Majority of Americans Fear Surveillance & ‘Deep State’ Power – Poll

© Damir Sagolj / Reuters

Over 70 percent of US citizens in the Republican and Democratic parties believe America is controlled by a “deep state” of unelected government officials, according to a new poll. They also fear state surveillance, it reveals.

Although most Americans interviewed are not familiar with the term ‘deep state’, when they heard the definition as a cadre of unelected government and military officials who secretly influence government policies, a majority expressed belief in its ‘probable existence’ according to the Monmouth University poll released Monday.

Additionally six in 10 of those polled think that these unelected government figures wield too much power when it comes to shaping federal policy.  

“We usually expect opinions on the operation of government to shift depending on which party is in charge. But there’s an ominous feeling by Democrats and Republicans alike that a ‘deep state’ of unelected operatives are pulling the levers of power,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Donald Trump has popularized the term ‘deep state’ over the course of his presidency. In January he blasted the ‘deep state’ Department of Justice for allegedly shielding a Hillary Clinton aide  who used a non-secure private email account while conducting government business. 

The poll also highlights widespread fears of state surveillance, with 80 percent of Americans believing that the US government currently spies on the activities of its citizens. 

“This is a worrisome finding. The strength of our government relies on public faith in protecting our freedoms, which is not particularly robust. And it’s not a Democratic or Republican issue. These concerns span the political spectrum,” Murray added.

In 2013 ex-CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the existence of a massive surveillance programme by US and UK authorities. The leaks exposed that the US National Security Agency (NSA) was spying on tens of millions of Americans by collecting their telephone and internet records.

The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone from March 2 to 5, 2018, with 803 adults in the United States.

Unfortunately, I believe that 'Deep State' is not restricted to American civil servants and military. I believe it goes higher into the US government and extends into many western governments including NATO. It is 'Deep State' that is pulling the strings on the Russia hysteria. And, I suspect, Deep State may possibly be involved in chemical weapons attacks in false flag operations in Syria.

‘Nobody is Safe’: French Parliament Backs Controversial Anti-Terrorism Law

The New Normal - en Francais

© Charles Platiau / Reuters

The French parliament has approved a new anti-terrorist bill, criticized by human rights activists as restrictive of civil liberties. Ahead of the vote, France’s interior minister Gerard Collomb said that “nobody is safe” in the country as “it is still in a state of war.”

The parliament's lower house, the National Assembly, passed the new legislation in the first reading.

The new bill, which seeks to increase law enforcement powers in the fight against terrorism, was supported by 415 lawmakers, with 127 voting against it.

It extends the powers of the Interior Ministry, which will be able to set up security zones without the approval of a judge.

Inside the zones, the movement of people and vehicles can be restricted and searches can be conducted. Police will also be given wider powers to raid private property with judicial approval.

Electronic surveillance tags might be imposed on those regarded as a threat to national security, while officials will also have more power to close down places of worship deemed by intelligence agencies as inciting violence or justifying terrorism.

The new bill is regarded by many as a conversion into common law of emergency measures, which have been in place in France since late 2015. The state of emergency, introduced following the Paris attacks in November that year, is set to be lifted on November 9.

In other words, these are not new measures, but simply the entrenchment of emergency measures into every-day law - the New Normal!

"The level of threat in France is extremely high," Collomb said earlier in the day, adding that the country remains "in a state of war."

"Those who thought... that we should loosen the capacity of our services to gather information, were mistaken because yes we are still in a state of war even if Daesh have experienced military defeats," Collomb said in an interview with France Inter radio.

France's new anti-terrorism bill expanding police powers has been criticized by human rights groups as restrictive of certain civil liberties. The minister argued "nobody is safe" in France, also referring to a recent incident in which a number of people were arrested in what appeared to be a failed bombing attempt in central Paris.

Police have revealed that over the weekend a resident of an apartment building in the affluent 16th arrondissement had alerted authorities to suspicious activity. What appeared to be a ready-to-detonate bomb was discovered, while a person who had been under government surveillance for radicalism was confirmed to be among the detained suspects.

