Thousands of activists march on Washington to rally against NSA spying
Stop Watching Us rally credit: @johnzangas/Twitter
by Madison Ruppert
Activist Post
October 27, 2013
Thousands of activists joined forces on Saturday to protest the NSA surveillance of both domestic and international targets by marching on Washington, D.C.
This comes shortly after it was revealed that the NSA spied on the phones of 35 world leaders. Furthermore, both France and Mexico have recently responded quite critically to U.S. surveillance in their countries, though Director of National Intelligence James Clapper issued a cleverly worded denial of the reports.
On Saturday, it was also reported that 21 countries are in the process of creating a UN resolution to condemn NSA surveillance.
The march was organized by Stop Watching Us, a coalition of over 100 groups ranging from the ACLU to the Electronic Frontier Foundation to FreedomWorks to Demand Progress to the Council on American-Islamic Relations to Occupy Wall Street and many more.
A statement from Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor responsible for leaking the now famous documents exposing mass collection of phone records and widespread internet surveillance, was read to rally participants.
“Our representatives in Congress tell us this is not surveillance. They’re wrong. Now it’s time for the government to learn from us,” Snowden wrote in the statement read by Jesselyn Radack, national security director for the Government Accountability Project.
Radack gestured in the direction of the Capitol building and said, “We are watching you,” according to USA Today.
“Today, no telephone in America makes a call without leaving a record with the NSA. Today, no Internet transaction enters or leaves America without passing through the NSA’s hands,” Snowden’s statement read, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
Participants carried a wide variety of signs, but all promoted the same goal of an end to mass surveillance.
The rally featured many notable speakers, including Rep. Justin Amash, a Michigan Republican noted for his defense of privacy.
Amash was an early critic of the NSA’s surveillance and has been an ardent opponent of other pieces of legislation he deemed to be a threat to the Constitution.
Dennis Kucinich also spoke at the rally:
Multiple NSA whistleblowers also showed up at the rally, including Russell Tice:
And Thomas Drake:
There were even rallies in Germany to protest the NSA surveillance in their country:
It remains to be seen if the government will react to the rise of negative popular sentiment in response to NSA spying.
Up until this point, it hasn’t seemed to sway the Obama administration, many legislators and government agencies all that much, since, as the Chicago Tribune put it, they “have defended the NSA programs as crucial in protecting U.S. national security and helping thwart past militant plot[s].”
I’d love to hear your opinion, take a look at your story tips and even your original writing if you would like to get it published. I am also available for interviews on radio, television or any other format. Please email me at Admin@EndtheLie.com
Please support our work and help us start to pay contributors by doing your shopping through our Amazon link or check out some must-have products at our store.
This article first appeared at End the Lie.
VIDEO — Merkelism = Thatcherism 2.0? Critics accuse Merkel of pushing EU in wrong direction
RT
September 23, 2013
Angela Merkel has won Germany’s top job again – but the landslide victory is overshadowed by some tough coalition choices. The conservative bloc – Christian Democrats – took 41.5 per cent of the vote. And that’s not enough support for Merkel’s party to rule on their own – as their main rivals; the Social Democrats, led by Peer Steinbrueck came in with 25.7 per cent. A coalition between the two will be hard to reach.
RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air
Subscribe to RT! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c…
Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/RTnews
Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/RT_com
Follow us on Instagram http://instagram.com/rt
Follow us on Google+ http://plus.google.com/+RT
RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the fir
Germany rules out joining strike on Syria
PressTV
August 31, 2013
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert
Germany has ruled out taking part in any possible military action against Syria over alleged chemical weapons attacks in the Arab country.
“We have not considered it and we are not considering a military strike,” said German government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Friday, condemning chemical weapons use.
Elsewhere in his remarks Seibert said, “I don’t want to speculate here on what the correct clear international answer to this crime should or can be,” and added, “The U.N. Security Council has to consider this.”
On the same day, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also stated that such military action had “neither been asked nor is it being considered by us.”
Westerwelle’s also said, “We are pushing for the United Nations Security Council to find a common position and for the work of UN inspectors to be finished as quickly as possible.”
On Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the developments in Syria during a telephone conversation.
“In particular, it is important that the Security Council examines a report by UN inspectors about possible facts of the use of chemical weapons in Syria,” the Kremlin said in a statement after the conversation.
Seibert also said that during her talk with Putin, Merkel had emphasized that discussions at the UN Security Council should result in a “unanimous and quick international reaction.”
The rhetoric of war against Syria primarily intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of launching a chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21.
The United States was quick to engage in a major publicity campaign to promote war against Syria despite the fact that Damascus categorically rejected the claim that it has been behind the attack.
On Tuesday, August 27, speculations became stronger about the possibility of a military attack on Syria. Media outlets reported US plans for likely surgical attacks, which would be in the form of “cruise-missile strikes,” and “could rely on … US destroyers in the Mediterranean [Sea].” The plan was said to be awaiting US President Barack Obama’s go-ahead.
On Wednesday, however, the British government announced that its support for military intervention in Syria would require a second vote in the country’s parliament. A first non-binding vote in the British legislature on August 29 rejected a British role in a potential war on Syria.
On Friday, August 30, NATO also distanced itself from participating in any military intervention in Syria, with the chief of the Western military coalition, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, saying he did not “foresee any NATO role” in an international war on Syria.
