Those Who Are Throwing Stones At Pulitzer Awards, Should Look At Themselves First. Had They Been Doing Their Jobs (monitoring NSA activities), Snowden Would Never Had Been Able To Do What He Did.

Critics: Pulitzer No 'Vindication' for Snowden's 'Crimes'

Monday, 14 Apr 2014 09:00 PM

By Cathy Burke

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Critics of NSA secrets' spy-leaker Edward Snowden Monday condemned the awarding of journalism's highest prize to newspapers that exposed the extent of the agency's global snooping, including Americans' emails and cell phones.

New York Republican Rep. Peter King was the first to blast the decision to give Pulitzer prizes to The Washington Post and the Guardian US, recognizing their coverage based on Snowden's classified documents dump.

King tweeted his disgust, calling the newspapers "Snowden enablers," and their prizes a "disgrace."

https://twitter.com/RepPeteKing

"To be rewarding illegal conduct, to be enabling a traitor like Snowden, to me is not something that should be rewarded with a Pulitzer Prize," King later told The Associated Press.

"Snowden has violated his oath. He has put American lives at risk," he said.

Liam Fox, former British secretary of state for defense and a current member of Parliament, ripped Snowden as "a self-publicizing narcissist."

In an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal on Monday night, he said Snowden "thinks of himself as a cyber-age guerrilla warrior."

"Let us not imbue his cowardice with higher motives. Let us not confuse his egotism with public service," Fox wrote. "Let's not call his treachery by lesser terms. Let us be clear about the intent and impact of his actions. Let us be clear to the American people and their allies about the threats they now face from enemies inside and out, terrorist and criminal. For once, let's say what we mean. Let us call treason by its name."

Despite Snowden's claim the Pulitzers vindicated him, John Yoo, a former deputy assistant attorney general, told Politico it most certainly did not.

“I’m not surprised the Pulitzer committee gave The Washington Post a prize for pursuing a sensationalist story, even when the story is a disaster for its own country,” he said.

“I don’t think we need automatically read the prize as a vindication for Snowden’s crimes. Awarding a prize to a newspaper that covered a hurricane does not somehow vindicate the hurricane, [and] awarding a Pulitzer for a photo of a murder does not somehow vindicate the crime.”

Snowden's critics have long decried leaks they say have hurt national security, including House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who in January blasted Snowden's "real acts of betrayal" that "place America’s military men and women at greater risk."

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper also suggested the journalists reporting on the leaks had acted as Snowden's "accomplices."

Another lawmaker who's made it clear he wants to succeed Rogers, a Michigan Republican, as committee chairman feels exactly the same way, Newsmax reported this month.

In an exclusive interview, Rep. Devin Nunes of California, responded Snowden was "obviously, a traitor," adding: "What Snowden did cost us lives and billions of dollars."

But it's not just government officials who've been skeptical of Snowden.

“I think he broke the law, so I certainly wouldn’t characterize him as a hero,” Microsoft founder Bill Gates said.

“If he wanted to raise the issues and stay in the country and engage in civil disobedience or something of that kind, or if he had been careful in terms of what he had released, then it would fit more of the model of ‘OK, I’m really trying to improve things.’ You won’t find much admiration from me.”

King has been a strident critic of the Snowden leaks, telling Newsmax TV earlier this year it "put American lives at risk."

King pointed to a Pentagon report characterizing the confiscation of intelligence secrets the largest theft of its kind in U.S. history.

"I would certainly hope that people who somehow think that Snowden is a whistleblower or even some kind of hero or patriot will realize the extraordinary damage he's caused to our country," King told Newsmax TV in February, adding: "It's going to put our military at risk. It can cause Americans to lose their lives — and I just wish that more Americans would realize that and not see him as some kind of hero."

The administration in January announced reforms to reign in the NSA's collection of Americans' phone data.

Snowden's been charged with three offenses in the U.S., including espionage, and could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted. He's currently living in Russia, which granted him asylum for one year.


