Eviscerating the Constitution Since 1978

The passage of the Patriot Act in October 2001 is by now an all-too-familiar story. The American people, already suffering from the trauma of 9/11, were pushed into outright panic by the anthrax attacks, a series of anthrax-laced mailings that killed five, injured 17 and shut down Congress for the first time in modern history. The Act itself was introduced on a Tuesday and signed into law on Friday, before anyone had read let alone understood the sweeping changes it would introduce to American law.

Some of those changes were amendments to a little-known and little-used FBI instrument called National Security Letters, which allow the FBI and other agencies to issue businesses and institutions requests for private data on citizens, including financial transactions and communications records, regardless of whether or not they are even suspected of any crime, and to hold that data indefinitely. One of the most worrying aspects of the letters is the non-disclosure clause, which not only prohibits recipients from disclosing the contents of the letter, but even the fact that they have received a letter at all.

This is our EyeOpener Report by James Corbett, presenting the FBI’s National Security Letters and its predecessor- the 1978 Right to Financial Privacy Act, the aggressive expansion of the program’s scope with the passage of PATRIOT ACT, the gag order accompanying the letters – the non-disclosure clause, the collusion between the FBI, CIA and DOD in the issuance and implementation of these letters, and exposing the macrocosm of the police state control grid as a whole through this tyrannical tool.

Watch the Preview Here:

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*The Transcript for this video is available at Corbett Report: Click Here

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BFP Nightly Quote

“Is a young man bound to serve his country in war? In addition to his legal duty there is perhaps also a moral duty, but it is very obscure. What is called his country is only its government and that government consists merely of professional politicians, a parasitical and anti-social class of men. They never sacrifice themselves for their country. They make all wars, but very few of them ever die in one. If it is the duty of a young man to serve his country under all circumstances then it is equally the duty of an enemy young man to serve his. Thus we come to a moral contradiction and absurdity so obvious that even clergymen and editorial writers sometimes notice it.” – H.L. Mencken  

International Newsworthy

War on Iran Propaganda: U.S. Officials See Increasing Threat of Domestic Attack from Iran

Iran: White House Recruits Southern Caucasus Allies for Attack on Iran

Persian Guile Drives Israel “Crazy”

Read more ?

Revealing Desperation of the Establishment’s Jokers

Update: Well, we did it. iWatch News corrected the order. Now Ron Paul is third from the top-as he should always have been. Not only that, they were ‘forced’ to correct the numbers as well, and use the correct quarter.The only thing left: changing that picture!

Update: Thanks to vigilant readers and their pressure, iWatch News has been scrambling since 3:00 PM EST, and the numbers on the post have been mysteriously changing …of course not the ‘order’ of listing, or the picture selection, or any explanation for such colossal belligerence …

Yesterday, as part of my daily news comb, I visited “iWatch News,” one of several dozen websites on my list of news outlets on government related scandals-revelations. I usually skim the headlines and stories to see whether anything gets my attention as coverage-worthy. Well, their top headline yesterday fit what I was looking for: “Candidate Super PACS.” It was brief, but boldly showcased data on how much money each major presidential candidate has raised and how much each has spent to date. I was happy to find an important but quick and hassle-free read without too many embellishing words or subjective spicing. So I began reading the list. Starting from the top they had the number 1 candidate based on money raised and spent: Read more ?

BFP Nightly Quote

“War is the statesman’s game, the priest’s delight, the lawyer’s jest, the hired assassin’s trade.” – Percy Bysshe Shelley

International Newsworthy

Chief: Sanctions to Hit EU Buyback Firms

Iran Well Prepared for the Worst

Pentagon Seeks New Bomb against Iran

Pakistan: Drone Attacks Feed Insurgency

Read more ?

“A Nazi & a Drug Lord in Charge of Police in Osh?”

Today Turkish Weekly ran an investigative piece on the newly appointed chief of police in Osh-Kyrgyzstan. The new police chief Suyun Omurzakov, who used to be a deputy minister of interior, has been known as a highly influential drug lord, a leader of organized criminal groups, and he was the subject of a criminal investigation in the past:

In October 2009, the Kyrgyznews.com published an article pointing to a direct link between the then Osh city deputy chief of police S. Omurzakov and organized criminal groups engaged into drug trafficking, referring to this person as one of the most influential drug lords in the south of Kyrgyzstan.

Another report that investigates the June 2010 events developed by a coalition of Kyrgyz and Uzbek human right defenders “Oshskaya Initsiativa” (Osh Initiative) speaks of Omurzakov as a leader of an organized Kyrgyz criminal group, along with the mayor of Osh Melis Myrzakmatov, and crime bosses Almanbet Manapiyaev and Kadyr Dusanov (“Jengo”), etc., who were directly involved into plotting, leading, financing and participating in anti-Uzbek pogroms and distributing arms and ammunition among Kyrgyz militia.
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Since 2001 Kyrgyzstan has been hosting the Transit Center at Manas (formerly Manas Air Base) as the transit point for US military personnel coming and going from Afghanistan, and pays 200 million for continued use of the facilities. For years the base has been riddled with scandals and fiascos.  Read more ?

