Arizona Sheriff: ‘Our Own Government Has Become Our Enemy’

(CNSNews) – Pinal County (Ariz.) Sheriff Paul Babeu is hopping mad at the federal government.

Babeu told CNSNews.com that rather than help law enforcement in Arizona stop the hundreds of thousands of people who come into the United States illegally, the federal government is targeting the state and its law enforcement personnel.

“What’s very troubling is the fact that at a time when we in law enforcement and our state need help from the federal government, instead of sending help they put up billboard-size signs warning our citizens to stay out of the desert in my county because of dangerous drug and human smuggling and weapons and bandits and all these other things and then, behind that, they drag us into court with the ACLU,” Babeu said.

Video: Clinton – Administration Will File Suit Over Arizona Immigration Law

(Fox) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an interview with a TV station in Ecuador that the Obama administration “will be bringing” suit against Arizona for its immigration law, though the Justice Department for weeks has said that the issue is under review.

In a clip of the interview posted on a conservative blog, Clinton was asked how the Obama administration was handling the debate over the law.

“President Obama has spoken out against the law because he thinks that the federal government should be determining immigration policy. And the Justice Department, under his direction, will be bringing a lawsuit against the act,” the secretary of state responded, before calling for comprehensive immigration reform.

President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have both criticized the Arizona law, but the administration has maintained that its attorneys are reviewing the legislation to determine the next step. Full story here.

MSM: Obama starts deploying interrogation teams

(Reuters) – The Obama administration has started using special law enforcement and intelligence teams to interrogate suspected militants in the United States and abroad, including the Pakistani-American arrested in the Times Square bombing plot, a top official said on Tuesday.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the formation of the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG) in August and gave the reins to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, replacing the Central Intelligence Agency that did have the lead role in intelligence interrogations.

The program calls for the deployment of Mobile Interrogation Teams, made up of specialists from across the law enforcement and intelligence community, to question important detainees, whether they are in U.S. custody or in the custody of a foreign government. Read entire article

Napolitano Hasn’t Reviewed ‘In Detail’ the Arizona Immigration Law She’s Criticized

Editor’s note: The bill is 10 pages long. Does Napolitano have a reading problem?

(CNSNews) – Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who has been a vocal critic of the new Arizona immigration law, told Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Monday that she had not reviewed the law in detail, but nevertheless repeated criticism she made in April on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the law is a “bad law enforcement law.”

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder said he hadn’t read the law either, although he too has criticized it. He told the House Judiciary Committee he’d “expressed concerns” about the Arizona law, “on the basis of what I’ve heard about the law” from newspaper and TV reports. Holder has questioned whether the law is constitutional and has said the federal government may challenge it in court.

On Monday, Sen. McCain asked Napolitano, who is the former governor of Arizona, about the law during a hearing on the federal response to the oil spill off the Gulf Coast –“Have you had a chance to review the new law that was passed by the state of Arizona?” Read entire article

Anti-war 9/11 families oppose Holder proposal to modify Miranda

(RawStory) – During an interview Sunday on ABC television’s current affairs talk show This Week, Attorney General Eric Holder suggested creating an exception to so-called Miranda rights established in a 1966 Supreme Court ruling that forbids prosecutors from using statements made by suspects before they have been warned that they have a right to remain silent.

“We’re now dealing with international terrorists,” the attorney general told NBC television. “And I think that we have to think about perhaps modifying the rules that interrogators have and somehow coming up with something that is flexible and is more consistent with the threat that we now face.”

Monday morning, an anti-war organization for survivors of the September 11, 2001 attacks along with friends and family members of the victims, blasted the proposal.

Video: Obama Changes Miranda Rights?

World War

(AntiFascistCalling) – ‘Black World’ Space Shuttle: Air Force Raises the Stakes for a New Arms Race

It’s not as if things aren’t bad enough right here on planet earth.

What with multiple wars and occupations, an accelerating economic meltdown, corporate malfeasance and environmental catastrophes such as the petroleum-fueled apocalypse in the Gulf of Mexico, I’d say we have a full plate already. Read More Here

(ABCNews) – Video: Holder – Pakistani Taliban Behind Times Square Attack

In his first Sunday morning interview, Attorney General Eric Holder revealed that the Pakistani Taliban was behind Faisal Shahzad’s attempted bombing of Times Square last week.
“We’ve now developed evidence that shows that the Pakistani Taliban was behind the attack,” Holder said on “This Week.”
“We know that they helped facilitate it. We know that they probably helped finance it. And that he was working at their direction.” Video Link Here

(StrategicCultureFoundation) – Russia and the Central Asian Drug Trade: The Role of Kyrgyztan

A drug trafficking campaign is being conducted against Russia on a broad scale affecting all spheres of its political, social and economic life. Kyrgyzstan plays an important role in this campaign. There are ten main routes of heroin traffic from Afghanistan (occupied by the US forces) with six of them crossing the Kyrgyz city of Osh, an important hub of Afghan drug traffic.

