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Latest Featured Reports | Sunday, June 3, 2012
Federal Judge Places Injunction on FL GOP's New Voter Registration Restrictions
Court Finds Republican Guv's unprecedented restrictions on voter registration violate federal law, Constitution. PLUS: Maddow on latest GOP voter suppression, fraud...
Republicans Have Reason to Dislike CA's New 'Top Two' Primary System Too
New 'Cajun Primary' is not just bad for Dems and small-"d" democracy -- GOP voters may find reason to hate it soon as well...
Time to Put Talk Radio on Trial at the FCC
Thanks to Scott Walker's WI recall election, and a little known provision in the Comm- unications Act, it may be time to put the 'public' back into our public airwaves...
Paul Supporters Get Justice After Stolen GA Convention
While racking up delegates and Republican Party power positions, Ronulans' persistent fight for democracy results in comeuppance for establishment's Clark County, GA theft...
Caught Red Handed Purging 'Blue' Voters in Memphis
A disturbing Black Box Voting investigation discovers voting histories of hundreds of black Democrats removed from voter registration files in Shelby County, TN...
CA's New 'Top Two' Primary May Give Minority GOP Seats in Majority Dem Districts
State's new 'Cajun Primary' is a bad idea for small-"d" democracy, and Dems may well pay a price for it...
Another Obama Admin scalp for the GOP; More bad news for climate-denying Heartland Inst.; Robot fish!!! PLUS: Remembering Joplin & a year of disasters...
WI RECALL VOTING (& WORRIES) BEGIN
Some early voters turned away, others to have ballots 'remade' by poll workers without them on June 5th, as historic gubernatorial recall now officially underway...
Facts Show Obama More Fiscally Conservative Than Recent Predecessors
Despite RW propaganda to contrary, govt spending under Obama lower than that of last five Presidents...
THE BRAD BLOG'S RECOMMENDED #OWS 'DEMAND'
All citizens 18+ get to vote. Period. And on hand-counted paper ballots...
VIDEO: 'Rise of the Tea Bags'
Brad interviews American patriots...
'Democracy's Gold Standard'
Hand-marked, hand-counted ballots...
Brad's Upcoming Appearances
(All times listed as PACIFIC TIME unless noted)
Media Appearance Archives...
Special Coverage Archives
The Secret Koch Brothers Tapes...
U.S. Chamber of Commerce 'Terror Tools' Spy Plot...
Wisconsin 2011 Supreme Court Election Debacle...
It Isn't Journalism: Woeful MSM Coverage of Wisconsin's Supreme Court Election 'Recount'
Corporate media fails to tell story of massive irregularities, e-vote failures...
Japan Quake/Tsunami/Nuke Emergency...
6/4/11: Fukushima Radiation at Highest Level Since Crisis Began
Germany announces plan to dismantle all nukes by 2022...
5/12/11: TEPCO Admits Unit 1 Reactor 'Meltdown', Fuel Rods Exposed
Radiation believed leaking through hole in bottom of containment vessel...
3/30/11: AUDIO: Brad on KPFK w/ Fukushima News and More...
Joined by the lovely Desi Doyen of the Green News Report...
3/29/11: 'Maximum Alert': Crisis Continues, TEPCO Prez Hospitalized
PLUS: A glimpse at living conditions for the heroic plant workers...
3/29/11: 'Green News Report' - Special Coverage: Japan Fallout
Fukushima's nuke disaster leads to political shift in Germany; Congressional concerns about US nuke evacuation plans...
3/27/11: TEPCO 'Very Sorry': Radiation Spikes, Work Remains Perilous
Plant operator apologizes, again; AP reports they 'all but disregarded 3,000 years of geological history' in designing safe-guards'...
3/25/11: 'Grave And Serious': More Comparison to Chernobyl Levels
Rupture feared; Workers contaminated; New evacs 'recommended'...
PLUS: German study uses French data to corroborate findings from Austrian, U.S. scientists, suggesting Fukushima disaster should be reclassified as 'level 7' accident, on par with Chernobyl...
3/25/11: Brad on 'Randi Rhodes Show' on Disaster, US 'Fallout'
Breaking developments and speculation on the supposed 'nuclear renaissance' previously scheduled for the US...
