Outrage and the Machine

MAVERICK CHRONICLES, 10/22/2011: Journalists Targeted at Occupy Protests, Blood Lust - American Style, and Regime Change in Burlington. Plus, a song from the streets.

As the occupy movement faces the arrival of colder weather, let’s begin with a warm rendition of Woody Guthrie’s classic, “This Land is Our Land,” sung by Burlington area musicians and activists last weekend in City Hall Park as they prepared to hold a General Assembly and march in solidarity with protesters in communities across the country and around the world.

This Land Is Our Land by Ronin Wolfe

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Despite positive press in recent weeks, it’s been rough for some people involved with this rebellion – including journalists. In New York, the NYPD claims the right to decide who does and doesn’t qualify as a reporter. As a consequence, at least three journalists have been arrested. Two others have been assaulted while covering the Occupy Wall Street protests.

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Since the protests began in late September, reporters arrested for not having a press card include John Farley (MetroFocus magazine), Natasha Lennard (NYT freelancer), and Kristen Gwynne (Alternet). Those covering the demos must meet certain requirements to get press credentials from the police. The standards include having published or broadcasted breaking news at least six times in the past year. It’s an arbitrary bar, impossible to honestly enforce.

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The requirements leave out most new journalists, reporters who don't normally cover breaking news and media workers with online publications that may not be considered “official” media, according to the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.

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Journalism advocacy groups go farther, objecting to the idea that the police department should be issuing press cards in the first place. Meanwhile, journalists have been assaulted while trying to report. Fox 5 Cameraman Roy Isen was pepper sprayed, while his colleague, reporter Dick Brennan, was hit by a police baton, according to Reporters without Frontiers. The police said the assaults were "inadvertent."

Occupy Burlington's General Assembly gathers in the park.

And what have reporters seen? Among other things, they’ve witnessed hundreds of people being arrested, police beating and pepper spraying peaceful protesters. In fact, many of those arrested were filming or photographing, according to one of the detained journalists. The NYPD has denied that those with cameras are being singled out.

More troubling news: emails containing the words "Occupy Wall Street" were blocked in Yahoo's email service last week, says ThinkProgress. According to "Fast Company," Yahoo admitted that Occupy protest-related emails were not getting through, but claimed the problem was "not intentional" and would be resolved.  For More:  Journalists covering Occupy Wall Streetdetained, beaten and pepper sprayed  

Blood Lust – American Style

"He'll bring them death and they'll love him for it."

On Caesar and the mob, in Ridley Scott's Gladiator 

No, not the Republican audiences that have cheered for Rick Perry’s record on executions or the political outliers who think individual responsibility means sick people should be left to die. They are certainly out there. But let’s focus for just a moment on the relish with which the death of Muammar Gaddafi was greeted last week. Shouldn’t it have made people just a little squeamish?  In TV clips, the ousted dictator was shown bleeding, then dumped in the back of a truck just before being killed. The young executioner was initially hailed as a hero and TV comedians had a field day.

The response was similar after Osama bi Laden and Anwar al-Awlak were killed.  Shot in the face? Great! Predator Drone strike? Boo-yah.

With that background, it feels like the right time to mention the #3 story on the latest Project Censored list: Obama Authorizes InternationalAssassination Campaign.

Gaddafi in better times.

The current administration has quietly put into practice an “incomplete idea” left over from the Bush II era: a presidential international assassination program. Court documents, evidence offered by Human Rights Watch and a special UN report all suggest the same thing. US citizens suspected of encouraging “terror” have been put on “death lists.”

Obama’s Director of National Intelligence has told a Congressional hearing that the program, including the death list, is within the rights of the Executive Branch and doesn’t need to be revealed.  The CIA has so far murdered at least two people under the program. When the policy was challenged in a New York City court, the judge refused to rule.  Instead, he said “there are circumstances in which the executive’s decision to kill US citizens overseas is constitutionally committed to the political branches and judicially unreviewable.”

So, are we now OK with murdering Americans without the slightest due process – if they’re not in the country at the time and they meet the government’s criteria? Sure looks like it. Given that, public cheering for the assassination of strangely dressed, quirky foreign leaders or dark, bearded “extremists” accused of treason or human rights crimes– or maybe just considered a potential threat – is not a stretch.  

But let’s be clear: We DO have at least one death panel, a secret group of senior government officials. Once you’re on their list, apparently there is no way off – except in a body bag. Yet the public response to this new approach to law enforcement has been much like a Death Match version of American Idol. Remember Schwarzenegger’s movie, The Running Man. We’re almost there.

Regime Change in Burlington?

Tim Ashe

On a sunnier note, the Burlington race for mayor is heating up. No one except Bob Kiss, who has gone from Progressive Party savior to scapegoat during the last few years, knows what he will do. But Tim Ashe, his one-time ally on the City Council, isn’t waiting. Last week he became the fourth announced Democratic candidate who wants to replace the mayor. I’ve begun interviewing the hopefuls for VTDigger, starting with Ashe, who wants to build a fusion movement of Democrats and Progressives. But first he has to win the Democratic caucus in November. That event promises to be a memorable moment in local political history.

The future of Burlington Telecom is already one of the big issues of the campaign.  In the last seven years, the municipal-owned utility has brought its own TV, telephone and high speed Internet service to much of the city, creating more competition in an industry prone to monopoly. But the Kiss administration also borrowed $16.9 million from the city treasury and failed to pay it back within the required two months.

The mayor and his chief administrative officer Jonathan Leopold kept the debt secret until after the March 2009 elections that gave Kiss a second term. In 2010, BT was challenged by the Department of Public Service on behalf of consumers, as well as Comcast, the main competitor. The Public Service Board said that the city had violated four conditions of its license. Burlington is also being sued by Citibank for fraud and breach of contract, based on a $33.4 million lease purchase deal for equipment.

