Morning Roar: Terrible Torture Report Revelations, LA & SF Sue Uber, FBI Will Keep Impersonating Media
Well, we now live in a post-CIA Torture Report world, and while I am thoroughly revolted I do not feel any less safe nor any more threatened by terrorists, despite the protests of CIA brass. It's still Wednesday, and there is still a Morning Roar!The Most Awful Revelations From the Torture ReportThinkProgress.org has some of the most terrible revelations from the CIA Torture Report issued yesterday - seventeen in total, a few of which I will include here.
4. Colin Powell was not briefed on CIA interrogation methods because he would “blow his stack”.“At the direction of the White House, the secretaries of state and defense – both principals on the National Security Council – were not briefed on program specifics until September 2003. An internal CIA email from July 2003 noted that “… the WH [White House] is extremely concerned [Secretary] Powell would blow his stack if he were to be briefed on what’s been going on.” Deputy Secretary of State Armitage complained that he and Secretary Powell were “cut out” of the National Security Council coordination process.” [Page 7]7. The CIA tortured innocent people.“Of the 119 known detainees that were in CIA custody during the life of the program, at least 26 were wrongfully held. Detainees often remained in custody for months after the CIA determined they should not have been detained….Other KSM [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed] fabrications led the CIA to capture and detain suspected terrorists who were later found to be innocent.” [Page 485]8. The CIA held an “intellectually challenged man” to use as leverage against his family.“[A]n “intellectually challenged” man whose CIA detention was used solely as leverage to get a family member to provide information, two individuals who were intelligence sources for foreign liaison services and were former CIA sources, and two individuals whom the CIA assessed to be connected to al-Qa’ida based solely on information fabricated by a CIA detainee subjected to the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques.” [Page 12]
All 17 of the points mentioned in the piece are disturbing to say the least, but the three included here are the ones that stood out to me as the most insulting and disgusting. The one that really brings bile to my throat is the CIA's detention of a mentally challenged man who had done nothing wrong.The CIA's stated goal here is to stop terrorists, but what do you call people who kidnap a family member who by their own admission was in no way involved in terrorist activities in order to pressure others of dubious involvement? That is terrorism. And it is revolting.San Francisco and LA Sue Uber With "Consumer Protection Suit" The crony capitalism involved in cities going after Uber has been documented here before, and so far Uber and Lyft have been winning the war, as the population votes with its wallet. Of course, many city governments pull in some nice cash from cab permits, so the success of these companies poses a bit of a problem from those reaping the regulatory rewards. Los Angeles and San Francisco have responded with new lawsuits that allege none of us are safe taking Uber and Lyft because their background checks aren't strict enough.
San Francisco and Los Angeles district attorneys filed a consumer protection suit against Uber on Tuesday, the LA Times reports.The district attorneys allege that Uber has not done enough to protect its passengers.Though Uber claims to use an "industry-leading" background check, Gascon said the company's background checks are "completely worthless" because Uber doesn't fingerprint its drivers, LA Times reports. "The company repeats this misleading statement, giving consumers a false sense of security when deciding whether to get into a stranger’s car," he added.
My girlfriend uses Uber all the time, as do I and many people I know. I feel safe using the service and have had nothing but good experiences. While I suppose using fingerprinting to add another level of security would be nice, I don't see the majority of customer service businesses using this type of system, because frankly it's a bit insane to require it.I understand the argument for stringent checks. A consumer is alone with a driver and potentially in danger. However, the inherent nature of the system and app-based business model for pickup and tracking means that the driver would be found out almost immediately should they do anything untoward to a passenger. I suppose pure psychopaths could be hired that don't care about getting caught, but I doubt such an individual could pass the security requirements Uber has in place.People can decide for themselves if Uber is safe enough for them or not. A coercive government doesn't need to further impose itself and undertake this charade to try to take Uber down to protect its rake from the taxi industry.FBI Won't Stop Impersonating Media The CIA isn't popular right now, and once this gets out one of those other three-lettered government agencies may not be either.
FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday left open the possibility that an agent might again pose as a journalist as part of an investigation, though he said such a tactic ought to be rare and "done carefully with significant supervision, if it's going to be done."Comey told reporters at a roundtable discussion that he was "not willing to say never" when asked if the FBI would swear off future use of the tactic in response to an Associated Press demand made last month.The AP sought assurances from the Justice Department and the FBI that impersonation would not be used again following revelations that an agent in Seattle posed as an AP journalist in 2007 during an investigation into bomb threats at a high school."I'm not willing to say never," Comey said. "Just as I wouldn't say that we would never pose as an educator or a doctor or, I don't know, a rocket scientist."
The fact that Comey doesn't understand the difference between impersonating media and a "doctor" goes a long way to explaining the logic disconnect between those in these positions of (disproportionate) power and the average citizen.Read The Morning Roar every weekday Monday-Friday!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
