Bilderberg 2015: where criminals mingle with ministers – Charlie Skelton

I had three Austrian policemen in my hotel room last night. They stood there all grim faced with their fluorescent bibs, torches and sidearms. It was like the worst ever fancy dress party. I offered them a pilsner. They declined. They were too busy checking my ID that had been carefully checked 10 minutes prior at a police checkpoint. And …

Punishing Another Whistleblower – Ray McGovern

Former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling was a whistleblower who was then targeted by the U.S. legal system for retaliation, which now includes a 42-month prison sentence. His real “crime” was going to the Senate Intelligence Committee to report on a dubious and dangerous covert operation that involved giving doctored nuclear-bomb blueprints to Iran. Though Sterling’s action was “within proper channels,” the …

‘Guilty of Embarrassing Government’: CIA Whistleblower Gets 42-Month Sentence – Lauren McCauley

A federal court in Alexandria, Virginia sentenced former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling to three and a half years in prison on Monday in a case that has received widespread condemnation for revealing the “rank hypocrisy” of the U.S. government’s war on whistleblowers. In January, a jury convicted Sterling of violating the Espionage Act and leaking classified information toNew York Times journalist James Risen about a botched CIA …

The Lasting Pain from Vietnam Silence – Ray McGovern

Ecclesiastes says there is a time to be silent and a time to speak. The fortieth anniversary of the ugly end of the U.S. adventure in Vietnam is a time to speak – and especially of the squandered opportunities that existed earlier in the war to blow the whistle and stop the killing. While my friend Daniel Ellsberg’s leak of the Pentagon …

National Security Whistleblowers Call for Repeal of Patriot Act – Lauren McCauley

Prominent national security whistleblowers are calling for the full repeal of the USA Patriot Act, charging that under that legislation the federal government has decimated the U.S. Constitution and warning that unless action is taken, there is no end in sight to government secrecy and manipulation. The group, which included former National Security Agency (NSA) official William Binney and Pentagon …

POLITICAL SMEARS IN U.S. NEVER CHANGE: THE NYT’S 1967 ATTACK ON MLK’S ANTI-WAR SPEECH

John Oliver’s Monday night interview of Edward Snowden — which in 24 hours has been viewed by 3 million people on YouTube alone — renewed all the standard attacks in Democratic circles accusing Snowden of being a traitor in cahoots with the Kremlin. What’s most striking about this — aside from the utter lack of evidence for any of it — is how identical it is to whatNixon officials said …

The CIA’s Double Standard

The  new poster child for the CIA’s double standard is none other than former CIA director General David Howell Petraeus, who escaped a jail sentence despite providing eight notebooks of highly classified information, including names of covert operatives, to his biographer-mistress Paula Broadwell.  The fact that he lied to the FBI about providing classified information to his mistress should have …

Petraeus and Snowden: Both Leakers of Classified Material, Same Punishment?

Two news items this morning caught my eye.  The first involves Edward Snowden, the security contractor who revealed massive (and ongoing) spying by the National Security Agency (NSA), much of it illegal.  Snowden says he will consider returning to the United States if he is given a fair trial (he is currently in Russia, where he’s been granted asylum and a residency permit for three years). Watching …

The Political Downfall of General David Petraeus: From War Hero to Convicted Felon? Petraeus’ Plea Bargain

As a postscript headline to the mid-January article below, America’s most famous general turned CIA Director David Petraeus just worked out a plea bargain deal with the Justice Department. He admitted to leaking classified documents to his biographer turned lover Paula Broadwell. Rather than face the further humiliation of a high profile public trial, the Bilderberg member opted for the …