3/24/11: 'Step at a Time & a Few More Steps': Disturbing New Science
Stabilization continues, as new data suggests 50% of radioactive cesium released by Chernobyl already released by Daiichi's reactors...
3/24/11: 'Green News Report'- Special Coverage: Japan Disaster
Death toll rising; Tap water warning lifted in Tokyo, spreading elsewhere; Radiation hospitalizes workers; Support for nukes drops in US; PLUS: Struggling to maintaining tradition amidst disaster...
3/23/11: Brad's KPFK Intvw w/ VOA's Steve Herman in Tokyo
'Neutron beams', water 'panic', black smoke and the public responses from TEPCO, the government and the people of Japan, LIVE from Tokyo...
3/23/11: Setbacks: Black Smoke, Evacuations, Tokyo Tap Water
'Panic' reported as stores run dry of bottled water after government says iodine in metropolitan water unsafe for infants...
3/22/11: 'Razor-Thin Margins', Positive Progress at Fukushima
Control room re-opened as some power returns, workers attempt to restore cooling systems; U.S. NRC offers mixed signals...
3/22/11: 'Green News Report' - Special Coverage: Nuclear Crisis
Fukushima on edge; Japan's wind farms to the rescue; New US nuke reviews; PLUS: Oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico...
3/20/11: 'Closer to Bringing Situation Under Control': Sun & Mon
Stabilization precarious; UPDATED: Gray smoke forces evacuation...
3/19/11: Some Reactors 'Stabilized' as War Breaks Out Elsewhere
PLUS: Radiation detected in food, water; New Gulf oil slick discovered; War protesters arrested; Slow news week continues...
3/18/11: 'Renewed Nuclear Chain Reaction Feared': Friday Fukushima
Spent fuel rod danger; Fallout detected in S. California; Wind 'saving Japan's ass'; Coulter: Radiation 'good for you'; PM's office tweets...
3/17/11: Brad Interviews Palast: TEPCO Plans for New Nukes in TX
Govt fraud investigator on "bankrupt, corrupt, criminal" nuke companies...
3/17/11: 'Green News Report' - Special Coverage: Crisis in Japan
Compounding natural, humanitarian and spiraling nuclear disasters - desperate measures to hold off a nightmare...
3/17/11: VIDEO: Close-up Aerial Footage of Crippled Plant
TEPCO offers most detailed view yet of ravaged Fukushima reactors...
3/16/11: Desperation: Helicopters Drop Water On Hot Nuke Reactors
Def Minister: 'We could not delay further'; Four risky drops on Unit 3; Water said in Unit 4 fuel pool; Water cannon trucks next | VIDEO...
3/16/11: Dozens of Countries, Not U.S., Tell Citizens to Leave Tokyo
UK, Germany, France more worried than us. Who ya gonna believe?...
3/15/11: SMOKE BILLOWS FROM FUKUSHIMA'S REACTOR 3
Workers evacuated as radiation levels rose quickly; Govt's chief spokesperson says smoke believed to be radioactive steam...
3/15/11: 'Green News Report': Japan on Brink of Nuclear Disaster
Natural, humanitarian and now man-made disaster, as 50 nuclear plant workers stand in the way of nuclear meltdown...
3/14/11: PM: RADIATION DANGER, EVACS WIDENED, 'STAY CALM'
Explosions at Reactors 2 & 4; Fuels Rods at Unit 2 'Half Exposed';
All but 50 workers evacuated from plant...
3/13/11: EXPLOSION AT FUKUSHIMA'S NUKE REACTOR UNIT 3
U.S. 7th Fleet repositioned after exposure to radioactive cloud
Sunday live blogging 2nd EXPLOSION at Fukushima...
3/13/11: VIDEO: From Within the Tsunami, a Town Engulfed
Watch as a town disappears in minutes...
3/12/11: EXPLOSION ROCKS FUKUSHIMA NUKE REACTOR UNIT 1
Cooling System Fails at Unit 3 | Govt: 'Partial Meltdown' Under Way Saturday day, night live blog following 1st EXPLOSION at Fukushima...
3/11/11: NUCLEAR EMERGENCIES AT 5 REACTORS
Friday day, night live blog until EXPLOSION at Fukushima reactor...
3/11/11: 'Big Government Tyranny' Saved Countless Lives
Strict building codes in Japan likely impossible now here...
3/11/11: 8.9 QUAKE, TSUNAMI STRIKES JAPAN - VIDEO
Unprecedented disaster strikes, towns washed away in seconds...
WikiLeaks / Julian Assange...
More Special Coverages Pages...