Here are these routes: Read More Here

(StrategicCultureFoundation) – Mounting Tensions and Political Confrontation on the Korean Peninsula

The Pyeongtack naval base near Seoul played host a few days ago to a maritime memorial ceremony for and the funeral of 46 sailors of South Korea’s Cheonan corvette, which sank in unclear circumstances when on a patrol mission in the Yellow Sea on March 26th 2010. The 1,200 – tonne corvette exploded for no obvious reason, broke in two and sank in a matter of minutes, which is quite unusual for this class of ship. 46 crewmembers of the 104-strong crew died in what proved the country’s biggest maritime disaster ever since the Republic of Korea emerged from Korea’s division into two political entities in 1948. The issue of what caused the Cheonan to sink and who is to blame for the disaster is still in the limelight. Read More Here

(StopNATO) – NATO: Global Military Bloc Finalizes 21st Century Strategic Doctrine – Rick Rozoff

As the world faces an almost two-year economic downturn epitomized by the national crisis in Greece and natural disasters like the devastating earthquake in Haiti and the fallout from volcanic eruptions in Iceland, the U.S.-led Western military bloc is preparing for interventions around the world. Read More Here

DC Knows that Obama is Ineligible for Office

(CanadaFreePress) – Members from all three branches of the Federal government already know that Barack Hussein Obama is ineligible for the office of President. National leaders, to include members of the US Supreme Court, already know that Barack Hussein Obama is not a “natural born citizen” of the United States of America, and therefore, is ineligible for the office he currently holds.

KSM + military tribunal = 9/11 cover-up?

(RussiaToday) – US Republicans, in an effort to avoid a public civilian trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged 9/11 mastermind, are turning up the heat on Attorney General Eric Holder. Why? Read More Here

The Rogue Nation

(AntiWar) – In spite of the fact that the United States faces no enemy anywhere in the world capable of opposing it on a battlefield, the Defense budget for 2011 will go up 7.1 percent from current levels. A lot of the new spending will be on drones, America’s latest contribution to western civilization, capable of surveilling large areas on the ground and delivering death from the skies. It is a peculiarly American vision of warfare, with a “pilot” sitting at a desk half a world away and pressing a button that can kill a target far below.

Are Presidents Afraid of the CIA? – Ray McGovern

In the past, I have alluded to Panetta and the Seven Dwarfs. The reference is to CIA Director Leon Panetta and seven of his moral-dwarf predecessors — the ones who sent President Barack Obama a letter on Sept. 18 asking him to “reverse Attorney General Holder’s Aug. 24 decision to re-open the criminal investigation of CIA interrogations.”

Ray McGovern: Shining Light on Roots of Terrorism

Media commentary on the upcoming 9/11 trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has raised concern that state secrets may be divulged, including details about how the Bush administration used torture to extract evidence about al-Qaeda.

Obama administration shields CIA torturers

In response to a public campaign by the CIA, the Obama administration has decided to further scale back an already narrow investigation of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) torture during the Bush years that was announced last month by Attorney General Eric Holder.

Torture: The Fault Is Not in Our Stars – Ray McGovern

Unlike many of my progressive friends, for me the current administration’s behavior on torture is a glass half full. In my view, the real scandal is how very few have taken a sip.

Obama Supports Extending Patriot Act

The Obama administration has blessed three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act that expand the government’s reach in counter-terrorism investigations.

CIA Atrocities Revealed to a National Shrug

We Have met The Nazis, And They Are Us
Godwin’s Law be damned–it’s impossible to read the newly-released CIA report on the torture of Muslim prisoners without thinking of the Third Reich.

Closing In on the Torturers – Ray McGovern

Do you think the wardens will let George Tenet wear his Presidential Medal of Freedom over the orange coverall?

Thomas Paine v. the Right’s Torture Defenders

What every American should be made to learn about the IG Torture Report

50 Top U.S. War Criminals

Compiled below, in hopes that it may be of some assistance to Eric Holder, John Conyers, Patrick Leahy, active citizens, foreign courts, the International Criminal Court, law firms preparing civil suits, and local or state prosecutors with decency and nerve is a list of 50 top living U.S. war criminals.

Congressman: Obama Could Use Pandemic To Declare Martial Law

Georgia Congressman Paul Broun warned attendees of a town hall event Tuesday that the Obama administration was planning to use a pandemic or a natural disaster to implement martial law in the United States.

Obama’s Genocide Program is the Last Straw

The facts are slapping us in the face. Obama has been committing felony crimes against America and her citizens! America must demand he be arrested and tried for his crimes!

Senate Hate Crimes Bill Threatens First Amendment

There are inherent First Amendment and equal protection issues with any “hate crime” legislation as I pointed out when Eric Holder started aggressively pushing Congress for passage of a new bill. That said, if you are going to enact such laws, they must be targeted, rational and designed to effect the result desired and not any other. Such laws should not be vague and expansive, should not be able to be wielded by prosecutors as selective bludgeons and should not infringe on First Amendment rights to free speech and association.

Late Thursday night, the Senate passed a Hate Crimes Bill that arguably violates all of the above.