“Planning to blow up a building in a chic district of Paris – is this not a sign that nobody is safe? This [shows] it can happen anywhere in France,” the interior minister said.

Collomb also criticized other countries lacking surveillance systems “like the one in France” and called for wider information exchange and cooperation within Europe to reinforce anti-terrorism measures.

“A number of countries do not have the systems and the level of surveillance that we know in France. We believe it is us who have made Europe a strong Europe on its borders, while a number of [other European] countries do not have that kind of organization,” the French minister claimed.

France has seen some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Europe in the past years. Over 200 people have been killed since early 2015 by assailants having pledged allegiance to or been inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group. In a series of coordinated attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015 alone, 130 people were killed by IS terrorists. On Bastille Day in 2016, a truck was driven into crowds of people celebrating in Nice, killing 86 and injuring over 450.

16th Arrondissement, Paris

The Wisdom of Zbigniew Brzezinski and What It Can Tell Us Now

World-renowned Polish-American political thinker and ideologist of US global hegemony, Zbigniew Brzezinski, has passed away aged 89, but his words will long echo in global politics. 

Brzezinski was national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter. His words open a window through which we can interpret geopolitical games being played on the continent.

Caution: these sayings were collected and selected by RT,

so there may be some political bias involved.

Apparently, his words will not echo long in global politics where free-speech no longer exists.

Afghanistan was a disaster for Russia. But one has to wonder how often the practice of drawing another country into war with a third country is exercised. I suspect it happens far more often than we would like to believe. I'm sure Americans were delighted that the Russians were involved in an expensive war they could not possibly win, but what it did to Afghanistan resulted in the Taliban and Sharia Law which was a disaster for all women and children in the country.

Gee, can't think of anybody like that! 

For many of us, it made it clear that communism was a great hoax, that it creates a phenomenal level of paranoia, and that it makes obvious that a world without God is a very sick and sad place. 

Yet there are many, many liberals who would completely disagree. They are those who will find their daughters or granddaughters wearing niqabs and living under Sharia Law and wonder how it happened.

Is NATO the tool for accomplishing this? 

Berlin U-Bahn Attackers Try to Set Homeless Man on Fire on Christmas Eve

Just weeks after a subway attack triggered a national outcry,

a group attacked a homeless man with fire.

Police are treating the attack as an attempted murder.

Deutschland Obdachloser sollte angezündet werden (picture alliance/dpa/P. Zinken)

A group of people attempted to set fire to a homeless person sleeping in a Berlin subway station on Christmas Eve, police said on Sunday.

Police were searching for five or six unknown assailants who threw a burning object onto the 37-year-old man, setting fire to his bedding, a police report said.

People passing by, including a train driver with a fire extinguisher, rescued the man from the flames. He was uninjured but his belongings were destroyed.

"These days we should expect charity. Instead, we are experiencing human contempt," said Berlin's state interior minister Andreas Geisel on Sunday.

Just two weeks ago the nation was shocked by an unprovoked attack

in a station three stops away on the U8 line.

A 27-year-old Bulgarian man allegedly kicked a young woman down a set of stairs in Hermannstraße, breaking her arm. The incident was captured on security cameras.

 CCTV captured a man kicking a young woman down a set of stairs (Polizei Berlin) 0:37

The unprovoked attack in a station three stops away triggered nationwide condemnation. 

"I am horrified and thank all those who have courageously helped. This is true fellow-humanity."

The attack happened in the Schönleinstraße U-Bahn station, on the border of the Kreuzberg and Neukölln districts.

Police were treating the attack, which was captured on unreleased closed circuit camera footage, as an attempted murder.

German news agency dpa said the attack was carried out by a group of teenagers. 

What they are not saying is that it appears the gang consisted of migrants. Welcome to the new Germany. 

After the attack, several police organizations called for more video surveillance in Germany, and, it appears Germans are more and more willing to accept increased surveillance.