The city must find a way to repay the borrowed money and "cure" its other violations. If not, BT’s license could be revoked. Last week, the City Council came up with a partial solution: drop the  condition that requires Burlington Telecom to build a system that reaches every city resident. If you’re still interested at this point, here is a more detailed report: City Council wants PSB to drop Burlington Telecom build-out rule

The mayoral campaign is already raising thorny questions. For example, could the People’s Republic, birthplace of Vermont’s progressive movement, be heading for a privatized future? Burlington government runs several huge enterprises, but may not be prepared for the challenges of the future.  Ownership of BT is in jeopardy, Republican candidate for mayor Kurt Wright wants to sell the Electric Department, and public-private partnerships are the rage (unless you’re a military contractor).

Or how about this: Everyone says the political system isn’t working, here or anywhere else. But the Queen City may not be ready to go post-partisan quite yet. Tim Ashe’s fusion campaign is based on uniting people in two Parties. But some say Parties are precisely the problem, and Burlington would be better off without partisan elections. Others say it’s about civility, money or special interests. But a new social media-driven politics may also be emerging. So, are Parties over, or what?

These are some of the questions I hope to explore in the coming months. But I’ve already said too much. Until the next time… 

Libya Revisited: Images from Better Days

Muammar in Paris, talking revolution

Here is a rare collection of photos, with annotations, that give a sense of Libya before Cold War II, Reagan's enemies list, and the search for new designated enemies when the Soviet Union collapsed. Some are from a large format yearbook that was passed on by a prominent Republican in 1980. Though clearly propaganda it expressed a revolutionary spirit and commitment to "liberate man from all subjugation, backwardness and exploitation." It talked about "the Arab man," socialism, international solidarity and the role of sharia, with a large emphasis on rapid growth, industrial revolution, and universal health care and education. Clearly, the vision of a madman. CLICK HERE to see all seven images and related notes.

Special Report: Libya & the World We Live In

Rumors of a massacre were greatly exaggerated by the US, NATO, the EU and al Jazeera – the Fox News of the Libyan uprising

By William Blum

"Why are you attacking us? Why are you killing our children? Why are you destroying our infrastructure?"– Television address by Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi, April 30, 2011

A few hours later NATO hit a target in Tripoli, killing Gaddafi's 29-year-old son Saif al-Arab, three of Gaddafi's grandchildren, all under twelve years of age, and several friends and neighbors.

In his TV address, Gaddafi had appealed to the NATO nations for a cease-fire and negotiations after six weeks of bombings and cruise missile attacks against his country.

Well, let's see if we can derive some understanding of the complex Libyan turmoil.

The Holy Triumvirate — The United States, NATO and the European Union — recognizes no higher power and believes, literally, that it can do whatever it wants in the world, to whomever it wants, for as long as it wants, and call it whatever it wants, like "humanitarian".

If The Holy Triumvirate decides that it doesn't want to overthrow the government in Syria or in Egypt or Tunisia or Bahrain or Saudi Arabia or Yemen or Jordan, no matter how cruel, oppressive, or religiously intolerant those governments are with their people, no matter how much they impoverish and torture their people, no matter how many protesters they shoot dead in their Freedom Square, the Triumvirate will simply not overthrow them.

If the Triumvirate decides that it wants to overthrow the government of Libya, though that government is secular and has used its oil wealth for the benefit of the people of Libya and Africa perhaps more than any government in all of Africa and the Middle East, but keeps insisting over the years on challenging the Triumvirate's imperial ambitions in Africa and raising its demands on the Triumvirate's oil companies, then the Triumvirate will simply overthrow the government of Libya.

If the Triumvirate wants to punish Gaddafi and his sons it will arrange with the Triumvirate's friends at the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for them.

If the Triumvirate doesn't want to punish the leaders of Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Jordan it will simply not ask the ICC to issue arrest warrants for them. Ever since the Court first formed in 1998, the United States has refused to ratify it and has done its best to denigrate it and throw barriers in its way because Washington is concerned that American officials might one day be indicted for their many war crimes and crimes against humanity. Bill Richardson, as US ambassador to the UN, said to the world in 1998 that the United States should be exempt from the court's prosecution because it has "special global responsibilities". But this doesn't stop the United States from using the Court when it suits the purposes of American foreign policy.

If the Triumvirate wants to support a rebel military force to overthrow the government of Libya then it does not matter how fanatically religious, al-Qaeda-related, executing-beheading-torturing, monarchist, or factionally split various groups of that rebel force are at times, the Triumvirate will support it, as it did certain forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and hope that after victory the Libyan force will not turn out as jihadist as it did in Afghanistan, or as fratricidal as in Iraq. One potential source of conflict within the rebels, and within the country if ruled by them, is that a constitutional declaration made by the rebel council states that, while guaranteeing democracy and the rights of non-Muslims, "Islam is the religion of the state and the principle source of legislation in Islamic Jurisprudence."

Adding to the list of the rebels' charming qualities we have the Amnesty International report that the rebels have been conducting mass arrests of black people across the nation, terming all of them "foreign mercenaries" but with growing evidence that a large number were simply migrant workers.

Reported Reuters (August 29): "On Saturday, reporters saw the putrefying bodies of 22 men of African origin on a Tripoli beach. Volunteers who had come to bury them said they were mercenaries whom rebels had shot dead." To complete this portrait of the West's newest darlings we have this report from The Independent of London (August 27): "The killings were pitiless. They had taken place at a makeshift hospital, in a tent marked clearly with the symbols of the Islamic crescent. Some of the dead were on stretchers, attached to intravenous drips. Some were on the back of an ambulance that had been shot at. A few were on the ground, seemingly attempting to crawl to safety when the bullets came."

