Monthly Archives: August 2013

Turkish court imprisons dozens over alleged ‘plot’ to overthrow government

"A Turkish court on Monday sentenced a former military chief to life in prison and dozens of others including opposition members of parliament to long terms for plotting against the government, in a trial that has exposed deep divisions in the country. Retired military chief of staff General Ilker Basbug was sentenced to life for his role in the 'Ergenekon' conspiracy to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Announcing verdicts on the nearly 300 defendants in the case, the judges also sentenced three serving parliamentarians from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to between 12 and 35 years in prison." Continue reading →

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State Department: Bradley Manning had ‘chilling effect’ on foreign relations

"'Every single embassy' was affected, said Undersecretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy, who warned about long-term consequences of Manning’s 2010 leaks to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. The unauthorized releases made foreign diplomats, business leaders and other information sources 'reticent to provide their full and frank opinions and share them with us,' he said. Most of the leaked diplomatic cables originated after 2005, when a new information-sharing system was adopted to address intelligence failings exposed by the attacks of September 11, 2001." Continue reading →

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Washington man arrested for strapping bomb to his dog and blowing it up

"A Washington state man was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly killed his dog by attaching a bomb to the animal and then detonated it. The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the metro area’s bomb squad assisted in the investigation. Dillingham was charged with second-degree malicious mischief, reckless endangerment and possession of an explosive device. Officials declined to give a motive for the crime, citing an ongoing investigation." Continue reading →

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Lawyers: Illegal body cavity searches of women standard policy at Texas traffic stops

"A lawyer representing women who faced 'unconstitutional' cavity searches of their genitals at traffic stops in Texas last year have said that the practice is essentially standard practice in many jurisdictions. In two separate cases last year, four women said that they were humiliated with illegal cavity searches on the side of Texas highways. Angel Dobbs, 38, and her 24-year-old niece, Ashley Dobbs were searched after a trooper saw them throw a cigarette butt out the car window. And Brandy Hamilton, 27, and Alexandria Randle, 26, were searched after a trooper claimed he smelled marijuana." Continue reading →

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A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto (March 9th, 1993)

"People have been defending their own privacy for centuries with whispers, darkness, envelopes, closed doors, secret handshakes, and couriers. The technologies of the past did not allow for strong privacy, but electronic technologies do. We the Cypherpunks are dedicated to building anonymous systems. We are defending our privacy with cryptography, with anonymous mail forwarding systems, with digital signatures, and with electronic money. Cypherpunks write code. We know that someone has to write software to defend privacy, and since we can't get privacy unless we all do, we're going to write it." Continue reading →

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Justin Amash vs Former NSA Head General Michael Hayden 8/4/13

"Amash cautions that you need to have actual facts to support allegations, and in the meanwhile, he'd favor focusing on what previously unknown information is now known to Americans. 'Members of Congress were on the whole not aware of what these programs were being used for,' he says, and in that respect, he considers him a 'whistleblower' for the time being. 'He may be doing things overseas that we'll find to be problematic or dangerous, we'll find those facts out over time,' he says, 'but as far as Congress is concerned, sure, he's a whistleblower. He told us what we needed to know.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJustin Amash vs Former NSA Head General Michael Hayden 8/4/13

Everyone Is Now A Terrorist According to The US Government

"It’s official, every single American can now be classified as a terrorist by the US government. The label of ‘terrorist’ no longer applies to members of al-Qaeda of ‘extremists’, but the average citizen of this nation. And I can show you how literally 100% of the population can be classified as a terrorist under the truly outrageous Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and FBI characteristics that define a terrorist or terrorist activity. These broad qualifications of ‘terrorism’ that have spawned a new wave of absolute paranoia within the population regarding their fellow citizens, who the nightly news says may be sleeper cell terrorists." Continue reading →

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Glenn Greenwald: Embassy closings looks like a conspiracy to silence NSA debate

"Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald on Monday suggested that President Barack Obama had ordered 19 U.S. embassies in the Middle Easy closed not because of a legitimate terror threat, but to silence a debate on recently-revealed details of National Security Agency (NSA) data collection programs. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said that the embassies had been temporarily closed after the NSA learned of a terrorist plot. Speaking to Democracy Now‘s Amy Goodman on Monday, Greenwald observed that the Obama administration may have shuttered the posts just to stop discussion about his reporting." Continue reading →

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‘Asset forfeiture’ laws designed to strip criminals of assets target innocent homeowners

"Over the last two decades, forfeitures have evolved into a booming business for police agencies across the country, from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to small-town sheriff’s offices. In 2000, officials racked up $500 million in forfeitures. By 2012, that amount rose to $4.2 billion, an eightfold increase. Often the victims are minorities like Bing without the financial resources or legal know-how to protect their assets. And prosecutors typically prevail. Of nearly 2,000 cases filed against Philadelphia houses from 2008 through 2012, records show that only 30 ended with a judge rejecting the attempt to seize the property." Continue reading →

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How the U.S. DEA program differs from recent NSA revelations

"Reuters has uncovered previously unreported details about a separate program, run by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, that extends well beyond intelligence gathering. Its use, legal experts say, raises fundamental questions about whether the government is concealing information used to investigate and help build criminal cases against American citizens. The DEA program is run by a secretive unit called the Special Operations Division, or SOD. Here is how NSA efforts exposed by Snowden differ from the activities of the SOD." Continue reading →

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