CLASS WILL NOW BEGIN - PLEASE BE SEATED AND QUIET

YANG HUNGER STRIKING AGAIN IN PRISON

Report by Sung Hee-Choi from Jeju Island about Professor Yang Yoon-Mo entering his 12th day of hunger striking as he returns to prison with a 18 month sentence for continued non-violent protest (obstruction of business the government called it):

In fact, his daily fast is carried out from hard resolution. According to Park Hee-Sou, Chairman of the Island Provincial Council, who visited Prof. Yang in the jail along with other two Council representatives and strongly recommended him stop of fast on Feb. 5, Prof. Yang said:

" I hear the sound of the Gureombi Rock being broken by construction (destruction) even in my sleep during the night. Even though I suffer every day, I am taking fast from the resolution that I have to inform the people the fact that the naval base construction itself is done by an evil law. If I spend one year and six months without difficulty, it means I acknowledge that I committed crimes."

However, it is true that his health has been rapidly weakened after the long time fasts of more than 74 days (including about 60 days' prison fast) and 42 days (in jail, too) in 2011 and 2012 each. Many people hope he will stop the fast from the worry of his health.

You can follow all the news from the Gangjeong village struggle by going to Save Jeju Now

KILL THEM ALL....

Journalist Nick Turse describes his personal mission to compile a complete and compelling account of the Vietnam War’s horror as experienced by all sides, including innocent civilians who were sucked into its violent vortex.

Turse, who devoted 12 years to tracking down the true story of Vietnam, unlocked secret troves of documents, interviewed officials and veterans — including many accused of war atrocities — and traveled throughout the Vietnamese countryside talking with eyewitnesses to create his book, Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam.

“American culture has never fully come to grips with Vietnam,” Turse tells Bill Moyers, referring to “hidden and forbidden histories that just haven’t been fully engaged.”

It's important to have Turse further document these atrocities which have essentially been US official policy from the genocide of Native Americans - to the war on the Philippines - to the Korean War - and onto Iraq and Afghanistan today. Kill them all - a policy that repeatedly came from the highest levels of the US government.

The Pentagon always claims that our "enemies have no respect for human life" but the facts point to just the opposite being the truth.

ENSURING THE CONTINUATION OF THE POWER STRUCTURE

RT's Abby Martin sits down with former NSA whistleblower, Thomas Drake, about his personal story as a whistleblower and what he describes as a 'total betrayal' by part of the government.

US-NATO MISSILE OFFENSE

I was interviewed on RT last night about the Pentagon's "missile defense" system.  The US says it is being built to protect against Iran and North Korea but in fact it is being used as part of the US-NATO encirclement of Russia and China.

BRINGING TOGETHER THE MOVEMENTS IN THE UK

Ten years after the largest protest in British history in February 2003, activists examine Britain's legacy in Iraq and the era of continuous warfare.  They pledge to connect the anti-war and anti-austerity movements throughout the UK.

SEN. KING - DRONES ARE NOT HUMANE!

I sent a Letter to the Editor of the Brunswick Times Record yesterday about our newly elected Sen. Angus King's comment that drones are a "humane weapon."  King lives in Brunswick and my hope is that many who voted for him, thinking that he'd be a moderate Independent, will feel compelled to get him to change his harsh thinking about drones.

It would be good if fellow Mainers, and others from around the world, would send Sen. King messages to help him see his remarks are wrong and hurtful.  You can reach Sen. King here
   

Dear Editor:

Predator and Reaper drones are not humane.  The Pentagon calls them "efficient Hunter-Killer platforms".

The Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearings for President Obama's new CIA director, John Brennan, unleashed a fire storm of criticism about the killer drone program.

Sadly the day following the February 7 public hearing I heard Maine's new Sen. Angus King interviewed on MSNBC where he called drones a "very smart artillery shell....a more humane weapon." 

Sen. King is an intelligent man which is likely one reason he was appointed to the Senate Intelligence Committee that was in charge of holding the Brennan confirmation hearings.  Unfortunately the Senate Intel Committee appears to be more concerned with protecting the administration's drone war than getting to the bottom of the truth.

The drones, with their "Hellfire missiles" on-board, have been used over Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bosnia, Serbia, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia.  Reports have been surfacing for years that legions of civilians are being killed by the unmanned drones which are flown by pilots sitting in front of computer screens back in the US using military satellites to guide them.  Global outrage against these unforgiving weapons has grown so strong that the UN has begun an investigation into the legality and casualties of drone strikes.

A new study from Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute finds that the number of Pakistani civilians killed in drone strikes are “significantly and consistently underestimated” by the US government.  The Bureau of Investigative Journalism issued a report detailing how the CIA is deliberately targeting those who show up after a drone attack - rescuers and even mourners at funerals.

So far a minimum 2,629 people appear to have died in CIA drone strikes in Pakistan. The Bureau’s work suggests 475 of them were likely to have been civilians.  We are making new enemies with every drone strike.  Obama's CIA designate Brennan claims that no civilians have been killed.