If the Triumvirate's propaganda is clever enough and deceptive enough and paints a graphic picture of Gaddafi-initiated high tragedy in Libya, many American and European progressives will insist that though they never, ever support imperialism they're making an exception this time because ...

The Libyan people are being saved from a "massacre", both actual and potential. This massacre, however, seems to have been grossly exaggerated by the Triumvirate, al Jazeera TV, and that station's owner, the government of Qatar; and nothing approaching reputable evidence of a massacre has been offered, neither a mass grave or anything else; the massacre stories appear to be on a par with the Viagra-rape stories spread by al Jazeera (the Fox News of the Libyan uprising). Qatar, it should be noted, has played an active military role in the civil war on the side of NATO. It should be further noted that the main massacre in Libya has been six months of daily Triumvirate bombing, killing an unknown number of people and ruining much of the infrastructure. Michigan U. Prof. Juan Cole, the quintessential true-believer in the good intentions of American foreign policy who nevertheless manages to have a regular voice in progressive media, recently wrote that "Qaddafi was not a man to compromise ... his military machine would mow down the revolutionaries if it were allowed to." Is that clear, class? We all know of course that Sarkozy, Obama, and Cameron made compromises without end in their devastation of Libya; they didn't, for example, use any nuclear weapons.

The United Nations gave its approval for military intervention; i.e., the leading members of the Triumvirate gave their approval, after Russia and China cowardly abstained instead of exercising their veto power; (perhaps hoping to receive the same courtesy from the US, UK and France when Russia or China is the aggressor nation).

The people of Libya are being "liberated", whatever in the world that means, now or in the future. Gaddafi is a "dictator" they insist. That may indeed be the proper term to use for the man, but it must still be asked: Is he a relatively benevolent dictator or is he the other kind so favored by Washington? It must also be asked: Since the United States has habitually supported dictators for the entire past century, why not this one?

The Triumvirate, and its fawning media, would have the world believe that what's happened in Libya is just another example of the Arab Spring, a popular uprising by non-violent protestors against a dictator for the proverbial freedom and democracy, spreading spontaneously from Tunisia and Egypt, which sandwich Libya. But there are several reasons to question this analysis in favor of seeing the Libyan rebels' uprising as a planned and violent attempt to take power in behalf of their own political movement, however heterogeneous that movement might appear to be in its early stage. For example:

1.They soon began flying the flag of the monarchy that Gaddafi had overthrown

2.They were an armed and violent rebellion almost from the beginning; within a few days, we could read of "citizens armed with weapons seized from army bases" and of "the policemen who had participated in the clash were caught and hanged by protesters"

3.Their revolt took place not in the capital but in the heart of the country's oil region; they then began oil production and declared that foreign countries would be rewarded oil-wise in relation to how much each country aided their cause

4.They soon set up a Central Bank, a rather bizarre thing for a protest movement

5.International support came quickly, even beforehand, from Qatar and al Jazeera to the CIA and French intelligence

The notion that a leader does not have the right to put down an armed rebellion against the state is too absurd to discuss.

Not very long ago, Iraq and Libya were the two most modern and secular states in the Mideast/North Africa world with perhaps the highest standards of living in the region. Then the United States of America came along and saw fit to make a basket case of each one. The desire to get rid of Gaddafi had been building for years; the Libyan leader had never been a reliable pawn; then the Arab Spring provided the excellent opportunity and cover. As to Why? Take your pick of the following:

* Gaddafi's plans to conduct Libya's trading in Africa in raw materials and oil in a new currency — the gold African dinar, a change that could have delivered a serious blow to the US's dominant position in the world economy. (In 2000, Saddam Hussein announced Iraqi oil would be traded in euros, not dollars; sanctions and an invasion followed.)

* A host-country site for Africom, the US Africa Command, one of six regional commands the Pentagon has divided the world into. Many African countries approached to be the host have declined, at times in relatively strong terms. Africom at present is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. According to a State Department official: "We've got a big image problem down there. ... Public opinion is really against getting into bed with the US. They just don't trust the US."

* An American military base to replace the one closed down by Gaddafi after he took power in 1969. There's only one such base in Africa, in Djibouti. Watch for one in Libya sometime after the dust has settled. It'll perhaps be situated close to the American oil wells. Or perhaps the people of Libya will be given a choice — an American base or a NATO base.

* Another example of NATO desperate to find a raison d'être for its existence since the end of the Cold War and the Warsaw Pact.

* Gaddafi's role in creating the African Union. The corporate bosses never like it when their wage slaves set up a union. The Libyan leader has also supported a United States of Africa for he knows that an Africa of 54 independent states will continue to be picked off one by one and abused and exploited by the members of the Triumvirate. Gaddafi has moreover demanded greater power for smaller countries in the United Nations.

* The claim by Gaddafi's son, Saif el Islam, that Libya had helped to fund Nicolas Sarkozy's election campaign6could have humiliated the French president and explain his obsessiveness and haste in wanting to be seen as playing the major role in implementing the "no fly zone" and other measures against Gaddafi. A contributing factor may have been the fact that France has been weakened in its former colonies and neo-colonies in Africa and the Middle East, due in part to Gaddafi's influence.

* Gaddafi has been an outstanding supporter of the Palestinian cause and critic of Israeli policies; and on occasion has taken other African and Arab countries, as well as the West, to task for their not matching his policies or rhetoric; one more reason for his lack of popularity amongst world leaders of all stripes.

