AT&T whistleblower: I was forced to connect 'big brother machine'
11/07/2007 @ 9:17 pm | Filed by David Edwards and Jason Rhyne

A former technician at AT&T, who alleges that the telecom forwards virtually all of its internet traffic into a "secret room" to facilitate government spying, says the whole operation reminds him of something out of Orwell's 1984.

Appearing on MSNBC's Countdown program, whistleblower Mark Klein told Keith Olbermann that a copy of all internet traffic passing over AT&T lines was copied into a locked room at the company's San Francisco office -- to which only employees with National Security Agency clearance had access -- via a cable splitting device.

"My job was to connect circuits into the splitter device which was hard-wired to the secret room," said Klein. "And effectively, the splitter copied the entire data stream of those internet cables into the secret room -- and we're talking about phone conversations, email web browsing, everything that goes across the internet."

After seeing so many Ron Paul supporters at the Oct. 27 anti-war rally in San Francisco, I thought it would be a good idea to let people know that there is a lot more to Ron Paul than his anti-war view of Iraq and his support for the Constitution (and it is NOT all good). I came across this blog that was written in June. It is actually the final part of a 4 part series.
--Bill


Ron Paul Hates You
by phenry
Tue Jun 05, 2007 at 04:34:14 PM PST

Daily Kos is very definitely not the place you'd expect to see a lot of fulminating praise for right-wing conservatives. Yet the diaries are full of people who can't find enough nice things to say about Rep. Ron Paul, whose smiling face is at this moment being beamed to America from the site of the Republican debate in New Hampshire--after which, we may be sure, we will see yet another round of diaries brimming with joy about Paul's sweet words against the Iraq war. You, dear reader, may even be considering writing one or more such diaries yourself.

Before you do, fellow Democrat, please understand just one thing: Your affection for Paul is far from mutual. Through his words, his actions, and his votes in Congress, he has made one thing abundantly clear over the decades: Ron Paul hates you. By building him up, by supporting him, by taking him seriously, you are not driving a wedge into the heart of the Republican Party--you are only giving him a helping hand along the road to his goal of destroying just about everything you stand for.

Click here for the full blog with all the links:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/5/193414/2787

Faith and War
Cindy Sheehan

A friend of mine, who is Chair of the Economics Department, invited me to speak to the students and faculty at the University of Dallas (where the Veterans for Peace convention was that I spoke at the day before I went to Crawford on August 6th, 2005), which is a small, non-culturally or non-racially diverse, Catholic college.

Surprisingly, my friend Sam, received little protest over inviting me, but there was a “Support the Troops” rally in the room next to where I spoke. Some Camp Casey friends accidentally went into that room and only heard the speaker call me names like “scum” and he called the rest of the people at my event “peace fairies.”

I was heartened to find the first three rows of my speech were filled with young people who were smiling and vigorously nodding their heads at everything I said. Most of the audience clapped or laughed in the right places so I was feeling pretty good. However, I was a little sad when there were some snide snickers when I had the unmitigated gall to call Iraqis “human beings.”

During the “Q and A” part, the first question I received amazed me. Now, I was raised Protestant and received an excellent training in the Christian scriptures and I know after being a Catholic for 25 years and a Catholic youth minister for nine of those years, that the average Catholic does not know a great deal about the Bible as most of their religious training is in the tenets of the Catholic faith. Here’s how many Catholics quote scripture: “It’s somewhere in the Bible,” when, in my experience, many times they are actually quoting: “Poor Richard’s Almanac.”

International Community Foundation
Tabasco Flooding Appeal

November 5, 2007

Dear HispanicVista readers:

In an effort to respond to the needs of the over 800,000 displaced flood victims the recent flooding in the Mexican state of Tabasco, the International Community Foundation (ICF) has initiated a campaign to raise monies to provide safe drinking water and direct aid to reduce the spread of cholera and other waterborne diseases through the foundation’s International Water Emergency Relief Fund which provides immediate relief to communities and victims of natural disasters in need of safe drinking water and health and sanitation systems in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America.

All donations made to ICF's International Water Emergency Relief Fund will go to benefit the Mexican Red Cross delegations in Tabasco to provide emergency relief to the flooding victims in those states.

Without question, the Tabasco flood is the worst natural disaster in Mexico’s recent history with its long term community based impacts paralleling the 1985 Mexico. So, ICF encourages donors to give generously to those in critical need of assistance.

Donations to the benefit Tabasco flood victims can be made to the International Community Foundation either online at http://echo.bluehornet.com/ct/2190915:1125648548:m:4:26884932:78BD31153574D5FC08E42D3AF4383780 or by mail to:

A simple explainer as to the issues causing the Writers Strike.

