James Clapper Might As Well Be Called Director of US Fearmongering

FROM RSN:

James Clapper Might As Well Be Called Director of US Fearmongering

Michael Cohen, Guardian UK
Cohen writes: "Last week the man who serves as America's Director of National Intelligence trudged up to Capitol Hill to tell the assembled members of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee that the annual worldwide threat assessment, put together by the intelligence community, has filled him with dread."
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Christie's Stunning Budget-Cut Hypocrisy
David Sirota, Salon
Sirota writes: "'Cognitive dissonance' is the clinical term used to describe stress that arises from holding contradictory beliefs. In politics, this term is a misnomer, because while many lawmakers, operatives and activists present oxymoronic views, many of them don't appear to feel any stress about that."
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The New Snowden Revelation Is Dangerous for Anonymous - And for All of Us
Gabriella Coleman, Wired
Coleman writes: "When Anonymous engages in lawbreaking, they are always taking a huge risk in doing so. But with unlimited resources and no oversight, organizations like the GCHQ (and theoretically the NSA) can do as they please. And it's this power differential that makes all the difference."
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Single Mother Fired for Staying Home With Her Son When Schools Closed for Subzero Weather
Bryce Covert, ThinkProgress
Covert reports: "No workers in the United States are guaranteed a paid day off when illness strikes them or their family members, unlike many developed peers. That means 40 percent of private sector workers can't take paid leave..."
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Eve Ensler | 'We Should Be Hysterical About Sexual Violence'
Decca Aitkenhead, Guardian UK
Aitkenhead writes: "According to UN figures, one in three women on the planet will be beaten or sexually assaulted. That works out at one billion women, so Ensler wants a billion to gather on 14 February outside buildings that represent justice - police stations, courthouses, government offices - and dance."
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Youth Plan Mass Civil Disobedience to Protest Keystone XL
Peter Rothberg, The Nation
Rothberg reports: "With President Obama on the cusp of a decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, on March 2, hundreds of students and young people are expected to risk arrest in an act of civil disobedience at the White House to pressure President Obama to reject the project."
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FOCUS: Charles Pierce | F Bombs Over Europe

Charles Pierce, Esquire
Pierce writes: "As it turns out, there are many ways to say, 'Fuck The EU.' Millions of Greeks say it every day. They turn in the general direction of Angela Merkel, order up some ouzo, and in the language of Plato and Euripides, say, 'Hey, fuck the EU!'"
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 FOCUS | Bob Dylan, Corporate Shill

Marshall Fine, Hollywood and Fine
Fine writes: "I don't want to make too big a deal about Bob Dylan appearing in a Chrysler commercial during the Super Bowl and yet, I'm afraid, it is a big deal."
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