* In January, 2009, Gaddafi made known that he was considering nationalizing the foreign oil companies in Libya.7 He also has another bargaining chip: the prospect of utilizing Russian, Chinese and Indian oil companies. During the current period of hostilities, he invited these countries to make up for lost production. But such scenarios will now not take place. The Triumvirate will instead seek to privatize the National Oil Corporation, transferring Libya's oil wealth into foreign hands.

* The American Empire is troubled by any threat to its hegemony. In the present historical period the empire is concerned mainly with Russia and China. China has extensive energy investments and construction investments in Libya and elsewhere in Africa. The average American neither knows nor cares about this. The average American imperialist cares greatly, if for no other reason than in this time of rising demands for cuts to the military budget it's vital that powerful "enemies" be named and maintained.

For yet more reasons, see the article "Why Regime Change in Libya?" by Ismael Hossein-zadeh, and the US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks — Wikileaks reference 07TRIPOLI967 11-15-07 (includes a complaint about Libyan "resource nationalism")

A word from the man the world's mightiest military powers have been trying to kill

"Recollections of My Life", written by Col. Muammar Gaddafi, April 8, 2011, excerpts:

Now, I am under attack by the biggest force in military history, my little African son, Obama wants to kill me, to take away the freedom of our country, to take away our free housing, our free medicine, our free education, our free food, and replace it with American style thievery, called "capitalism," but all of us in the Third World know what that means, it means corporations run the countries, run the world, and the people suffer, so, there is no alternative for me, I must make my stand, and if Allah wishes, I shall die by following his path, the path that has made our country rich with farmland, with food and health, and even allowed us to help our African and Arab brothers and sisters to work here with us ... I do not wish to die, but if it comes to that, to save this land, my people, all the thousands who are all my children, then so be it. ... In the West, some have called me "mad", "crazy". They know the truth but continue to lie, they know that our land is independent and free, not in the colonial grip…

Perhaps the worst outcome of the United States "winning the Cold War" is that countless progressive people think there's no alternative to the capitalist system. Seventy years of anti-communist education and media stamped in people's minds a lasting association between socialism and what the Soviet Union called communism. Socialism meant a dictatorship, it meant Stalinist repression, a suffocating "command economy", no freedom of enterprise, no freedom to change jobs, few avenues for personal expression, and other similar truths and untruths. This is a set of beliefs clung to even amongst many Americans opposed to US foreign policy. No matter how bad the economy is, Americans think, the only alternative available is something called "communism", and they know how awful that is.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party USA has endorsed Barack Obama for re-election.

Distributed with permission. William Blum is the author of Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War 2, Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower, West-Bloc Dissident: A Cold War Memoir and Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire.  For more of his articles, go to www.killinghope.org

MAVERICK CHRONICLES, 6/17/2011

Excerpts from Rebel News Round Up, broadcast live on The Howie Rose Show at 11 a.m. Fridays on WOMM (105.9-FM/LP – The Radiator) in Burlington. This week: Getting ready for the First Lady, Massachusetts v. Entergy, National Syrup Security, Obama and secrecy, the Libyan Blame Game, and a cyber attack at the IMF. Plus, this week’s rant: Are drugs and cyberspace messing with our minds? Tune in The Radiator (WOMM-FM/LP).   Follow updates from Greg Guma on Twitter

National Syrup Security

Burlington legislator Kesha Ram is in Washington, DC today (6/17/11), one in a select group of young elected officials -- YEOs, as they're known -- invited to a policy briefing with senior administration officials. There will also be a reception with President Obama. On her Facebook page, Kesha writes, “Words cannot express how honored and excited I am!”

But there is a security issue. Evidently, some family friends gave her a gift for the President. Here’s how she handled it: “Thank you for confirmation of my invitation to the YEO briefing and reception on Friday. I have a question about policies regarding gift giving to the President. A Vermont family gave me a small jug of maple syrup handmade on their farm for President Obama, and I would really love to give it to whomever can verify that it is not hazardous or harmful to the President who can then give it to him. Is that possible?”

Diplomatic. The thing is, Vermont maple syrup has been linked to outbreaks of uncontrolled enjoyment and potentially seditious speech.

Waiting for Michelle

Vermonters don’t often get a glimpse of presidents, candidates or their wives. In 2008 neither John McCain nor Barack Obama visited the state. It’s pretty small and, after all, there was little doubt about which way most state voters would go in the election.

But Michelle Obama did visit, and will return in less than two weeks to raising money for her husband and meet with Vermont soldiers. Senator Pat Leahy says he and his wife suggested the visit a few months ago after Vermont troops returned from an overseas deployment.

The First Lady will also be the featured guest at a South Burlington fundraiser for her husband's re-election. That event is slated for June 30 at the Sheraton Hotel in South Burlington. Doors open at 3:30 pm, the festivities begin at 4:15. Tickets are $100 and up. According to reporter Shay Totten, however, that’s not the only event being planned. A $5,000 per person shindig at ECHO on the waterfront  may also be in the works.

Questions: Is anyone planning to greet her outside the Sheraton or on the waterfront? What does she need to know? What messages or questions would you like to share? Let us know.

Mass vs. Entergy: The Plot Thickens

Vermont has a new ally in its struggle to close the Vermont Yankee Nuke next March. When Yankee owner Entergy's request for a preliminary injunction against the state is heard in federal court this month, the state will be joined by Massachusetts, which is backing Vermont's position in the case.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed a friend-of-the-court brief. The state’s New England neighbor has a special interest in the case, she says, namely its own state laws regulating power facilities within its borders, including the nuclear kind. The goal is to preserve “its ability to enact, implement and enforce its own laws, to address the numerous concerns inherent in construction and operation of nuclear power plants within its border, now or in the future. The preemption questions presented in this proceeding, while specifically focused on Vermont laws, implicate the same type of constitutional analysis to a preemption challenge." The case could have a big impact on how the Commonwealth deals with its nuclear power plant, the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, in Plymouth.

