Bullshit Artists

Eric Holder ‘confident’ of bringing NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden ‘to justice’

"The United States is confident it will bring Edward Snowden to justice for 'extremely damaging' leaks about secret internet surveillance programmes, US Attorney General Eric Holder said on Friday. 'The national security of the United States has been damaged by those leaks. The safety of the American people and safety of people in allied nations is at risk,' he said. Holder also said that he had agreed to share details with the European Union about the so-called PRISM programme, which was exposed after Snowden spoke to British and American newspapers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEric Holder ‘confident’ of bringing NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden ‘to justice’

Key anecdote to defend NSA data gathering is full of holes

"James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said a data collection program by the National Security Agency helped stop an attack on a Danish newspaper for which Headley did surveillance. And Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the Senate intelligence chairwoman, also called Headley’s capture a success. But a closer examination of the case, drawn from extensive reporting by ProPublica, shows that the government surveillance only caught up with Headley after the U.S. had been tipped by British intelligence. And even that victory came after seven years in which U.S. intelligence failed to stop Headley as he roamed the globe." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKey anecdote to defend NSA data gathering is full of holes

Google, Yahoo, and Facebook Are Scrambling: “We Never Cooperated with the NSA!”

"How can they escape? Snowden’s story confirms James Banford’s story. Bamford revealed all this in 2008. No one cared. Now, without warning, this is a hot story all over the Web. How does a company plausibly deny this? They are all going with a version of this one: 'We never inhaled.' In March, 2012, Wired ran Bamford’s story on the NSA’s huge complex in Utah: 'The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say).' It got some coverage, but there was no follow-through. Congress does not care. Congress funded it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle, Yahoo, and Facebook Are Scrambling: “We Never Cooperated with the NSA!”

Candidate Obama Debates President Obama On Government Surveillance

"On August 1, 2007, candidate Barack Obama sharply criticized then-President George W. Bush's government surveillance programs. Recently, following the disclosures of Edward Snowden, President Barack Obama defended the NSA's top-secret PRISM program. If you don't agree with President Obama, exercise your 1st amendment rights so together we can save our 4th amendment rights before it's too late." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCandidate Obama Debates President Obama On Government Surveillance

US lawmakers call for review of Patriot Act after NSA surveillance revelations

"In unbroadcast elements of a transcript issued by NBC, the director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, said he had responded in the 'least untruthful manner' possible when denying that the NSA collected data on millions of Americans during congressional hearings. Clapper also confirmed that senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the intelligence committee, had asked for a review to 'refine these NSA processes and limit the exposure to Americans' private communications' and report back 'in about a month'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS lawmakers call for review of Patriot Act after NSA surveillance revelations

Lies the IMF Tells

"The International Monetary Fund has published a scathing internal self-assessment of its bailout of Greece three years ago. It isn't pretty. The IMF underestimated the damage that fiscal austerity would do to the Greek economy in its earliest rescue of the nation in 2010. It was too slow to promote a write-down of the nation's debts to more sustainable levels. And it was compromised by a sometimes unwieldy partnership with major European institutions in what became known as the 'troika.' The IMF could have handled its 2010 bailout of Greece quite a bit better, a staff review found." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLies the IMF Tells

So far, D.C. feeling little pain from sequester’s bite

"In the months since the automatic federal spending cuts known as the sequester took effect, the Washington area has added 40,000 jobs. Income-tax receipts have surged in Virginia, beating expectations. Few government contractors have laid off workers. It’s too early to be certain, but initial indications are that the damage from the sequester has been modest and slow to develop. The pace of job growth from January to April was only slightly slower this year than last year. Large government contractors are reporting relatively modest revenue hits and few layoffs due to reduced contracts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSo far, D.C. feeling little pain from sequester’s bite

Austrian bank employee drops 90,000 euros into river

"An Austrian bank employee has found himself in hot water after he unloaded bags containing 90,000 euros ($117,000) from his car boot to fix a puncture — only to see the money to fall into a river below. The police, fire department and mountain rescue teams conducted a thorough search of the waterway but were only able to recover 3,000 euros, the Austria Press Agency said. The police said no criminal investigation has been launched. The employee, who was using his own car for the money run, has been sacked for not following procedure, according to the bank. The police has warned potential fortune hunters not to go searching for the money." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAustrian bank employee drops 90,000 euros into river

IRS’s Shulman had more public White House visits than any Cabinet member

"Publicly released records show that embattled former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman visited the White House at least 157 times during the Obama administration, more recorded visits than even the most trusted members of the president’s Cabinet. By contrast, Shulman’s predecessor Mark Everson only visited the White House once during four years of service in the George W. Bush administration and compared the IRS’s remoteness from the president to 'Siberia.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS’s Shulman had more public White House visits than any Cabinet member