though: the grid doesn't have enough storage capacity to hold on to a lot of renewable energy if it happens to be generated when you don't need it. If it's windy when people are sleeping, for example, the energy is likely to be wasted. Some utilities have plans to use giant battery banks, especially those that have served time in plug-in vehicles, to store this electricity, but ITM thinks its hydrogen electrolyzers are a better solution for the massive amounts of power that a city or national grid needs. "There's a threshold that you get to, which is about 20 percent by capacity by renewable power," Cooley said, after which "you start to turn down considerable amounts of that power." The UK hit that threshold last year,



That makes storing or using that temperamental wind energy the better choice.
The reason for it is a little complicated, but stay with us. Let's say that you're a utility and your total grid capacity includes 20 percent wind power. One day, everyone is using all of your electricity, and then all of a sudden, the wind starts raging and you'd like to send your customers that emissions-free power instead of burning your fossil fuels. To do that, you have two options: you can quickly reduce your fossil fuel power generation by 20 percent, or you can find a way to store that wind energy for the future. Slowing down and then restarting giant coal- or oil-fired generators can take 12 or 6 hours, respectively – and shutting down a nuclear plant can take up to 48 hours – so those aren't reasonable options. Thus, storing or using all that temperamental wind energy becomes the better choice, at least over the short term.

As stated, you could save the energy for later use in big battery packs, but Cooley and ITM Power say that their hydrogen electrolyzers offer a far superior solution because of something called grid balancing, which is the obligation by the transmission operator to achieve 50 Hz on average every hour. Grid balancing "is about frequency and it's about balancing the supply side with the demand side," Cooley said. Different countries require different outputs (in the US, it is 60 Hz; in China and the UK, 50 Hz), so the following numbers aren't applicable everywhere, but we'll let Cooley explain it from here and you'll get the gist (Wikipedia can also explain it)...

MORE: http://green.autoblog.com/2014/11/14/bibendum-2014-itm-power-make-free-hydrogen/

Related: Hydrogen fuel becomes a practical reality.
"The launch of the UK’s first commercial-scale hydrogen production and refuelling facility powered by solar energy heralds the dawn of an era of true carbon-free fuel."

http://www.shdlogistics.com/news/view/hydrogen-fuel-becomes-a-practical-reality

Hydrogen energy storage: power ramp-up at the MYRTE test platform.
"Since 1/2012, this platform has connected photovoltaic solar panels to a hydrogen-based storage system. By joining the power grid, this provides a solution to the problem of intermittency & makes it one of the rare installations.." http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2014/05/hydrogen-energy-storage-power-ramp-up-at-the-myrte-test-platform.html

Siemens plans electrolyzer system to store wind power as hydrogen.
The system, equipped with an electrolyzer from Siemens, will convert surplus electricity from wind farms to hydrogen. The hydrogen will then be stored locally in tankers or fed directly into the natural gas grid or used for fuel cell vehicles. http://www.elp.com/articles/2014/05/siemens-plans-electrolyzer-system-to-store-wind-power-as-hydrogen.html

Green Hydrogen facility opens at Berlin airport, with first refueling of a fuel cell Electric Vehicle.
"The operating principle is based on applying hydrogen as an energy source produced using wind power and solar energy. Initially the electricity required will be provided by a nearby wind park."
http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/38624/green-hydrogen-facility-opens-at-berlin-airport-with-first-refueling-of-fuel-cell-vehicle/

The US (who went to the moon on Fuel Cells) could have led this energy revolution, instead it can sit back and watch the rest of the world. When it's not bombing and invading other countries. Nice work, Boomers.

November 14, 2014

.

John Kerry insane?

