Authoritarian Rule By Our Intelligence Services – Part IV

[johnkarls]

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---------------------------- Original Message -----------------------------
Subject: Authoritarian Rule By Our Intelligence Services – Part IV
From: ReadingLiberally-SaltLake@johnkarls.com
Date: To Be Sent Sat, October 6, 2018
To: Our Approximately 150 Members
Attachment:
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Dear Friends,

As you may recall, we are in the middle of another sabbatical so that I can write a second book, this one on the topic of “The National Audubon Society Executes Great Salt Lake Death Warrant.”

And that when this sabbatical began last July, we announced that just like the first sabbatical 4 years ago, everyone is invited to make Ad Hoc Meeting proposals, all of which will be circulated in one of our weekly e-mails (which are actually sporadic during sabbaticals) to our 150 members and anyone interested in a particular proposal will be put in contact with its proposer.

So far, there have been two Ad Hoc Meetings --

(1) On 8/16 /2018 we discussed “The Case Against Impeaching Trump” by Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz, and

(2) On 9/19/2018 we discussed “How Schools Work” by Arne Duncan, President Obama’s Secretary of Education 2009-2015.

It saddens me that both books were proposed by Yours Truly or, in other words, nobody else has made a proposal.

And now, there have been quite a few inquiries about what I am reading currently and whether I would be willing to discuss whatever it is with others.

[For the 13 years of our existence, except during the 2 sabbaticals, I typically read at least 2 books/month. One of which is the Reading Liberally book which has typically been proposed by someone else and selected by the attendees of the previous month’s meeting.]

[The sabbaticals do NOT mean no longer reading the 1-plus books/month that I have selected for my personal reading. Only foregoing the RL selections and their support, which involves quite a bit of promotional effort to concoct the monthly quizzes about what to look for in the focus books and to research the answers for quiz questions that turn out to be ignored in the focus books.]

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Authoritarian Rule By Our Intelligence Services – Part IV

So the book I am currently reading??? That I would be willing to discuss with anyone else??? And the reason(s) why it was selected???

Gregg Jarrett’s “The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme To Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump” (Broadside Books 7/24/2018 -- 352 pages -- $18.89 + shipping or $14.99 Kindle from Amazon.com) which has been a NY Times Bestseller since its issuance.

The reason(s)???

They are chronicled in detail in our 3 previous meetings on this general topic. But in brief --

(1) Nuking 10 million Americans was one of Osama bin Laden’s fatwās, obeying all of which is the sacred religious obligation of each of his followers including every member of Al Qaeda and ISIS (formerly, Al Qaeda in Iraq).

(2) Fatwās can NOT be revoked after the death of the person who issued it -- as Ayatollah Ali Khomenei informed the Brits when they sought to have revoked Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s fatwā to assassinate Salman Rushdie during negotiations to restore diplomatic relations following the death of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989.

(3) The Founding Dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Graham Allison, wrote a book (“Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe”) about how to cope with Osama’s fatwā to nuke 10 million Americans by closely controlling all of the world’s fissile material the way the world’s governments used to control virtually every last ounce of gold.

(4) Dean Graham Allison’s solution was endorsed and exhaustively supported by former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman 1987-1995), U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman 2003-2007) and Messrs. Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton (Chair and Co-Chair of The 9/11 Commission).

(5) Their efforts were widely publicized by Tim Russert on Meet the Press.

(6) And Dean Graham Allison’s solution was also publicized by a Docu-Drama featuring Tom Brokaw and produced by Nunn/Lugar/Kean/Hamilton.

(7) Congress turned its back on Dean Graham Allison’s solution.

(8) Instead, it placed America’s safety in a vastly-expanded Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA”) enabling our Intelligence Services to spy on alleged terrorists.

(9) Our 12/13/2017 meeting focused on FISA which was due to expire on 12/31/2017 unless extended. [This was the SECOND time that we focused on Authoritarian Rule By Our Intelligence Services -- the FIRST being our 5/10/2017 meeting for which our focus book was George Orwell’s “1984” featuring “Big Brother.”]

(10) FISA Sec. 702 had NOT ONLY permitted the NSA to collect ALL electronic communications OF EVERYONE (phone calls, e-mail, text messages, etc.), BUT ALSO to have immediate access to all of the “meta data” (who communicated with whom, when and where).