I call on Sen. King to retract his statement that drones are a "humane weapon" and believe that he should apologize to the citizens of Maine and to the civilian victims of US strikes.  I would urge those who voted for Sen. King, thinking he was a moderate alternative, join me in asking him to change his thinking on drones.

Bruce K. Gagnon
Coordinator
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Bath

CONTROL THE MEDIA, CONTROL THE MESSAGE, CONTROL THE PEOPLE

Here are the top twenty media corporations in the U.S. according to mediaowners.com  All but two of the following, #18 and #19, are members of the Council On Foreign Relations.

1.   Time Warner Inc.
2.   Walt Disney Company
3.   Viacom Inc.
4.   News Corporation
5.   CBS Corporation
6.   Cox Enterprises
7.   NBC Universal
8.   Gannett Company, Inc.
9.   Clear Channel Communications Inc.
10. Advance Publications, Inc.
11. Tribune Company
12. McGraw-Hill Companies
13. Hearst Corporation
14. Washington Post Company
15. The New York Times Company
16. E.W. Scripps Co.
17. McClatchy Company
18. Thomson Corporation
19. Freedom Communications, Inc.
20. A&E Television Networks


The six corporations that collectively control U.S. media today are Time Warner, Walt Disney, Viacom, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., CBS Corporation and NBC Universal.  Together, the "big six" absolutely dominate news and entertainment in the US.  But even those areas of the media that the "big six" do not completely control are becoming increasingly concentrated. For example, Clear Channel now owns over 1,000 radio stations across the US.  Companies like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are increasingly dominating the Internet.

You can find much more information about the vast holdings of various media corporations here 

SUNDAY SONG

WE ARE MURDERING PEOPLE WITH NO EVIDENCE

RT talks to John Kiriakou - former CIA official who blew the whistle on the agency's torture practices. After 9/11 John Kiriakou served as chief of counter-terrorist operations in Pakistan. And now, years later, John Kiriakou is heading to prison. He was just sentenced to two and a half years in jail.

He concludes the interview saying, "I think the Obama administration is largely an extension of the Bush administration."

REPORTED FROM OUR HOUSE

In the middle of the snow storm we had a knock on the door and a young woman from Malaysia asked if she could use our back yard as a backdrop for her weather report that will be beamed back home.  Sure we said and even offered her a coat - but she appeared to be in a big hurry to do the spot and split.

She was kind enough to send me the link but I don't have any idea what she was saying.  The wind was blowing hard and I figure that is what she told them.

HOMER DON'T WANNA GO OUT

• They are reporting almost 30 inches of snow across the state since yesterday.  We have more snow here than we can ever dream of shoveling.  The wind is blowing at 32 mph. I shoveled for 1/2 hour early this morning just to make it possible for Homer to get out the door to pee.....what a mess.  MB spent last night in Portland (45 minutes south of Bath) at a co-worker's house and had to walk to work at the homeless shelter today.  She said more than 200 homeless are crowded into Preble Street Resource Center at this point. Not sure she can make it home tonight either.

• Did an interview on PressTV this morning about torture and also sent a letter to our local paper about our new Sen. Angus King's comments about drones being a "very smart artillery shell....a more humane weapon."  Asked that he apologize for that comment.

MOVE TO AMEND

In my latest episode of This Issue I interview Jerry Provencher of the Bath group Move to Amend. That is, "move to amend" our Constitution...to firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights. Move to Amend rejects the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United and other related cases.

SENATE INTEL COMMITTEE: KABUKI OVERSIGHT

President Obama’s nominee to run the CIA, John Brennan, forcefully defended Obama’s counterterrorism policies, including the increased use of armed drones and the targeted killings of American citizens during his confirmation hearing Thursday.

"None of the central questions that should have been asked of John Brennan were asked in an effective way," says Jeremy Scahill, author of the forthcoming book, "Dirty Wars." "In the cases where people like Sen. Angus King or Sen. Ron Wyden would ask a real question, for instance, about whether or not the CIA has the right to kill U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, the questions were very good. Brennan would then offer up a non-answer. And then there’d be almost no follow-up." Scahill went on to say, "[Brennan] has served for more than four years as the assassination czar, and it basically looked like they were discussing purchasing a used car on Capitol Hill. I mean, it was total kabuki oversight. And that’s a devastating commentary on where things stand."

