Bombs Away U.S. of A.

How many countries has 'the United States of America' attacked this month?

Who Are the Most Heavily Bombed People on Earth?

The Laotian people have lived with the sad distinction of most heavily bombed people on Earth.
Every eight minutes for nine straight years bombs were dropped on their heads.

From 1964-1973 the U.S. ran 580,000 bombing raids on the landlocked country bordering Vietnam.  The Mother Jones video above and recent story by Fatima Bhojani outline these outrageous events.

Millions of cluster bomblets are lying unexploded in Laos
(Image Credit: UXO Lao)

Finally, Legacies of War  and The Diplomat explain more about the secret war in Laos.

Misleading Headline of the Week

Today's headline from the AP:

U.S. Ends Philippines Anti-Terror Force

But the 15th paragraph of this very story reads:

The U.S. and the Philippines, which are defense treaty allies, signed a 10-year pact in April that will allow possibly thousands of American forces temporary access to selected Filipino military camps and enable them to preposition fighter jets and ships.

So the U.S. is ending a task force in the Philippines while simultaneously planning a decade long stay.  Washington's primary goal appears to be surrounding China with weapons of mass destruction.

Leave it to the outcast media to distort news to this extreme.

 

Hollywood Questioning War?

Why is the U.S. at war in Pakistan & Afghanistan?  John Cusack wants to know.

The Australian Navy buys American

Raytheon's Evolved Seasparrow Missile or ESSM

Last month the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Raytheon $30,891,282.

What did the Navy ask for in exchange for the 30 million bucks?  A bunch of missile's for the military's of...Australia and the Netherlands.

People in Tucson, Arizona will be manufacturing the missiles.  They will be ready for use by 2017.

Is the next president of the U.S. already planning a war?

What We Knew About the NSA Before Snowden

National Security Agency headquarters in Fort Meade, MD
(Saul Loeb/AFP Getty Images)

It's been twelve months since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the United States global spy network.  His released documents shined a brighter light on the depth of the activities by the National Security Agency.

Snowden shared the previously closely held information with Glenn Greenwald, a journalist for The Guardian.  It is well worth going through Greenwald's reporting "On Security and Liberty".

What was interesting about the Snowden leaks to longtime observers of state spying activities is that much of the information that Greenwald reported on was already public information.  

Published in 1982

James Bamford wrote “The Puzzle Palace: A Report on N.S.A., America’s Most Secret Agency” in 1982.  In a recent piece for The New Yorker, Alexander Nazaryan outlines some major themes from the book:   

...the NSA has tested the bounds of the Fourth Amendment before. Project Shamrock, carried out after the Second World War, compelled companies like Western Union to hand over, on a daily basis, all telegraphs entering and leaving the United States. A younger sibling, Project Minaret, born in 1969, collected information on “individuals or organizations, involved in civil disturbances, antiwar movements/demonstrations and Military deserters involved in the antiwar movement.”  

Fast forward to 2005 and we find this report from The New York Times titled "Bush Let's U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts".  In it James Risen and Eric Lichtblau reported:

Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the [National Security Agency] has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said. 

NSA employee Russell Tice came out publicly in 2006 and suggested that millions of Americans could be subject to NSA spying.  Tice spoke in-depth with James Corbett on The Corbett Report a few weeks after the first round of Snowden revelations. 

Published in 2009

James Bamford gained more popularity six years ago after publishing "The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America".  When promoting the book on PBS the author participated in a Q&A in February of 2009.  Thomas Nelms asked:    

Q: Do you see the scope and breadth of eavesdropping on communications in the U.S. expanding as time goes on, and if so, propelled by what circumstances?

Bamford: Unless tamed by the Obama administration, the natural tendency is for NSA to continue expanding its coverage area within the U.S. If another domestic terrorist incident takes place, the pace of that expansion will grow exponentially.   

We could list even more sources of information about NSA dragnet operations which were reported in the press well before Edward Snowden came forward but you get the picture. Snowden breaking his silence last June was a cherry on top of a decade long expanding pie.      

