Administration Announces New Gun Control Measures, Targets Military Surplus Imports

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

The Obama administration unexpectedly announced two new gun control measures on Thursday, including one that would curb the import of military surplus weapons — in a move that could anger collectors.

Vice President Biden announced the new measures Thursday morning. The new rules, announced while Washington was otherwise focused on the crisis in Syria, took the form of executive actions, which President Obama added to the list of 23 steps the White House already determined the president could take on his own.

The steps come after Congress declined to pass any gun control legislation earlier this year despite an aggressive White House push for action in the wake of the Newton, Conn., shooting massacre. With the political world focused on Mideast tensions and looming fiscal battles, the move signaled Obama’s intent to show he hasn’t lost sight of the issue.

The National Rifle Association, though, ripped the administration, saying its proposals would do little to reduce crime.

“The Obama administration has once again completely missed the mark when it comes to stopping violent crime,” the NRA said in a statement.

Read more from this story HERE.

U.S. Spy Network’s Successes, Failures and Objectives Detailed in ‘Black Budget’ Summary

/0 Comments/in , /by

Budget DeficitBy Barton Gellman and Greg Miller.

U.S. spy agencies have built an intelligence-gathering colossus since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but remain unable to provide critical information to the president on a range of national security threats, according to the government’s top-secret budget.

The $52.6 billion “black budget” for fiscal 2013, obtained by The Washington Post from former ­intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, maps a bureaucratic and operational landscape that has never been subject to public scrutiny. Although the government has annually released its overall level of intelligence spending since 2007, it has not divulged how it uses the money or how it performs against the goals set by the president and Congress.

The 178-page budget summary for the National Intelligence Program details the successes, failures and objectives of the 16 spy agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community, which has 107,035 employees.

The summary describes cutting-edge technologies, agent recruiting and ongoing operations. The Post is withholding some information after consultation with U.S. officials who expressed concerns about the risk to intelligence sources and methods. Sensitive details are so pervasive in the documents that The Post is publishing only summary tables and charts online.

“The United States has made a considerable investment in the Intelligence Community since the terror attacks of 9/11, a time which includes wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction technology, and asymmetric threats in such areas as cyber-warfare,” Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. wrote in response to inquiries from The Post.

Read more from this story HERE.

_____________________________________________________

Photo Credit: Danita Delimont/Getty/Gallo Images

Photo Credit: Danita Delimont/Getty/Gallo Images

US intelligence spending has doubled since 9/11, top secret budget reveals

By Ewen MacAskill and Jonathan Watts.

US spending on intelligence has doubled since 9/11, with the National Security Agency and the CIA taking the biggest share, according to the top secret budget leaked by the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Details of the $52.6bn request for 2013 by America’s 16 spy agencies were revealed by the Washington Post on Thursday.

The NSA has requested $10.45bn from Congress, while the CIA is asking for $14.7bn. The NSA has long been regarded as the most productive of the spy agencies, so the higher spending by the CIA is one of the biggest surprises in the four-volume, 1,452-page budget.

The Congressional Budget Justification for the National Intelligence Program, dubbed the “black budget”, offers insights into new projects as well as the successes and failures of the spy agencies. It outlines the countries they have successfully infiltrated and those where they are struggling, primarily North Korea.

Ironically, in view of Snowden’s revelations, part of the budget is is dedicated to stopping whistleblowers. Among the $3.7bn counterintelligence section of the budget is an item dedicated to detecting insider threats “who seeks to exploit their authorized access to sensitive information to harm US interests.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama’s Rhetoric Comes Up Short Compared to Past Presidents

/1 Comment/in , /by

Barack ObamaOver the ages leadership in democracies has been symbolized by ringing declarations.

We have, for example, John Kennedy’s magisterial:

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

Or Franklin Roosevelt’s request that a declaration of war be passed by Congress:

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us…

While President Obama is loath to assume the mantle of commander-in-chief, how does his team inspire or explain to Americans his approach?

Read more from this story HERE.

Justice Department Won’t Sue States Over Pro-Pot Laws

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

The Justice Department on Thursday said it won’t stop Colorado and Washington from implementing laws legalizing marijuana for recreational use, paving the way for states nationwide to enact pro-pot measures.

The move was part of a sweeping national policy statement issued by the agency that outlines its top priorities for marijuana enforcement. Those priorities include preventing the distribution of marijuana to minors, preventing sales revenue from going to criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels, and preventing the diversion of marijuana outside of states where it is legal under state law.

But as long as states maintain strict rules regarding distribution of the drug, the Justice Department suggested it won’t challenge state laws that allow for small-scale personal marijuana use.

“Outside of those enforcement priorities, the federal government has traditionally relied on states and local law enforcement agencies to address marijuana activity through enforcement of their own laws,” said a Justice Department memo to U.S. attorneys in all 50 states.

“The department’s guidance [to states] rests on its expectation that states and local governments that have enacted laws authorizing marijuana-related conduct will implement strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems that will address the threat those state laws cld pose to public safety.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Video: Police Not Interested in Brutal Beating on Tape

/7 Comments/in , /by

POLICE_CAR5373A couple’s early-morning walk in the world famous French Quarter of New Orleans turned into a nightmare when they were beaten savagely by three black attackers in a horrifying scene that was caught on camera.

Then it got worse: The responding police officer decided it wasn’t worth filing a report.