INSIDE THE OIL PIPELINE

Greg Palast: Koch brothers could save two billion dollars a year if they can replace Venezuelan heavy crude crude with Canadian tar sands - one of the dirtiest sources of carbon emissions on the planet

THE DRONE DEBATE IS EXPANDING

The Baton Rouge, Louisiana newspaper ran drone protest photo from Brennan hearing yesterday in Washington

•  Lots of emails flying around this morning congratulating CodePink for yesterday's truth telling protest in DC.  One wrote:  The anti-Drones protests in Washington yesterday also made the front page of El Pais in Spain. They really got the message home.  The CIA is the biggest Security Risk going ... 
• One interesting development is that libertarian elements within the Republican Party are increasingly speaking out against US drone policy.  Just this morning I received an email from one of these organizations and they are running a poll for their members on the drone issue asking: "Do you think Obama should be able to kill American Citizens thought to be affiliated with terrorists without clear evidence?"  They are using the poll to raise funds which indicates to me that they acknowledge their membership base is upset about out-of-control unconstitutional drone assassination policies.
• I was able to watch a bit of the hearing yesterday and noticed our Maine Sen. Susan Collins (Republican) asking Brennan a couple of direct questions on drone policy.  We sent out an email encouraging Mainers to contact her as well as our new Sen. Angus King (Independent) who is also on the Senate Intelligence Committee.  King told MSNBC this morning that, "In the context of 1,000 years of war, drones are more civilized" but then covered his behind by saying, One man [Obama] cannot be "judge, jury and executioner." Collins and King are very likely to vote to approve Brennan but my perception is that Collins was asking some serious questions because she heard from alot of folks across our state.  And some of the folks who were contacting her were probably from the Republican party.
• I know that counting on a positive working "alliance" with Republicans is wishful thinking - but it must be said that many Republicans still believe in Constitutional limits on federal power.  Nothing speaks stronger to the break down of our rights than drones killing American citizens without due process. 
• Below is a segment of the drone discussion on MSNBC including a couple statements by our new Sen. King from Maine.  He calls drones a "very smart artillery shell....a more humane weapon."  
• In the end the video below is a group of talking head functionaries from the corporate oligarchy but it reflects that global citizen pressure is forcing this discussion into the open and they are being made to defend the actions of a cancerous empire.  Keep the heat on them.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

CIA DIRECTOR HEARING PROTEST

Watch CodePink's demonstration outside Hart Senate Building before John Brennan's hearing and at the hearing itself. Eight CodePink members were arrested for speaking out and Senator Feinstein ordered all "CodePink" associates be "evicted" from the hearing.

The Progressive reported about the hearing:

John Brennan tried to elude his questioners at his confirmation hearing as CIA director..... After a welcome disruption by members of CodePink who denounced him and got ejected from the hearing, Brennan said that there is a “misimpression” and a “misunderstanding” about “the care we take” and--he added obscenely--“the agony we go through” in deciding who to kill. (Compare his “agony” to the agony of the families of the innocent people he’s killed with his drones.)......Nor was Brennan reassuring on full disclosure, responding with classic doublespeak: “We need to optimize transparency and at the same time optimize secrecy.”

ELLSBERG CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT

A lawsuit challenging a law that gives the government the power to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens was back in federal court this week. On Wednesday, a group of academics, journalists, and activists presented oral arguments in court against a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, authorizing the military to jail anyone it considers a terrorism suspect anywhere in the world without charge or trial.

In a landmark ruling last September, Judge Katherine Forrest of the Southern District of New York struck down the indefinite detention provision, saying it likely violates the First and Fifth Amendments of U.S. citizens.

Democracy Now interviews Daniel Ellsberg, a plaintiff in the case and perhaps the country's most famous whistleblower. Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, exposing the secret history of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

DROWNING DEMOCRACY - AN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR

• Today the US Senate will likely give their approval to Obama's pick of John Brennan to be head of the CIA.  The best way to describe him is as a "loyal operative" for the oligarchy.  He worked for George W. Bush and is well known for his strong defense of torture.  Now he works for the magician and defends drone attacks - including the killing of American citizens by drones without due process as the constitution requires.  Obama calls Brennan "uniquely qualified" for the CIA job. Drones are now being used in the US for surveillance and targeting will be the next step - likely sooner than we think.
• South Korean media is reporting a story today that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) tried to manipulate popular opinion during last December‘s presidential election giving rise to charges that the NIS interfered in the election on an institutional level. Hankyoreh reports: On Feb. 5, six civic organizations, including MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society and the Progressive Network Center, issued a joint statement on the matter. “For NIS employees to write posts supporting the government and the ruling party and criticizing the opposition and civic groups, and to click ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ on articles posted by others, falls outside of the bounds of the normal work of the NIS. Thus far, the NIS has treated the right to collect information related to domestic security as grounds for getting involved with politics, but this right must be revoked once and for all,” the statement said. “We must also strip the NIS of the authority to plan and alter security work, which can influence police investigations, and gradually transfer this to the office of the National Security Council (NSC).”
• This South Korea story is very bad news but not a surprise as it is a classic example of fascism which results from the wedding of corporate capital and government.  Most politicians are in the bag.  It's the same story in the US and in most other countries around the world today.  Our fight is the same.  We are all in this together now.
• In the video below Chris Hedges speaks at the 2/6/13 news conference following oral arguments made at Federal Courthouse in New York City. Hedges v. Obama challenges key provisions of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that legalize indefinite detention of American citizens. Learn more at www.StopNDAA.org

EATING OUR PLANET

A good video about the consequences of our "modern" consumptive lifestyle.

The video is put together by a Green Party member in Maine.

He says it all.