What Happens at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas?

In December of 2012 Brian Lepore at the Government Accountability Office was on C-SPAN's Washington Journal to discuss "Guantanamo Bay Detainees and Potential Relocations".

Early in the program Lepore talks about Fort Leavenworth, Kansas as a possible new holding space for the detainees.  Fort Leavenworth is home to the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks.  Mr. Lepore provides some interesting insight to what actually goes on at the barracks.  See the video clip below.

What Business does Washington have in the Philippines?

The U.S. is attempting to move thousands of heavily armed soldiers into the Philippines for the first time in over two decades.  The U.S. government people are theorizing that the Chinese government people are conspiring to take over the Philippines, or South Korea or D.C. or something.

In response to this illegal action attempted by the U.S. The Guardian reports that two former senators and ten taxpayers are suing the Philippine government people for violating their constitution.

Foreign military troops are banned from the Philippines unless a treaty is approved by 2/3 of the senate and ratified by the foreign state (in this case the U.S.).

So what is the real reason for the expanding U.S. military presence in the South China Sea?

Conspiracy at The Washington Post

"What the American Public doesn't know is what makes them the American Public."  

Ray Zalinsky from the movie Tommy Boy

The Washington Post reports that the U.S. White House inadvertently released the name of a CIA chief based in Afghanistan.  In the small world of "National Security" this is a big no-no.  We are told that the identities of government bureaucrats living off the backs of the taxpayers must be protected.

Fortunately for this CIA guy (or gal) The Post is conspiring with The White House to keep their name hidden from the American Public:

The Post is withholding the name of the CIA officer at the request of Obama administration officials who warned that the officer and his family could be at risk if the name were published. The CIA and the White House declined to comment.

Nothing like a nice transparent state.  Ha, ha.

  

Human Rights for Some of Us

A man was convicted in Saudi Arabia for committing the crime of "insulting Islam".  The Saudi court sentenced him to ten years in prison plus 1,000 lashes.  This is what hosting a website about religion will get you when you live under a totalitarian regime.

Have you heard outrage from the west about this violent crackdown on freedom of speech?

Harry Truman with Crown Prince Saud (1947)

In case you weren't aware the U.S. has been selling weapons of mass murder to Saudi King's for six decades.      

Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon with King Saud (1957)

The shipment of weapons from the U.S. to the House of Saud continues to this day.  Textron Inc. is in the process of filling an order for 1,300 cluster bombs to be sent to the Islamic regime by next year.  

In short, the relationship between the owners of the U.S. and the owners of Saudi Arabia is very profitable for them.  If people start spreading ideas that question the Islamic regime the lashing will begin.

Don't expect a feel-good ad campaign to come out of the west about protecting free speech in the mid-east kingdom.  They couldn't care less about "democracy", "freedom" or "human rights" when it comes to the 20,000,000 citizens of Saudi Arabia.      

Does the U.S. Plan to Bomb Yemen for 16 Years?

Apparently a six year long bombing campaign in Yemen is just not enough for the U.S.  

The tiny African country of Djibouti is now a legal landlord to the U.S. military for the next ten years.  Separated from Yemen by only 20 miles via the Red Sea the small Muslim country will collect $630,000,000 in rent from the U.S. Treasury over the next decade.

Of course the 800,000 residents of Djibouti and the 317,000,000 residents of the U.S. have no input in this decision.  The contractual parties include only the small number of people calling themselves "the state" in both America and Africa.  

Did You Vote on the U.S. Invasion of Yemen?

U.S. Bombing of Southern Yemen (2013/Reuters)

U.S. military members described as "elite and clandestine" were involved in the killing of 65 people in Yemen last month.  This is in addition to the roughly 1,000 people the U.S. has bombed to death in the country since 2009*.

With the U.S. invasion of Yemen lasting six years you would think that the people paying for the war would at least be asked to vote on it.

Did you see a ballot initiative about funding the war in Yemen?

Has your Senator called you and asked your opinion about the matter?

