Snowden rejects suggestions he is a spy for China

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who exposed the U.S. government's top-secret surveillance programs, fought back against his critics on Monday and denied allegations that he was a spy for China.

Snowden told an online forum run by Britain's Guardian newspaper that he revealed the programs in part out of disappointment with President Barack Obama, who he said had expanded "abusive" government programs while in office.

A defiant Snowden, believed to be in hiding in Hong Kong, dismissed suggestions such as comments on Sunday from former Vice President Dick Cheney that he was a traitor who could be sharing secret information with China.

He said being called a traitor by Cheney, instrumental in the expansion of surveillance programs, was "the highest honor" you can give an American.

"I have had no contact with the Chinese government," said Snowden, who has vowed to stay in the Chinese-run former British colony and fight any effort to extradite him to the United States.

"This is a predictable smear that I anticipated before going public ... Ask yourself: if I were a Chinese spy, why wouldn't I have flown directly into Beijing? I could be living in a palace petting a phoenix by now."

U.S. officials familiar with the investigations into Snowden said there was no evidence so far to suggest he had any contacts with China. In China's first substantive comments on Monday, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman rejected the suggestion that Snowden was a Chinese spy and said Washington should explain its surveillance programs to the world.

Snowden, the former employee of contractor Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH.N), who worked in an NSA facility in Hawaii before providing details to the Guardian and Washington Post, said the government's "litany of lies" about the programs helped convince him to act.

He said he was particularly disappointed in what he saw as Obama's failure to live up to the promises of his 2008 campaign.

As president, Snowden said, Obama has "closed the door on investigating systemic violations of law, deepened and expanded several abusive programs, and refused to spend the political capital to end the kind of human rights violations like we see in Guantanamo, where men still sit without charge."

Obama and administration officials have defended the surveillance programs as effective tools in their effort to protect Americans from terrorism and said they were instrumental in helping to disrupt dozens of potential attacks.

Obama reiterated on PBS's "Charlie Rose" show on Monday that there are trade-offs between privacy and national security but said that the government conducts its surveillance programs with oversight and restraint.

"What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls, and the NSA cannot target your emails ... and have not," Obama said in the interview taped on Sunday.

He also said he has "stood up," and will meet with, a privacy and civil liberties oversight board that includes "some fierce civil libertarians."

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Snowden's actions, and U.S. officials promised last week to track him down and hold him accountable for the leaks.

'THAT'S NOT JUSTICE'

Snowden said the government had "destroyed any possibility of a fair trial at home, openly declaring me guilty of treason and that the disclosure of secret, criminal and even unconstitutional acts is an unforgivable crime. That's not justice," he said.

The revelations of widespread monitoring of the phone and Internet data kept by big companies such as Google Inc (GOOG.O) and Facebook Inc (FB.O) ignited a sharp debate about the balance between privacy rights and national security.

Since Snowden went public in a video released by the Guardian on June 9, many U.S. lawmakers have condemned his actions and intelligence officials have said the leaks will compromise national security.

Some lawmakers have been more restrained. Republican Senator Rand Paul, a favorite of the anti-government Tea Party movement, has encouraged Americans to be part of a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. government for the surveillance programs.

General Keith Alexander, director of the NSA, will testify at a House of Representatives Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday where details could be made public of some two dozen attacks that officials say the surveillance programs helped thwart.

Snowden answered about 18 questions on the Guardian's website during the session, which lasted more than 90 minutes and drew more than 2,000 comments and questions.

He said there was no single event that led him to leak details about the surveillance, but rather "it was seeing a continuing litany of lies from senior officials to Congress - and therefore the American people - and the realization that Congress ... wholly supported the lies."

Snowden referred to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's testimony to Congress in March that such a program did not exist, saying that seeing him "baldly lying to the public without repercussion is the evidence of a subverted democracy. The consent of the governed is not consent if it is not informed."

Snowden said he was encouraged by the public debate over privacy rights in the aftermath of the disclosures.

But now, he said, the media was more concerned with "what I said when I was 17 or what my girlfriend looks like rather than, say, the largest program of suspicionless surveillance in human history."

Snowden's father, Lonnie, said in an interview on Fox News that he hoped his son would return to the United States to fight any potential criminal charges.

"I would like to see Ed come home and face this. I shared that with the government when I spoke with them. I love my son," he told Fox, adding "I hope, I pray" that he does not commit any acts that could be considered treason.

"I sense that you're under much stress (from) what I've read recently, and (ask) that you not succumb to that stress ... and make a bad decision," Lonnie Snowden said in an interview published on the channel's website.

He denied press reports that his son was a high school dropout, saying that after a lengthy illness at the start of his sophomore year, his son enrolled in community college and eventually got a high school equivalency degree.

