We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Dennis Bernstein of KPFA interviews former FBI agent Coleen Rowley regarding NSA surveillance

Click here to access a 16:35m interview with Rowley on KPFA's Flashpoints program. (Note: the interview is the first 16:35m of the one hour program.)

This 24 year veteran of the FBI reveals the origins of NSA's massive surveillance program which was brought again to public awareness by Edward Snowden. The program was first proposed publicly by the infamous John Poindexter and was "supposedly squelched by the American people" in 2003. She reports on many of the details associated with NSA and many other government agencies, and the dangers of such surveillance for American citizens. 

If you have the time, you might be even more interested in the next segment of the program in which Bernstein  interviews Norman Solomon regarding Snowden's revelations and the "national security state". (approx. 17 minutes)

See also this article entitled "Our Privatized National Security State" from National Journal.
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