Exclusive: New Jersey Gov. Christie’s Bridge-gate scandal is a reminder that unscrupulous politicians can abuse their powers in unexpected and extraordinary ways, which underscores the need to put tight legal constraints on the NSA’s surveillance powers, writes Robert Parry.
Category: Obama Administration
Mandela Movie Faces Long Oscar Odds
Only a month ago, Nelson Mandela’s death brought much of the world together to honor his legacy in overturning South Africa’s white supremacist regime. But the new film about his life may get short shrift as the movie-award season opens, says…
Condemning a Boycott of Israeli Abuses
Buying a Seat at Surveillance State’s Table
Internet billionaires with lucrative ties to the Surveillance State are buying up media and ignoring people who ask if $250 million may be the new price tag for a seat at the power table, as Norman Solomon wonders about the Washington Post’s new…
Keeping War Hopes Alive on Iran
NSA’s Preference for Metadata
Exclusive: The hidden ball in the debate over the NSA’s collection of phone and e-mail metadata (vs. tapping into actual conversations with a court order) is that the NSA actually prefers the metadata approach because it strips away privacy more…
The Weapons of the Poor
Many on the American Right define themselves as Christians and angrily defend the religion’s symbols and myths, but this Christian Right ignores a core reality about Jesus, that he spoke to and for the poor, decried the rich, and demanded…
‘Gaming’ Obama on Afghan War
As President Obama grappled with the Afghan War in 2009-10, he faced insubordination from Gen. Petraeus, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Gates, a reality that Gates leaves out of his new memoir, as Gareth Porter writes for…
Capitol Hill’s Millionaire Club
Back from the holidays, Congress is hearing calls to raise the minimum wage, renew long-term unemployment insurance and spare food stamps from sharp budget cuts. But with most members now in the millionaire club, these issues are more and more…