May 21st, 2012


From USA Today...

BAGHDAD - The United States has agreed to sell unarmed surveillance drones to Iraq's navy as part of an effort to help protect that nation's oil exports amid growing tensions in the Persian Gulf and to strengthen U.S.-Iraqi ties.
...
The sales of drones and other U.S. military equipment are viewed by the United States as a way to maintain deep ties with Iraq after the departure of American troops in December. The sales "helps facilitate that strategic relationship," [Army Lt. Gen. Robert] Caslen said.

Iraq already said it is buying more than $15 billion worth of U.S. military hardware, including 36 F-16 fighter planes, M-1 tanks and armored personnel carriers, insisting the weapons are for defensive purposes.

As we like to say around here: What could possibly go wrong?

It's not as if we've got experience with coming to regret the militarization of various perceived allies in the Middle East in general, or even Iraq, specifically. So, let's go ahead and just put this item into our time capsule for review --- and an answer to the question mentioned above --- by, no later than, let's say, 2020 or so?

By Brad Friedman on 5/21/2012 3:25pm PT  


May 17th, 2012


With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...


TWITTER: @GreenNewsReport
VIA SMART PHONE: Stitcher Radio!

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: House GOP attacks America's clean energy industry --- again; Solar becoming cheaper than coal --- finally; Coal industry panicking --- naturally; Americans willing to pay more for clean energy, as long as it's not nuclear; PLUS: Australians are hot --- the hottest they've been in a thousand years ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Listen online here, or Download MP3 (6 mins)...

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Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): New GA nukes: $900m over-budget; Toxins in US breast milk?; US imposes tariffs on Chinese solar; New efficiency standards for major household appliances; Insecticide resistance threatens malaria fight; NRC pares back evacuations, disaster drills near nuclear plants; Rifts at UN climate talks in Bonn ... PLUS: 5 Things You Should Know About Clean Energy Investments ... and much, MUCH more! ...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

By Desi Doyen on 5/17/2012 2:46pm PT  


May 15th, 2012


With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...


TWITTER: @GreenNewsReport
VIA SMART PHONE: Stitcher Radio!

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Ominous start to summer fire season; Watch out for hot air in a newly uncovered anti-wind propaganda campaign; The Saudi Arabia of Oil wants to become the Saudi Arabia of Solar; PLUS: House Republicans working to block advanced biofuels for the U.S. military ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Listen online here, or Download MP3 (6 mins)...

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Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Public willing to pay for more green energy, but not nuclear; Why utilities are afraid of solar (hint: the competition); Arctic Ocean itself yet another global warming feedback loop; New GA nuclear reactors now $900m over-bduget; Germany 's rooftop solar strategy reduces electric bills 40% nationwide; Heartland Institute grows isolated as donors exit; NREL scientist: we must phase out natural gas; Arguing with deniers like Monty Python 'Argument' sketch: scientist ... PLUS: Death on Earth: how the world's wildlife is vanishing ... and much, MUCH more! ...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

By Desi Doyen on 5/15/2012 2:07pm PT  


May 10th, 2012


With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...


TWITTER: @GreenNewsReport
VIA SMART PHONE: Stitcher Radio!

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: The deepest well ever dug; Cyber-attacks on the US natgas pipeline industry; Romney makes big promises to Big Oil; RFK Jr. fights Big Coal in Portland; Schizo Fox 'News' now says lower gas prices are a bad thing; PLUS: It's official: the last 12 months were the hottest on record in the US .... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Listen online here, or Download MP3 (6 mins)...

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Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Oil spill in Antarctica; VT poised to be first state to outlaw fracking; CBO: Boosting Oil Production Won’t Protect From Gasoline Price Shocks; Clean-Energy Requirements Targeted by ALEC, Norquist; Innovation: Inertial Seawave Energy Generator; Asian carp electric barrier loses power; Makers of flame retardants manipulate research findings; Anti-Wind Group Colludes on Fake Grassroots 'Subversion' Campaign ... PLUS: Flipping the Switch: First Solar Plant on Public Lands Now Delivering Power... and much, MUCH more! ...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

By Desi Doyen on 5/10/2012 2:37pm PT  


May 8th, 2012


With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...