Maybe there was a box on the IRS tax form that asked how much of your tax dollars should go toward funding the war against the people of Yemen.

Or maybe the politicians simply don't allow their subjects to vote on important matters like war and peace.  

*data from The New America Foundation  

The Gangster State by Charles Tilly

Charles Tilly, social scientist and prolific writer passed away six years ago this week.  From his New York Times obituary:

[Tilly] gave early indications of his argument that war made states in an article that said nation states, with their monopolies on violence, function like gangsters’ protection rackets. He said that governments emphasize, create and stimulate external threats, then ask their citizens to pay for defense.

 

Military Brass in D.C. Go Full on Paranoid

Chuck Hagel and fellow conspiracy theorist John Kirby have made U.S. troop deployments into Eastern Europe official.  The U.S. is moving 600 troops from Italy to Poland tomorrow.  They will further be split in quarters with 150 each going to Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.  

John Kirby, Conspiracy Theorist

Why are these poor Army gals & guys being carted around Europe?  The troop movements are in response to a crazy conspiracy theory that the military brass in D.C. have hatched.  

Kirby and Hagel seem to believe that the Russian government is conspiring against the government of the U.S., in Europe.  Will these 600 Army troops buy into the paranoia and go along with the plan?  

Hopefully not.      

Conspiracy Theorists at the Pentagon

Chuck Hagel, Conspiracy Theorist

In response to a conspiracy theory hatched by a few people at the U.S. Pentagon, the Army is planning to expand it's presence into Eastern Europe.  It appears that the military brass in D.C. are paranoid that Russia is secretly planning to get them.

Never-minding Chuck Hagel's wayward plans, the more important question is would these soldiers prefer to be home with their families or risking their safety in Poland and Estonia?

From the AP.

The Greatest Investment Return on Earth

The Interpublic Group is one of the world's largest advertising agencies and is parent company of McCann.  OpenSecrets.org tells us that Interpublic invested about $800,000 in political bribes during the 2012 U.S. election cycle.  Add another $100,000 per year in non-election campaign style bribes and they are looking at an investment of almost one million dollars.

So what does Interpublic/McCann receive for these bribes?

Would you believe $565,128,853?

From an April 2013 U.S. Army press release:

               McCann World Group Inc., New York, N.Y., was awarded a modification to a previously awarded fixed-price-award-fee contract, with a maximum value of $192,114,076 for professional marketing and advertising services in support of personnel recruitment and retention programs throughout the Army.  The cumulative total face value of this contract is now $565,128,853.   

IPG investors and executives are getting a return on their money of 565-fold in just twelve months.

The U.S. Department of Defense is providing their favored investors with the greatest investment return on Earth. 

U.S. Taxpayers Bailing Out Canadian Ruling Class

Did you feel a little lighter in the pockets after filing your 1040 this month?  U.S. taxpayers are another $37 million in debt thanks to the Canadian ruling class.  Back in December of 2012 the U.S. Pentagon announced a new contract for Canadian millionaires to perform work in Afghanistan for the Air Force.

UNITED STATES TRANSPORTATION COMMAND

            Canadian Commercial Corp., / Canadian Helicopters Ltd., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is being awarded a $37,103,792 option year modification for rotary wing aircraft, personnel, equipment, tools, material, maintenance and supervision necessary to perform passenger and cargo air transportation services.  Work will be performed in Afghanistan, and the option will start Dec. 1, 2012, to be completed by Nov. 30, 2013. 

Contract here

So who is the Canadian Commercial Corp.?  Their website describes their duties pretty clearly:

A Crown corporation of the Government of Canada, the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) acts as Canada’s international contracting and procurement agency.   

CCC helps Canada live up to its responsibilities as an active partner in North America’s integrated defence industrial base. 

Every year, CCC manages an average of $1 billion in contracts for goods and services to be delivered by Canadian companies to the U.S. DoD and NASA. 
Over the past 55 years, Canada’s DPSA contracts have totalled more than $30 billion.

Did you vote to spend that $30 billion?