CLibertyC

Charges Dropped Against Teen for Wearing NRA T-shirt

"14-year-old Jared Marcum, who was suspended and arrested in April over an NRA t-shirt that he wore to school, has had all charges against him dropped. The decision followed massive controversy, including a threat of a gag order. A local news station reported that the dismissal order signed by Judge Eric O’Briant stated, 'The state of West Virginia is not interested in the possibility of creating a juvenile criminal record for this defendant.' A statement which has brought Jared’s mother, Tanya Lardieri, to tears of joy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCharges Dropped Against Teen for Wearing NRA T-shirt

The ghosts of America’s Cold War surveillance network pictured crumbling in Berlin

"These images of an abandoned NSA listening post on the outskirts of West Berlin have a special poignancy today, as it was leaks alleged that the U.S. bugs Germany, its prima facie ally, on the same scale as Communist China. The towers, antennae and geodesic domes of Teufelsberg Hill have long since stopped eavesdropping on the airwaves, but the U.S. still taps half a billion German phone calls, emails and text messages in a typical month, it was claimed. German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended governments' monitoring of Internet communications, however, and said that the U.S. cyber-snooping had helped prevent attacks on German soil." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe ghosts of America’s Cold War surveillance network pictured crumbling in Berlin

The Surveillance State: How The War On Drugs And The War On Terror Go Hand In Hand

"It is telling that in ten years there were only 15 terrorism related 'sneak and peak' warrants issued while the rest were predominantly for drugs. It is this mission creep which has led to many of the abuses behind not just the Drug War, but the War on Terror. It is the permanent state of war that has contributed to the lack of transparency that should concern all Americans as laws and technology collide. How do we balance the need for security and maintain our civil liberties? It is this discussion that requires the full light of day. Whether Edward Snowden’s leak of NSA information is heroic or treasonous, what he revealed about America should startle us all." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Surveillance State: How The War On Drugs And The War On Terror Go Hand In Hand

NSA scandal separates liberty lovers from poseurs

"I’ve reported on government at the local and state level and have seen firsthand that agencies always grab as much power as they can. The most secretive agencies are the ones rife with abuse, and those agencies often cover up the misdeeds of their own agents. People often are drawn to power for less-than-noble reasons. That’s the nature of humanity and of government, although such lessons – at the core of the nation’s founding – are lost on the likes of McConnell and Obama. That coalition of left and right better expand rapidly or else this program will just be the stepping stool to another bigger and more effective governmental intrusion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA scandal separates liberty lovers from poseurs

Australian government forces citizens to answer intimate questions about sex partners or face jail time

"In an anti-democratic and coercive fashion, the Australian government forces citizens to answer intrusive, personally-disturbing questions or face harassment, fines, and prosecution. The Australia Bureau of Statistic's 'Monthly Population Surveys' have been used since 1960 in order to gather information about the country's workforce. Recently, the questions have begun to perturb citizens. Many are refusing to answer such heinous questions, which include detailing people's current and previous sexual relationships. One resident is speaking out about the forced sexual questions thrust upon him and the demand for information regarding his personal sex life." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAustralian government forces citizens to answer intimate questions about sex partners or face jail time

Secret flower planter threatened with arrest if he doesn’t stop planting flowers

"Along the north side of their Dupont Circle station, hundreds of mysterious morning glories and other flowers have been coming up in planter boxes along the Metro's north escalators. Metro found out who the secret flower planter was when they received a polite letter on June 3 written by the flower planter himself, Henry Docter. Henry sent a letter asking permission to continue caring for hundreds of flowers he had planted a week earlier at the Metro transit system. Immediately, the Metro responded to Docter on June 11 with a 'cease and desist' letter threatening 'arrest, fines and imprisonment' if Docter tried to weed, water, or tend to the flowers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSecret flower planter threatened with arrest if he doesn’t stop planting flowers

Automatic Record-a-Cop App for Smart Phones

"This is an app that might get me to buy a smart phone. It automatically records an audio file of everything within 'earshot' of the phone’s microphone. Think of this. It will let you record everything, all the time. Then it automatically erases it. If you want to save the recording, you can. It has a 5-minute memory, but that will no doubt get much longer as the technology improves. There will always be situations in which you would like to have had record of what’s said. Now you can. But beware. Soon, everyone will be recording everyone else. It’s like 'Candid Microphone,' before there was 'Candid Camera.'" Continue reading →

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Verizon Files Patent for Creepy Device To Watch You While You Watch TV

"The company has filed a patent for a system designed to be used in the home to target advertisements at people. Using a combination of image and audio sensors, it would detect actions in your living room while you were watching TV. These sensors, deploying facial and profile recognition, would pick up 'physical attributes' like skin color, facial features, and even hair length, and also detect 'voice attributes' to help determine the tone of your voice, your accent, and the language you speak. Inanimate objects aren’t off-limits—the technology could also spot beer cans and wall art." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVerizon Files Patent for Creepy Device To Watch You While You Watch TV

PRISM Takeaway: Are We Citizens or Serfs? Should Obama Resign?

"The leaked news about the FBI and NSA PRISM surveillance project may well be the most important news event of your life. I would say it is the most important news story. They so far are downplaying revelations that the National Security Agency (NSA) intercepts every email and text and other data and stores them on a giant supercomputer in Utah, placing the NSA coverage below such pressing concerns as immigration reform and Supreme Court decisions concerning gay marriage. Alternatively, I would call it the PRISM scandal, but I can’t do that either. It’s not a scandal unless people are up in arms, and there is no evidence of that." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPRISM Takeaway: Are We Citizens or Serfs? Should Obama Resign?

‘Hell to pay:’ Residents angry as RCMP seize guns from High River homes

"RCMP revealed Thursday that officers have seized a 'substantial amount' of firearms from homes in evacuated High River. 'We just want to make sure that all of those things are in a spot that we control, simply because of what they are,' said Sgt. Brian Topham. 'People have a significant amount of money invested in firearms ... so we put them in a place that we control and that they’re safe.' About 30 RCMP officers set up a blockade, preventing 50 residents from walking into the town. Dozens more police cars, lights on, could be seen lining streets in the town on standby. Officers laid down a spike belt to stop anyone from attempting to drive past the blockade." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Hell to pay:’ Residents angry as RCMP seize guns from High River homes