President Obama refuses to punish NSA for world spying.

by Stephen Lendman
Huey Long once said fascism will arrive "wrapped in an American
flag." In "Friendly Fascism," Bertram Gross (1912 - 1997) called
Ronald Reagan its prototype ruler. Gross didn't know Obama.
He represents the worst of rogue governance. He advances America's
imperium. He heads its police state apparatus. He's waging war on
humanity. He's doing it abroad and at home.
He puts a smiling face on repression. He's hardline. He's ruthless.
He's done what supporters thought impossible. He exceeds the worst
of George Bush. He says one thing. He does another. He demands it.
His promises ring hollow. He broke every major one made. He's a
serial liar. He's a moral coward. On August 9, he defended the
indefensible. He did so disingenuously.
He deplores transparency and reforms. He claimed otherwise. He lied
saying so. He paid lip service to policies he won't change. He
hardened them on his watch.
A disingenuous White House press release headlined "Background on
the President's Statement on Reforms to NSA Programs," saying:
"President Obama believes that there should be increased
transparency and reforms in our intelligence programs in order to give
the public confidence that these programs have strong oversight and
clear protections against abuse."
"That is what he has pursued as President, and today he is
announcing several initiatives that will move that effort forward."
"Since the disclosures were first made, the President has held a series
of meetings with Intelligence Community leaders, during which he has
emphasized the importance of transparency and openness and
directed IC leadership to press forward with declassification of
relevant materials, to the maximum extent possible, without
undermining national security."
"Already, the Administration has declassified unprecedented
information about the activities of the National Security Agency
(NSA)."
"On July 31, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) made public
three documents dealing with the Section 215 program."
"The Administration has also engaged Congress on these issues on
35 occasions, including several committee hearings and all-Senate
and all-House Members' meetings."
"On August 1, the President met with a group of bipartisan members
of Congress to discuss key programs under the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act."
"The President and senior White House and Administration officials
have also engaged in a national dialogue on privacy in the 21st
century, soliciting feedback from relevant stakeholder groups in the
private sector, academia, and civil society."
"To date, the Administration has taken various steps to advance this
national privacy dialogue, including: meeting with the Privacy and
Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and leading several conversations on
privacy issues with a broad array of organizations representing
industry, civil society, civil rights and transparency groups."
"Most recently, the President met with a group of leaders from the
private sector, civil society and academia yesterday at the White
House to discuss a range of privacy issues."
"Today, the President directed his Administration to work with
Congress to pursue appropriate reforms to our nation's surveillance
programs and the court that oversees them. Specifically, he laid out
four steps his Administration will take:
(1) The Administration will work with Congress to pursue appropriate
reforms to Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. After having a dialogue
with members of Congress and civil libertarians, the President
believes that there are steps that can be taken to give the American
people confidence that there are additional safeguards against abuse.
For example, steps could be taken to put in place greater oversight,
transparency, and constraints on the use of this authority.
(2) The Administration will work with Congress to improve the
public’s confidence in the oversight conducted by the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).
Specifically, steps can be taken to make sure civil liberties concerns
have a greater voice in appropriate cases by ensuring that the
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