bill of rights

Feinstein and Rogers Refuse to Discuss Constitutionality of Mass Surveillance

"One of the arguments in favor of mass surveillance as presented in this video is that it is 'legal.' But the kinds of legalities being enshrined into law in this modern era are nothing like the natural law that was supposed to be the foundation of Western jurisprudence. The idea that a community would easily or logically adopt an ordinance that mandated that all inhabitants share every single communication with an overriding authority responsible for their 'safety' is a doubtful argument to make, in our view. Thus, it is not 'natural' – and bound to cause more problems than it solves in the end." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFeinstein and Rogers Refuse to Discuss Constitutionality of Mass Surveillance

Out of a Spy Movie: How Glenn Greenwald First Met Edward Snowden In Person

"The source had instructed his media contacts to come to Hong Kong, visit a particular out-of-the-way corner of a certain hotel, and ask — loudly — for directions to another part of the hotel. If all seemed well, the source would walk past holding a Rubik’s Cube. So three people — Glenn Greenwald, a civil-liberties writer who recently moved his blog to The Guardian; Laura Poitras, a documentary filmmaker who specializes in surveillance; and Ewen MacAskill, a Guardian reporter — flew from New York to Hong Kong about 12 days ago. They followed the directions. A man with a Rubik’s Cube appeared." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOut of a Spy Movie: How Glenn Greenwald First Met Edward Snowden In Person

Riveting and Chilling: Victims of IRS Targeting Tell Their Stories on Capitol Hill

"Testifying on Capitol Hill Tuesday, witnesses from Tea Party, pro-life and patriotic educational groups from around the country testified about their experience of intimidation and targeting from the Internal Revenue Service. Witnesses described being sent hundreds of pages from the IRS asking invasive questions about members, books, contents of prayers and the names of anyone attending meetings, including children." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRiveting and Chilling: Victims of IRS Targeting Tell Their Stories on Capitol Hill

Russia offers to consider possible Edward Snowden asylum request

"Russia has offered to consider an asylum request from the US whistleblower Edward Snowden in the Kremlin’s latest move to woo critics of the west. Snowden fled the United States before leaking the details of a top-secret US surveillance programme to the Guardian earlier this month. He is currently believed to be in Hong Kong, but has reportedly changed hotels to keep his location secret. Snowden is not known to have made any asylum requests, including to Russia. Yet speaking to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said: 'If such an appeal is given, it will be considered.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussia offers to consider possible Edward Snowden asylum request

Ron Paul: Defending the NSA means embracing ‘dictatorship’

"Appearing on CNN with host Piers Morgan on Monday, former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) said that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has embarked on 'a heroic effort' in telling the world about the U.S. government’s spying capabilities, and warned that defending this type of unilateral, unchecked power means embracing 'dictatorship' moving forward. 'For somebody to tell the American people the truth is a heroic effort, and he knows that it’s very risky,' he continued. 'He knows he’s committing civil disobedience, and he knows that he could get punished.' Paul went on to say he believes there should be talk of penalties for officials who 'destroy the Constitution.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: Defending the NSA means embracing ‘dictatorship’

Most Americans back NSA, prioritize surveillance over privacy

"A large majority of Americans say the federal government should focus on investigating possible terrorist threats even if personal privacy is compromised, and most support the blanket tracking of telephone records in an effort to uncover terrorist activity, according to a new Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll. Fully 45 percent of all Americans say the government should be able to go further than it is, saying that it should be able to monitor everyone’s online activity if doing so would prevent terrorist attacks. A slender majority, 52 percent, say no such broad-based monitoring should occur." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMost Americans back NSA, prioritize surveillance over privacy

Bill O’Reilly suddenly opposed to NSA surveillance he supported under Bush

"The conservative host described the NSA’s surveillance programs as a 'massive intrusion.' O’Reilly warned that 'corrupt government officials' could leak sensitive data to hurt their political opponents. He said that keeping actual content of private conversations on file was 'flat out unconstitutional.' O’Reilly’s tune was far different under the Bush administration. At the time, he voiced strong support for the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program, which collected the telephone records of millions of Americans. In 2006, after a judge ruled the program was unconstitutional, O’Reilly speculated that she didn’t care if Americans were killed by terrorists." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill O’Reilly suddenly opposed to NSA surveillance he supported under Bush

Julian Assange praises Edward Snowden for exposing ‘mass surveillance state’

"Edward Snowden is a 'hero' who has exposed 'one of the most serious events of the decade – the creeping formulation of a mass surveillance state', Julian Assange said on Monday. The WikiLeaks founder said the question of surveillance abuses by states and tech companies was 'something that I and many other journalists and civil libertarians have been campaigning about for a long time. It is very pleasing to see such clear and concrete proof presented to the public.' Assange told Sky News that Snowden was 'in a very, very serious position, because we can see the kind of rhetoric that occurred against me and Bradley Manning back in 2010, 2011, applied to Snowden'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJulian Assange praises Edward Snowden for exposing ‘mass surveillance state’

Intelligence chief defends Internet spying program

"Eager to quell a domestic furor over U.S. spying, the nation's top intelligence official stressed Saturday that a previously undisclosed program for tapping into Internet usage is authorized by Congress, falls under strict supervision of a secret court and cannot intentionally target a U.S. citizen. He decried the revelation of that and another intelligence-gathering program as reckless. For the second time in three days, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper took the rare step of declassifying some details of an intelligence program to respond to media reports about counterterrorism techniques employed by the government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIntelligence chief defends Internet spying program