The CIA

Established in 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an independent executive bureau of the US government. Its primary function is obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and persons, and reporting such information to the various branches of government. Congress placed restraints on its activities in the early 1970s, when reports that it had engaged in assassinations and domestic spying surfaced. How was CIA involved in the Watergate scandal? More… Discuss

word: bombast

bombast

Definition:	(noun) Grandiloquent, pompous speech or writing.
Synonyms:	claptrap, fustian
Usage:	He found that he could look back upon the brass and bombast of his earlier gospels and see them truly. Discuss.

Today In History: What Happened This Day In History (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)

Today In History. What Happened This Day In History

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

February 10

1258		Huegu, a Mongol leader, seizes Baghdad, bringing and end to the Abbasid caliphate.
1620		Supporters of Marie de Medici, the queen mother, who has been exiled to Blois, are defeated by the king’s troops at Ponts de Ce, France.
1763		The Treaty of Paris ends the French-Indian War. France gives up all her territories in the New World except New Orleans and a few scattered islands.
1799		Napoleon Bonaparte leaves Cairo, Egypt, for Syria, at the head of 13,000 men.
1814		Napoleon personally directs lightning strikes against enemy columns advancing toward Paris, beginning with a victory over the Russians at Champaubert.
1840		Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert.
1846		Led by religious leader Brigham Young, the first Mormons begin a long westward exodus from Nauvoo, Il., to Utah.
1863		P.T. Barnum’s star midgets, Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren, are married.
1904		Russia and Japan declare war on each other.
1915		President Wilson blasts the British for using the U.S. flag on merchant ships to deceive the Germans.
1939		Japanese occupy island of Hainan in French Indochina.
1941		London severs diplomatic relations with Romania.
1941		Iceland is attacked by German planes.
1942		The war halts civilian car production at Ford.
1945		B-29s hit the Tokyo area.
1955		Bell Aircraft displays a fixed-wing vertical takeoff plane.
1960		Adolph Coors, the beer brewer, is kidnapped in Golden, Colo.
1966		Protester David Miller is convicted of burning his draft card.
1979		The Metropolitan Museum announces the first major theft in 110-year history, $150,000 Greek marble head.
1986		The largest Mafia trial in history, with 474 defendants, opens in Palermo, Italy.
Born on February 10
1890		Boris Pasternak, Russian novelist and poet (Dr. Zhivago).  (Listen to Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pastenak on euzicasa! just click on the shortcut above!)
1893		Jimmy Durante, American comedian and film actor.
1894		Harold MacMillan, British prime minister (1957-1963).
1897		John F. Enders, virologist.
1898		Bertolt Brecht, German poet and dramatist (The Threepenny Opera).
1901		Stella Adler, actress and teacher.
1902		Walter Brattain, physicist, one of the inventors of the transistor.
1910		Dominique Georges Pire, Belgian cleric and educator.
1914		Larry Adler, harmonica virtuoso.
1920		Alex Comfort, English physician and author (Joy of Sex).
1927		(Mary Violet) Leontyne Price, opera singer.

– See more at: http://www.historynet.com/today-in-history#sthash.9xy5kPzI.dpuf

Education – Audiobooks – (Dare to listen): Boris Pasternak Doctor Zhivago

1p Boris Pasternak Doctor Zhivago {audiobook}

Audiobooks 2

First part of “Doctor Zhivago”, by Boris Pasternak

2p Boris Pasternak Doctor Zhivago {audiobook}

Audiobooks 2

3p Boris Pasternak Doctor Zhivago {audiobook}

Audiobooks 2

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Today In History. What Happened This Day In History

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

February 4

786		Harun al-Rashid succeeds his older brother the Abbasid Caliph al-Hadi as Caliph of Baghdad.
1194		Richard I, King of England, is freed from captivity in Germany.
1508		The Proclamation of Trent is made.
1787		Shay’s Rebellion, an uprising of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers against the new U.S. government, fails.
1795		France abolishes slavery in her territories and confers slaves to citizens.
1889		Harry Longabaugh is released from Sundance Prison in Wyoming, thereby acquiring the famous nickname, “the Sundance Kid.”
1899		After an exchange of gunfire, fighting breaks out between American troops and Filipinos near Manila, sparking the Philippine-American War
1906		The New York Police Department begins finger print identification.
1909		California law segregates Caucasian and Japanese schoolchildren.
1915		Germany decrees British waters as part of the war zone; all ships to be sunk without warning.
1923		French troops take the territories of Offenburg, Appenweier and Buhl in the Ruhr as a part of the agreement ending World War I.
1932		Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt inaugurates the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, N.Y.
1941		The United Service Organization (U.S.O.) is formed to cater to armed forces and defense industries.
1944		The Japanese attack the Indian Seventh Army in Burma.
1945		The Big Three, American, British and Soviet leaders, meet in Yalta to discuss the war aims.
1966		Senate Foreign Relations Committee begins televised hearings on the Vietnam War.
1980		Syria withdraws its peacekeeping force in Beirut.
1986		The U.S. Post Office issues a commemorative stamp featuring Sojourner Truth.
Born on February 4
1881		Fernand Leger, French painter.
1900		Jacques Prevert, French poet, screenwriter (The Visitors of the Evening, The Children of Paradise).
1902		Charles Lindbergh, the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic.
1906		Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German Protestant theologian.
1906		Clyde Tombaugh, astronomer, discovered Pluto.
1913		Rosa Lee Parks, civil rights activist.
1921		Betty Friedan, writer, feminist, founded the National Organization of Women in 1966.
1925		Russell Hoban, artist and writer (Bedtime for Frances, The Mouse and His Child).
1932		Robert Coover, novelist & short story writer.
1947		Dan Quayle, vice president under President George H.W. Bush.