In April, Entergy filed a lawsuit against Vermont claiming its attempt to end operation of the plant by March 21, 2012, infringes on the federal jurisdiction of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The company’s problem: Entergy signed a memo of understanding with Vermont when it bought the plant back in 2002. Now it claims that two of the conditions – that the state Public Service Board has jurisdiction over the plant's continued operation and that Entergy waived any claim it might have to federal preemption – are no longer valid because of actions taken since the deal was signed.

What actions, you may ask? First, the legislature passed Act 160 in 2006, giving itself the authority to forbid the PSB from issuing a certificate of public good. Second, the Legislature's discussion about whether to let the PSB issue the CPG was based on an area of review under the sole jurisdiction of the NRC – plant safety.

Coakley isn’t taking a position on whether Vermont Yankee should be allowed to continue operating beyond next March. But she does argue that Entergy is relying on an "overly broad preemption analysis that lacks merit and should be rejected." The Atomic Energy Act preserves a state's right to regulate nuclear facilities with respect to generation, sale or transmission of electric power, she says. Entergy charges that federal law is being violated and challenges the state legislature’s motives.

Next week, we’ll talk on the air with nuclear power expert Arnie Gundersen about the case, the safety of Yankee, and what lies ahead as the deadline for closing it approaches.

NATIONAL

Whistleblowers Go After Obama

On March 28 President Obama received a “transparency award” from five open government groups: OMB Watch, the National Security Archive, the Project on Government Oversight, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and OpenTheGovernment.org. The presentation took place at a closed, undisclosed meeting in the White House, however, and, as a petition criticizing the award notes, “If the ceremony had been open to the press, it is likely that reporters would have questioned the organizations’ proffered justification for the award.”

The petition, signed by more than 20 well-known whistleblowers, says that the award should be rescinded. The signers include Daniel Ellsberg, former CIA analyst Raymond McGovern, former Pentagon analyst Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski, and former National Security Agency analyst Russ Tice. Obama has actually increased governmental secrecy, they charge. Ellsberg says Richard Nixon would be favorably impressed with Obama’s silencing of dissent.

According to the Information Security Oversight Office, the annual cost of classification topped $10.17 billion last year, a 15 percent jump. The number of original classification decisions by the administration was 224,734, a 22.6 percent jump. "There were 544,360 requests for information last year under the Freedom of Information Act to the 35 biggest federal agencies – 41,000 requests more than the year before,” the petition notes. “Yet the bureaucracy responded to 12,400 fewer requests than the prior year, according to an AP analysis.”

More petition excerpts, courtesy of Sam Husseini:

"Obama has invoked baseless and unconstitutional executive secrecy to quash legal inquiries into secret illegalities more often than any predecessor. The list of this President’s invocations of the 'state secrets privilege' has already resulted in shutting down lawsuits involving the National Security Agency’s illegal wiretapping – Jewel vs. NSA and Shubert vs. Obama; extraordinary rendition and assassination – Anwar al-Aulaqi; and illegal torture – Binyam Mohamed.

"Ignoring his campaign promise to protect government whistleblowers, Obama’s presidency has amassed the worst record in U.S. history for persecuting, prosecuting and jailing government whistleblowers and truth-tellers. President Obama's behavior has been in stark contrast to his campaign promises which included live streaming meetings online and so forth, and rewarding whistleblowers. Obama’s Department of Justice is twisting the 1917 Espionage Act to press criminal charges in five alleged instances of national-security leaks -- more such prosecutions than have occurred in all previous Administrations combined.

"The Obama DOJ’s prosecution of former NSA official Thomas Drake who, up till June 9, faced 35 years in prison for having blown the whistle on the NSA’s costly and unlawful warrantless monitoring of American citizens typifies the abusive practices made possible through expansive secrecy agreements and threats of prosecution.

"President Obama has set a powerful and chilling example for potential whistleblowers through the abuse and torture of Bradley Manning, whose guilt he has also publicly stated prior to any trial by his, Obama's, military subordinates.

For the complete petition: http://takeawardback.org/

The Blame Game in Libya

A rumor has circulated that Libyan soldiers were issued Viagra to help them in raping woman as part of Gaddafi’s war on those opposing his regime. But this has the ring of disinformation, perhaps aimed at making any military response seem reasonable.

Meanwhile, there are other rumors; for example, reports that NATO has bombed a university in Tripoli, killing students and staff. The bombing hasn't been reported by CNN or The New York Times. According to the Christian Science Monitor, “evidence of casualties [in Libya] has been thin, despite more than 160 cruise missile strikes by US and British forces, and at least 175 sorties by those and French and a Canadian jet fighter in the last 24-hour count.”

Soon after NATO started bombing, officials began denying that civilians were dying in the raids. Only the deaths of Gaddafi loyalists were reported. Last week The Times claimed that bombing heavily populated urban areas hasn't killed civilians. “Sightings of civilian casualties have been rare,” wrote John Burns. Sounds like a case of "see no evil."

From the InfoWar Front

The International Monetary Fund says it was targeted by a sophisticated cyber attack earlier this year. Officials provided few details but said the attack was "a very major breach." Cyber security officials surmise the hack was designed to install software to create a "digital insider presence." The IMF has sensitive economic data about many countries.

“The fact that the FBI has been called in, and that the neighboring World Bank has severed its computer link to the IMF, show that it is being taken seriously," notes tech writer Rory Cellan-Jones. This is the latest in a series of high-profile cyber security breaches. Sony Playstation’s network was shut down in April after hackers stole the personal data of about 100 million accounts. In May, Lockheed Martin said it experienced a significant cyber-attack.