(Additional reporting by Deborah Charles, Mark Hosenball, Jackie Frank and Patricia Zengerle; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Karey Van Hall and Tim Dobbyn)

Israeli leaders condemn hate crime against Arabs

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli leaders on Tuesday condemned an apparent hate crime in an Arab town near Jerusalem that is known for good relations with its Jewish neighbors.

Residents of Abu Ghosh woke up Tuesday to find dozens of cars damaged and graffiti reading "Arabs out" scrawled on walls. Police said they launched an investigation into the incident, which appeared to be politically motivated.

There have been a string of similar incidents in recent years, believed to have been carried out by extreme Jewish nationalists.

Graffiti with the words "price tag" are usually found onsite. The phrase is usually used by a tiny fringe of Jewish extremists to protest what they perceive as the Israeli government's pro-Palestinian policies.

The vandals have targeted mosques, churches, dovish Israeli groups and even Israeli military basesin apparent "price tag" attacks.

The acts are widely condemned by Israelis across the political spectrum, but arrests have been rare.

Israeli President Shimon Peres spoke with Abu Ghosh Mayor Salim Jaber after hearing about the incident. "Spraying of hate graffiti against the residents and slashing of tires is racist behavior which crosses a red line. We utterly condemn any expression of racism and vandalism," Peres said. He called Abu Ghosh "a symbol of coexistence."

In a statement released by Peres' office, Jaber said the attack would not affect relations between residents and Jewish Israelis. "We know that this is the act of a small group which seeks to destroy the good relations, but we are stronger than them," Jaber said.

Abu Ghosh, a small town about a 20 minute drive from Jerusalem, is a popular destination for Israelis, thanks to its many restaurants, bakeries and cultural events.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke out against the attack. "What happened today in Abu Ghosh contradicts Jewish law and the values of our people and our country," Netanyahu said.

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Peru protesters push to stop $5 billion Newmont mine

By Mitra Taj | Reuters – 11 hrs ago

Reuters/Reuters - Andean people march during a protest against Newmont's proposed $4.8 billion Conga gold mine, near the Cortada lagoon, in the Andean region of Cajamarca November 24, 2011. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil

By Mitra Taj

PEROL LAKE, Peru (Reuters) - Thousands of opponents of a $5 billion gold project of Newmont Mining circled a lake high in the Andes on Monday, vowing to stop the company from eventually draining it to make way for Peru's most expensive mine.

Lake Perol is one of several lakes that would eventually be displaced to mine ore from the Congaproject. Water from the lakes would be transferred to four reservoirs that the U.S. company and its Peruvian partner, Buenaventura, are building or planning to build.

The companies say the reservoirs would end seasonal shortages and guarantee year-round water supplies to towns and farmers in the area, but many residents fear they would lose control of the water or that the mine would cause pollution.

"Hopefully, the company and the government will see the crowd here today and stop the project," said Cesar Correa, 28, of the town of Huangashanga in the northern region of Cajamarca.

He was one of many protesters who arrived at Lake Perol on foot or on horseback, some wearing ponchos, as well as traditional broad-brimmed straw hats or baseball caps.

Others carried blankets and bags of potatoes and rice - planning to camp out at the site for weeks to halt the project.

The company said about 1,000 protesters were present, though protesters said their flock swelled to 5,000 or 6,000. A Reuters witness estimated 4,000 people at the protest.

"Why would we want a reservoir controlled by the company when we already have lakes that naturally provide us water?" asked Angel Mendoza, a member of a peasant patrol group from the town of Pampa Verde.

The controversy over Conga - which many in the business sector see as essential for the country's bustling economy - has posed a major challenge to President Ollanta Humala during his nearly two years in office.

He has twice shuffled his cabinet in the face of violent protests against the project.

The protest on Monday was largely peaceful and there were no clashes with police, though a handful of protesters threw rocks and set fire to a wall near one reservoir.

Newmont and Buenaventura said in a statement: "As stated previously, we will only build the proposed Perol reservoir if we are able to secure all the necessary permits and complete an intensive public involvement process with neighboring communities."

"We respect everyone's right to safely and responsibly express their opinion, whether they oppose mining or support economic development," the statement said.

In May, a minor clash between protesters and police marked an ended nine months of relative calm when Humala's government said it would stop trying to overcome local opposition to the mine.

The new round of protests came after a top official for the Conga project, Chief Executive Roque Benavides of Buenaventura, told Reuters water from Perol would be transferred to a new reservoir later this year.

He later said the project might be in jeopardy if water from the lakes could not be transferred.