– See more at: http://www.historynet.com/today-in-history#sthash.fNGS84mj.dpuf

this pressed fro your right to know: Should Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and (&) CIA Officials Be Tried for Torture? War Crimes Case Filed in Germany | Democracy Now!

http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2014/12/10/read_senate_committee_s_report_on

A human rights group in Berlin, Germany, has filed a criminal complaint against the architects of the George W. Bush administration’s torture program. The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights has accused former Bush administration officials, including CIA Director George Tenet and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, of war crimes, and called for an immediate investigation by a German prosecutor.

A human rights group in Berlin, Germany, has filed a criminal complaint against the architects of the George W. Bush administration’s torture program. The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights has accused former Bush administration officials, including CIA Director George Tenet and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, of war crimes, and called for an immediate investigation by a German prosecutor. The move follows the release of a Senate report on CIA torture which includes the case of a German citizen, Khalid El-Masri, who was captured by CIA agents in 2004 due to mistaken identity and tortured at a secret prison in Afghanistan. So far, no one involved in the CIA torture program has been charged with a crime — except the whistleblower John Kiriakou, who exposed it. We speak to Michael Ratner, president emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights and chairman of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, and longtime defense attorney Martin Garbus.

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: A human rights group in Berlin, Germany, has filed a criminal complaint against the architects of the George W. Bush administration’s torture program. The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights has accused former Bush administration officials, including CIA Director George Tenet and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, of war crimes, and called for an immediate investigation by a German prosecutor. The move follows the release of a Senate report on CIA torture, which includes the case of a German citizen, Khalid El-Masri, who was captured by CIA agents in 2004 due to mistaken identity and tortured at a secret prison in Afghanistan. So far, no one involved in the CIA torture program has been charged with a crime—except the whistleblower John Kiriakou, who exposed it.

AMY GOODMAN: In a statement earlier this week, Wolfgang Kaleck, general secretary of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, said, “By

via Should Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld & CIA Officials Be Tried for Torture? War Crimes Case Filed in Germany | Democracy Now!.

from Encyclopedia Britannica: Time-Lapse Tour: Da Nang Fireworks Competition

Time-Lapse Tour: Da Nang Fireworks Competition

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Published on Dec 11, 2014/20 views

A time-lapse look at the international fireworks competition in Da Nang, Vietnam, 2013, shot by Robert Whitworth [http://www.robwhitworth.co.uk/], a participant in Britannica’s “Project Time-Lapse [http://corporate.britannica.com/proje…].”

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Time-Lapse Tour: Blossoming of an Iris

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Published on Dec 11, 2014/19 views

A time-lapse look at the blossoming of an Iris, shot by the Emmy Award-winning cameraman Neil Bromhall [https://twitter.com/nbromhall], a participant in Britannica’s “Project Time-Lapse [http://corporate.britannica.com/proje…].”

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This Day in the Yesteryear: President Taft Pardons William H. Van Schaick (1912)

This Day in the Yesteryear

President Taft Pardons William H. Van Schaick (1912) More than 1,000 people died when the General Slocum, a passenger steamship, caught fire in New York’s East River in 1904. It was the city’s worst loss-of-life disaster until the attacks of September 11, 2001. Van Schaick, the ship’s captain, was convicted of negligence and failure to maintain fire safety equipment and received a 10-year sentence. He was paroled after serving 3½ years in prison and later pardoned by President Taft. Why were most of the passengers unable to escape the fire? More… Discuss

this day in the yesteryear: President John F. Kennedy Assassinated (1963)

President John F. Kennedy Assassinated (1963)

