Sterling Trial Opens in Security-State Matrix
By Norman Solomon
When the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling got underway Tuesday in Northern Virginia, prospective jurors made routine references to “three-letter agencies” and alphabet-soup categories of security clearances. In an area where vast partnerships between intelligence agencies and private contractors saturate everyday life, the jury pool was bound to please the prosecution.
In a U.S. District Court that boasts a “rocket docket,” the selection of 14 jurors was swift, with the process lasting under three hours. Along the way, Judge Leonie M. Brinkema asked more than a dozen possible jurors whether their personal connections to the CIA or other intel agencies would interfere with her announced quest for an “absolutely open mind.”
From what I could tell, none of those with direct connections to intelligence agencies ended up in the jury box. But affinities with agencies like the CIA seemed implicit in the courtroom. Throughout the jury selection, there was scarcely a hint that activities of those agencies might merit disapproval.
Just how familiar was the jury pool with critiques of the CIA? Hard to say, but here’s one indicator: When Brinkema asked for a show of hands among the prospective jurors — nearly 100 in the room — to indicate how many had read James Risen’s bestselling book State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration, a grand total of zero hands went up.
That book, with its tough investigative reporting that exposed malfeasance, incompetence, cruelty and mendacity in the CIA’s leadership, is at the core of the case against Sterling. He’s charged with giving the author classified information — about the CIA’s Operation Merlin, a dangerous maneuver that provided flawed nuclear weapon blueprints to the Iranian government in 2000.
Read More: http://www.highstrangeness.tv/0-43524-sterling-trial-opens-in-securitystate-matrix.html
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CIA Whistleblower face 100 years for Exposing Gov’t Lies
by Martin Armstrong 4 March 2015
CIA whistleblower, Jeffrey Sterling, now faces up to 100 years in prison and a fine of $2.25 million for blowing the whistle on the CIA planting false evidence of nuclear weapons in Iran. This demonstrates how corrupt the government is. They will start wars for personal gain and lie to the people each and every time. Obama promised he would be honorable and “protect” whistleblowers from prosecution and punishment, Just another crock of bullshit. He is due in court April 24th. http://armstrongeconomics.com/2015/03/04/cia-whistleblower-face-100-years-for-exposing-govt-lies/
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The Misuse of the Espionage Act to Prosecute American Heroes
By Andrew Harman, February 04, 2015
“With the uptick in whistleblower prosecutions by the US government,” GAP’s Jesselyn Radack and former NSA senior executive and whistleblower Thomas Drake gave their take on the misuse of the Espionage Act, and the challenges facing journalists and whistleblowers.
Advice for Whistleblowers and Journalists from an NSA Spy and Snowden’s Lawyer
VICE Motherboard
The duo also shared their thoughts on the convictions of Jeffrey Sterling and Barrett Brown, and the chilling effect these cases have on the free flow of important public information.
Whistleblowers – silenced recaptured.
Reboot FM
Even when whistleblowers win, they often sacrifice a great deal for their fellow citizens and the country they love.
– See more: http://www.whistleblower.org/blog/101304-misuse-espionage-act-prosecute-american-heroes
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In “Unprecedented Move” Nobel Peace Prize Chairman Demoted For Decision To Give Obama 2009 Award
Submitted by Tyler Durden
Back in 2009, just months after his swearing in, president Barack Obama was crowned with an unexpected glory: he won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 due to “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” Back then there was little indication that just a few years after his crowning achievement of “ending the war” in and returning US troops from Iraq, he would send US troops right back in Iraq for the 3rd US invasion of the country in three decades, but also send out US troops across the globe, and launch the second cold war, pushing the world to the brink of another “large scale war.” Those who wish to read Obama’s teleprompted and ghostwritten acceptance “speech can do so here.
At the time the White House, and the fawning media, was delighted by this crowning, if premature, achievement of the progressive president.
Which is why don’t expect much coverage of the inevitable aftermath: earlier today, in what France24 dubbed an “in an unprecedented move“, the controversial head of Norway’s Nobel Peace Prize committee was removed Tuesday and demoted to the rank of mere member.
Thorbjoern Jagland, a former Norwegian premier, drew criticism after becoming committee chairman in 2009 for awarding the prestigious Nobel to newly elected US President Barack Obama. He will be replaced by current Deputy Chair Kaci Kullmann Five.
More from AP:
The Nobel Peace Prize awarding Norwegian Nobel Committee on Tuesday elected a new chairman to replace Thorbjoern Jagland, whose six-year tenure has been lined with controversies.
Jagland will remain a member of the voting panel but was a contentious leader, attracting criticism for his dual role as committee chairman and head of the European Council when the prize was awarded to the European Union in 2012. His leadership also was clouded by the decision to give the prize to Barack Obama in 2009 after he had just been elected president, and the 2010 prize to the jailed dissident Liu Xiabo drew fury from China.
The former labor politician was replaced by the panel’s deputy chairman, Kaci Kullmann Five, a former conservative party leader. She denied that Jagland’s ousting had anything to do with pressure from China, which froze diplomatic ties to Norway after the 2010 award.
She did not deny that his ousting had anything to do with Obama who has since the aware become a neo-con warhawk, who has put some of the most bloodthirsty republicans to shame, and whose actions (and lack thereof) have led to not only global conflict intensity spiking To a 7-year high, but have generated untold riches to the shareholders of the military industrial complex.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-03/unprecedented-move-nobel-peace-prize-chairman-demoted-decision-give-obama-2009-award
Mahalo Andre, thanks for submitting the link, nice find! {~A~}
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