Paul Ryan Sneaks Massive Surveillance Bill Into $1.1 Trillion Must Pass Spending Legislation

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On Friday, Congress will vote on a mutated version of security threat sharing legislation that had previously passed through the House and Senate. These earlier versions would have permitted private companies to share with the federal government categories of data related to computer security threat signatures. Companies that did so would also receive legal immunity from liability under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and other privacy laws. Today’s language, renamed the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 (Division N of the omnibus budget bill) mostly assembles the worst parts of the earlier bills to threaten privacy even further.

We have about two days to figure out what this so-called Cybersecurity Act (OmniCISA) means for consumer privacy in the US. That unfortunate timing is thanks to Speaker Paul Ryan’s decision to include language announced at 2am this morning as part of a must-pass spending bill scheduled for a vote Friday.

– From Jennifer Granick’s article: OmniCISA Pits DHS Against the FCC and FTC on User Privacy

I know it’s hard to believe, but yes, Paul Ryan is indeed far worse than John Boehner. The fact that Republican members of Congress chose to make him Speaker of the House tells you all you need to know about the true nature of the GOP and who they really work for (it’s not you). After all, Paul Ryan’s public record speaks for itself. He voted for the banker bailouts as well as the Iraq War. He’s a very well behaved little status quo puppet.

Moving along, what Mr. Ryan just did to intentionally target the 4th Amendment rights of American citizens could be described as treasonous. A move which exemplifies the complete and total disrespect he harbors toward the people he claims to represent. For a bit of context, let’s turn to a post published here last week which unfortunately failed to get much traction titled, Paul Ryan is Aggressively Lobbying to Pass “Frankenstein” CISA Spy Bill Through Congress. In it, we warned:

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New Study Shows How the U.S. Government is the “2nd Largest PR Firm in the World”

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Open the Books is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization focused on providing transparency in government. I’ve highlighted their work in the past, most recently related to how the EPA wasted $92.5 million of taxpayer money on high-end, luxury furniture over the past decade. Their latest report is even more disturbing.

It relates to the amount of money the U.S. government spends on PR, which in total amounts to nearly $4.5 billion over the past eight years. Open the Books split this spending up into two main categories. The first is $2.347 billion in salary and bonus payments to federal employees, and the other is $2.02 billion spent on outside contractors.

The organization released a 40 page report with their findings, which can be read in full here.

If you’re pressed for time, I’ve provided some highlights below.

Enjoy.

At OpenTheBooks.com we’re constantly pushing agencies at all levels of government – state, local and federal – to disclose their spending. Our motivation is clear, simple and straightforward. Taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent.

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Sheldon Adelson Revealed as Mystery Buyer of the Las Vegas Review-Journal

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Just yesterday, we published a post titled, Largest Newspaper in Nevada Was Just Purchased Anonymously for $140 Million, which speculated that multi-billioniare, oligarch Sheldon Adelson was behind the purchase. We now have confirmation that it was indeed him.

From Fortune:

For nearly a week, the media and political worlds have been wondering who paid $140 million to purchase Nevada’s largest daily newspaper, The Las Vegas Review-Journal. The primary buyer had taken great pains to remain anonymous, but Fortune has learned from multiple sources familiar with the situation that it is Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp.

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The Foreign Criminals Using Los Angeles Real Estate to Launder Money and the Developers Who Help Them

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Here, as in other roosting places of the superrich, the recent influx of foreign money has gone hand in hand with the rising use of shell companies — generally limited liability companies. Shell companies were used in three-quarters of purchases of over $5 million in Los Angeles over the last three years, a higher rate even than the roughly 55 percent in New York, according to a New York Times analysis of data from PropertyShark. What is more, in Los Angeles, where so many of the new palaces are spec houses — luxury magnets for global wealth — not only are the buyers shielded by shell companies, but the developers are, too.

– From the New York Times article: A Mansion, a Shell Company and Resentment in Bel Air

While New York City and London are already well known as top destinations for shady, foreign-money laundering oligarchs who often attain untold riches by thieving from their own people, the Los Angeles area has likewise morphed into a criminal real estate hub.

