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Mom settles for $143,000 after infant taken away over faulty drug test

"A Pennsylvania woman whose infant daughter was taken away from her by state authorities when she was just three days old, all due to a false positive on a drug test, won a $143,500 settlement Tuesday. The lawsuit alleged that a drug test she and her child were unknowingly subjected came back positive for opiates because she ate an 'Everything' bagel hours before giving birth. That carb-heavy treat turned into a genuine nightmare for Elizabeth Mort, who had her infant daughter Isabella literally taken out of her arms at her home days after returning from the hospital, all authorized by an emergency protective custody order." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMom settles for $143,000 after infant taken away over faulty drug test

Credit card donations to WikiLeaks once again flowing through Iceland

"International credit card donations to WikiLeaks are flowing again after an Icelandic court ruling forced MasterCard’s and Visa’s local agent to process payments, the companies involved in processing the funds said. One of WikiLeaks’ most important sources of funding – donations made from Visa and MasterCard users around the globe – was cut off in 2010 when the firms stopped processing donations to WikiLeaks’ direct payment line in Iceland. Their move came after criticism by the United States of the anti-secrecy organization’s release of thousands of sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables, which embarrassed Washington." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCredit card donations to WikiLeaks once again flowing through Iceland

Swisscom boss pledges data is safe

"Swisscom has never released data to the US authorities, he assured the paper. Information is only released in response to requests from the Swiss police request on the basis of a court order. However, Schloter estimated that just 10 to 15 per cent of data linked to all Swiss internet users is actually stored in Switzerland. The rest is stored in data centres abroad, 'mainly in the United States, via Google, Facebook or Twitter'. Meanwhile one in four Swiss internet users said they would change their online behaviour following revelations of far-reaching US surveillance of personal data." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwisscom boss pledges data is safe

First Amendment lawyer: ‘It is a terrible time to be a journalist’

"Jeff Portnoy was referring to the Obama administration’s secret subpoenas for journalists’ phone and Internet records, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice’s secret investigation into Associated Press and Fox News reporters 'in the name of national security.' Portnoy received a First Amendment award for his work in trying to prevent Hawaii’s five-year-old Journalism Shield law from expiring June 30. The version which passed eliminated from protection bloggers, online journalists and non-traditional journalists. Journalists who investigate fraud, waste and corruption are a 'dying breed,' Portnoy said, but they are needed now more than ever." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFirst Amendment lawyer: ‘It is a terrible time to be a journalist’

Glenn Greenwald: ‘Obama Admin Using Snowden as an Example in War on Whistleblowers’

"Glenn Greenwald, The Guardian newspaper columnist who first published Edward Snowden's revelations about the NSA surveillance programs, joined Fox and Friends this morning and said that there are many more secrets still to come to light. While he declined to specifically say what they were at this time, he did say, 'There are vast programs of both domestic and international spying that the world will be shocked to learn about that the NSA has engaged in with no democratic accountability.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: ‘Obama Admin Using Snowden as an Example in War on Whistleblowers’

Text of the June 27 Letter of 26 U.S. Senators to the Director of National Intelligence

"Twenty-six Senators on June 27 sent a letter to James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence. The letter begins with an admission that the information about this domestic snooping came from 'an unauthorized disclosure.' This means Edward Snowden. Only because Snowden had the courage to release the documents supporting this practice were 26 Senators willing to confront the domestic spying network. We will now get to see Mr. Clapper stonewall the 26 Senators. We will get to see if he gets fired for stonewalling them. We will get to see if the officially admitted budget of the NSA is reduced for Clapper to comply with the requests of the 26 Senators." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingText of the June 27 Letter of 26 U.S. Senators to the Director of National Intelligence

Bolivian President Morales’ Flight Diverted On Suspicions He Was Transporting Edward Snowden

"Bolivia's foreign minister David Choquehuanca has told reporters that France and Portugal abruptly cancelled air permits, causing the plane to make an unscheduled landing in Vienna, Austria. He said the cancellations were made over 'technical issues' but that further investigation revealed 'there appeared to be some unfounded suspicions that Mr. Snowden was on the plane'. 'We don't know who invented this lie,' Mr Choquehuanca added. Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Schallenberg told The Associated Press that Snowden is not with Morales and that the Bolivian president is spending the night at a Vienna hotel." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBolivian President Morales’ Flight Diverted On Suspicions He Was Transporting Edward Snowden

‘There’s element of panic in US policy towards Edward Snowden’

"US civil rights activist Norman Solomon tells RT that hardly any government will want to challenge the US in this way. Solomon believes US attempts at grabbing Snowden and bringing him to the US are a sign of panic. No one, including Snowden, is capable of stopping further leaks, as the documents have been handed to journalists or other people who can make them public. Norman Solomon is one of the organizers of the 'Hands Off Edward Snowden!' online campaign, which calls on US citizens to individually email President Obama asking him not to interfere in Snowden’s attempts to seek asylum. 46,000 signatories have already sent emails." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘There’s element of panic in US policy towards Edward Snowden’

Edward Snowden’s “Safe and Dreary” Global Prison

"Not even Caligula, Commodus, or Diocletian had the ability to kill their enemies by remote control from half-way around the world. Rome's enemies, Gibbon pointed out, were condemned 'to wear out a life of exile on the barren rock of Seriphus, or the frozen banks of the Danube' -- assuming that they managed to elude the Empire's enforcers. As Edward Snowden can testify, Washington's reach is universal, and those who control its apparatus of repression are utterly pitiless. Snowden's sole sanctuary -- his 'safe and dreary prison' -- is a small section of an airport in Moscow." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden’s “Safe and Dreary” Global Prison