politics for the 99%

Published on Consortium News, by Ray McGovern, Jan 18, 2015.

Ex-CIA official Jeffrey Sterling is going on trial for espionage because he allegedly told a reporter about a botched covert op that sent flawed nuclear designs to Iran, but powerful people want to spare ex-CIA Director David Petraeus indictment for leaking secrets to a mistress … //

… In short, the prosecution of Jeffrey Sterling seems to have little to do with exposing secrets, but everything to do with hiding the kind of gross misfeasance that – truth be told – does constitute a real and present danger to our national security.

Similarly, one might think the government would be embarrassed when it became more widely known that Jeffrey Sterling did go to Senate Intelligence Committee staffers to tell them of this unconscionably stupid covert action (which involved delivering flawed nuclear weapons blueprints to Iran in 2000 with the goal of sabotaging any bomb-building plans, but the flaws were apparently detected and the real data inadvertently exposed genuine nuclear-weapons secrets).

Sterling’s efforts to go through channels had zero results. One need not be a cynic to conclude that the government apparently sees an overweening, countervailing positive in demonstrating to potential whistleblowers (if further evidence were needed) that going to congressional “overseers” is a feckless exercise and only serves to get you in a peck of trouble. When Risen included a section about Operation Merlin in State of War, Sterling became the chief suspect and now faces 10 felony counts, including seven under the Espionage Act.

In this light, is there not supreme irony in former Senate Intelligence Committee chair Diane Feinstein’s plea that former CIA Director David Petraeus not be prosecuted for sharing classified information with his biographer/mistress because he has “suffered enough?” Does one have to be an intelligence officer to appreciate the gravity of that crime, especially since Petraeus served as the agency’s top official? Do the big shots with lots of important friends get one standard of justice and the lower ranks get another? … //

… (full text).

Pope Francis: Listen to women, men are too machista, on Russia Today RT, Jan 20, 2015;

The Uncompromising Anti-Capitalism of Martin Luther King Jr., on Huffington Post, by Obery M. Hendricks, Jr., Ph.D., Jan 19, 2015; 

Fed Testimony in AIG Bailout Trial: If It Walks Like Perjury and Quacks Like Perjury, on naked capitalism, by Yves Smith, Janu 19, 2015;

Is the TransPacific Partnership Being Brought Back From the Dead? on naked capitalism, by Yves Smith, Janu 19, 2015;

Your Home Is Your Prison: How to Lock Down Your Neighborhood, Your Country, and You, on naked capitalism, by Yves Smith, Janu 19, 2015;

ECB Bond buying as a hard-right bank centered political strategy, on RWER Blog, by merijnknibbe (from Norbert Haering), Jan 18, 2015;

Links. Unexpected hours. Hunger, poverty, energy: positive developments. Ireland?!? The true German vision on Europe, on RWER Blog, by merijnknibbe, Jan 16, 2015;

Petite promenade dans la pensée vivifiante de Bernard Maris, dans RWER Blog, par Elise Huillery, Jan 15, 2015: Economiste lui-même, chroniqueur à «Charlie Hebdo», il invitait ses confrères à douter de leur science, à se préoccuper de ce qui se passait en dehors de leur labo, en soulignant sans cesse le caractère tout relatif de leur savoir;

It’s not about Islam and it never was, on Al-Ahram weekly online, by Ramzy Baroud, Jan 15, 2015: Media pundits are quick to link the Paris events to Islam but say nothing about the legitimate grievances Muslims have against Western imperialism;

Kingdom at crossroads, on Al-Ahram weekly online, by Salah Nasravi, Jan 15, 2015: Speculation in Saudi Arabia is growing over who will succeed the ailing King Abdullah;

Ethiopia’s water projects, on Al-Ahram weekly online, by Maghawry Shehata, Jan 15, 2015: Ethiopia’s dam projects pose a grave threat to Egypt’s water security;

Egypt: More discoveries, on Al-Ahram weekly online, by Nevine El-Aref, Jan 15, 2015: Military fortresses in Tel Habuwa, the tomb of a previously unknown queen in Abusir and a relief showing quarry work in ancient Egypt are among important new discoveries in Egypt;

video: This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate, 14.08 min, on Socialist Project.ca, Jan 11, 2015 – also on YouTube, uploaded by LeftStreamed: part 1/3, 14.09 min; part 2/3, 29.19 min; part 3/3, 15.48 min;

France’s Left Front: After terror, we need more democracy and tolerance, on GreenLeft, Jan 8, 2015;

Reading Samir Amin: The Implosion of Contemporary Capitalism, three Essays on Marx’s Value Theory, on Zcomm, by Seth Sandronsky, Oct 27, 2014.