Network Archives

State Department revokes NSA leaker Snowden’s passport

"The former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed a highly classified surveillance program has had his U.S. passport revoked. A U.S. official on Sunday said Edward Snowden's passport was annulled before he left Hong Kong for Russia. Snowden's travel plans could be complicated — but not thwarted — by a lack of passport. The U.S. official said that if a senior official in a country or airline ordered it, a country could overlook the withdrawn passport. The former contractor is said to be in Moscow and his allies at anti-secrecy WikiLeaks say Snowden is bound for Ecuador. The foreign minister there says he has requested asylum." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Department revokes NSA leaker Snowden’s passport

Glenn Greenwald: Snowden’s revelations ‘not espionage in any real sense of the word’

'I think it’s very surprising to accuse someone of espionage who hasn’t worked for a foreign government, who didn’t covertly pass information to an adversary [or] enemy of the United States, who didn’t sell any top secret information,' Greenwald told Hayes, arguing that Snowden 'asked newspapers to very carefully vet the information to make sure that the only thing being published are things that informed his fellow citizens but doesn’t harm national security.' 'This is a 1917 statute enacted under Woodrow Wilson to criminalize opposition to World War I. It has been used very, very sparingly throughout American history until the Obama administration.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Snowden’s revelations ‘not espionage in any real sense of the word’

CIA agents training Syrian rebels since late 2012

"The CIA and US special operations forces have been training Syrian rebels for months, since long before President Barack Obama announced plans to arm the opposition, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. Training for rebel forces covers the use of anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons and has been carried out at bases in Jordan and Turkey since late last year. The two-week courses, for about 20 to 45 fighters at a time, began last November at a new US base in the desert in southwest Jordan, it said. The report came days after the Obama administration announced it had approved the arming of Syrian rebels." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCIA agents training Syrian rebels since late 2012

Alabama man sentenced to prison for tweeting ‘let’s kill the president’

"U.S. District Judge C. Lynwood Smith Jr. sentenced 26-year-old Jarvis Britton of Birmingham to one year in prison for threatening the life of Obama. He must serve three years on probation after finishing the prison term. Britton pleaded guilty in March to threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict bodily harm on the president by tweeting the message, 'Let’s kill the president. F.E.A.R.,' in September. He received a warning from the Secret Service in June, but continued to make the threats. 'Serious question? If you knew about a terrorist group planning to kill the president, would you tell? I kinda wanna see if they can! F.E.A.R,' he tweeted on September 19, 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAlabama man sentenced to prison for tweeting ‘let’s kill the president’

Post on Facebook and be damned

"Given that no mosques were burnt down in Portsmouth following the above Facebook post, it appears that the friends of 24-year-old Michaela Turner assumed that she was drunk. And they’d have been right – the young mum was indeed a few sheets to the wind. Sadly, Portsmouth police did not approach Turner’s drunk Facebook musings in the sober manner of her friends. No, the police decided to charge Turner under Section 127 of the Communication Act 2003. And last week, Turner was handed an eight-week suspended jail sentence. The case of Turner is not unique. The police’s monitoring of ‘community tension’ on Facebook has led to arrests all over the country." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPost on Facebook and be damned

IRS sent refunds to 23,994 undocumented immigrants at same Atlanta address

"The Internal Revenue Service sent 23,994 tax refunds to a single Atlanta address for a total of $46,378,040 in 2011 — and each of the refunds averaging over $1,900 went to undocumented immigrants, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Here in South Florida, the IRS sent 1,972 refunds to 'unauthorized' recipients totaling $2,256,302, all going to a single address in Palm Beach Gardens. Other cities hard hit with thousands of refunds going to a single address include Oxnard, Calif., Raleigh, N.C., Phoenix, Ariz., San Jose, Calif. and Alvin, Calif. In each case, millions in improper IRS refunds were sent to one residence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS sent refunds to 23,994 undocumented immigrants at same Atlanta address

Military Officer Reads Liberty Arguments, Has Second Thoughts, Retires

"In the spring of 2012 I finally got my wish. I was going to lead young men in combat. My battalion was deploying to Afghanistan. I left my wife behind in tears because duty called. I was one of the good guys, I thought. My views on war changed drastically during the deployment. It took me getting shot at and shooting back, getting blown up and witnessing first-hand the physical and mental devastation of war. I saw that devastation on the Afghans and on the men in my battalion. I ended my military career two months ago. I sit here now on my couch in California battling the remnants of my experiences." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMilitary Officer Reads Liberty Arguments, Has Second Thoughts, Retires

Police Chief Mark Kessler: Academy trains officers to treat everyone like a criminal

"'When I go through the police academy, they treat everyone that you come in contact with is a criminal. Everyone with a firearm is out to kill you. That's what they teach us at the academy.' He continued, 'I have a real hard time swallowing that.' 'That's why you have all these young police officers that graduate from these academies and they come out and they want to kick butt and take names, and ruin lives, over nonsense. They terrorize people over a turn signal, or having a brake light out. They want to search your car right away, they want to demonize the American people, the average citizen, the law-abiding citizen.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Chief Mark Kessler: Academy trains officers to treat everyone like a criminal

Bitcoin Foundation Receives Cease And Desist Order From California

"Directly following last month’s Bitcoin 2013 conference event in San Jose, CA that brought good revenue into the state, California’s Department of Financial Institutions decided to issue a cease and desist warning to conference organizer Bitcoin Foundation for allegedly engaging in the business of money transmission without a license or proper authorization. If found to be in violation of California Financial Code, penalties can be severe ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 per violation per day plus criminal prosecution which could result in fines and/or imprisonment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Foundation Receives Cease And Desist Order From California

Police Barge Into Home To Make Arrest Over The Length Of Grass

"A Turtle Creek woman recorded police, when they came to her door, demanded she show identification then followed her inside. 'I didn’t want to tell them anything,' Robyn Ruckman said. Police from Turtle Creek, The Housing Authority and East Pittsburgh showed up at Ruckman’s door, looking for her landlord. They had a warrant for Roben Edwards for Failure to Maintain property. Ruckman recorded the officers as they told her to get her ID. She can be seen closing the door and asking the officers if they can wait outside. On the video, you hear one officer respond 'No, I can’t wait here because I think you’re trying to avoid us.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Barge Into Home To Make Arrest Over The Length Of Grass