The assassination of John F. Kennedy while he was riding in a presidential motorcade in Dallas, Texas, was a seminal event in American history. The US government‘s subsequent investigation—dubbed the “Warren Commission“—concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald was the culprit, but the assassination is still widely debated, and many people doubt that Oswald acted alone. Oswald’s murder just two days later, while in police custody, further fueled conspiracy theories. Who was the “Babushka Lady“? More… Discuss

word: exculpate

exculpate 

Definition:	(verb) To clear of guilt or blame.
Synonyms:	acquit, assoil, exonerate, discharge, clear
Usage:	He was exculpated from the charge when the real criminal confessed. Discuss.

word: inveigle

inveigle 

Definition:	(verb) To win over by coaxing, flattery, or artful talk.
Synonyms:	cajole, coax, sweet-talk, wheedle
Usage:	The salesman inveigled him so successfully that he paid twice the original price. Discuss.

this pressed for your wight to be informermed: US to affirm that UN torture ban applies overseas

Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

US to affirm that UN torture ban applies overseas

The U.S. is telling the United Nations that it now considers a ban against torture to apply to prisoners held by the U.S. overseas.

Under the Bush administration, the U.S. interpreted the U.N. Convention Against Torture to apply only within U.S. borders. That meant the U.S. didn’t have to follow the ban on cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment at places like the Guantanamo Bay prison or aboard U.S. ships.

President Barack Obama took a different approach and banned certain interrogation methods after taking office. But until now, the U.S. hadn’t formally conveyed that policy to the U.N. body monitoring compliance with the treaty.

The White House says the U.S. will tell the U.N. this week that it interprets the ban as applying anywhere under U.S. government control, including Guantanamo Bay.

via US to affirm that UN torture ban applies overseas.

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Pressed as a mind opener: “Uncovered: The War On Iraq”

Uncovered: The War On Iraq

   DebunkerSam

In this examination of the United States government‘s case for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, filmmaker Robert Greenwald provides compelling evidence that the Bush administration misled American citizens in the run-up to war. Crosscutting interviews with CIA analysts, weapons inspectors and military brass with press conferences and speeches from Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice and former President Bush, the film paints a thought-provoking picture.

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Pope condemns CIA tactics, calls for improvements to prison system in law talk|viaTruth24.com

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has condemned the practice of extraordinary renditions used by the CIA after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

In a speech to the International Association of Penal Law on Thursday, Francis also called life prison terms “hidden death sentences” and denounced the use of preventive detention as a “hidden, illegal punishment.”

He urged all people of good will to fight against the death penalty and to work to improve prison conditions overall so that inmates’ dignity is respected.

Francis urged the international community to stop renditions, saying it was an “abuse” for countries to allow suspects to be kidnapped from their territory and transferred to torture centers. He said the principle of the dignity of each human being must prevail over everything.

via Pope condemns CIA tactics, calls for improvements to prison system in law talk.Truth24.com

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this day in the yesteryear: Cubana Flight 455 Bombed (1976)

Cubana Flight 455 Bombed (1976)

The bombing of Cubana Flight 455 killed all 78 people on board, including several Cuban government officials. At that time, it constituted the most deadly act of airline terrorism ever carried out in the Western Hemisphere. An investigation uncovered evidence implicating anti-Castro Cuban exiles and members of the Venezuelan secret police in the plot. Four men were arrested: two received 20-year prison terms, one was acquitted, and another fled. How were the CIA and FBI linked to the attack? More… Discuss

this pressed: ProPublica: Timeline: The Tortured History of the Senate’s Torture Report

Timeline: The Tortured History of the Senate’s Torture Report.

(From ProPublica)

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Noam Chomsky “Vietnam War Remembered” [FULL TALK + Q&A]

[youtube.com/watch?v=63oajipOvTU]

Published on May 2, 2014

MUST WATCH Talk by Prof. Noam Chomsky Remembering the Vietnam War.

Date – 2005

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Five overlooked costs of the NSA surveillance flap – CSMonitor.com

With his family by his side, Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States by Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr. in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2009. More than 5,000 men and women in uniform are providing military ceremonial support to the presidential inauguration, a tradition dating back to George Washington’s 1789 inauguration. VIRIN: 090120-F-3961R-919 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

John C. Inglis, official National Security Agency portrait. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

, former director of the NSA and deputy director of the CIA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

An ad on the side of a Metro bus in Washington, D.C., speaks to the fact that some people feel accused leaker Edward Snowden deserves praise for revealing secret NSA surveillance programs.
Gary Cameron/Reuters

 

Five overlooked costs of the NSA surveillance flap – CSMonitor.com.

 

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NSA director Michael Hayden (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

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Wujing Zongyao

Chinese scholars completed the Wujing Zongyao in 1044 under orders from Emperor Renzong. A military compendium detailing techniques for warfare, it includes the earliest known gunpowder formulas. The Chinese initially used gunpowder to make firecrackers, but they soon took it onto the battlefield. The Wujing Zongyaogives instructions for creating a bomb that is launched from a catapult as well as for a poison-smoke bomb. It also describes a primitive version of what modern weapon? More… Discuss