TWITTER: @GreenNewsReport
VIA SMART PHONE: Stitcher Radio!

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Billionaire codger cage match: T. Boone Pickens picks on the Billionaire Koch Brothers; U.S. military prepares for climate change; Japan: nuke-free, but not worry free; Dino-Farts! PLUS: Billboard blowback - funders flee from Heartland Institute's Unabomber billboard blunder .... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Listen online here, or Download MP3 (6 mins)...

Link:
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Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Flipping the Switch on Solar Plant on Public Lands; Common Pesticide “Disturbs” the Brains of Children; Data Shows Spring Advancing Faster Than Experiments Suggest; Keystone pipeline is baaack; Carmakers standardize 15-min faster charging system for electric vehicles ... PLUS: What is going on with Peru's dolphins and pelicans?... and much, MUCH more! ...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

By Desi Doyen on 5/8/2012 2:27pm PT  


March 13th, 2012


Wow. Ya know, I love RT (Russia's English language satellite/cable TV channel) and the host of today's show, Liz Wahl, but --- seriously guys? Ya can't find a legitimate, even somewhat informed, non-crazy person to defend Republican voter suppression at the polling place?

Maybe not. So, instead, I faced off today with some wingnut Breitbot clown named Seton Motley who is, apparently, the President of an outfit calling itself (ironically enough) "Less Government".

I'm pretty sure this video of our, um, "discussion", and this guy, and his anti-democracy arguments (and his need to call me a "doofus" in the middle of the debate when he runs out of stuff to make up) pretty much speak for themselves. "Enjoy"!...

P.S. One point (among many) I wasn't able to make, due to Motley's continued, obnoxious interruptions, is the irony of a guy who heads an outfit called "Less Government" --- whose motto is apparently "It's a spending problem" --- calling for millions and millions of tax-payer dollars to be spent combating a "problem" (polling place voter impersonation) for which there is no actual evidence.

It's almost as if he's no more concerned about big government, in reality, than he is about real concerns of election fraud. Go figure.

P.P.S. Yes, since Motley asked, of course I've seen James O'Keefe's hilarious "voter fraud" hoax videos. Here's our coverage of his criminal voter fraud escapades in New Hampshire and of the Republican Manchester Mayor who subsequently called for O'Keefe's arrest. And here is our coverage of his laughable misadventures in Minnesota and our follow up when we learned his fraudulent voter fraud was even more fraudulent than we'd originally given him credit for!

Other than that, we'll wait patiently for Motley's evidence that purported ACORN worker registrants Mary Poppins, Donald Duck and Jive Turkey all voted in the state of Ohio in 2006. Sigh...

* * *
Please support The BRAD BLOG's fiercely independent, award-winning coverage of your electoral system, as available from no other media outlet in the nation, with a donation to help us keep going (Snail mail, more options here). If you like, we'll send you some great, award-winning election integrity documentary films in return! Details right here...

By Brad Friedman on 3/13/2012 5:24pm PT  


February 21st, 2012


Computer expert: 'Secure Internet Voting' is a bit like the phrase 'safe cigarettes'...

Guest blogged by Ernest A. Canning

Brad Friedman has often compared the task of Election Integrity (EI) advocates to a game of Whac-A-Mole. One moment they expose an "it's the machines transparency, stupid" moment when the 100% unverifiable ES&S iVotronic touchscreens announced that the unemployed and virtually unknown Alvin Greene had somehow defeated the respected circuit judge and former state legislator Vic Rawl in the 2010 South Carolina Senate Democratic Primary. The next moment we learned that DC officials had planned a live experiment to use "an untested and unverifiable Internet Voting scheme on real voters, in a real election…" --- an experiment that Friedman described as "insane."

More than 16 months after that disastrous experiment came to a crashing halt following a spectacular hack, as initially reported by The BRAD BLOG, the PBS News Hour produced a short documentary, Internet Voting: Will Democracy or Hackers Win? (see video below), which touched upon the D.C. Internet Voting Hack.