CIA Director Leon Panetta has warned the US Congress that a large-scale cyber attack crippling power, finance, security and governmental systems is "a real possibility in today's world."

MIND GAMES: The weekly rant

Are cyberspace and psychiatric drugs messing with our heads? (out on the web)

Brain-altering drugs and Internet “indoctrination” – it’s a potent combination. Together, they pose a threat not only to the stability of individuals but of society itself. Seduced by the promise that our brains can be managed, massaged and enhanced without serious side-effects, we are creating a future where psychological dysfunction could become a post-modern plague and powerful forces use cyberspace to reshape “reality” in their private interest.  Read the Essay

ITEMS & IDEAS

Police State in Wisconsin: Vermont journalists roughed up in Capitol video their own arrest. http://t.co/fuDmzSD via @moveon

GOP debate in NH: Looks like we have a new un-reality show, Michelle and the Six Dwarfs. Meet the little guys – “Snarky” (Newt G), “Zany” (Ron P), “Stiffy” (Mitt R), “Creepy” (Rick S), “Deep Dish” (Herman C), and “Timid” (Tim P).

Tweet, tweet, boom: NATO is using Twitter to help locate Libyan targets. Is this the birth of anti-social media?

War Games: Will the GOP block Obama’s Libyan adventure? Does this mean they’re now the anti-war party? Confusing (not really).

What’s Ahead: An air show may be held in Burlington, Vermont again next year. But since the mayor received more negative feedback about this event in 2006 than any other, he’s decided to solicit public comments about whether people in Burlington want another one. Go to www.enjoyburlington.com/Contact.cfm to tell Mayor Kiss what you think before 6/21.

One suggestion – Burlington could hold out until its new corporate partner Lockheed Martin agrees to fund a commercial rocket that can take locals and tourists into space at reasonable prices.

If Danes can pull it off, why not Vermonters?

Selective Justice: Gaddafi and bin Laden

Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, Egypt and even Saudi Arabia. All have seen protests and government repression in recent days. But not one of them has been attacked by the US, France or Britain and none of their “rebels” are receiving military, financial, or moral support from Western powers.*** Also keep in mind: Libya’s rebels are a bit like some of Kosovo’s rebels — a mixed bag. Freedom fighters, not so much.

So why is Libya the only target of “humanitarian” intervention? Gaddafi, right? Over the years we’ve heard a stream of horror stories and strange tales: He takes various drugs, he’s Hefner in a tent, a bisexual, or maybe a cross-dresser, who cuddles with a teddy bear and has epileptic seizures. Some of it might be true, but none of it provides a reason to bomb.

They also say he would “kill his own people." Duh. That's what happens in civil wars. Lincoln killed his own people.

What we know for sure is that Libya has provided its citizens with a higher standard of living than most of Africa. The 2010 UN Human Development Index, a measure of health, education and income, ranked Libya first on the continent. Until this year, no other country in the region had a more secular government, or a better human-rights record. In Egypt almost a 1000 people were killed during the recent uprising. Police shot them with live ammunition. Similar stories have been reported in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere this Arab Spring.

According to Fox News, as the UN rushed to condemn Gaddafi for attacking protesters in late February, its Human Rights Council was about to adopt a report “chock-full of praise for Libya's human rights record." They lauded Libya for improving education, making human rights a ‘priority’ and upgrading its ‘constitutional’ framework. Several countries, including Iran, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia but also Canada, give Libya positive marks for the legal protections afforded to its citizens — who are now revolting against the regime and facing bloody reprisal." Again, that’s Fox News reporting.

In the past Libya has been charged with involvement in an attempt to blow up the US Embassy in Cairo, various hijackings, an explosion on a US plane over Greece, blowing up a French airliner over Africa, a synagogue in Istanbul, and a disco in Berlin. The last of those killed US soldiers. In 1990, when the US needed a country to blame for bombing PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie in Scotland, Libya was the easy choice. But ultimately not to blame.

Gaddafi has been a handy enemy for the US longer than anyone living except Fidel Castro. Reagan dubbed him the "mad dog of the Middle East." That's why he's called the Great Communicator. But the demonizing started shortly after he took power. His initial crime wasn't the coup, it was closing down a US air force base. Of course, he subsequently supported what he regarded as revolutionary groups and was accused of using his oil revenues to support various radical, sometimes terrorist organizations, particularly Palestinian and Muslim dissident movements. He backed the IRA and separatists in Europe, groups struggling against apartheid in South Africa, opposition groups in Latin America, the Japanese Red Army, the Red Brigades, and the Baader-Meinhof gang.

Still, Gaddafi's real crime isn’t his support for terrorists and/or freedom fighters, but rather backing the wrong ones, from the US point of view. He didn’t back the Nicaraguan Contras, UNITA in Angola, Cuban exiles in Miami, and the governments of El Salvador and Guatemala – all beneficiaries of generous US backing. There was just one band of “freedom fighters” that both Gaddafi and Reagan supported – bin Laden’s old group, the Moujahedeen in Afghanistan. Twisted minds evidently think alike.

Gaddafi has often been a vocal critic of US foreign policy, playing the role of an anti-Zionist pan-Africanist leader. Plus, he called his regime socialist, clearly too much for the US to endure. When protests erupted in Tunisia and Egypt – even though Gaddafi had been rehabilitated during the Bush II era and became an ally in the war on al-Qaeda – US spooks just couldn’t resist spurring on dissidents in a country strategically located between them. Beneath the media radar, the CIA has likely been supplying Libya's rebels with arms, money, and advisors for more than a few weeks.