Related Stories:

• Guardian, WaPo Win Pulitzers for NSA Stories Fueled by Snowden Leaks
• Globe Wins Pulitzer for Boston Bombing Coverage

© 2014 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Obama, The Unknowable President.

Is Barack Obama A Noble King Or A Traitorous Pawn?

January 8, 2014 by John Myers 

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OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY PETE SOUZA

“Most gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don’t find out til too late that he’s been playing with two queens all along.” – Terry Pratchett

There has not been a more enigmatic U.S. President than Barack Obama since Abraham Lincoln. We know so little about Obama. It is certainly true that he has divided the Nation further than any President since Lincoln. But the questions I cannot shake as we enter into our sixth year of his Presidency are: What are his ultimate goals, and how in the world did this African-American junior Senator and former community leader become the most powerful man in the free world?

It is easy to jump to the conclusion that Obama could be a Muslim and a Marxist bent on remaking America into a socialist state much like so many European countries. That Obama has driven an even wider divide between America, between left and right, is beyond debate. That Obama has added nearly $7 trillion to America’s Federal debt is a black-and-white fact.

That is a far cry from 2008 when candidate Obama promised to be a breakaway leader for the American people. Instead, President Obama has proven himself to be a President for Wall Street interests, billionaire bankers and the military-industrial establishment. That during his Presidency, Obama has fulfilled none of the promises to the middle class or to the millions of black Americans who saw him as a ray of hope for a better future is certain. That Obama has helped make the world a more divided and dangerous place for all is undoubtable.

The Tale Of Two Obamas

Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities 150 years ago about the French Revolution: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”

So it has been these past several years with Obama the candidate and as the President.

Beginning in the summer of 2008, it seemed that America could be on the verge of anarchy. It seemed possible that there could be an economic collapse as well as a collapse in confidence in the Federal government and many of the Nation’s institutions. That would lead to a collapse in the New World Order, which the United States underpins. Those forces built up over decades needed somebody transformative, somebody to pull the wool over the eyes of the world. From the shadows stepped Obama, anointed by some as the chosen one and appealing to tens of millions of people at home and hundreds of millions of people abroad.

The real question is by whom was Obama chosen? He had no experience as a leader or a thinker and certainly not as a doer. His past was so checkered it called into question not only his birthplace but his college background, economic beliefs and even his religion. Yet within a year he had become an international sensation, a Nobel Peace Prize winner. That erstwhile kid from Hawaii was a pop star 10 times bigger than Justin Bieber and half as smart.

But rather than change, Obama has doubled down on all the corruption and dysfunction that our Federal government has planted over the past three decades. It was Obama the candidate who attacked George W. Bush’s abuse of executive powers, only to spy upon the Nation with impunity as President. It was Obama the candidate who criticized Bush and the Republicans for the bailouts of big investment banks but then as President provided a no-strings-attached policy after his Administration’s $800 billion bailout, which allowed for record bonuses to top Wall Street executives who scant months before he had vilified.

A Probable Pawn For The NWO

The most startling discrepancy between candidate Obama and President Obama is when it comes to foreign policy. As President, Obama has wielded foreign policy with a broadsword against real or perceived enemies in ways that Dick Cheney must watch with green envy. Consider Obama’s air attacks on Libya.

In December 2007, candidate Obama was asked if a President could bomb Iran without Congressional authorization. Obama’s answer: “The President does not have the power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”

Yet as commander in chief, Obama did not have a problem breaking such a promise and quickly used massive American airpower and sea power against Libya. In 2011, Obama went so far as to go against his legal advisers, insisting he did not need Congressional approval under the War Powers Resolution to continue attacks against Libya beyond the 60-day limit dictated by the resolution. Obama sounded like Bill Clinton when he said that what he had done was dependent on the definition of “sex.” Obama claimed that U.S. attacks were outside the legal definition of “hostilities.”

Even a military hawk like Speaker of the House John Boehner was outraged, saying, “The White House’s suggestion that there are no ‘hostilities’ taking place in Libya defies rational thought.”