According to the local CBS affiliate, the three perpetrators surrounded, verbally abused and then attacked the two victims as they walked through the French Quarter around 6 a.m. on Saturday.

The woman was punched in the mouth, while the man was tackled and had his face stomped as he lay helpless on the ground. The male victim suffered a concussion and a severely broken jaw that required surgery.

The video, despite breaks, caught most of the action leading up to the violence. It shows the two victims, both white, crossing the street as they are stalked by three young, African-American males who then surround and strike them.

Read more from this story HERE.

Iowa Gubernatorial Candidates, Democrats Pray to ‘the Lord’ for More Abortion Access (+video)

/5 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: YouTube

Photo Credit: YouTube

Newly released video footage shows Democrat gubernatorial candidates Tyler Olson and Jack Hatch joining abortion activists in an extended prayer in thanksgiving for abortionists, asking for increased abortion access, and decrying the fact that women have been “made afraid of their own power by their paternalistic religion.”

The five-minute prayer begins, “We give thanks, O Lord, for the doctors, both current and future, who provide quality abortion care, and pray that they may be kept safe.”

“We pray for the 45 million American women who have had safe, legal abortions. May they stand tall and refuse shame,” the prayer continues. “We pray for elected officials, that they may always support a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions.”

The prayer was led by abortion activist Midge Slater, according to the Iowa Republican. It was part of a rally by abortion activists ahead of a hearing on proposed rules banning the practice of having abortionists in a remote location dispense abortion drugs to women via webcam.

Read more from this story HERE.

Snowden Impersonated NSA Officials, Sources Say

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AFP-Getty Images

Photo Credit: AFP-Getty Images

Edward Snowden accessed some secret national security documents by assuming the electronic identities of top NSA officials, said intelligence sources.

“Every day, they are learning how brilliant [Snowden] was,” said a former U.S. official with knowledge of the case. “This is why you don’t hire brilliant people for jobs like this. You hire smart people. Brilliant people get you in trouble.”

Snowden was a Honolulu-based employee of Booz Allen Hamilton, an NSA contractor. His job gave him system administrator privileges on the NSA’s intranet, NSAnet. He reportedly used his privileges to download 20,000 documents.

The NSA still doesn’t know exactly what Snowden took. But its forensic investigation has included trying to figure out which higher level officials Snowden impersonated online to access the most sensitive documents.

The NSA has as many as 40,000 employees. According to one intelligence official, the NSA is restricting its research to a much smaller group of individuals with access to sensitive documents. Investigators are looking for discrepancies between the real world actions of an NSA employee and the online activities linked to that person’s computer user profile. For example, if an employee was on vacation while the on-line version of the employee was downloading a classified document, it might indicate that someone assumed the employee’s identity.

Read more from this story HERE.

Syria Conflict and the Oil Market: Best and Worst Case Scenarios (+video)

/5 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: US Navy

Photo Credit: US Navy

Western military strikes on Syria present a complex set of possible outcomes, and all of them make problems for energy markets to one degree or another. But some scenarios are worse than others.

Despite an abundance of oil supplies—and the fact that Syria is a minor oil producer, at best—the global market for crude has been dominated for a week by worries about the Middle Eastern country. U.S. oil hit a two-year high above $112 on Wednesday, after closing below $104 on Aug. 21, the day that the Syrian military is believed to have used chemical weapons against rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar Assad. Hundreds of civilians died in the attacks.

Since then the United States has intensified its naval presence in the region, and increasingly hostile rhetoric has spilled from allied capitals, including Washington, London, Paris and Ankara, Turkey. Given Syria’s geographical location and the multitude of countries and non-national actors with interests in Syria’s brutal 2½-year-old civil war, market watchers and others are asking themselves, where is this conflict headed?

CNBC asked a group of Middle East, economic and energy experts for their opinions, and came away with possible worst-case and “least bad-case” scenarios.

Read more from this story HERE.

Bill Clinton Takes Subtle Jab at Obama: ‘MLK Did Not Live and Die to Hear his Heirs Whine about Political Gridlock.’

/6 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Former president Bill Clinton told the March on Washington audience Wednesday that Dr. Martin Luther King “did not live and die to hear his heirs whine about political gridlock.”

“Oh, yes, we face terrible political gridlock now. Read a little history; it’s nothing new. Yes, there remain racial inequalities in employment, income, health, wealth, incarceration, and in the victims and perpetrators of violent crime. But we don’t face beatings, lynchings and shootings for our political beliefs anymore,” Clinton said in his commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech on Wednesday.

“And I would respectfully suggest that Martin Luther King did not live and die to hear his heirs whine about political gridlock,” he continued. “It is time to stop complaining and put our shoulders against the stubborn gates holding the American people back.”

President Barack Obama has repeatedly criticized political gridlock in Congress, which he blames on Republican “hyper-partisanship.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Huffington Post Contributor Suggests Conservative Dana Loesch Should Be Raped

/6 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

Leave it to a progressive male to publicly promote the rape of conservative radio host, activist, wife and mother Dana Loesch.

Late last night, in response to a tweet from Loesch about gun control, Huffington Post contributor Pascal Robert told her she should be raped and described a sick sexual fantasy.

“I know you would look lovely with thigh high stockings and would love to have a brother give to you up the a**. Wouldn’t you?” Robert said…

The Huffington Post has not condemned the attack.

Read more from this story HERE.