twomp
11-21-2014, 12:56 PM
If the revelations of Edward Snowden didn’t convince you that we’re living in a police state, then Sharyl Attkisson’s book, Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama’s Washington, is the clincher. Indeed, it is more convincing insofar as the reporting that came out of Snowden’s disclosures never definitively demonstrated how such powerful technology in the hands of unrestrained government has led to the targeting of political opponents by government officials. In Attkisson’s book, the ultimate Orwellian nightmare comes true….
It’s 3:14 in the morning when Sharyl Attkisson – star CBS reporter – is wakened by a noise: her computer has come to life, unbidden – again. It’s been happening a lot lately: and it’s not just her desktop Apple. The other night her Toshiba laptop clicked on all by itself. And her phones are so afflicted with clickings and other mysterious noises as to be unusable.
Attkisson, a 20-year veteran of the CBS newsroom, has been investigating some pretty hot stories: "Fast and Furious," the code name for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) program that let US guns "walk" over the border and into the hands of Mexican drug cartels, and the Benghazi incident, among others. She knew the administration considered her an adversary (as these emails prove), an obnoxious pit bull out to trip them up, but she never imagined they would go so far as to spy on her. It’s the fall of 2012, and Snowden’s secrets are still under wraps. A friend with a connection to "a three-letter agency" expresses admiration for her coverage of Benghazi-gate and then clues her in:
"’You know, the administration is likely monitoring you – based on your reporting. I’m sure you realize that.’ He makes deep eye contact for emphasis before adding, ‘The average American would be shocked at the extent to which this administration is conducting surveillance on private citizens. Spying on them.’"
Incredulous, Attkisson asks: "Monitoring me? In what way?"
"Your phones. Your computers. Have you noticed any unusual happenings?"
Come to think of it, she has …
Her friend from the three-letter agency checks out her home, specifically the exterior near the Internet connection box – where he discovers an extra fiber optics line. And when she contacts Verizon to find out what the mysterious wire is doing there, their odd behavior raises all kinds of alarm bells …
CBS brings in technical experts and eventually Attkisson learns the truth: some entity with very sophisticated equipment and top notch skills has penetrated her computers, her phones, her life …
As a conscientious reporter working for CBS News in the Age of Obama, Attkisson is in a sensitive position: she is constantly fighting New York managers whose ideological agenda precludes covering certain stories. And it’s not just the pro-administration politics of liberal executives – it’s the complete lack of interest in doing any sort of investigative reporting, or broadcasting any material that deviates in the slightest from what everyone else is doing. Attkisson rails against the corruption of American journalism that has turned it into a corporate instrument, a form of advertising, and an outlet for government propaganda rather than a tool for the pursuit of truth.
Why would the Obama administration pick Attkisson to spy on? The answer is partially to be found in Chapter 2, where she talks about her investigation into the Justice Department’s "Fast and Furious" scheme. As Attkisson peels away the layers of untruth that coat the story of how the BATF deliberately let lethal firearms fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels, the story reads much like the foreign policy disasters I’m used to covering in this space: some Washington bureaucrat comes up with a "brilliant" scheme that reflects both the hubris and the carelessness of our ruling elites, with deadly consequences all around. Aside from boosting the personal careers of the policymakers, their not-so-hidden agenda is also designed to make an ideological point – in the case of "Fast and Furious," the alleged need for stricter gun control legislation.
read the rest here:
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2014/11/20/sharyl-attkisson-vs-obamas-police-state/
It’s 3:14 in the morning when Sharyl Attkisson – star CBS reporter – is wakened by a noise: her computer has come to life, unbidden – again. It’s been happening a lot lately: and it’s not just her desktop Apple. The other night her Toshiba laptop clicked on all by itself. And her phones are so afflicted with clickings and other mysterious noises as to be unusable.
Attkisson, a 20-year veteran of the CBS newsroom, has been investigating some pretty hot stories: "Fast and Furious," the code name for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) program that let US guns "walk" over the border and into the hands of Mexican drug cartels, and the Benghazi incident, among others. She knew the administration considered her an adversary (as these emails prove), an obnoxious pit bull out to trip them up, but she never imagined they would go so far as to spy on her. It’s the fall of 2012, and Snowden’s secrets are still under wraps. A friend with a connection to "a three-letter agency" expresses admiration for her coverage of Benghazi-gate and then clues her in:
"’You know, the administration is likely monitoring you – based on your reporting. I’m sure you realize that.’ He makes deep eye contact for emphasis before adding, ‘The average American would be shocked at the extent to which this administration is conducting surveillance on private citizens. Spying on them.’"
Incredulous, Attkisson asks: "Monitoring me? In what way?"
"Your phones. Your computers. Have you noticed any unusual happenings?"
Come to think of it, she has …
Her friend from the three-letter agency checks out her home, specifically the exterior near the Internet connection box – where he discovers an extra fiber optics line. And when she contacts Verizon to find out what the mysterious wire is doing there, their odd behavior raises all kinds of alarm bells …
CBS brings in technical experts and eventually Attkisson learns the truth: some entity with very sophisticated equipment and top notch skills has penetrated her computers, her phones, her life …
As a conscientious reporter working for CBS News in the Age of Obama, Attkisson is in a sensitive position: she is constantly fighting New York managers whose ideological agenda precludes covering certain stories. And it’s not just the pro-administration politics of liberal executives – it’s the complete lack of interest in doing any sort of investigative reporting, or broadcasting any material that deviates in the slightest from what everyone else is doing. Attkisson rails against the corruption of American journalism that has turned it into a corporate instrument, a form of advertising, and an outlet for government propaganda rather than a tool for the pursuit of truth.
Why would the Obama administration pick Attkisson to spy on? The answer is partially to be found in Chapter 2, where she talks about her investigation into the Justice Department’s "Fast and Furious" scheme. As Attkisson peels away the layers of untruth that coat the story of how the BATF deliberately let lethal firearms fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels, the story reads much like the foreign policy disasters I’m used to covering in this space: some Washington bureaucrat comes up with a "brilliant" scheme that reflects both the hubris and the carelessness of our ruling elites, with deadly consequences all around. Aside from boosting the personal careers of the policymakers, their not-so-hidden agenda is also designed to make an ideological point – in the case of "Fast and Furious," the alleged need for stricter gun control legislation.
read the rest here:
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2014/11/20/sharyl-attkisson-vs-obamas-police-state/