Monday’s article in the New York Times, titled, A Mansion, a Shell Company and Resentment in Bel Air, sums up so much of what is wrong about the U.S. economy and society as we reflect on how far we’ve fallen in 2015. A culture in which not only are the rich and powerful above the law, but where foreign criminals also can do whatever the heck they want and get away with it as long as they have billions to throw around. The fact that no one seems to be doing anything about any of it tells you all you need to know.

What follows are a few excerpts, but you should really read the entire article. From the New York Times:

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A Majority of Americans Oppose “Assault Weapons Ban” – Highest Number on Record

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The person who bothers me the most on this entire topic is Mayor Michael Bloomberg, of my hometown NYC.  You can tell when someone is disingenuous if they freak out over gun violence like it is the biggest issue in America today and at the same time protect the banksters and their “too big to fail” culture, which has and continues to systemically steal trillions of dollars from the poor.  This is Michael Bloomberg to a tee, so this man should have no credibility on any moral subject when he protects and coddles the most dangerous criminal organizations on this planet.  I guess there is something “liberal” about white collar crime.

The other way to spot a hypocrite is to see whether they ever speak out about other acts of violence, or if they only open their mouths when it comes to gun incidents.  I see this attitude all over the “fake left” landscape. If someone you know, or someone in the media never decries American drones strikes that kill children regularly in the forgotten parts of the globe, yet jumps at every gun incident like it is the end of the world, that person has an agenda. That person hates guns, not necessarily violence.  They do not have a clear head in this argument.

– From the post: How to Spot a Hypocrite in the Gun Debate and Other Reflections on Newtown

U.S. President Barack Obama is not just the world’s best gun salesman, he’s also the world’s worst gun control spokesperson.

Despite immediately politicizing every single shooting event in recent years by using his bully pulpit to lecture the American public on why citizens must give up their rights to feel safe, his message has fallen on deaf ears. Why?

Mainly because a man who consistently orders drone strikes on women and children all over the world, intentionally bombs a Doctors Without Borders hospital into oblivion, and who launched more shady wars across the globe than George W. Bush, doesn’t exactly hold much credibility as a humanitarian pacifist looking to “save the children.”

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Liberty Links – 12/15/15

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Below are links to some of the more interesting and important reads I came across today, but will not be publishing on in detail.

This post will be updated with new links throughout the day.

Saudi Arabia Announces 34-State Islamic Military Alliance Against Terrorism (Prepare for endless war and increased instability as a result, Reuters)

Obama to Approve of Arms Sales to Taiwan Despite Chinese Opposition (Reuters)

Jury Acquits the Only Cop Who Faced Charges After a Drug Raid Maimed a Toddler (Reason)

Melissa Harris Perry: Star Wars is Racist Because Darth Vader is a ‘Black Guy’ (In case you have a few brain cells to spare, Epic Times)

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Latest Poll Shows 50% of British Voters Would Choose to Exit the EU

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Although everyone watching has been convinced that Europe’s disastrous economy and related debt crisis would be the spark to unravel the European Union project, it appears history has its own plans.

While EU technocrats have demonstrated an uncanny ability to scheme, threaten, kick the can and lie their way around the debt crisis, the migrant crisis will prove to be a much graver threat to the project. Strikingly, all it took was a few weeks of unrelenting migrants crossing into EU borders to put an end what is essentially the only achievement of the European Union — the Schengen system of borderless travel.

Without that, what is the EU really? A collection of nation-states forced by bureaucrats to pretend they are part of an artificial fantasy superstate called Europe? An amalgamation of debt serfs and technocratic overlords? See what I’m getting at?

–  From the post: Does the Migrant Crisis Represent the End of the European Union?

What is currently happening between the UK and the EU as relates to the former’s continued membership in the union is not only fascinating, but presents wide-ranging implications for the future of Europe.