What does the US get if the big guy goes? Well, ask yourself what other African country would accept a US military base? There's only one at the moment, in Djibouti. But foreign policy scholar Phyllis Bennis predicts that another may pop up in Libya after the dust settles, probably near some oil wells. Or maybe Libyans will get a choice — between a US and a NATO base.

There is another option: The US could admit that Gaddafi isn’t a real threat – except maybe in a fashion sense – just another eccentric dictator with bad taste and a crush on Condoleezza Rice.

Maybe we should make him a judge on American Idol. Or start a new series, Strongmen, in which exiled dictators compete to see who will get a political makeover. Trump could host.

VENGEANCE AS POLICY

Bin Laden's death could be a moment to replace vengeance with justice. But not so far. Too many people have died for anyone to claim, as President Obama's did last week, that "justice has been done." However you calculate when this so-called war actually began, the US government chose how to respond to 9/11. From the start it chose vengeance.

Then, last week American justice was officially redefined – as summary execution with two bullets in the head. When did foreign policy become like the Judge Dredd comic?

We’ve played into Osama’s hands. He wanted to bankrupt the US by getting it to overreact and overspend. Mission accomplished. He also knew that the best tactic for a weaker opponent is to use the weapons of the powerful against them. They can also gain an advantage if their enemies believe that they’ve won the war when they’ve actually only won a battle.

Holy war, martyrdom, arrogance, economic waste – these are some of the weapons the weak use against empires. And in this clash the preeminent weapon has long been martyrdom. Bin Laden certainly didn't want to end up like Saddam Hussein, a hunted animal trapped a hidey hole, put on public trial and ritually executed. He wasn’t the type to go down like Al Capone, captured and jailed on a technicality. He wanted out in an explosion or blaze of gunfire. We’re told that he wasn’t armed but somehow resisted. However it happened, the Osama myth got another assist from his enemies.

But his greatest coup was to get the US and its allies to spend enormous amounts of money – literally trillions of dollars – to fight a small, isolated, anti-modern force that operated at the edge of the Muslim world. That was his prime objective and it worked.

Al-Qaeda drew the US into a conflict that drained its political, moral and financial resources. Last week, with the media mindlessly cheerleading, Americans again persuaded themselves that an "exucutive action" proves the US is in control. But what actually happened? An extrajudicial killing. Bin Laden glorified himself one more time at the West’s expense. Those who celebrate the public emergence of assassination as official US policy are playing into his dead hands.

The US has even managed to make Native Americans mad. Leaders of the community want an apology for use of the code name "Geronimo" to represent an international terrorist. They have a point. How would Christians feel if the code word had been Jesus?

At least they’re not releasing bin Laden’s post-mortem head shot. Transparency can be overrated, and won’t change minds when they insist on not believing. That's cognitive dissonance, the mass psychological malfunction of our times.

On the plus side, his exit may accelerate negotiations with the Taliban to end at least one of our wars. And we heard about a cool new stealth helicoptor. So there is that.

This is Part Two of Maverick Media’s Rebel News Round Up,* broadcast live on Friday on WOMM (105.9-FM/LP – The Radiator) in Burlington.

*Edited transcripts don’t include extemporaneous comments and last minute changes or additions.

*** Re bombing targets: The US hasn’t been shy about it since WWII, bombing 25 different countries, several over many years in separate campaigns. Eight have been in Latin America, seven in Asia.

Photo: Al Dhahra Square, Tripoli, Libya Dept. of Information and Culture Affairs

Check out The Vermont Way: Restless Spirits and popular Movements

REBEL NEWS: Burlington at the Brink

“One thing always to remember in politics is that it takes a long time to overcome inertia, and that, when it has been overcome, it takes an equally long time to stop momentum.” – Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

With election of the first black president the political inertia that set in during the Bush years was clearly overcome. But the momentum of that election has also created the deepest, possibly most dangerous polarization the country has seen in decades. Just a thought…

Burlington: Time for a Change (again)

A tax increase was recently rejected, but another vote, as well as service cuts, may be on the way. So says Mayor Bob Kiss. Burlington Telecom threatens the city’s economic standing and local residents are unhappy about the mayor’s proposed partnership with military contractor Lockheed Martin. Is the city’s progressive era over? At a neighborhood meeting on April 7, a spokesman from the city’s Community and Economic Development Office called the relationship between Lockheed and weapons “unfortunate” but claimed that Burlington is just “entering into a conversation” and nothing is certain at this point. The City Council is meanwhile looking into community standards for such public-private agreements.

Sounds like a start. But Burlington is heading toward a political reckoning next March. To preserve its reputation, stability and unique character it looks as if the city’s current progressive leadership will have to be replaced, hopefully with a forward-looking new team and a new vision of sustainability and democracy.

NATIONAL SCENE

The CIA’s Excellent Libyan Adventure

Evidence is mounting that the Libyan rebels fighting the regime of Muammar Gaddafi are under the direction of US intelligence agencies. Despite repeated claims by Obama officials that the rebels are a largely unknown quantity, it has become clear that key military leaders of the anti-Gaddafi campaign are well known to the US government and have longstanding ties with the CIA.

For two weeks in March there was a ban in the US media on reporting the name of Khalifa Haftar, the long-time CIA collaborator who was appointed chief rebel commander March 17 – on the eve of the US-NATO bombing campaign against Libya. Haftar founded the Libyan National Army on June 21, 1988 with backing from the Central Intelligence Agency. For the last 20 years, he has been living quietly in Virginia before returning to Benghazi to lead the fight against Gaddafi.

So, did the US get into this to back a revolution or take control of it?

Water Woes

The operator of Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant said this week that it has found radioactive iodine at 7.5 million times the legal limit in a seawater sample taken near the facility. In response Government officials imposed a new health limit for radioactivity in fish. On Thursday, a pair of 7 plus earthquakes struck off Japan's devastated northeast coast within a minute of each other. Another Tsunami threatened and people were told to move away from the coast.