Kerry To Host Henry Kissinger, Foreign Affairs Experts As Syria Deal Looms

Kerry is scheduled to meet one-on-one with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger Wednesday afternoon, and address a meeting of the 25-member Foreign Affairs Policy Board Wednesday morning.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/11/kerry-syria_n_3903888.html




Henry Kissinger, pondering where to pull off the next Coup d'etat

November 11, 2014

MTSU Professor Drives Cross-Country On Chicken Fat Fuel (If It Doesn’t Freeze)

by Emily Siner November 11, 2014

MTSU professor Cliff Ricketts stands next to the 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit pickup truck he will drive from Key West, FL., to Seattle, WA., from Nov. 6 to 13. Credit: MTSU News and Media Relations

...The good news is that 66-year-old Cliff Ricketts is getting 40 miles per gallon so far on what is essentially chicken fat. The bad news? “This fuel does not like cold weather, so we’re making all kinds of plans,” he says.

He’s driving northwest in a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit pickup with 15 five-gallon cans of fuel in the truck’s bed. He hopes to keep them from freezing with an electric blanket.

But this isn’t his first cross-country experience. Last year, Ricketts drove a car running on solar power and hydrogen from water. The year before, it was hydrogen and ethanol. He says he wants America to stop importing oil, and that motivates his research.

“It’s helping the economy, it’s helping the environment, and I think it’s making strides toward world peace,” he says...MORE
http://nashvillepublicradio.org/blog/2014/11/11/mtsu-professor-drives-cross-country-chicken-fat-fuel-doesnt-freeze/

Related: Car drives across country on Hemp Fuel in 2001




Hemp car was an alternative-fuel project car that utilized hemp biodiesel for fuel. Industrial hemp would be an economical fuel if hemp were legal to cultivate in the United States. Industrial hemp has no psychoactive properties and is not a drug. Hemp Car demonstrates the concept of hemp fuels on a national level and promotes the reformation of current law.

The car toured America, with stops in Canada, frequenting alternative-energy, environmental, and hemp-legalization events. The car departed from Washington D.C. on July 4, 2001 and returned home on October 2, 2001. The car generated publicity, emphasizing the utility of industrial hemp to modern society. We provided the public with information about biofuels, hemp, their uses, and current American laws. We established a world distance record for a vehicle utilizing hemp for fuel: 10,000 miles.

A network of hemp activists provided us with the hemp oil at planned intervals throughout the country. Funding, sponsorships, and networking were necessary for Hemp Car to succeed. We give great thanks to all of the activists and concerned citizens who made Hempcar possible.
http://hempcar.org/



The PetroDollar seems to be the main rea$on the US is not energy independent.

November 10, 2014

Honda goes renewable with fuel cell forklifts

10 November 2014

A research effort involving Briggs Equipment and Honda has seen the development a hydrogen fuel cell-powered truck that relies entirely on renewable energy sources.

The new system developed at Honda's Swindon manufacturing facility generates hydrogen from solar power via an on-site electrolyser, ensuring that energy inputs are all clean and renewable with zero emissions...

...Close said: "The benefits are clear. Gone are the big lead-acid batteries and their need for space, replacement and maintenance. Maintenance alone is around one-and-a-half times lower. Productivity is also clearly a plus factor, allowing cost benefits to begin to stack up.

"There is also the potential to replace diesel engines and avoid an ever tightening legislative determination to bear down on NOx and particulate emissions, plus the potential price and supply volatility of hydrocarbons fuels."
MORE: http://www.logisticsmanager.com/Articles/22837/Honda+goes+renewable+with+fuel+cell+forklifts.html

Related: Hydrogen fuel becomes a practical reality
Nov 03, 2014 by Peter MacLeod


ITV Presenter Rebecca Broxton walks through Honda's new SolarPark in Swindon, UK

The launch of the UK’s first commercial-scale hydrogen production and refuelling facility powered by solar energy heralds the dawn of an era of true carbon-free fuel.

The gas will be generated at Honda UK's manufacturing plant in Swindon at the rate of 20 tonnes per year using a process called solar hydrolysis, whereby Hydrogen will be produced from water using the heat of the sun, and used initially to power a pair of forklifts, a fleet of commercial vehicles, and an education centre situated alongside the filling station...MORE
http://www.shdlogistics.com/news/view/hydrogen-fuel-becomes-a-practical-reality