Schumer: “Americans don’t want investigation”

Unfortunately Mitch McConnell and Charles Schumer weighed in, on a Sunday head show, on chances of Democrats’ retaking Congress in the fall elections.

I have thought for some time that both Mr. Schumer and Mrs. Clinton have no real political existence except to buffer the Republican Party in NY state, where the GOP is outnumbered 2-1. Schumer’s appearance yesterday (May 28) did nothing to change that impression.

McConnell (R-KY), an old tobacco industry buy-in, asserted that Democrats have a simple agenda: (1) wave the white flag in the “war on terror”; (2) raise taxes; (3) censure the president in the Senate; and (4) impeach the president in the House. I couldn’t help thinking how un-threatening most of that sounded. Presumably the “white flag” is McConnell’s way of referring to getting out of Iraq. I can guess what he’d think of getting the U.S. oil companies out of there, which is a sine qua non for America’s regaining any credibility in the rest of the world.

Schumer then repeated his previous catch phrases of “change” and “a new direction,” claiming that turf for the Dems. Shades of Gary Hart in the Eighties . . . “new ideas” are worse than a shibboleth. Food, water, shelter, education, medicine — which of these is a new idea? Any hack so far gone in hackery, like Schumer (the number-one check kiter in the House, I believe), as to be unable to perceive the real needs of people in this country should not be allowed on television.

Schumer also claimed that there will be no investigating, should Dems win Congress, saying that the American people don’t want investigation. The real name of one 9/11 hijacker, “Majed Moqed,” still has not been released to the public, presumably to protect either his relatives in the old country (which old country? — good question), or the administration insiders/cronies linked with said relatives. — And Schumer says we don’t want investigation? Not only should Mrs. Clinton lose her primary (to anyone running against her), NY State shd explore possibilities of a recall for Schumer. Meanwhile, his saying anything is a waste of air, speaking of precious resources.

AT&T whistleblower steps forward, describes NSA collusion

Kudos to Wired for publishing the statement of AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein. Klein worked for AT&T for 22 years. The statement is, to put it mildly, worth reading.

High points:

“In 2002, when I was working in an AT&T office in San Francisco, the site manager told me to expect a visit from a National Security Agency agent, who was to interview a management-level technician for a special job. The agent came, and by chance I met him and directed him to the appropriate people.” [note how EARLY this started]

“In January 2003, I . . . toured the AT&T central office on Folsom Street in San Francisco . . . There I saw a new room being built adjacent to the 4ESS switch room where the public’s phone calls are routed. I learned that the person whom the NSA interviewed for the secret job was the person working to install equipment in this room. The regular technician work force was not allowed in the room.”

“I learned that fiber optic cables from the secret room were tapping into the Worldnet circuits by splitting off a portion of the light signal. I saw this in a design document available to me, entitled “Study Group 3, LGX/Splitter Wiring, San Francisco” dated Dec. 10, 2002. I also saw design documents dated Jan. 13, 2004 and Jan. 24, 2003, which instructed technicians on connecting some of the already in-service circuits to the “splitter” cabinet, which diverts some of the light signal to the secret room. The circuits listed were the Peering Links, which connect Worldnet with other networks and hence the whole country, as well as the rest of the world.”

“One of the documents listed the equipment installed in the secret room, and this list included a Narus STA 6400, which is a “Semantic Traffic Analyzer”. The Narus STA technology is known to be used particularly by government intelligence agencies because of its ability to sift through large amounts of data looking for preprogrammed targets.”

“My job required me to connect new circuits to the “splitter” cabinet and get them up and running. While working on a particularly difficult one with a technician back East, I learned that other such “splitter” cabinets were being installed in other cities, including Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego.”

Based on his experience, Klein says that “it appears the NSA is capable of conducting what amounts to vacuum-cleaner surveillance of all the data crossing the internet — whether that be peoples’ e-mail, web surfing or any other data.”

It might be added that Bush insiders including some of the president’s relatives are among business people most closely hooked into the global telecommunications industry.

 

Calls for sarcastic retort: GWBush backs brother Jeb for White House

The St. Petersburg Times reports, picked up by the London Guardian, that the president says his brother Jeb would make a great president.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/10/State/President_wants_broth.shtml

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5812620,00.html

GWBush isn’t saying that Jeb wants to run. The helmsman of torture, illegal invasion of another country and indefinite incarceration without telling the prisoners what they are charged with also doesn’t define his concept of “great.”

Gov Jeb Bush is, however, taking a trip outside the U.S. perceived as a trial run for presidential activity. With all the help he’s given U.S. corporations in outsourcing, Gov Jeb Bush has plenty of support out there, that is outside the U.S.

 

 

Leading to Iraq: high crimes and misdemeanors3

This blog continues from the previous ones on the same topic. As we now know, the White House and top administration figures launched a well organized and highly concerted campaign to exploit the six-month anniversary of 9/11 to get a war with Iraq.

 

Fanning out on March 11, the president held a ceremonial press opportunity at the White House, the vice president appeared jointly with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London, and the Secretary of Defense attacked Iraq at Arlington. Statements hyping Iraq concerns were made at the press daily briefing at State and in appearances by Senators McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lieberman (D-Conn.). Sympathetic stories appeared in media outlets, and rightwing Washington think tanks supported the whole effort, as did most Republicans in office with the honorable exception of Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas).

 

This operation exposes more than administration eagerness to invade Iraq. It also exposes how the current White House deputizes branches of U.S. government as branches of its own political operations. In an ugly continuing push, the Bush White House has engaged in the greatest enlargement of presidential power in the history of the United States, co-opting the other branches of government, the Republican Party, the press, the military, the intelligence community and even the states.

 

With a few heroic exceptions, there could be little resistance within the administration to inappropriate dominance by the White House or the unconstitutional invasion of a foreign country. Two weeks before March 11, Elizabeth Cheney, Vice President Cheney