Research indicates that a 3-foot rise in global sea level by the end of this century is very possible. Studies show that changes in ocean circulation driven by warming waters could raise sea levels another foot or more along New England shores.

Right now, 65 acres of prime Massachusetts coastal real estate is swallowed by the sea every year. While more land will be eaten away, storm surges ¬and abnormal rises of water during severe weather ¬ layered on top of higher seas could push much further inland, especially in flat coastal areas of New England, and oceanside homes will be even more vulnerable. Some scientists say that climate change may also bring fiercer and more frequent storms.

Sweet and Healthy

Here’s a little good news. Pure maple syrup is good for you. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island have identified 54 compounds in maple syrup, double the amount previously reported, many with antioxidant activity and potential health benefits. In studies, they acted as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory agents. Initial studies also suggest that maple compounds may inhibit enzymes relevant in Type 2 diabetes management.

Disease Clusters

At least 42 disease clusters have occurred in 13 US states since 1976, according to a report by environmentalists. "Communities all around the country struggle with unexplained epidemics of cancers, birth defects and neurological diseases," said one of the report’s co-authors, Gina Solomon, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. The authors plan to identify disease clusters in all 50 states but focused their initial work on 13: Texas, California, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Delaware, Louisiana, Montana, Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas.

FEEDBACK

Commenting on my novel Spirits of Desire, a reader wrote recently: “Some people ‘see’ the other realities created by those who we consider to be previous lives, but actually there is no time, just now, and we construct time as an explanation of the linear perspective. If more people could visit simultaneous points in reality, we could be in more than one place at a time; our minds limit that to help keep our sanity. As our construct has ‘evolved’ we have limited more and more of our perspectives so much that now we only comprehend everything as linear, and not coincidental. From our first birth moment we are taught to think in time, and that incorrect teaching moment distorts everything in our lives.” Thanks but you’re blowing my mind.

WANT THAT JOB? ANSWER THIS…

It’s rough out there, at least five candidates for every opening. And some of the people who do the hiring are using unusual tactics to narrow the field. The intrepid researchers at the career site Glassdoor.com have gone through thousands of questions mentioned by job seekers. Apparently, interviewers are often more interested in how people respond – their thought process and whether they remain calm – than a so-called "correct" response. So, here are some the oddest interview questions of the past year.

Let’s begin with one from Facebook: "Given the numbers 1 to 1,000, what is the minimum number of guesses needed to find a specific number, if you are given the hint 'higher' or 'lower' for each guess you make?"

It’s easy actually. The answer is that The MINIMUM number of guesses needed would be 1. You could always guess correctly the first time. The maximum would be a different question entirely.

How about this, from Capital One: "Using a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself on how weird you are." As weird as the next person, about average, enough to get by? Whoa, what’s 1, least or most weird?

PricewaterhouseCoopers, the insurance company, asked one of its candidates: "How many balloons would fit in this room?" If it's the right size, just one. Another way to go: that would depend on if they were inflated, not to mention the size and capacity of the balloons.

The geniuses at Goldman Sachs asked a prospective master of the universe this brain zapper: "If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out?"

Epic Systems tested the logic skills of its candidates with this: "You have a bouquet of flowers. All but two are roses, all but two are daisies, and all but two are tulips. How many flowers do you have?" One person answered: If you assume there is an answer, could be 3. But it’s hard to know from the available data.

Here are a few more:

AFLAC: "What is the philosophy of martial arts?"

Boston Consulting: "Explain to me what has happened in this country during the last 10 years."

AT&T: "If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?"

IBM: "How do you weigh an elephant without using a scale?" Possible answer: Ask 1000 random people to estimate how much the elephant weighs. The average of their guesses will be close to the true weight. It’s called the wisdom of crowds.

Amazon tested some applicants with this one: "If you had 5,623 participants in a tournament, how many games would need to be played to determine the winner?" Possible answer: One. All other games only determine who will play in the final game.

Ebay, another online mega-company, went with this: "You have five bottles of pills. One bottle has 9 gram pills, the others have 10 gram pills. You have a scale that can be used only once. How can you find out which bottle contains the 9 gram pills?" How about opening the bottles

Microsoft: "How would you market ping pong balls if ping pong itself became obsolete? List many ways, then pick one and go into detail."

Google: "How many smartphones are there in New York City?"

Apple: "You have three boxes. One contains only apples, one contains only oranges, and one contains both apples and oranges. The boxes have been incorrectly labeled so that no label accurately identifies the contents of any of the boxes. Opening just one box, and without looking inside, you take out one piece of fruit. By looking at the fruit, how can you immediately label all of the boxes correctly?" Answer: label them all fruit.

Many of these questions need more data for a real answer, but the point of some is to see how well you're paying attention. Many simply illustrate if you can think outside the box. In most cases, the idea is to gauge the reaction to the questions. If you lose your cool, how will you handle the unexpected on the job? If you walk out of an interview because of such questions it probably reveals something about you to the interviewer. The person who stays automatically has a better chance at the job. So, the correct answer is to stay cool.\

That’s it for this week. Next week: a look at the labor movement.

Obama Goes to War

“Barack Obama is one of the worst things that has ever happened to the American left. The millions of young people who jubilantly supported him in 2008, and numerous older supporters, will need a long recovery period before they're ready to once again offer their idealism and their passion on the altar of political activism. If you don't like how things have turned out, next time find out exactly what your candidate means when he talks of "change." – William Blum

Find out more about Libya, Obama and the Holy Triumvirate – US, NATO and the EU – in William Blum’s latest Anti-Empire Report.