tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post6570469384974659921..comments2024-03-27T18:00:02.032-04:00Comments on Sardonicky: From the Laboratories of the PlutocracyKaren Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-59603293097049786902014-02-07T04:26:27.911-05:002014-02-07T04:26:27.911-05:00very nice blog. More informative. Thanks for shari...very nice blog. More informative. Thanks for sharing<a href="http://findlocales.com/bangalore/bcontacts/all/details/2087/hotel-empire-international.html" rel="nofollow">Accommodation in MG Road</a>localityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11206547695897319151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-23150111537936923782014-01-07T21:10:31.513-05:002014-01-07T21:10:31.513-05:00Re: the article about the burglars who stole the F...Re: the article about the burglars who stole the FBI files brings back<br />memories. We (my husband's family and us) had the full measure of Hoover and his FBI activities in the late l940's and l950's during the beginnings of the McCarthy years and to this day my father in law's name and description of<br />his activities per the FBI point of view(Gregory Silvermaster) and all fabricated, are still reported in Wikipedia when you punch his name in. I have written to them demanding they remove this false information without a reply.<br />So their dirty work lives on and is now a huge vacuum cleaner sucking up everything on everyone which opens the door to blackmail and false accusations. No one is safe from attack when required to prolong the worst excesses of our current corrupt unregulated political system. It is no<br />surprise to me, just a chill similar to the deep freeze we are currently battling in the environment.<br />We are facing a very dangerous era in regard to free speech, free choice of political beliefs and protection from invasion of privacy beyond reason. Yes, I definitely feel a chill in the air.<br />Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-38793099978719914732014-01-07T20:14:10.008-05:002014-01-07T20:14:10.008-05:00During the late 60s I was involved with a student-...During the late 60s I was involved with a student-<br />faculty organization that carried out ongoing anti-war demonstrations & marches. A new grad student started attending our meetings & soon got to be called "Brad the Rad" for his advocacy of more violent action. Which came to a head one night when he gave a demonstration of how to make Molotov cocktails--and he then urged us to firebomb the library. We pretty much disavowed him & told him to leave our group. We found out about a year later that he was the son of a local FBI agent & was being paid to infiltrate/radicalize on behalf of the agency.<br />I'm sure our campus was not an isolated example of this sort of FBI terrorism.4Runnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02582762546159637023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-40615522720625190842014-01-07T19:18:33.888-05:002014-01-07T19:18:33.888-05:00Re: Whistleblowing Burglars of 1971
Attempting to...Re: Whistleblowing Burglars of 1971<br /><br />Attempting to blackmail MLK into committing suicide by threatening to reveal his extramarital affairs discovered by surveillance, wiretaps, etc has to be one of the most heinous acts of the national security state regime, no matter what name(s) it currently operates under. The only thing worse are their assassinations.annenigmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-18696649527641348552014-01-07T18:46:06.262-05:002014-01-07T18:46:06.262-05:00If you would ever like a quick, fun read, check ou...If you would ever like a quick, fun read, check out "The Doorbell Rang," a Nero Wolfe novel by Rex Stout.<br /><br />The surveillance state gets its comeuppance.<br /><br />Yes, I know it's fiction, and what happens in the book could never happen in reality, but it's nice to think it could, and Stout's writing was always wonderful.<br /><br />Stout was four square opposed to the improper use of state power, and his books - this one in particular - are used as a backdrop for that purpose.<br /><br />Plus, Nero Wolfe novels are just great fun.Noodgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-1666657074899080612014-01-07T18:42:38.891-05:002014-01-07T18:42:38.891-05:00@annenigma, @James F Traynor, @Zee (and @all):
To...@annenigma, @James F Traynor, @Zee (and @all):<br /><br />To add a story that involved the CIA, but that to my knowledge, was never reported on (at least not these specifics):<br /><br />Around 1970 (give or take a year or two, my memory is a bit hazy with regard to the specific year, but I remember the other details quite well), my father, then working in Europe for the U.S. Navy (as a civilian in U.S. government civil service) was approached by the CIA, which was apparently putting out a feeler for whether he was interested in working for them. (The details of their approach and why they approached him make a fascinating story in itself, but for various reasons I won't get into that here).<br /><br />Basically, my father said that he told them that he wasn't interested, that he thought their agency didn't know its ass from a hole in the ground, and that if he (my father) could figure out who their operative was in a certain Western European town, so could the other side, and that the agency should get him out of there before their agent got himself hurt.<br /><br />They (the CIA) didn't, and later, the gentleman referenced <i>was</i> badly hurt (though, ironically, it wasn't in that town, but elsewhere, in a different European country).<br /><br />The notable points, though, are not any of the above, nor even that their agent was working in a covert way, masquerading as something else (no surprise). An important point is that the "something else" was in higher education; it appears that the CIA was, at that time, 1) infiltrated into higher education, and, most notably, 2) <i>spying on ordinary U.S. college students studying in Western Europe.</i><br /><br />(This is quite apart from any less-surprising spying it might have been carrying out via academics in avowed adversary nations:<br /><br />http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19710506&id=wjwgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WGYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7104,1632998 )<br /><br />So today's U.S. governmental spying overreach is nothing new. (That should not be construed as meaning that as a traditional activity, it somehow becomes OK. The overwhelming majority of U.S. governmental spying was then and is now completely unwarranted and unacceptable, and in fact a major danger to our supposed democratic republic. The budgets for the FBI/CIA/NSA should probably be cut by 90%, and we'd all be better off).Fred Drumlevitchhttp://www.freddrumlevitch.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-80685281170360265682014-01-07T18:22:04.653-05:002014-01-07T18:22:04.653-05:00@annenigma--
Thanks for the link and the reminder...@annenigma--<br /><br />Thanks for the link and the reminder.<br /><br />I seem to recollect now that we have discussed the VIPR teams in this forum before, though I don' t know that they've made the news lately.<br /><br />I shall "google" further.Zeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-65899623156952162392014-01-07T16:36:06.261-05:002014-01-07T16:36:06.261-05:00@Zee
The TSA had been doing checkpoints too.
