CLibertyC

Bob Higgs: What the State Fears Most—Revelations of the Truth about the State

"The rulers can continue to plunder and bully the great mass of people only as long as the people believe the Biggest of All Big Lies, which is that the government seeks to be, and is, their essential protector and general benefactor. The Ellsbergs, Mannings, Assanges, and Snowdens, rare as they are, demonstrate that the government’s pose as protector and benefactor is nothing but a ruse to hide its essential nature and functioning. The only protection the rulers aim to provide us is the kind that a shepherd provides his sheep—protection from anything that interferes with his exclusive ability to determine how and when the sheep will be sheared and slaughtered." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBob Higgs: What the State Fears Most—Revelations of the Truth about the State

Edward Snowden And The Disruption Of Government

"What I want to focus on in this post is not Snowden himself, but what he represents, and what this may mean for governments and peoples over the next few decades. I believe we are in the midst of a centuries-long shift of power from state entities to the people those states have traditionally governed. What exactly the result of this evolution will be I don’t know, but I believe 'the State' as we know it has a limited lifespan and what replaces it, while perhaps imperfect, will be an improvement in terms of peace and prosperity. It can be explained in part by examining the research and teachings of noted icons of the business world Clayton Christensen, John Boyd, and Sun Tzu." Continue reading →

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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

Senator Feinstein: U.S. authorities are vigorously pursuing Edward Snowden

"Under the PRISM program, revealed by Snowden, the NSA can issue directives to Internet firms like Google or Facebook to win access to emails, online chats, pictures, files, videos and more, uploaded by foreign users. On Monday, rights watchdog the American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion with the FISA court demanding it publish its findings as to the scope and constitutionality of its powers to trawl Internet and phone records. 'The government appears to have secretly given itself shockingly broad surveillance powers,' ACLU staff attorney Alexander Abdo said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenator Feinstein: U.S. authorities are vigorously pursuing Edward Snowden

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

IRS Buying Spying Equipment: Covert Cameras in Coffee Trays, Plants

"The IRS, currently in the midst of scandals involving the targeting of conservative groups and lavish taxpayer-funded conferences, is ordering surveillance equipment that includes hidden cameras in coffee trays, plants and clock radios. The IRS wants to secure the surveillance equipment quickly – it posted a solicitation on June 6 and is looking to close the deal by Monday, June 10. The agency already has a company lined up for the order but is not commenting on the details." Continue reading →

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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

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 →

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European monitoring of civilians still far less than U.S., but growing

"Under a directive approved by the 27-member European Union in 2006, telecommunications operators and internet service providers are obliged to retain records of users’ calls and online activity for at least six months. The directive enables security services, if necessary, to check who has been communicating with whom, from where, at what time and for how long but stops short of enabling them to check the content of any communications. The European legislation was approved in the aftermath of bombings in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005. Individual governments are free to require longer periods of data retention." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEuropean monitoring of civilians still far less than U.S., but growing

EU wants privacy guarantees from U.S. amid PRISM crisis

“The EU said Tuesday it will seek a strong commitment from the United States to respect the rights of European citizens, following revelations that Washington is running a worldwide Internet surveillance programme. Viviane Reding, the EU’s Justice Commissioner, ‘will raise … Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEU wants privacy guarantees from U.S. amid PRISM crisis