The now-legendary hack was carried out by a team of white-hat hackers, led by Univ. of MI Computer Science Prof. J. Alex Halderman. Within hours after D.C.'s 2010 Internet Voting scheme was opened to the world for a hack test (just days before it was scheduled to go live for the real thing), Halderman and his team of U. of M. students found and exploited a vulnerability which gave his group almost total control of the server software, allowing them to rewrite every single ballot and even take over command of the security cameras inside the D.C. server room. Team Halderman not only acquired the ability to change votes and install the Univ. of MI fight song to be played at the end of every vote cast, but discovered and thwarted an intrusion attempt by Chinese and Iranian computers.

Disturbingly, the new PBS documentary also reveals that, despite the spectacular failure and warnings from virtually every computer science and security expert, election and Pentagon officials are still pressing forward with what MIT Prof. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Ronald L. Rivest describes, as seen in the short PBS report, as an "oxytopian" solution. "'Secure Internet voting,'" Rivest charges, "is a bit like the phrase 'safe cigarettes'"...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

By Ernest A. Canning on 2/21/2012 8:56am PT  


January 26th, 2012


With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...
'Green' State of the Union Edition!


TWITTER: @GreenNewsReport
VIA SMART PHONE: Stitcher Radio!

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Drill-Baby-Drill and Frack-Baby-Frack: Obama talks energy in his State of the Union address --- featuring actual clean energy! --- while climate denier Republicans double down on dirty energy; PLUS: Speaking the forbidden words --- out loud! ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Listen online here, or Download MP3 (6 mins)...

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Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Conoco profits jump 66%; 5 energy issues to watch for in tonight’s GOP debate in FL; WH pressured scientists to underestimate BP spill; State Dept: Don’t mess with us on Keystone; CO2 is “driving fish crazy”; NHTSA: 'Chevy Volt is safe'; Judge blocks health studies from mine permit; NASA animation charts modern global warming ... PLUS: Raiding the bread basket: use and abuse of the Mississippi River basin ... and much, MUCH more! ...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

By Desi Doyen on 1/26/2012 3:06pm PT  


December 21st, 2011


From AP...

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) --- A Navy tradition caught up with the repeal of the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule on Wednesday when two women sailors became the first to share the coveted "first kiss" on the pier after one of them returned from 80 days at sea.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta of Placerville, Calif., descended from the USS Oak Hill amphibious landing ship and shared a quick kiss in the rain with her partner, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell of Los Angeles. Gaeta, 23, wore her Navy dress uniform while Snell, 22, wore a black leather jacket, scarf and blue jeans. The crowd screamed and waved flags around them.
...
"It's nice to be able to be myself. It's been a long time coming," [Gaeta told reporters after the kiss.]
...
David Bauer, the commanding officer of the USS Oak Hill, said that Gaeta and Snell's kiss would largely be a non-event and the crew's reaction upon learning who was selected to have the first kiss was positive.
...
Navy officials said it was the first time on record that a same-sex couple was chosen to kiss first upon a ship's return.

[Hat-tip TPM.]

By Brad Friedman on 12/21/2011 9:53pm PT  


November 11th, 2011


We're posting this on 11:11 on 11/11/11, just because we can and will never get another chance to do so. At least until maybe later tonight...


We'll also take this opportunity, on Veterans Day, to thank those who have put their lives on the line in service of our nation to help protect the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution. Today, we are particularly thankful to those who are continuing the fight for our freedoms back here at home, where they are most at threat, as part of the Occupy Movements across the country.

There are not enough 11s in this moment to thank you all for what you have done and continue to do. We only hope this nation can remember to return the favor.

* * *

P.S. In addition to Iraq and Afghanistan vets seriously injured during lawless "crackdowns" by law enforcement officials at Occupations around the Nation, including Scott Olsen and Kayven Sabehgi who are still recovering, and like Joshua Shephard who was willing to face tear gas in order to stand up for the First Amendment, our great thanks also goes to folks like decorated Iraq War veteran, Sgt. Shamar Thomas, the former U.S. Marine who loudly reminded the police of New York City, in the early days of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, of their Constitutional duty on behalf of all of us.