So what is rational when it comes to Obama, both the candidate and the President? The two are very separate men. The first, who offered to change things for the better, no longer exists (if he ever did). The President is the ever faithful company man to the financial and military establishments. Obama has made his mark as the first African-American President. Despite his myriad failures in office and his multitude of lies, I believe his Presidency will be celebrated. Those who determined his election know how to pay off a loyal servant. But thankfully for some, Obama will be remembered as a pawn and not a king. How many feel that way depends on us understanding the truth, fighting for our liberties and protecting the Constitution.

Yours in good times and bad,

Should Snowden Get Freedom? We Think So, What About You?

New York Times Urges Clemency For Secrets-Leaker Snowden

January 2, 2014 by UPI - United Press International, Inc. 

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NEW YORK (UPI) — Edward Snowden “deserves better” than exile because he did the United States a service by publicizing surveillance secrets, a New York Times editorial said.

Revelations about the scope of the National Security Agency’s monitoring programs prompted two Federal judges to accuse the agency of violating the U.S. Constitution and led a Presidential panel to issue a scathing indictment of the agency’s invasion of privacy and call for a major overhaul of its operations, the commentary published Wednesday said.

“Considering the enormous value of the information he has revealed, and the abuses he has exposed, Mr. Snowden deserves better than a life of permanent exile, fear and flight,” the commentary by The Times’ editorial board said. “He may have committed a crime to do so, but he has done his country a great service.”

Snowden, a former NSA contractor, has been granted temporarily asylum in Russia, “on the run from American charges of espionage and theft, and he faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life looking over his shoulder,” the editorial said.

“It is time for the United States to offer Mr. Snowden a plea bargain or some form of clemency that would allow him to return home, face at least substantially reduced punishment in light of his role as a whistle-blower, and have the hope of a life advocating for greater privacy and far stronger oversight of the runaway intelligence community,” the Times advocated.

Snowden has been charged with violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property.

The editorial said Snowden’s critics claim he did “profound damage” to U.S. intelligence operations but haven’t presented the “slightest proof that his disclosures really hurt the nation’s security.”

“When someone reveals that government officials have routinely and deliberately broken the law, that person should not face life in prison at the hands of the same government,” the commentary concluded. “That’s why Rick Ledgett, who leads the NSA’s task force on the Snowden leaks, recently told CBS News that he would consider amnesty if Mr. Snowden would stop any additional leaks. And it’s why President Obama should tell his aides to begin finding a way to end Mr. Snowden’s vilification and give him an incentive to return home.”

Students Nail Obama Regarding His Scandals. Maybe The Younger Generation Is Not As Out-of-it As We Had Thought.

Watch: College Students Beginning To See Through Obama’s Lies

November 4, 2013 by Sam Rolley 

According to several University of Northern Colorado-Greely students recently interviewed by Campus Reform, there is no way that President Barack Obama was unaware of the numerous scandals that have plagued his Administration until the government misdeeds were revealed in news reports.

The students noted that the Administration’s continued reliance on plausible deniability when addressing public outrage over scandals like the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups, the National Security Agency’s spying on world allies, Fast and Furious gun running, the Justice Department’s spying on reporters and how millions of Americans will lose their health insurance plans under Obamacare shows signs of an “incompetent” and “childish” American leader.

Many students interviewed simply believe that the President has willfully lied about the scandals to the American people.

“He just thought it would be a better idea to say ‘nope, didn’t have any idea,’ kind of like a kid would,” one student suggested.

Meanwhile, Obama’s approval rating hit an all-time low of 42 percent last week, according to an NBCNews/Wall Street Journal poll.

NSA Spying Should Continue Says Obama Administration In Supreme Court Case

Obama Administration: No SCOTUS Challenges To NSA Spying Allowed, Because We Said So

October 16, 2013 by Sam Rolley 

PHOTOS.COM

In July, the Electronic Privacy Information Center responded to whistle-blower Edward Snowden’s leaks by petitioning the Supreme Court to vacate the order of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court requiring communications providers to turn over telephone records to the National Security Agency. The Administration of Barack Obama has now responded to the petition, urging the Supreme Court to reject the challenge and to allow the NSA to continue spying on Americans unmolested.