In a nutshell, UK Prime Minister David Cameron is trying as hard as he can to keep the British people in the European Union by getting the Brussels bureaucracy to agree to certain terms important to UK voters. The biggest point of contention at the moment relates to welfare benefits given to migrants. Specifically:

The fourth basket on social benefits and the free movement of persons is the most delicate and will require a substantive political debate at our December meeting. While we see good prospects for agreeing on ways to fight abuses and possibly on some reforms related to the export of child benefits, there is presently no consensus on the request that people coming to Britain from the EU must live there and contribute for four years before they qualify for in-work benefits or social housing. This is certainly an issue where we need to hear more from the British Prime Minister and an open debate among ourselves before proceeding further.

For more details on the subject, I strongly suggest reading: Letter by President Donald Tusk to the European Council on the Issue of a UK In/Out Referendum.

Despite these negotiations, it appears British voters are becoming increasingly amenable to the idea of a Brexit. We learn from the Telegraph that:

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The Billionaire’s Pick – How Marco Rubio Has Become the Preferred Puppet for GOP Oligarchs

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As much as I dislike all the leading candidates for President of these United States, there’s no one on the Republican side who disgusts me more than Marco Rubio.

As concerning and hateful as so much of Trump’s commentary is, we can at least be sure he speaks from his own twisted mind. This is precisely why he appeals to so many people in this day and age of completely captured politicians. People like the fact that every word out of his mouth hasn’t been carefully placed there by some billionaire patron.

On the exact opposite end of that spectrum we find Marco Rubio. A man so incapable of free-thought, he becomes the ideal target for billionaires looking to craft the perfect puppet. Forget Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio is now the establishment GOP’s pick, and they will do everything in their power to get him the nomination.

There are three billionaire oligarchs in particular who seem to really love Rubio. They are Sheldon Adelson, Paul Singer and Ken Griffin. Let’s look at the evidence so far.

Although Adelson hasn’t officially endorsed Rubio, it’s likely just a matter of time. See the following excerpt from yesterday’s Miami Herald:

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At Facebook, Some Hate Speech is More Equal Than Others

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Just in case you harbor that sneaking suspicion that Facebook’s “hate speech” policy is inconsistent and incoherent, you now have your answer.

From FastCompany:

Facebook has gone out of its way this year to clarify its hate speech policy, explaining in March that it aims to be consistent with the type of content it removes.

So why has the social network appeared to have made an exception for Donald Trump, who recently posted a video saying Muslims should be barred from entering the United States? Facebook has removed statements similar to Trump’s proposal in the past, according to employees. And the decision to let Trump’s post remain public was made by the highest levels of management.

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More Corporate Cronyism and Shadiness Revealed in Newly Released Obamatrade Report

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The good news is that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently admitted that the TPP, aka Obamatrade, has very little chance of passing Congress before next year’s Presidential election. The bad news is the main reason for this is because the RINOs in charge don’t think it represents enough of a giveaway to multi-national mega corporations.

All that aside, David Dayen just published a very valuable piece detailing the findings of a 121-page report critiquing the TPP by the Labor Advisory Committee.

Here’s more from Naked Capitalism:

The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office has been maligned for its network of Trade Advisory Committees, allegedly “independent” counsel for trade agreements. The Washington Post did the best work on the Advisory Committees back in February of last year, showing that 85 percent of the cleared advisors (meaning cleared to read the text of trade agreements as they are being negotiated) either worked directly for private industries or their trade groups.

But there’s another, more obscure group called the Labor Advisory Committee. Its 19 members are all the heads of major labor unions (Clayola Brown, president of the A. Phillip Randolph Institute, I guess technically isn’t, but that organization is a constituency group of the AFL-CIO). And like all Advisory Committees, they are required by law to write a report to Congress expressing their opinions about any finalized trade agreement. That means we now have this 121-page document, giving labor’s full argument against the TPP, from the people who have been following it from the inside for several years.

It gets off to quite a start in the first words of the executive summary:

On behalf of the millions of working people we represent, we believe that the TPP is unbalanced in its provisions, skewing benefits to economic elites while leaving workers to bear the brunt of the TPP’s downside. The TPP is likely to harm the U.S. economy, cost jobs, and lower wages.

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