If you've not seen following video of Thomas schooling members of the NYPD, in early October --- after witnessing some of them "pulling people from the crowd" and "beating" the --, by loudly reminding them that "this is not a war zone...It doesn't make you tough to hurt these people...there's no honor in this," please take a few minutes to both watch it below, and then read on for a personal note...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

By Brad Friedman on 11/11/2011 11:11am PT  


November 1st, 2011


With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...


TWITTER: @GreenNewsReport
VIA SMART PHONE: Stitcher Radio!

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Mitt Romney flip-flops again, this time on global warming; Fox 'News' --- ignorant and proud of it; U.S. Navy ignores Fox and Mitt by taking the lead on biofuel innovation; PLUS: It's not your imagination: weather disasters are becoming more frequent, and more expensive ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Listen online here, or Download MP3 (6 mins)...

Link:
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Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Northrop Grumman climate scientist says "radical changes" are needed; Radiation cleanup confounds Japan; Climate deniers still not happy with Koch-funded climate study; Will a 'secret farm bill' be passed this week?... PLUS: The actual uncertainties in climate science, explained ... and much, MUCH more! ...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

By Desi Doyen on 11/1/2011 2:11pm PT  


October 24th, 2011


UPDATED: Super-genius Barr responds, shoots self again...

Apparently, disgraced former HBGary Federal CEO Aaron Barr just can't help himself.

The guy who lost his job and was publicly humiliated after promising to reveal the identities of the supposed leadership of hacktivist group Anonymous and getting caught devising a plan to illegally discredit, defraud and spy on perceived opponents of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Bank of America is now palling around with a self-appointed NYPD/FBI "snitch" at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations and beyond, according to --- ironically enough --- emails accidentally released on the Internet by the "snitch" himself, Thomas Ryan.

These two are the government corporate welfare queens and "cyber security" clowns that can't shoot straight, it seems. But at least they have each other --- and your tax-payer dollars --- as they both work for highly remunerated, government contracted security firms. And while they each claim to represent different sides of the partisan aisle, strangely enough, as an investigation by The BRAD BLOG reveals, they've found common ground in representing government and corporations in their fight against We, the People.

Barr had been CEO of the U.S. government contracted firm HBGary Federal until earlier this year, after the firm was embarrassed when their hard drives were scrubbed, their websites hacked, Barr's Twitter account defaced, his iPad remotely wiped and some 70,000 of the "cyber security" company's emails were stolen and posted on the Internet by Anonymous in retaliation against Barr who, the hacktivist group claimed, was poised to release inaccurate information about the group's supposed "leadership".

Found among the treasure trove of Barr's HBGary emails was a $12 million plot being hatched on behalf of the criminal thugs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest and most powerful Rightwing lobbying outfit. The scheme was being secretly devised, according to the emails, by the Chamber's high-powered D.C. law firm Hunton & Williams along with HBGary and two other U.S. cyber security contractors, Palantir Technologies and Berico Technologies. Their plans were to smear, defraud, plant fake documents and spy --- even hack --- perceived political opponents of the Chamber.

The plot was accidentally discovered via Anonymous' hack of HBGary just days before it was to be put into action. The scheme was to take tools developed by the three companies with public money for use in the "War on Terror" and turn them against U.S. Citizens like myself and my family who were discovered to have been named as targets in the emails, along with photos and personal details about us. A number of progressive advocates and organizations, including other journalistic outlets, were also to have been targets of the Chamber's plot.

Also discovered among the emails was a parallel scheme being coordinated by the same D.C. law firm and the same three U.S. government-funded cyber security firms --- who had banded together to call themselves "Team Themis" --- to target perceived proponents of WikiLeaks, including Salon journalist Glenn Greenwald, on behalf of the corporate giant Bank of America. In both plots, HBGary's Aaron Barr was seen as the lead developer of the various extra-legal schemes.

Barr, who has claimed on a number of occasions to be a Democrat, became a public laughing stock and was forced to resign in shame last February on the heels of the revelations. But his proclivity for scheming against law-abiding U.S. citizens and his vendetta against members of Anonymous has yet to be assuaged, as evidenced by both his recent bizarre, blue-haired appearance at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in Manhattan, and his various collaborative appearances in recently released emails and several Twitter exchanges with the Rightwing Ryan...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

By Brad Friedman on 10/24/2011 11:53am PT  



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