Yearly Archives: 2013

How a 30-year-old lawyer exposed NSA mass surveillance of Americans—in 1975

"The program was codenamed SHAMROCK and known to only a few people within the government. Every day, a courier went up to New York on the train and returned to Fort Meade with large reels of magnetic tape, which were copies of the international telegrams sent from New York the preceding day using the facilities of three telegraph companies. The tapes would then be electronically processed for items of foreign intelligence interest, typically telegrams sent by foreign establishments in the United States or telegrams that appeared to be encrypted. Telegrams sent by US citizens to foreign destinations were also present in the tapes NSA received." Continue reading →

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Reddit co-founder: Tech companies can help fight NSA snooping

"'I think we are awakening to a new age of sort of distributed — instead of centralized — hubs for all our data,' he explained. 'So I think this is the free market, we could very likely see alternatives pop up were social networking or whatever the thing might be does not concentrate all of our private data in one particular space.' Ohanian was a vocal opponent of legislation known as the Stop Online Piracy Act. Reddit, along with other tech giants like Wikipedia, successfully killed the bill by staging an Internet 'blackout.' However, Ohanian admitted that drumming up support to fight NSA surveillance was a more difficult task than battling SOPA." Continue reading →

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange: NSA leaker is a hero

"Citing his own grand jury trial in Alexandria, Virginia, Assange explained that Snowden does not feel as if he could receive a fair trial due to what is known as the 'rocket docket' — jury pools in the area are filled with CIA and Pentagon employees and have high conviction rates in cases brought to trial. Snowden should seek refuge then, Assange argued, until he feels he would be 'afforded justice' upon his return to the United States. The NSA leaker remains in Russia while he tries to find asylum in another country. That has been complicated by the U.S. revocation of his passport, an act Assange described as 'disgraceful.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange: NSA leaker is a hero

Germany and France Demand to Know Why They Were Being Spied On

"Members of the European Union are quite upset because their relationship with the U.S. is supposed cozier than the frosty relationship between the U.S. and Russia. Germany and France seem really miffed over this whole spying deal. They thought they were exempt from surveillance because they are allies at the end of the day. 'These facts, if confirmed, would be totally unacceptable,' Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius told Le Monde. 'We expect the U.S. authorities to stand up as soon as possible the legitimate concerns raised by the revelations of the press.' German politicians are also demanding an explanation from the U.S." Continue reading →

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U.S. Removed Mubarak Over Refusal To Allow Permanent Military, Spy Installations?

"Why did the US support both Mubarak and the opposition (April 6 Movement, Kifaya, etc.)? It is not as uncommon as it might seem. Aging and ailing Mubarak's rule was coming to an end anyway, Egypt's population was young and frustrated, and though the US did not necessarily wish to spoil its relationship with the Egyptian dictator it did seek maximum influence on the coming succession struggles. Additionally, as Mubarak explains in an interview this month, he was proving an irritation to the US over his refusal to allow permanent US military installations in Egypt and his refusal to allow the US to 'help' with establishing a communications network in Egypt." Continue reading →

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Syrian Christians: ‘Why Is America at War with Us?’

"Syrian Christians are asking why the United States supports extremists who want to turn Syria into an Islamic state. That testimony came during a congressional hearing on Syria's religious minorities Tuesday. Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, testified that Islamic insurgents are targeting Christians for 'ethno-religious cleansing.' Christian Solidarity International CEO Dr. John Eibner said displaced Christians are asking him, 'Why is the U.S. at war against us?' Eibner said the United States should work with Russia to negotiate a peace rather than help Sunni Muslims turn the country into an Islamic state." Continue reading →

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Crime of Making a Terrorist Threat

"Imagine calling in police because some little kid points a toy gun or his finger, and says 'Bang, bang, you're dead'. This is already happening. These things are all birds of a feather. Penalties are severe. These laws are oppressive. They make crimes out of many varieties of ordinary statements made by ordinary people in many situations. Someone who speaks in anger, or when tipsy, or because they're upset, or without meaning what they say, can suddenly be in hot water. It is not uncommon for people to say 'I'll kill you' without meaning it. These laws give the justice system heavy artillery to fire against anyone who falls into its clutches for any reason." Continue reading →

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Rampant Injustice in a Tullahoma “Terrorist” Case

"I have received an e-mail alerting me to the conviction of a black man from Tullahoma, Tennessee for making a threat, and he could receive 12-20 years in prison for doing so. Sentencing is in August. Lawmakers have literally created the crime of terrorism for possibly or allegedly ill-considered and/or extreme remarks made in a variety of emotional or mental states that include haste, anger, sarcasm, habit, ignorance, being under pressure, stress, the desire to fight back somehow, frustration, displacement, being under the influence of alcohol, or simply lack of restraint and bad judgment." Continue reading →

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Another Black Man up on “Terrorist” Charges

"Michael C. Lewis, 25, is charged with discharging a firearm into a car and building. The result? He's charged with 'one count of going armed with intent and two counts of terrorism.' People sometimes go off, sometimes they commit crimes, sometimes they are career criminals, sometimes not. Justice requires making distinctions. But in no case should people be thrown into prison for 10 years or 20 years or 50 years, the possible terrorism penalty in this case, as a terrorism 'add-on' to all the other possible conventional crimes. Terrorism statutes with such penalties applied in such lax ways are in and of themselves cruel and unusual punishment." Continue reading →

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Audit Findings: State Lab Lies About Blood Alcohol Levels

"A recent audit of the state lab that conducts alcohol blood tests found that the laboratory skews test results in favor of prosecutors. So while drunk-driving laws are already utterly arbitrary and damaging for people don't even damage any person or property, it turns out that being sober by the state's standards won't even save you. The state will simply fudge the science or outright lie to favor itself." Continue reading →

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