Veteran civil rights leader: Snowden acted in tradition of civil disobedience

"John Lewis, a 73-year-old congressman and one of the last surviving lieutenants of Martin Luther King, said Snowden could claim he was appealing to 'a higher law' when he disclosed top secret documents showing the extent of NSA surveillance of both Americans and foreigners. When it was pointed out to Lewis that many in Washington believed that Snowden was simply a criminal, he replied: 'Some people say criminality or treason or whatever. He could say he was acting because he was appealing to a higher law. Many of us have some real, real, problems with how the government has been spying on people.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingVeteran civil rights leader: Snowden acted in tradition of civil disobedience

Four Centuries of Surveillance: From Privy Councils to FISA Courts

"Letters to or from England were carried by private ship captains, who often hung a bag in the local coffeehouse to receive letters for shipment. The price was generally a penny for a single letter and two pence for a double letter or parcel. In 1591 the Crown had issued a proclamation granting itself the monopoly of all foreign mail, and in 1609 the Crown’s proclamation extended its own monopoly to all mail foreign or domestic. The purpose of this postal monopoly was quite simple: to enable governmental officials to read the letters of private citizens in order to discover and suppress 'treason' and 'sedition.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingFour Centuries of Surveillance: From Privy Councils to FISA Courts

Huge jump in number of “published expatriates” in Federal Register

"The Department of the Treasury has finally placed the latest Quarterly Publication of Individuals Who have Chosen to Expatriate on public inspection for printing in tomorrow’s Federal Register, ten days late. Congratulations to Innocente for being the first to post the news at 9 AM right on the dot. There’s about 1,130 names of people who have permanently cut off their legal ties to the U.S. government, making this a record-breaking quarter; more names have appeared in the first half of this year than in all of the previous record high year of 2011." Continue reading

Continue ReadingHuge jump in number of “published expatriates” in Federal Register

Get My FBI File (Because If You Don’t Ask, You’ll Never Know)

"Do you have an FBI file? You might! Many people do. So let's talk about your past. Did you ... ever participate in a civil rights march? How about a Vietnam war protest? ...ever sign an edgy political petition? ...ever know a guy named 'Joey the Horse?' (Ever help him take out any heavy garbage bags?) ...ever hang out with a third-world dictator, retired or present? This web site helps you generate the letters you need to send to the FBI to get a copy of your own FBI file. We can help you get your files from other 'three-letter agencies' (CIA, NSA, DIA, ...) too. It's quick, it's easy, and best of all, it's free! Just click on the green arrow to get started!" Continue reading

Continue ReadingGet My FBI File (Because If You Don’t Ask, You’ll Never Know)

America’s Emerging Police State: A Brief History

"As Congress and the American people grapple with the fallout from Edward Snowden’s stunning revelations, we are hearing a kind of defense coming from the authoritarians in our midst: none of this is new, they argue, so what’s all the fuss about? In a sense, they are right: the 'legal' and political outlines of an American police state have been emerging from the fulcrum of war and the turbulence of our domestic politics since World War II. The only difference now is the technology, which has developed far beyond the imagination of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI’s first director, who widely deployed the earliest wiretapping capabilities of government snoops." Continue reading

Continue ReadingAmerica’s Emerging Police State: A Brief History

Andrew Napolitano: Domestic Spying Is Dangerous to Freedom

"How is it that the government can charge Edward Snowden with espionage for telling a journalist that the feds have been spying on all Americans and many of our allies, but the NSA itself can reveal secrets and do so with impunity? All of this happened in the dark, with the permission of President Obama, with the knowledge and consent of fewer than 20 members of Congress who were forbidden from doing anything about it by the laws they themselves had written, and based on secret legal arguments accepted by a secret court that keeps its records secret even from the judges who sit on the court." Continue reading

Continue ReadingAndrew Napolitano: Domestic Spying Is Dangerous to Freedom

Human-to-Rat, Brain-to-Brain Control Achieved By Neuro Scientists

"Obviously, this latter possibility would need to be effected through an explicit arrangement and agreement between two consenting humans (and not a human animal pairing, which would seem to be highly unethical, to say the least). But of course, beyond the interpersonal sphere, there is the societal sphere and the need of some societies to control their citizens. BBI is essentially mind-control, and, while there are many good and even miraculous possibilities from this technology in the not-too-distant future, if it were to come under the exclusive control of an authoritarian or autocratic government, our brave new world could easily become Orwellian." Continue reading

Continue ReadingHuman-to-Rat, Brain-to-Brain Control Achieved By Neuro Scientists

1974 PSA Warned of High Tech Surveillance State for Behavior Control

"The clip below is of a public service message warning the public on the growing use of technology and surveillance by government and corporations (though who can really tell the difference these days) to control our lives. Sure, you say. We know all about that. Snowden has conclusively shown us with leaked documentation what our government is doing to us. Ah. But the film was not made last week or even last decade; it was filmed in 1974. Watch and listen. No, really listen. This message isn’t just to warn us about the coming technological surveillance state itself, but how its construct is to be used as a form of behavioral control on a mass scale." Continue reading

Continue Reading1974 PSA Warned of High Tech Surveillance State for Behavior Control

Get Ready for Endless Bogus Terror Alerts

"It didn’t take long for the pushback following outrage over revelations that we live in an all-encompassing high-tech Stasi police state. Edward Snowden made his revelations known exactly two months ago today . The government has responded by concocting yet another vague and unsubstantiated terror threat it describes as the most serious since the September 11 attacks. The latest terror alert is a precursor of things to come." Continue reading

Continue ReadingGet Ready for Endless Bogus Terror Alerts

Secret Service: Contact Us to ‘Report a Tweet’

"On a day when terror threats continued to dominate the U.S. headlines, the Secret Service — a division of the Homeland Security Department since 2003 — tweeted the following message: 'Contact your nearest field office with time-sensitive or critical info or to report a tweet,' said one message. In a separate tweet on Tuesday morning, the Secret Service asked, 'Have you seen any of our Most Wanted?' This tweet links to a list of suspects, most wanted for theft or fraud. None are listed as suspected terrorists. As of Tuesday morning, the Secret Service had more than 67,000 followers on Twitter." Continue reading

Continue ReadingSecret Service: Contact Us to ‘Report a Tweet’