The Director of National Intelligence, outright lied to the US Senate. - That Clapper fundamentally misled Congress is beyond dispute. The DNI himself has now been forced by our stories to admit that his statement was, in his words, "clearly erroneous" and to apologize. But he did this only once our front-page revelations forced him to do so: in other words, what he's sorry about is that he got caught lying to the Senate. And as Salon's David Sirota adeptly documented on Friday, Clapper is still spouting falsehoods as he apologizes and attempts to explain why he did it. How is this not a huge scandal? Intentionally deceiving Congress is a felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison for each offense.

[Unbelievable servility:] The plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales home from Russia was rerouted to Austria on Tuesday after France and Portugal refused to let it cross their airspace because of suspicions that NSA leaker Edward Snowden was on board, the country’s foreign minister said. Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca denied that Snowden was on the plane, which landed in Vienna, and said France and Portugal would have to explain why they canceled authorization for the plane. “We don’t know who invented this lie. We want to denounce to the international community this injustice with the plane of President Evo Morales,” Choquehuanca said from Vienna, where the plane landed. Morales had earlier met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit of major gas exporters in the Kremlin. In an interview with Russia Today television, Morales said that his South American country would be willing to consider granting asylum to Snowden.

"We have the suspicion that [France and Portugal] were used by a foreign power, in this case the United States, as a way of intimidating the Bolivian state and President Evo Morales." Saavedra confirmed that Italy had also denied Bolivia’s aircraft entry into its airspace.

Spain has authorized Bolivia’s presidential jet to pass through its airspace and continue its journey to Bolivia, the Austrian President has said. Spanish authorities requested permission to search President Morales’ plane as a condition of transiting through the country, but Bolivian officials refused. “This is an unacceptable and unjustifiable act that offends Latin America and the Caribbean,” said the Cuban Foreign Minister in a statement. “Everyone has gone insane. The head of state and his plane have total immunity. This level of impunity is unprecedented,” tweeted Kirchner. Ecuador suggested an emergency meeting of the UNASUR after the incident Tuesday.

Peter Symonds: In hunt for Snowden, US forces Bolivian presidential jet to land - In a flagrant breach of international law and diplomatic norms, the Obama administration, in collusion with its European allies, today forced a plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales to land in Austria, on suspicion that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was on board. The decision to force down the plane has demonstrated the utter lawlessness of the Obama administration, which has risked the life of the Bolivian president and provoked a major diplomatic row in its bid to capture Snowden. His only “crime” has been to expose the criminal actions of the US in establishing a vast NSA spying operation on the American people and the population of the world. There is literally no line that Washington will not cross.

MoxNews: Bolivian President Finally ALLOWED To Leave Austria After Being Treated Like A Wanted Criminal - Video

FEMA signs deal with Russian Emergency Situations Ministry to “exchange experts”. - As part of a deal signed last week in Washington DC between the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry and FEMA, Russian officials will provide “security at mass events” in the United States, a scenario that won’t sit well with Americans wary of foreign assets operating on US soil. According to a press release by the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense and Emergencies, US and Russian officials met on June 25 at the 17th Joint U.S.-Russia Cooperation Committee on Emergency Situations. In addition to agreeing with FEMA to “exchange experts during joint rescue operations in major disasters,” the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry will also be providing “security at mass events” in the United States.

FromTheTrenches: Outsourced: Israeli Firm Magal Provides ‘Security” at US Prisons

A hidden microphone is found in the ambassador's office, during routine security search, Ecuador foreign minister says. - Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino Aroca has said that a hidden listening device was found in his country's embassy in London during his visit to the UK last month. At Tuesday's press conference in the capital Quito, minister Patino said that the hidden listening device was found during a regular security check by the Ecuadorian intelligence for the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK on June 16. The microphone was found in the office of the ambassador Ana Alban. "We immediately conducted an investigation to find the source and I will release our result at tomorrow's press conference including the source of the device, who was using it and which department installed it", Patino told. Patino added that he hoped relevant countries or organisations could offer a reasonable explanation for the hidden listening device. However, he denied it had anything to do with the US extensive surveillance programme known as PRISM, which was revealed by Edward Snowden, former technical contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).

France24: Hidden microphone found in London embassy: Ecuador
Russia Today: ‘Infiltrated from all sides’: Bug found in London’s Ecuadorian embassy

Hat tip to Larry for leaving a comment at Richard Edmondson's blog regarding this video. His is a powerful anti-war message, condemning those who deserve condemnation and offering a ray of hope for mankind if only we care enough to do something about the madness and evil that is our immoral war machine.

A recent poll conducted by Gallup shows that only 10% of Americans have confidence in Congress as an institution. The figure, three percent lower compared to a similar poll last year, ranks the legislative body last on a list of 16 societal institutions for the fourth straight year. Confidence in Congress was 42 percent in 1973. However, over the last 10 years, public opinion of the institution and its leaders has gone down markedly. The poll surveyed 1,529 adults by telephone across the country. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

Another big National Security Agency scoop is coming soon, Glenn Greenwald said on Tuesday. “Just wait a little bit, you’ll have it,” The Guardian journalist who broke the NSA surveillance story said on “Fox & Friends.” Although Greenwald wouldn’t reveal exactly what the new revelations are, he said the world “will be shocked.” “I will say that there are vast programs, both domestic and international spying, that the world will be shocked to learn about, that the NSA is engaged in with no democratic accountability and that’s what driving our reporting,” Greenwald said. Greenwald also said President Barack Obama’s administration is using leaker Edward Snowden as an example to prevent future whistleblowers from coming forward.

Common Dreams: 'The World Will Be Shocked': Greenwald on Upcoming NSA Exposé

Warning - Item FSA Execute 2 Men and Buried Them. This video has content that is not suitable for all ages.

Fars News Agaency: British Politician: 3,500 Tons of Arms already Sent to Syria Rebels - A former British Liberal Democrat leader called for pressure on Qatar and Saudi Arabia to cut off funding for arms for Syria insurgents since they have already received 3,500 tons of arms by help of CIA. [The Telegraph]

An expert on drone casualties has told reporters that the use of unmanned aerial vehicles by American forces has caused 10 times the number of deaths brought on by more conventional aircraft. - Speaking to The Guardian’s Spencer Ackerman, Larry Lewis of the Center for Naval Analyses claimed United States-led drone strikes in Afghanistan are not only more likely to cause civilian casualties than traditionally piloted planes, but the impact of UAVs is 10-fold what would be found by using more antiquated air ships. Lewis has conducted multiple studies on the use of drones in Afghanistan and made his recent determination after reviewing data pertaining to air strikes that occurred there between mid-2010 and mid-2011, Ackerman reported.

PressTV: Death toll from US assassination drone strike in Pakistan hits 17
Jason Ditz: US Drone Strike Kills Seven in North Waziristan Agency

In mid-July 1964, the State Department and the CIA sent a joint message asking the U.S. embassies in Argentina and Israel to check out an unverified intelligence report. They wanted to know whether the Argentines had agreed to sell Israel some 80-100 tons of uranium oxide, or "yellowcake," an essential product for fueling a nuclear reactor and thereby producing plutonium that can be used in weapons. As it turned out, Washington had gotten information about the sale from the British government, which in turn had found out about it from the Canadians. All three governments were concerned about Israel's nuclear weapons ambitions, and the yellowcake transaction was strong evidence that something was amiss. American diplomats in Argentina confirmed the sale, which soon put the State Department in an awkward position: It would have to ask the Israelis about a transaction that flew in the face of their assurances that the country's nuclear program was for peaceful purposes only