(Writing by Terry Wade; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Bob Burgdorfer)

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Sounds like TVA again but look at all the good it has done too. Giving government and corporations control of these necessary resources for economic growth is the "Progressive Way" so it probably has loads of support on the other side too.

These folks have legit gripes that will likely be overruled. Didn't the Bush Family buy lots of acreage there? There was a reason. ;)

Quote:

Peru protesters push to stop $5 billion Newmont mine

By Mitra Taj | Reuters – 11 hrs ago

Reuters/Reuters - Andean people march during a protest against Newmont's proposed $4.8 billion Conga gold mine, near the Cortada lagoon, in the Andean region of Cajamarca November 24, 2011. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil

By Mitra Taj

PEROL LAKE, Peru (Reuters) - Thousands of opponents of a $5 billion gold project of Newmont Mining circled a lake high in the Andes on Monday, vowing to stop the company from eventually draining it to make way for Peru's most expensive mine.

Lake Perol is one of several lakes that would eventually be displaced to mine ore from the Congaproject. Water from the lakes would be transferred to four reservoirs that the U.S. company and its Peruvian partner, Buenaventura, are building or planning to build.

The companies say the reservoirs would end seasonal shortages and guarantee year-round water supplies to towns and farmers in the area, but many residents fear they would lose control of the water or that the mine would cause pollution.

"Hopefully, the company and the government will see the crowd here today and stop the project," said Cesar Correa, 28, of the town of Huangashanga in the northern region of Cajamarca.

He was one of many protesters who arrived at Lake Perol on foot or on horseback, some wearing ponchos, as well as traditional broad-brimmed straw hats or baseball caps.

Others carried blankets and bags of potatoes and rice - planning to camp out at the site for weeks to halt the project.

The company said about 1,000 protesters were present, though protesters said their flock swelled to 5,000 or 6,000. A Reuters witness estimated 4,000 people at the protest.

"Why would we want a reservoir controlled by the company when we already have lakes that naturally provide us water?" asked Angel Mendoza, a member of a peasant patrol group from the town of Pampa Verde.

The controversy over Conga - which many in the business sector see as essential for the country's bustling economy - has posed a major challenge to President Ollanta Humala during his nearly two years in office.

He has twice shuffled his cabinet in the face of violent protests against the project.

The protest on Monday was largely peaceful and there were no clashes with police, though a handful of protesters threw rocks and set fire to a wall near one reservoir.

Newmont and Buenaventura said in a statement: "As stated previously, we will only build the proposed Perol reservoir if we are able to secure all the necessary permits and complete an intensive public involvement process with neighboring communities."

"We respect everyone's right to safely and responsibly express their opinion, whether they oppose mining or support economic development," the statement said.

In May, a minor clash between protesters and police marked an ended nine months of relative calm when Humala's government said it would stop trying to overcome local opposition to the mine.

The new round of protests came after a top official for the Conga project, Chief Executive Roque Benavides of Buenaventura, told Reuters water from Perol would be transferred to a new reservoir later this year.

He later said the project might be in jeopardy if water from the lakes could not be transferred.

(Writing by Terry Wade; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Bob Burgdorfer)

North Korea Says NSA Spying Makes the U.S. a 'Kingpin of Human Rights Abuses'

North Korea, land of gulags, government-enforced information blackouts, and humans so hungry they eat other humans, has finally weighed in on the NSA-spying controversy and has become ... an advocate for American civil liberties. Wait, what? Why is a country that doesn't believe in civil liberties for its own people and is the subject of U.N. investigations on human rights abusessuddenly the American people's privacy knight in shining armor?

RELATED: UN: North Korea's Human Rights Abuses Have 'No Parallel'

"This clearly proves once again the U.S. is a kingpin of human rights abuses as it puts the world under its watch network and has conducted espionage against mankind," reads a commentary from the state-run Minju Joson newspaper, picked up by Reuters on Tuesday. The commentary goes on to say: "Each individual is entitled to live and develop with dignity as a social being. But in American society, where the jungle law prevails, only the strong men's rights over the weak men are recognized."

RELATED: Satellites Show North Korea's Prison Camps Expanding Under Kim Jong-Un

Those are fighting words. And North Korea could very well be talking about itself considering the numerous reports where "weak men," like the thousands in labor camps never get a chance at life or the country's extensive surveillance plans aimed at making sure North Koreans never escape. But you also have to remember who North Korean propaganda is targeted at—hint: it's not for Americans.

RELATED: World Cup: Should You Root for North Korea?

The impetus behind this amusing defense of American civil liberties to make the U.S., which North Korean propaganda has consistently portrayed as the enemy, instigator and stifling presence on the country, look pretty terrible. And at the same time, the worse the U.S. is portrayed, the more Kim Jong-Un look more heroic and reasonable for constantly being at odds with it.