President Carter: Many Children Were Tortured Under Bush

Red Cross, Amnesty International and the Pentagon “have gathered substantial testimony of torture of children, confirmed by soldiers who witnessed or participated in the abuse.” In “Our Endangered Values” Carter said that the Red Cross found after visiting six U.S. prisons “107 detainees under eighteen, some as young as eight years old.” And reporter Hersh, (who broke the Abu Ghraib torture scandal,) reported 800-900 Pakistani boys aged 13 to 15 in custody.

Senate Passes Hate Bill – Yet Democrats Compromise

Sen. Patrick Leahy’s hate crimes bill, amending the National Defense Authorization Act, effectively passed the Senate tonight at about eleven o’clock p.m. EDT. A call for cloture, or termination of debate after thirty hours, was passed 63 to 28. Clearly, the Senate majority had spoken. Once cloture is invoked there is usually little more that can be done to resist.

Cheney Sweats Out the Summer – Ray Mcgovern

So far the summer has been mild in the Washington, D.C., area. But for former Vice President Dick Cheney the temperature is well over 100 degrees. He is sweating profusely, and it is becoming increasingly clear why.

Total Emergency Alert Hate Bill Going Forward In Senate

In a bold and dramatic gesture, Sen. Patrick Leahy took the floor of the Senate on Monday, July 13, to argue for passage of his hate crimes amendment to S. 1390, “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.”

Video: Holder Admits – No Equality Under Hate Bill

Rev. Ted Pike National Director of National Prayer Network covers the ‘Hate’ bill

Bill Amendment Gives AG Holder Authority to Decide Who is a Terrorist

Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, may soon have the power to classify millions of Americans as domestic terrorists. An amendment to H.R. 2647 (the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010), introduced by Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida, would grant Holder absolute authority to decide who is a terrorist.

Bill Gives Attorney General Power To Designate Gun Owners, Tax Protesters As Terrorists

Amendments to the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, which has already been passed by the House, would empower the Attorney General Eric Holder to define gun owners, anti-abortion activists and tax protesters as domestic terrorists in light of recent federal reports that classify millions of Americans as “extremists”.

Holder Tells Congress New Hate Crime Law Needed

Washington – Attorney General Eric Holder urged Congress Thursday to pass a new hate crimes law which would allow the federal government to prosecute cases of violence based on sexual orientation, gender or disability.

Video: Proposed Law Allows AG Holder to Block Gun Sales to Over a Million Americans

New Jersey Democrat senator Frank R. Lautenberg plans to introduce legislation designed to cancel the Second Amend rights of well over a million U.S. citizens this coming week, according to the New York Times.

Making Illegal Spying Legal – Holder Refuses to Call Warrantless Spying Illegal

In probably the most disturbing testimony to hit Capitol Hill since Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the House Judiciary Committee in May and refused to rule out lawless detention or to agree that government officials can sometimes be prosecuted for their crimes, on Wednesday Holder appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee and, among much else, refused five times to agree that warrantless spying is illegal and unconstitutional.

Fed Up With Feds

On June 11, 2009, federal judge George Wu sentenced California resident, Charlie Lynch, to one year and one day in federal prison after a federal jury of deliberately uninformed Americans found Mr. Lynch guilty of federal charges for running a California medical marijuana dispensary that was completely legal under California laws.

MSM: Decriminalize marijuana

(LATimes) – The war on drugs has caused too much collateral damage: Even the ill face stigmatization by using an alternative to harsh pharmaceuticals.

MSM: Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan

(NYT) – President Obama told human rights advocates at the White House on Wednesday that he was mulling the need for a “preventive detention” system that would establish a legal basis for the United States to incarcerate terrorism suspects who are deemed a threat to national security but cannot be tried, two participants in the private session said.

Torture Memos Expose Dark, Imperial Presidency

This was not a happy week for the torture lobby, nor its defenders, derailing months of charm offensive by Bush-Cheney legacy boosters. A wary President Obama backed off attempts to defuse the torture parade – fretting over divisive investigations and hard-to-win court convictions. Public indignation likely surpassed February polling when 65% favored torture investigations, 40% criminal prosecutions.

On Torture, the Pressure Builds – Ray McGovern

Well, well. The New York Times has finally put a story together on the key role that two controversial psychologists played in devising the Bush administration’s torture policies. Guess we should be thankful for small favors.

Obama Stands Nuremberg on Its Head

President Obama’s decision to spare CIA torturers from prosecution stands the Nuremberg principles on their head. “Good Germans who were only following orders” are not exempt from the bar of justice. Individuals must be held responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Obama laments not being able to ban assault weapons

We’ve all seen the news stories about how retail sales of firearms have been at record levels ever since Barack Obama won the election. Two primary reasons have been cited for this spike in ownership, uncertainty about the economy leading to fears of increased crime and the concern that the Obama administration will move to reinstate the “Assault Weapons Ban” which expired in 2004.

Change you have been told to believe in: A closer examination of Barack Obama’s foreign policy

“What you want in a media system is ostensible diversity that conceals actual uniformity”

– Joseph Goebbels