Nevertheless, Washington has remained defiant, saying that it is willing to go ahead with its plans for a strike on Syria without the approval of the United Nations or even the support of its allies.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
Iran, Russia, and China, as well as the United Nations, have warned against war.
IA/HN
Cannabis plants spring up all over German town after campaigners plant thousands of seeds in protest against the ‘demonisation’ of the drug
by Olivia Williams
Mail Online
July 21, 2013
- Gottingen in Germany is sprouting Marijuana plants all over town
- A group called ‘A Few Autonomous Flower Children’ sowed seeds in June
- Members say the guerrilla gardening is to protest restrictive drug policies
More than 700 European Mercenaries Terrorizing Syria
Friends of Syria
May 18, 2013
Syria remains terrorized by European mercenaries … The intelligence service of the German government recognizes the presence of terrorist mercenaries in the Arab country. Only psychopaths unemployed undergo to go to another country to kill …
“The Syrian press said on Friday that about 700 citizens are infiltrated in the country as mercenaries, armed gangs belonging to opponents who wish to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Mercenaries in Syria
The reports are based on statements by the Minister of Interior of Germany, Hans Peter Friedrich, who revealed the figure on Thursday (16) during a press conference in his country.
The media highlighted the warning Friedrich authorities of the European Union (EU) on the need to establish laws to prevent such effective return to their respective countries for at least two years.
This proposal will be presented next month at a summit of EU high level, he added.
The news agency Sana reports that this is the first time that the intelligence services of a western governments recognize the presence of terrorists in the Arab country.
Public officials in Berlin said they are looking for 40 people who came out last year in Germany with German passports to Syria to join those Islamist groups who want to impose a Caliphate governed by sharia (Islamic law), said.
Likewise, the German Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle reiterated on Thursday that his country refuses to send weapons to armed groups and mercenaries in Syria, warning that guarantees are needed for military equipment from falling into terrorist hands .
The governments of Britain and France openly demonstrated its intention of arming irregular groups to promote what they call regime change in Damascus. “
Source: Prensa Latina
http://www.vermelho.org.br/noticia.php?id_secao=9&id_noticia=213970
S.Al-Assad
VIDEO — Police Brutality Against Blocupy Frankfurt Protest Makes Headlines
The Real News
June 15, 2013
What began as a protest against the ECB, German banks and the German government turned into a protest against police brutality
See more videos at: http://therealnews.com
[hat tip: Nik Press]
Iran condoles with German flood victims
PressTV
June 7, 2013
An aerial view of the flooded banks of the Danube River in Deggendorf, Germany, on June 7, 2013
Iran has offered its condolences to the German government and people over the recent flooding which resulted in a number of deaths and forced thousands from their homes.
In a telephone conversation with his German counterpart, Guido Westerwelle, on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi conveyed his sympathies over the flooding incident.
Salehi also announced Iran’s readiness to send relief aid to flood-hit areas.
The Elbe, Danube and other rivers in Central Europe have inundated their banks due to heavy rain over the past few weeks, causing widespread damage in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. At least 18 people have reportedly died in the floods across Central Europe.
On Sunday, some 23,000 people were evacuated from the eastern German city of Magdeburg after a dam burst on the Elbe. The water levels reportedly rose to a record 7.48 meters – about five meters above normal.
Nearly 70,000 firefighters and 11,000 soldiers have reportedly been deployed to help the flood-hit areas across the country.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to meet the governors of the country’s 16 states on Thursday to talk about the aftermath of the floods.
MT/HGH/SS
In a telephone conversation with his German counterpart, Guido Westerwelle, on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi conveyed his sympathies over the flooding incident.
Salehi also announced Iran’s readiness to send relief aid to flood-hit areas.
The Elbe, Danube and other rivers in Central Europe have inundated their banks due to heavy rain over the past few weeks, causing widespread damage in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. At least 18 people have reportedly died in the floods across Central Europe.
On Sunday, some 23,000 people were evacuated from the eastern German city of Magdeburg after a dam burst on the Elbe. The water levels reportedly rose to a record 7.48 meters – about five meters above normal.
Nearly 70,000 firefighters and 11,000 soldiers have reportedly been deployed to help the flood-hit areas across the country.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to meet the governors of the country’s 16 states on Thursday to talk about the aftermath of the floods.
MT/HGH/SS – See more at: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/06/12/308646/iran-condoles-with-german-flood-victims/#sthash.f6QTFoX5.dpuf
In a telephone conversation with his German counterpart, Guido Westerwelle, on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi conveyed his sympathies over the flooding incident.
Salehi also announced Iran’s readiness to send relief aid to flood-hit areas.
The Elbe, Danube and other rivers in Central Europe have inundated their banks due to heavy rain over the past few weeks, causing widespread damage in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. At least 18 people have reportedly died in the floods across Central Europe.
On Sunday, some 23,000 people were evacuated from the eastern German city of Magdeburg after a dam burst on the Elbe. The water levels reportedly rose to a record 7.48 meters – about five meters above normal.
Nearly 70,000 firefighters and 11,000 soldiers have reportedly been deployed to help the flood-hit areas across the country.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to meet the governors of the country’s 16 states on Thursday to talk about the aftermath of the floods.
MT/HGH/SS – See more at: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/06/12/308646/iran-condoles-with-german-flood-victims/#sthash.f6QTFoX5.dpuf
PN 