National Lawyers Guild Votes for Impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney

WASHINGTON - November 6 - The National Lawyers Guild voted unanimously and enthusiastically for the impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney at its national convention in Washington, DC. The resolution lists more than a dozen high crimes and misdemeanors of the Bush and Cheney administration and "calls upon the U.S. House of Representatives to immediately initiate impeachment proceedings, to investigate the charges, and if the investigation supports the charges, to vote to impeach George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney as provided in the Constitution of the United States of America."

The resolution provides for an NLG Impeachment Committee open to all members that will help organize and coordinate events at the local, state, and national level to build public participation in the campaign to initiate impeachment investigation, impeachment, and removal of Bush and Cheney from office without further delay.

The resolution calls on all other state and national bar associations, state and local government bodies, community organizations, labor unions, and all other citizen associations to adopt similar resolutions and to use all their resources to build the campaign demanding that Congress initiate impeachment investigation, impeach, and remove Bush and Cheney from office.

The full text of the resolution can be found at
http://nlg.org/convention/2007%20Resolutions/Impeachment%20resolution.pdf

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5252
Sent in from a reader, as purportedly published in the Charlotte Observer...
To The Editor:

The Senate Judiciary Committee has been unable to extract a yes or no answer from Mr. Mukasey, Bush's candidate for attorney general, about whether waterboarding does or doesn't constitute a form of torture. Why not do what the C.I.A. would do to get him to answer the question and that is, waterboard Mr. Mukasey himself so he could find out about it firsthand? Wouldn't that speed things up?

Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon

From Garry Shay...

Dear Readers:

Feinstein and Schumer say Mukasey is the best we can get. That may be true. And I will concede there may be times when that kind of logic is correct.

This is not one of them.

The entire world, yea verily, even the Bush Administration, agrees torture is wrong.

This has devolved into an issue of semantics as to what constitutes torture in an attempt to obfuscate reality.

I believe water boarding is torture. Torture is not limited to "organ failure" or whatever it is the Bush Administration defines it as this week.

You only need to think of the Chinese Water Torture to be aware of that. The steady drip of water on the forehead will not induce organ failure, nor anything they define as torture. Yet, I think all agree it is in fact torture.

Calling the Question — In the House — on Impeaching Cheney
by John Nichols | Published on Friday, November 2, 2007 by The Nation

Broadcast media’s gate-keeping “stars” have done just about everything in their power to keep the matter of presidential accountability off the radar of the American people. That was evident during the most recent Democratic presidential debate, when NBC anchors Brian Williams and Tim Russert meticulously avoided following up on Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s three references to impeachment but somehow found time to grill the contenders on UFOs and what costume Barack Obama would be wearing on Halloween.

Pollsters are almost as bad. Rarely are questions about impeachment included in statewide or national surveys.

Despite the lack of media coverage, however, when citizens are asked what they think about holding members of the Bush administration to account, they respond with an enthusiasm far greater than that displayed for impeaching Richard Nixon at the height of the Watergate scandal. It is this reality — as opposed to the state of denial fostered by so much of the media and the political class — that Congressman Dennis Kucinich will act upon next week, when he offers a privileged resolution on the House floor to bring articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney.

Kucinich will face an uphill fight in a chamber led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who continues to say that impeachment is “off the table.”

From the Desk of Donald Rumsfeld ...
By Robin Wright | The Washington Post | Thursday 01 November 2007

In sometimes-brusque "snowflakes," he shared worldview, shaped policy.

In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid "physical labor" and wrote of the need to "keep elevating the threat," "link Iraq to Iran" and develop "bumper sticker statements" to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war.

The memos, often referred to as "snowflakes," shed light on Rumsfeld's brusque management style and on his efforts to address key challenges during his tenure as Pentagon chief. Spanning from 2002 to shortly after his resignation following the 2006 congressional elections, a sampling of his trademark missives obtained yesterday reveals a defense secretary disdainful of media criticism and driven to reshape public opinion of the Iraq war.

Rumsfeld, whose sometimes abrasive approach often alienated other Cabinet members and White House staff members, produced 20 to 60 snowflakes a day and regularly poured out his thoughts in writing as the basis for developing policy, aides said. The memos are not classified but are marked "for official use only."

Please call Sen. Feinstein's office (202-224-3841) and ask if she supports torture.

Remind the staffer that "water-boarding" is torture even though Mukasey won't admit it.

Then ask her to vote NO on Mukasey's nomination for Attorney General.

If you have time, please contact the other members of the Judiciary Committee and ask them the same questions.

http://judiciary.senate.gov/members.cfm

They can all be reached via the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (Just ask for the Senator by name)

Thanks,
Bill


President Bush's nominee for Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, thinks the president should be able to wiretap Americans without a warrant and refuses to say whether water-boarding is torture. It's outrageous—but we can stop him. Can you call Sen. Feinstein today and tell her that torture is unacceptable in America? Tell her to vote 'no' on Mukasey's nomination next week.
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Phone: 202-224-3841

Mothers begin hunger strike to push for children’s health care

DENVER – Three women who appeared in Michael Moore’s film “SiCKO” began a hunger strike for health care at midnight on November 1 because Congress has yet to pass acceptable State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation and it has not been signed by President Bush.