(11) Although NSA’s access to the CONTENT of those communications was supposed to be limited by warrants approved by secret FISA courts, FISA Sec. 702 provided NSA with IMMEDIATE access to CONTENT – WITHOUT A FISA WARRANT – in “one year emergencies” determined by either the Attorney General or the Director of National Intelligence.

(12) So is it any surprise that we have seen the WEAPONIZATION of the Intelligence Services to spy on, and attempt to destroy, political opponents???

(13) Which means that during the last 3-4 years, America has come uncomfortably close to Authoritarian Rule By Our Intelligence Services -- and there is as yet no assurance that our democracy may not yet succumb to it!!!

[BTW, on 1/19/2018, FISA was extended WITHOUT ANY CORRECTION OF ITS DEFICIENCIES for 5.75 years until 9/30/2023.]

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So Why Gregg Jarrett’s Book???

During our discussion of Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz’ book on 8/16/2018, all of us were SHOCKED AND APPALLED at his contention (which he has also trumpeted incessantly on TV) that “political differences should not be criminalized”!!!

All of the felonies that nearly produced (AND MAY YET PRODUCE) the death of American democracy should be ignored???

If there was ever a non-partisan public-policy issue, THIS IS IT!!!

Why does Dershowitz think the DEATH OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY is no big deal???

But back to Gregg Jarrett’s book.

I decided to read it in order to review what was known when it went to press on 7/24/2018.

Which was before the most shocking and appalling development in this whole imbroglio -- at least in my non-humble opinion.

On 9/17/2018, President Trump ordered the declassification and release to the public of numerous documents including the FOUR notorious applications for FISA warrants to surveil the Trump Campaign and the Trump Administration during its early days.

Shortly thereafter, President Trump backed down in the face of protests by “close allies” regarding intelligence “sources and methods.”

The back story???

The weaponization of the Intelligence Services against the Trump campaign was always supposed to have begun according to its apologists with (1) the conversation in a London bar between Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos and Australia’s Ambassador to the U.K., and (2) the conversations between a Cambridge University Professor and Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

[NB: Carter Page who was a long-time FBI informant (!!!) was never indicted for anything, and George Papadopoulos was only indicted for lying to the FBI for which he was sentenced to 14 days of imprisonment.]

But how did those conversations with Page and Papadopoulos occur???

APPARENTLY BECAUSE OBAMA C.I.A. DIRECTOR JOHN BRENNAN SHREDDED THE U.S. CONSTITUTION!!!

There was no FISA warrant during the summer of 2016 to surveil the Trump campaign.

And it would appear that CIA Director Brennan must not have been able to persuade either Attorney General Loretta Lynch or Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to declare a “one-year emergency” under FISA Sec. 702 to permit Brennan’s C.I.A. to surveil the Trump Campaign without a FISA warrant.

So Brennan “out sourced” the ILLEGAL SURVEILLANCE to the British and Australian Intelligence Services.

And now the Brits and Aussies are embarrassed by what they did!!!

And the Brits and Aussies are now attempting to “cover up” their embarrassment over their willing participation in shredding the American Constitution!!!

Proof???

In abundance for what passes as “proof” these days in the Mainstream Media!!!

Numerous media reports of “anonymous sources” all saying that this is what happened.

And before the nation became distracted by the Kavanaugh drama, the media reports were confirmed by Rep. Mark Meadows who serves, inter alia, on Trey Gowdy’s Oversight and Government Reform Committee which has been investigating this imbroglio jointly with the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Mark Meadows was asked on national TV about all of the media reports of “anonymous sources” affirming that CIA Director Brennan had enlisted the Brits and Aussies to spy on the Trump Campaign since the CIA was barred from doing so.

Mark Meadows grinned and responded -- “You are over the target.”

Enough already.

I would be delighted to discuss this imbroglio at the Salt Lake Public Library on a Wed Evening -- Oct 31, Nov 7 or Nov 14 -- to be determined by the availability of any RSVP’s.

Please RSVP by tomorrow evening if you are interested in participating -- specifying your availability for each of the three dates. I will match everyone’s availability and e-mail the result on Monday morning.

Your friend,

John K.