Editors of a number of northern European newspapers have written an open letter to British PM David Cameron stating their concerns arising from the detention of David Miranda – partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald. The writers express concern about the “harassment” of “the paper and individuals associated with it.”
Continue readingAuthor: Jay Cables
drive-by planet: Alleged chemical weapons attack outside Damascus – new details: Assad regime denies responsibility
Beneath: image of claimed chemical weapons attack in Ghouta, eastern outskirts of Damascus / munition allegedly used Recently released videos from Syria show victims of an alleged chemical weapons attack on the eastern outskirts of Damascus. Claims of the number of dead depend on the source. Al-Arabiya claimed 280 victims
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Nigel Kennedy ‘apartheid’ reference to be censored by BBC: Palestine Strings at the Proms
On August 8 the BBC Proms featured the Palestine Strings in company with world renowned violinist, Nigel Kennedy, and members of his Orchestra of Life. Palestine Strings is made up of seventeen young Palestinians ranging in age from 12 to 23 who study at the Edward Said National Conservatory
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Democracy Now interview: Ladar Levison talks about decision to close Lavabit rather than comply with U.S. government
In a follow-up to the previous entry I’m posting a Democracy Now interview with Lavabit owner and operator Ladar Levison. Levison made the difficult decision to shut down the encrypted email service, Lavabit, after an apparent bid by the U.S. government to gain access to customer data. As mentioned in
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Lavabit encrypted email service shuts down rather than become ‘complicit in crimes against the American people’
Lavabit, an encrypted email service with some 350,000 customers is no more. The company has decided to shut down rather than comply with a U.S. government court order that would have implicated Lavabit in spying on its customers. In a courageous move the company has opted to essentially wipe out
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Che Wants to See You: remarkable untold story of Che Guevara by right-hand man Ciro Bustos
The English translation of Che Wants to See You was recently published. It is a remarkable insider account by Ciro Bustos, a comrade-in-arms who was intimately familiar with Che Guevara and the broader liberation struggle in Latin America. The book adds to the credibility of Bustos who has been unfairly
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Washington double-standard on leaks: ‘if you’re rich, powerful and well-connected the laws don’t apply to you’
When it comes to leaks stateside there is no such thing as a level playing field. Double standards abound. Establishment “insider” journalists such as Bob Woodward publish leaked classified material that makes some of Bradley Manning’s leaks seem innocuous by comparison. Woodward, who has been described as “a stenographer to
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Abdulelah Shaye released after jailing at Obama’s request: Jeremy Scahill on Shaye and horrific U.S. bombing of al-Majalah
The courageous journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye who was imprisoned in Yemen following a request from the Obama administration, has been released after serving 3 years in lock-up. Shaye’s ‘crime’ was exposing a U.S. cruise missile attack on the Bedouin village of al-Majalah in December 2009. Forty one villagers were killed
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Public Enemy with Brother Ali – ‘Get Up Stand Up’: plus BitTorrent remix project
Public Enemy decided to make Get Stand up Stand Up – featuring Brother Ali – available through a BitTorrent bundle to allow fans to put together a remix of the song. The date for the submission of remixes has just passed, but it’s an interesting concept… a great way to
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Venezuela abruptly ends talks with U.S. – flatly rejects ‘gringo aggression’ and ‘meddling’
On July 20, Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, announced that rapprochement talks with the U.S. that began in June were at an end. The announcement followed controversial human rights-related remarks by Samantha Power – Obama’s nominee for UN ambassador – who expressed “concern” over Caracas’ management of human rights issues. When
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Jeremy Scahill at Socialism 2013: free press under threat, al-Awlaki, dirty wars
Jeremy Scahill is National Security Correspondent for The Nation magazine and author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. His most recent book Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield was published in April of this year. He also wrote and produced the film Dirty Wars
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Zimmerman travesty and the profiling of black youth in America
The acquittal of George Zimmerman on charges of murdering Trayvon Martin may have met the requirements of law in the eyes of some Americans, but was nonetheless a travesty of justice. The not-guilty verdict saw the self-appointed watchman-on-a-mission walk away a free man – his hands forever stained with
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Edward Snowden interview part 2: Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua offer asylum
A second part of Glenn Greenwald‘s interview with Edward Snowden was released this week. The interview took place on 6 June 2013 in a Hong Kong hotel room. Journalist Laura Poitras was responsible for the filming. In the course of this newly released transcript, Snowden touches on his motivations… why
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Snowden manhunt and the targeting of Morales’ plane: Latin American leaders back Bolivia
Bolivia says Washington put pressure on European allies to deny overflight approval to a plane transporting Bolivian president Evo Morales. The interception of the flight plan of the Bolivian head of state on unfounded suspicions that NSA truth-teller, Edward Snowden, might be onboard amounts to air piracy. It raises questions
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Greenwald via Skype at Socialism 2013: ‘world will be shocked’ by upcoming NSA exposé
At the Socialism 2013 conference in Chicago, Glenn Greenwald received deserved accolades from introductory speakers Sherry Wolf and Jeremy Scahill. Greenwald spoke via Skype about the courage and integrity of Edward Snowden and the importance of his NSA surveillance revelations. He had this to say about the attacks on Snowden:
Continue readingdrive-by planet: NSA leaks: abuse of power: John Pilger on the rise of a new fascism
Ed Snowden’s leaks that reveal the NSA’s borderless metadata trawling and massive invasion of Americans’ privacy is further evidence that something is rotten in the heart of empire. Equally disturbing is the shrug and compliance of the Fourth Estate. No matter how far their idol Obama strays from the principles
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Lowkey ‘Obama Nation:part 3’: featuring Malcolm X footage, M1, Lupe Fiasco, 2Pac
This post follows up on earlier posts of Lowkey‘s Obama Nation… here is part 3. Obama Nation includes input from M1, 2Pac, Lupe Fiasco and others. Also includes footage from a speech by Malcolm X. Syria comes up in the lyrics: “Drones over Pakistan, Yemen and Libya… is Obama the
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