Last week, Congress failed to override the President’s veto of expanded SCHIP legislation, even though national polls show that a wide majority of American supported the measure and would even pay more taxes to support expanded SCHIP. And just this week, Congress passed another SCHIP bill that the President promises he will veto yet again.

Donna Smith of Colorado, Reggie Cervantes of Oklahoma and Adrian Campbell of Michigan all had their stories featured on the big screen in “SiCKO” this summer, and they all continue to fight for health care reform in spite of their own personal struggles to access and afford health care for themselves and their families.

How many more reasons do we need to get rid of ALL private mercenaries?

State to Blackwater: Nothing You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You in a Court of Law
Jeremy Scahill | Posted October 30, 2007 | 05:53 PM (EST)

Apparently there is one set of rights for Blackwater mercenaries and another for the rest of us. Normally when a group of people alleged to have gunned down 17 civilians in a lawless shooting spree are questioned, investigators will tell them something along the lines of: "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." But that is not what the Blackwater operatives involved in the September 16 Nisour Square shooting in Iraq were told. Most of the Blackwater shooters were questioned by State Department Diplomatic Security investigators with the understanding that their statements and information gleaned from them could not be used to bring criminal charges against them, nor could they be introduced as evidence. In other words, "Anything you say can't and won't be used against you in a court of law."

ABC News obtained copies of sworn statements given by Blackwater guards in the immediate aftermath of the shootings, all of which begin, "I understand this statement is being given in furtherance of an official administrative inquiry," and that, "I further understand that neither my statements nor any information or evidence gained by reason of my statements can be used against me in a criminal proceeding." Constitutional law expert Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, says the offering of so-called "use immunity" agreements by the State Department is "very irregular," adding he could not recall a precedent for it. In normal circumstances, Ratner said, such immunity is only granted after a Grand Jury or Congressional committee has been convened and the party has invoked their 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination. It would then be authorized by either a judge or the committee.

DNC Calls for 'Immediate Firing' of DoJ Voting Chief in Wake of 'Outrageous Comments', 'Outright Attack on Voting Rights'
Says John 'Minorities Die First' Tanner's Recent Remarks 'Underscore the GOP's Utter Disregard for the Integrity of our Nation's Election System'
Statement Issued in Advance of Tomorrow's U.S. House Judicary Hearings Featuring Testimony from Embattled DoJ Voting Rights Chief...
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5219

In advance of tomorrow morning's House Judiciary Committee hearing to feature testimony by DoJ Civil Rights Division Voting Section chief, John "Minorities Die First" Tanner, DNC Chair Howard Dean and Donna Brazile of the DNC Voting Rights Institute have issued a statement calling for Tanner to be "immediately fired."

"In their latest scheme, the Republican Administration has manipulated the mission of the Department of Justice, firing US Attorneys who were unwilling to pursue phony 'voter fraud' cases, and politicized the Civil Rights Division," the statement (posted in full at the end of this article) reads.

The release goes on to decry the politicization of the Bush Department of Justice, and what is described as their "outright assault" on the right to vote.

Live Blogging from the APAPA Voter Education Forum

2:47
I had to go backstage to line up to receive an award of appreciation for SFD's involvement in helping with this event. I missed the taped video from Dan Lungren. Pamela Wu (KCRA Ch. 3) just thanked myself, John Tjaden and Randy Bayne for live-blogging this event (unfortunately, none of us were up on the stage at the time ;o)). Went up on stage to receive my plaque. Now I'm back on stage at my computer.

Amy Tong (2007 Forum Chair) just thanked everyone for helping out. Amy has proved to be quite an incredible organizer. It's been great working with her over the last couple of months.

2:50
C.C. Yin (Founder and Chair of APAPA) is speaking now. More certificates of appreciation for the sponsors of this event. They get plaques and Hawaiian Leis!! C.C. just received a deeeluxe lei from one of the sponsors.

2:59
Comcast brought a giant check that shows they contributed $150K to the event. Wal-Mart is the next sponsor. The Bakersfield store is actually a member of APAPA. The big sponsors are receiving real Chinese swords. They are apparently the swords of democracy. C.C.'s wife is introduced. She's the one that writes the checks! "It's alright to participate in the political process and vote!"

Miss Asian America, Louise Wu, just walked past us as she was going off stage. Wow, nice ... tiara! ;o))

3:05
The candidates are now being introduced. They also get leis. Oops, they started walking off the stage before they could all receive them.


(I was able to take a few pictures from the side where we were sitting)

More below the fold...