Th...@Zee<br /><br />The TSA had been doing checkpoints too. <br /><br />This is from two years ago. I'm sure there are more sources of info elsewhere. <br /><br />http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/02/29/the-tsa-is-coming-to-a-highway-near-you/2/ <br /><br />annenigmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-34281854438223346172014-01-07T16:31:25.771-05:002014-01-07T16:31:25.771-05:00Kat,
The Socialist Workers Party was targeted, am...Kat,<br /><br />The Socialist Workers Party was targeted, among others, from 1961 to 1971.James F Traynornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-65424083668511505582014-01-07T16:17:14.534-05:002014-01-07T16:17:14.534-05:00Kat,
It was in the '70s and the agents who or...Kat,<br /><br />It was in the '70s and the agents who ordered this among many other break-ins were pardoned by Reagan. In a cursory search I didn't find any more information on this particular break-in.James F Traynornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-67691764692216759992014-01-07T14:38:01.819-05:002014-01-07T14:38:01.819-05:00On the general topic of massive government intrusi...On the general topic of massive government intrusions into privacy, <br /><br />http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/06/government-checkpoints-driving/4265633/<br /><br /><i> "A tactic used by the federal government to gather information for anti-drunken and drugged driving programs is coming under criticism in cities around the country, and some local police agencies say they will no longer take part.<br /><br />The tactic involves a subcontractor for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that uses off-duty but uniformed police at voluntary roadside checkpoints where motorists are asked on their behavior behind the wheel. In some cases, workers at the checkpoints collect blood and saliva samples, in addition to breath samples. NHTSA has said previously that the surveys do not collect any DNA. Drivers are not charged at the checkpoints.<br /><br />In an era of rampant distrust of the federal government and in the wake of the Obama administration's National Security Agency surveillance scandal in which the agency has collected telephone calling records from millions of unsuspecting Americans, the checkpoints have come under intense criticism in several cities this year." <br /><br />'Five years ago it would have been a different story,' says St. Charles County, Mo., Sheriff Tom Neer, who recently authorized deputies to participate in a checkpoint in his St. Louis suburb and saw a public backlash. 'There're just such strong anti-government feelings among people. Under the circumstances, I would not allow them to do it again. It's just because of the perception.'"</i><br /><br />Perhaps the sheeple really are slowly rousing from their slumber.Zeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-955199566311481472014-01-07T12:45:28.795-05:002014-01-07T12:45:28.795-05:00Wow, your comment disappeared. Has that ever happe...Wow, your comment disappeared. Has that ever happened before? Why this one?<br />James-- when did that FBI Cointel operation take place?<br /><br />This item came across the newsfeed that comes with my email. The original story was in the AP, I had to check Politico, which I never read, for more details.<br />http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/michael-bloomberg-senate-majority-pac-101808.html?hp=f2<br /><br />Think they'll be touting this in the Times? I'm sure some will see this as evidence of Bloomberg's progressivism-- not considering that he expects such a gift to pay off.Katnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-55667964870680290612014-01-07T12:28:17.084-05:002014-01-07T12:28:17.084-05:00Re:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/07/us/burglars-...Re:<br />http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/07/us/burglars-who-took-on-fbi-abandon-shadows.html?hp<br /><br />Surprise, surprise! Let me tell you a little story. It was a long time ago and I'm a little hazy on the details, but here it is.<br /><br />Two FBI agents were arrested by the NYPD while they waited late Sunday night in the dark apartment of a married couple, teachers and members of the Socialist Workers Party, away for the weekend somewhere on L.I.. The agents were carrying a loaded .22calibre handgun.<br /><br />When asked about the interesting choice of weapon they said it was for possible protection against a possible dog. They were arrested and the case dragged through the legal system for years ending with a presidential pardon.<br /><br />My take? They were very possible hit men - more possible than the possible dog. And every streetwise girl and guy in the city suspected it, as did the cops.James F Traynornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-17153888761076545852014-01-07T11:06:42.889-05:002014-01-07T11:06:42.889-05:00Karen: the number of comments to Friedman's o...<br />Karen: the number of comments to Friedman's offering that I was able to<br />cover in an antibiotic haze told him off pretty well - you can take credit<br />for showing these loyal readers the way to go. And I am sure even in the 36 hours they had a chance to read your comment, they learned enough to<br />continue the march. When I have a chance I plan to write a letter to the Editor about this and ask who made the decision to throw you under the bus - if the NYTimes they<br />are in trouble but I suspect it was Friedman himself. What with some<br />livewires on the Editorial Board now they should hear from us about<br />censorship in their paper and suggest they rethink allowing columnists of <br />Friedman's low standards to publish since he is then representing the <br />NYTimes to the world.