The Only Way to Remain Corporate-Free & Nonpartisan

Every time I read lines pertaining to this ludicrous and completely illogical expectation that everything on the Internet should be free I am tempted to sit down and write a lengthy analysis of the illogical and ludicrousness of this unfortunately prevailing mentality among the new ignorant internet-dependent generation. However, each time I restrain myself and move on since the limited amount of time I have could instead be spent on far more critical and needed projects. This time I will slightly change my routine, take a few minutes of my limited time, and write a few words on this topic as it directly relates to our website and our efforts to keep it alive, running, and effective.

The other day I came across a well-written and argued commentary on this outrageously ridiculous and uninformed “everything free on the Internet” mentality:

“We created this culture. We’re the ones who have been giving stuff away for free for the past decade, not collecting anyone’s credit card information. We’ve conditioned users that everything should be free, always. This gives advertisers the upper hand in any negotiation, because they know that their way is the only way that most sites can make money. Why is this such a big deal? Relevant, contextual advertising isn’t bad, right? Not in moderation, no (see The Deck). But when ads become the only way out and advertisers are the ones calling the shots, users suffer. Also, as a matter of principle I firmly believe that it’s better to pay the makers of things directly than through some convoluted ad system.”

There is nothing that is free-on the Internet or anywhere in life. Period. There has never been, and will never be. Period. In almost all cases, when it comes to the Internet, “Free” has one meaning: someone or someones is paying for what is being offered. The only logical question then becomes: Why. If advertisers are paying- why would they? If corporate foundations and the sugar-daddies behind them are dishing out the money- why are they? If political parties and persons are chipping in- why do they? If a group motivated by a certain goal or agenda is shouldering the cost: Why is it?

This is why it is extremely hard to find information and news sources that can be considered truly independent. This is the reason it is a rarity to see those that are 100% nonpartisan. This is the explanation for way too many agenda-driven propaganda channels on the Internet posing as alternatives. And this is exactly why we at Boiling Frogs Post solely, completely, 100%, only, depend on our readers’ contributions and support.

You see, the question we face at BFP is not whether we should offer our diligently prepared podcast shows, time-consuming video productions, and in depth analyses and articles for free, or, not. The real question we face is: whether we continue this website and all that we provide, or, go out and work full-time and cease operation all together. There are no in-between points here.

You see, I first reduced my part-time contract work hours to start this project. I then reduced it again by half. And after that, last September, I quit it all together. If you have a chance please take a look at my qualifications under ‘About Us.’ For my ex-contract analyst-specialist contract work which also needed my linguistic skills I made $125 per hour. This is money my family no longer has. And there is no way I could manage full-time motherhood, part-time contract work, household work, and a full-time website. No one could. For me it boils down to: shut down BFP, obtain another 25-hrs per week contract, or, make far less, live on far less, have your modest support, and continue and expand this great news-information project.

One of our partners-producers had to quit his full-time academic job in order to provide greater and far more needed public good: investigative reports-production. He too has a family. He too has to sustain his family. He too must choose between living on far less, continuing this needed work by depending on your modest contributions, or, go back to a full-time teaching job and consider doing this an impossibility.

Another one of our partners-producers lost his primary part-time job (thanks to the corporate media!). This is a critical period for him to see whether he can make it through a couple of public-supported information sites, or, go out and enroll full-time with semi-mainstream operated channels out there. That decision too depends on you.

Yet another partner-producer-author is in the position of juggling a full-time student load, a part-time job, and our project here at Boiling Frogs Post. Neither I nor anyone else with common sense could expect him to choose getting evicted from his house or quitting his academic pursuits as the price for working for a far greater public good.

The other day I got an e-mail accusing us of being elitists and offering our work only to those who pay for a subscription. This is nonsense. It is uninformed and frankly, very ignorant. We have gone out of our way to find the right balance in being able to afford to run this project and yet offer all our services and news to everyone. That is why we are making all our archived podcasts and video reports open and free to all. And you know what? Without our supporters doing their share, contributing, however modest, we won’t be able to continue doing that. Again, this is why we call the maintenance and continuation of this project a collective responsibility.

This is Week 2 of our Quarterly Subscription-Donation drive.  The existence of this project is solely dependent on you. Our truly independent, nonpartisan, corporate-advertisement-free and corporation-foundation-free website can only be sustained through collective support; your support. We are doing our share. We are asking you to do yours. Please do your share and help us continue this truly independent news and views venue. Please subscribe or donate to Boiling Frogs Post.

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