Along with other defenses, the Administration said that the EPIC challenge is unwarranted because phone companies could challenge the secret orders from the FISC court for information. To date, however, there have been no challenges to FISC orders from telecom providers.

The Feds also allege that the Patriot Act provisions that allow the NSA phone data collection disallow third parties like EPIC to challenge the government’s actions.

“Congress established that only specified parties — the government or the recipient of an order — may seek review in this Court of a FISC decision under Section 1861,” the Administration said.

EPIC’s challenge to the NSA data-collection program came on the heels of Snowden’s explosive revelations of widespread government spying justified under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. That section grants FISC the ability to authorize broad warrants for several types of Americans’ records, including those held by banks, doctors and phone companies, with no suspicion of links to terror or wrongdoing.

The spying has been going on in its current capacity since 2006, according to government officials.

“As of October 1, 2013, fourteen different judges of the FISC, on thirty-four separate occasions, have approved Section 1861 orders directing telecommunications service providers to produce records in connection with the Telephony Records Program,” the Administration said in its rebuttal to the EPIC petition.

But EPIC maintains that the Federal government has long used a perverted interpretation of the Patriot Act in order to collect troves of data about Americans at home and abroad without linking its efforts to particular investigations.

“The ongoing collection of the domestic telephone records of millions of Americans by the NSA, untethered to any particular investigation, is beyond the authority granted by Congress to the FISC…” according to EPIC’s petition.

EPIC chronicles its fight against NSA spying here.

NSA Has Tech Firms Scared To Discuss Government UnConstitiutional Demands For Fear Of Going To Jail

‘Treason’ And ‘Jail’ Deter Tech Leaders From Sharing NSA Spy Requests With Public

September 13, 2013 by Ben Bullard 

PHOTOS.COM

Leaders at several major tech companies, including handlers of social media and Internet services, criticized the U.S. government this week for its ironfisted treatment of companies that repeatedly have requested permission to publicly reveal the scale of the National Security Agency’s court-sanctioned surveillance measures.

Speaking in San Francisco at this year’sTechCrunch Disrupt conference — a major event that brings together industry innovators and potential investors — Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said the government’s approach to deterrence has been simple.

“Releasing classified information is treason, and you are incarcerated,” said Mayer.

That response came during a public Q&A, when someone asked Mayer why tech companies have been complaining in general terms about the NSA, but won’t release any information that reveals the nature the government’s demands. Yahoo has gone before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in the past, suing in 2007 for permission to publish information about NSA spy requests. But predictably, the government prevailed.

“When you lose and you don’t comply, it’s treason,” Mayer said.

Yahoo and Facebook have filed fresh lawsuits in the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks, arguing that being muzzled by the NSA — with the entire world watching — isn’t just unConstitutional; it’s killing their business.

“Yahoo has been unable to engage fully in the debate about whether the government has properly used its powers, because the government has placed a prior restraint on Yahoo’s speech,” Yahoo argues in its filing. “Yahoo’s inability to respond to news reports has harmed its reputation and has undermined its business not only in the United States but worldwide. Yahoo cannot respond to such reports with mere generalities.”

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg resorted to generalities in his public comments at the Disrupt conference, but reinforced the Yahoo CEO’s assertion that the government is hurting American business and eroding faith in U.S. tech, even as it forces companies to keep quiet about its warrantless, illegal surveillance practices. “Frankly, I think the government blew it,” he said.

“The morning after this [Snowden scandal] started breaking, a bunch of people were asking them [the government] what they thought,” he said. “[They said] ‘don’t worry, we’re not spying on any Americans.’”

“Wonderful, that’s really helpful for companies trying to work with people around the world. Thanks for going out there and being clear. I think that was really bad.”