Bankocracy

John Grisham: After Guantánamo, Another Injustice

"Nabil has not been the only 'mistake' in our war on terror. Hundreds of other Arabs have been sent to Gitmo, chewed up by the system there, never charged and eventually transferred back to their home countries. There have been no apologies, no official statements of regret, no compensation, nothing of the sort. The United States was dead wrong, but no one can admit it. In Nabil’s case, the United States military and intelligence agents relied on corrupt informants who were raking in American cash, or even worse, jailhouse snitches who swapped false stories for candy bars, porn and sometimes just a break from their own beatings." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJohn Grisham: After Guantánamo, Another Injustice

Egypt closes Gaza border crossing indefinitely

"Egyptian authorities have closed the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip 'indefinitely' for security reasons after a day of deadly violence nationwide, a security official told AFP on Thursday. Hundreds of Palestinian travellers were left stranded on both sides of the crossing, the only gateway into the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory that bypasses Israel, witnesses said. The measure follows widespread unrest in Egypt on Wednesday after a bloody crackdown by security forces on loyalists of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt closes Gaza border crossing indefinitely

Sky News cameraman Mick Deane killed in Cairo violence

"Mick Deane, 61, had worked for Sky for 15 years, based in Washington and then Jerusalem, the channel said. He previously worked for CNN, based in London and Rome. A Sky News team member told CNN that Deane was shot inside the Rabaa al-Adawiya camp, where security forces have been trying Wednesday to clear supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsy. 'Michael was about to lift the camera on his shoulder (when) a sniper from the other side opened fired and killed him instantly,' he said. 'The moment he lifted the camera he was shot dead by a sniper.' A Reuters photojournalist, Asmaa Waguih, was shot and wounded." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSky News cameraman Mick Deane killed in Cairo violence

Tiny Colorado city busy repealing laws during a ‘Year of Freedom’

"After a busy state legislative session, Glendale, Colo. — a one square-mile enclave of libertarianism surrounded by the city and county of Denver — has decided to focus on repealing laws rather than passing new ones. During what Mayor Mike Dunafon has called the 'Year of Freedom,' Glendale is revoking one vague, arcane or redundant law a month for 12 months. The first law stricken from the books on June 4 criminalized the sale, transfer or possession of an 'assault weapon,' which was vaguely defined in city code. The latest to land on the chopping block is one making it illtegal for minors to be in the same building as for-profit pool tables." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTiny Colorado city busy repealing laws during a ‘Year of Freedom’

Meet The Man Behind Booming Black Market Drug Website Silk Road

"Anyone can download and run Tor, exchange some dollars or euros for the digital currency Bitcoin and go shopping on Silk Road for drugs that are vacuum-sealed and discreetly mailed via the U.S. Postal Service. By one measure, Roberts’ eBay-like service was grossing $1.2 million a month in the first half of 2012. Since then the site has doubled its product listings, and revenue now hits an annual run-rate of $30 million to $45 million by FORBES’ estimate. One analysis found that Silk Road received around 60,000 visits a day, mostly users seeking to buy or sell drugs, along with other illicit items including unregulated cigarettes and forged documents." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMeet The Man Behind Booming Black Market Drug Website Silk Road

Math Advances Raise the Prospect of an Internet Security Crisis

"The encryption systems used to secure online bank accounts and keep critical communications private could be undone in just a few years, security researchers warned at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas yesterday. The NSA has for years recommended ECC as the most reliable cryptographic protection available. Implementations of ECC were pioneered and patented by a company called Certicom that is now a subsidiary of the phone manufacturer BlackBerry. Although the U.S. government has purchased licenses, other companies that want to use ECC will need to make expensive deals with Certicom to avoid lawsuits." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMath Advances Raise the Prospect of an Internet Security Crisis

Is Government Just Spying Like a Giant Peeping Tom … Or Is It Actively USING that Information?

"Top NSA whistleblower William Binney – the former head of the National Security Agency’s global digital data gathering program, and a 32-year veteran of that agency who was a 'legend' among NSA workers – says that the NSA database is used to harass and even frame anyone the government doesn’t like. Another high-level NSA whistleblower (Russell Tice, who worked on satellite spying for the agency for two decades) says that the NSA is spying on – and blackmailing – top government officials and military officers (and see this; and this PBS interview)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs Government Just Spying Like a Giant Peeping Tom … Or Is It Actively USING that Information?

Owner of Snowden’s Email Service on Why He Closed Lavabit Rather Than Comply

"Lavabit, an encrypted email service believed to have been used by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, has abruptly shut down. The move came amidst a legal fight that appeared to involve U.S. government attempts to win access to customer information. In a Democracy Now! broadcast exclusive, we are joined by Lavabit owner Ladar Levison and his lawyer, Jesse Binnall. 'Unfortunately, I can’t talk about it. I would like to, believe me,' Levison says. 'I think if the American public knew what our government was doing, they wouldn’t be allowed to do it anymore.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOwner of Snowden’s Email Service on Why He Closed Lavabit Rather Than Comply

Google: Gmail users ‘have no legitimate expectation of privacy’

"As tensions worsen among privacy-focused email users amid the escalating scandal surrounding government surveillance, a brief filed by attorneys for Google has surfaced showing that Gmail users should never expect their communications to be kept secret. The motion, penned in hopes of having the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismiss a class action complaint against the company, says Gmail users should assume that any electronic correspondence that's passed through Google’s servers can be accessed and used for an array of options, such as selling ads to customers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle: Gmail users ‘have no legitimate expectation of privacy’

Multiple New Polls Show Americans Reject Wholesale NSA Domestic Spying

"The poll revealed that Americans largely believe that the government has gone too far by a margin of 45% to 40%. This is a clear reversal from a January 2010 survey in which the same question found that 63% of voters believed the government didn’t 'go far enough to adequately protect the country.' In an Economist/YouGov poll, 56% of Americans do not think the NSA is telling the truth about the unconstitutional spying. The same poll found that 59% of people disapprove of the spying, while only 35% approve of it. A recent Fox News poll finds 62% of Americans think the collection of phone records is 'an unacceptable and alarming invasion of privacy rights.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMultiple New Polls Show Americans Reject Wholesale NSA Domestic Spying