Looks like it's time to hit the phones again. We should be ok with Matsui & Thompson (but you can still call them to let them know how you feel about this issue). It's the usual Doolittle, Lungren & Herger phone calls that need to be made.

Vote YES on SCHIP

District 2 - Rep. Wally Herger, R-Marysville (202) 225-3076
District 3 - Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River (202) 225-5716
District 4 - Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville (202) 225-2511

As always, other contact info can be found here:
http://sacramentofordemocracy.org/?q=node/view/3130

Thanks,
Bill

“Tomorrow (Thursday), we will be taking up the SCHIP bill. The legislation will provide health care for 10 million of America’s children. It’s another historic opportunity for this Congress to declare itself ‘the children’s Congress.’

Burned-up Residents Fault Officials for San Diego's Devastating Fires
Earlier Recommendations Ignored by Governor; Equipment, Personnel Unavailable, Undeployed, Late in Coming
Failures of County Supervisors Also Cited as 'Too Little, Too Late'...

Special to The BRAD BLOG by Miriam Raftery from San Diego, CA

“It’s like Armageddon,” Jill Michaels said, after watching her home burn to the ground in the Harris fire. In the early hours of the worst fire in California history, the Michaels family received no evacuation warning and found exit routes blocked, forcing them to turn back to their home in Potrero. Now, the Michaels are among half a million evacuees who have fled four raging wildfires, the worst fire disaster in California history. Worse even than the 2003 Cedar fire, which until now held that shameful record.

San Diego County now has more refugees than New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. While reported loss of life thus far remains low, hundreds of thousands of acres have been scorched and countless people will soon return home--only to find themselves homeless.

RT Rides Are Free!! Thurs, Oct 25, All Day

As a "surprise" thank you to Sacramento, Washington Mutual / WaMu (pronounced "Wah" "Moo") is sponsoring free rides on RT tomorrow - Thursday, October 25.

Rides will be free all day on all buses, light rail and Paratransit.

Barbara Lee Responds to Bush Iraq Supplemental Request
October 22, 2007, Washington, DC

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who last week led a group of 89 House members in writing to the President to state their commitment to only providing funding for the redeployment of troops from Iraq, issued the following statement in response to the $196 billion supplemental spending request for Iraq that President Bush formally submitted today:

“The President is asking Congress to pay for an exit strategy for him at the expense of our troops. Well, people aren't buying his scare tactics anymore. People are asking 'How many of our troops should die so the President can save face?

“Congress should not approve another dime for him to run out the clock on his failed policy. We have the power to end the occupation of Iraq by fully funding the safe, timely, responsible redeployment of our troops, and there are a growing number of members of Congress who are committed to doing just that.”

50% of the CA nationa Guard's equipment is in Iraq, not here in CA to protect and serve the residents of this great state!!

Photo by Bryan Patrick

As CA burns, where is the CA National Guard?
10.23.2007 - 11:00 am - Billl4

As Southern CA goes up in flames, where is the CA National Guard? According to CNN, there are only 1,500 CA National Guardsmen fighting these fires. Where are the rest of our National Guardsmen, and why are they not helping to fight these fires? Are they in Iraq? If so, how many are still in California?

To the best of my knowledge, there are about 20,000 CA Army National Guardsmen. When I called their office, I couldn't get a straight answer about how many CA Air National Guardsmen there are. I'm not sure why they won't tell me. They wanted to know who I was and why I wanted to know how many there were. What are they hiding?

We all know that our guardsmen are in Iraq protecting Halliburton and the Multi-national Oil Corporations. I think it's well past time to tell our Governor to Bring Our CA National Guard Home! Please call the governor's office and tell him that we want our Guard Home Now to protect our great state!

Call Governor Schwarzenegger today!! 916-445-2841 (Press 1 for English, then 5 for "Hot topic issues", then 0 to speak to someone)
http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email (Choose "Fire - Southern CA Fires" from the drop-down menu)

I believe it is due time that we revive Loni Hancock's, AJR 36, to bring our CA National Guard home!

UPDATE (10/24): As trunnion pointed out in the comments below, the CA Nat. Guard admitted that they were stretched to the limits.

State National Guard warns it's stretched to the limit May 2007
"A dearth of equipment such as trucks and radios -- caused in part by the war in Iraq -- has state military officials worried they would be slow in providing help in the event of a major fire, earthquake or terrorist attack."

Also, Barbara Boxer had this to say last month:
“The California National Guard has lost so much equipment as a result of the war in Iraq that, according to the Secretary of the Army, the Guard may lack the capability to respond to a large scale emergency such as a catastrophic earthquake or major flood. This is unacceptable. My amendment will help Congress get a more accurate picture of the Guard’s equipment shortages and needs so we can ensure we are fully prepared to respond to domestic emergencies. We must not wait for disaster to strike before we act.”