<br /><br />I remember years ago in Israel during a scandal of one of the leaders the<br />newspapers were accused of censoring information to the public. The<br />Jerusalem Post had an angry front page article the next day denouncing such accusations which was hard to read because so many sentences and words had been blacked out. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-80326550608535123032014-01-07T10:58:20.804-05:002014-01-07T10:58:20.804-05:00I'm sorry to change the topic, but I just want...I'm sorry to change the topic, but I just wanted to give everyone a heads-up to check out this piece in the NYT about the burglers who broke into the FBI office in 1971 who have remained secret until now. Be sure to watch the video as well. <br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/07/us/burglars-who-took-on-fbi-abandon-shadows.html?hp<br /><br />Interestingly, RT News just last night reported that the FBI has officially changed their mission from law enforcement to national security. I suppose that means that they can hide everything they do and all the evidence they collect under National Security/State Secrets Privilege and they won't have to be bothered taking cases to court anymore. They can just go back to destroying people and movements based on secret files. <br /><br />annenigmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-91904973763202513502014-01-06T22:03:15.543-05:002014-01-06T22:03:15.543-05:00@Karen--
I echo Jay's regret--embroidered wit...@Karen--<br /><br />I echo Jay's regret--embroidered with applause--that you, a regular, "NYT Reader Picks" commenter should be consigned to Orwell's "memory hole." <br /><br />How transparent, how pathetic, and, to your regular readers, how pointless, thanks to the greater memory of the Internet!Zeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-43425613774581594432014-01-06T20:00:12.848-05:002014-01-06T20:00:12.848-05:00Why would the Old Gray Lady disappear the comment ...Why would the Old Gray Lady disappear the comment you wrote upon reading Friedman? I doubt that it had anything to do with your choice of words regarding the numerous pneumatic structures of Simpson’s sow. <br /><br />You were disappeared, Karen, because you made Friedman cry. Friedman, as well as somebody really high up at the Times, read, understood, and was deeply touched by your comment.<br /><br />“There she goes again: totally eclipsing our high-paid editorialist-collaborator propagandist.” <br /><br />Bravo! Clearly, you got through. You hit a nerve. <br /><br />In this instance, the disappearance of your fine comment, it’s takedown and re-routing down the memory hole, is a special achievement. Chisel another notch in your writing pen.Jay–Ottawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10360356126450612113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-44837416606909980202014-01-06T16:19:40.725-05:002014-01-06T16:19:40.725-05:00Damn, Karen, you're doing a hell of a job with...Damn, Karen, you're doing a hell of a job with those comments. Wonderful. I wonder if they're increasing the readership of this blog. I hope so.James F Traynornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-12044106031074881832014-01-06T14:41:53.186-05:002014-01-06T14:41:53.186-05:00I'm quoting you at my blog.
Thanks for all yo...I'm quoting you at my blog.<br /><br />Thanks for all you do. You're a gem.<br /><br />And not in the rough.Cirzehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07070125217972397204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-2291578739069122852014-01-06T14:14:30.297-05:002014-01-06T14:14:30.297-05:00Karen,
Seeing you slice and dice Friedman and Dou...Karen,<br /><br />Seeing you slice and dice Friedman and Douchehat in their own comment sections is even better than digging into a slightly melted pint of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food. One tiny piece of advice on the "tits" thing, though: I would've gone with something a little classier, like "fun bags." :)<br /><br />P.S. It's another Chris Hedges Monday. Turns out we're still pretty much doomed. Oh well.<br /><br />http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_last_gasp_of_american_democracy_20140105Willnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-84494992881805460072014-01-06T13:42:49.015-05:002014-01-06T13:42:49.015-05:00KAREN-Just when I think the internet is the end of...KAREN-Just when I think the internet is the end of responsible journalism because anyone with a keyboard can say anything they want, you come along and restore my hope that the net can elevate journalism beyond the corporate cronyism we've always known, but especially since the fairness doctrine was repaealed and the dumbing down of the US cranked it up to full steam.Richard Ohionoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-38751704898246035502014-01-06T12:41:45.077-05:002014-01-06T12:41:45.077-05:00Subject: The effect of our dysfunctional system on...Subject: The effect of our dysfunctional system on young people's lives<br /><br />> The Great Divide: Young and Isolated http://nyti.ms/10b8Zj1 Pearlnoreply@blogger.com