CLibertyC

Rand Paul: Sue The Surveillance State

"U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is now looking to sue the federal government over its policy of massive data collection on American citizens, including the logging of phone calls and Internet activities. 'I’m going to be seeing if I can challenge this at the Supreme Court level. I’m going to be asking the Internet providers and all of the phone companies: Ask your customers to join me in a class-action lawsuit,' Paul said on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'If we get 10 million Americans saying, ‘We don’t want our phone records looked at’ then maybe someone will wake up and things will change in Washington.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRand Paul: Sue The Surveillance State

Obama says NSA snooping prevents terrorist attacks

"For the past seven years, the NSA has had a secret court order to obtain all phone records of Verizon customers. This all became a reality after Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald exposed the practice, but now President Obama is claiming this is a necessary evil to win the ongoing war on terror. Sahar Aziz, associate professor of law at Texas Wesleyan University, brings us more." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama says NSA snooping prevents terrorist attacks

Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind The NSA Surveillance Revelations

"The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity. 'I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong,' he said. Snowden will go down in history as one of America’s most consequential whistleblowers, alongside Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind The NSA Surveillance Revelations

Former Drone Operator Says He’s Haunted By His Part In More Than 1,600 Deaths

"A former Air Force drone operator who says he participated in missions that killed more than 1,600 people remembers watching one of the first victims bleed to death. Brandon Bryant says he was sitting in a chair at a Nevada Air Force base operating the camera when his team fired two missiles from their drone at three men walking down a road halfway around the world in Afghanistan. The missiles hit all three targets, and Bryant says he could see the aftermath on his computer screen – including thermal images of a growing puddle of hot blood." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer Drone Operator Says He’s Haunted By His Part In More Than 1,600 Deaths

California Elementary School Hosts Toy Gun Buyback, Fingerprinting Fair

"An elementary school in Hayward California held a toy gun exchange Saturday (6/8/13), offering students a book and a chance to win a bicycle if they turned in their play weapons. At Saturday’s event, called Strobridge Elementary Safety Day, a Hayward police officer demonstrated bicycle and gun safety, and the Alameda County Fire Department sent a rig and crew to talk about fire safety. Fingerprinting and photographing of children was offered, with the information put on CDs for parents. All youngsters who attended were given a ticket to exchange for a book." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia Elementary School Hosts Toy Gun Buyback, Fingerprinting Fair

Cops Use YOUR Children As Props For Homeland Security “School Shooter Drills”

"Hundreds of emergency responders, students and school officials in Eatonville participated in an active shooter drill coordinated by Pierce County Emergency Management and hosted by the Eatonville School District that took over two schools and several blocks in the Mount Rainier foothills community. Sixth-grader Brooklyn Welch, 12, was the first victim in one of two simulated shooting scenarios. She waited on the floor of the school’s front office for about 40 minutes with a fake gunshot wound to the shoulder, before being carried out by a SWAT team officer in full gear." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCops Use YOUR Children As Props For Homeland Security “School Shooter Drills”

French government minister urges public e-cigarette ban

"French Health Minister Marisol Touraine has called for electronic cigarettes to be banned from public places and their sale to be restricted to over-16s only. In an interview with French radio station France Info on Friday morning, Touraine urged that electronic cigarettes be treated in the same way as normal cigarettes. 'We want the same laws that apply to normal cigarettes to apply to electronic cigarettes,' she said, adding that advertisements for e-cigarettes should also be banned. The pen-sized instruments have grown increasingly popular among the smoking community, especially young bar-goers. 'I want us to rally against smoking,' she said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench government minister urges public e-cigarette ban

Colorado Governor Signs Marijuana Legalization Bills

"In a public ceremony at the state capitol in Denver Tuesday, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) signed into law four bills that will establish a legal, regulated marijuana market for adults and begin the development of a regulatory framework for industrial hemp production. The package of bills had passed the legislature earlier this month in accord with the requirements of Amendment 64, which won with 55% of the popular vote last November. That groundbreaking vote led Hickenlooper to sign an order legalizing marijuana possession and to appoint an Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force late last year, which provided guidance to the legislature." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado Governor Signs Marijuana Legalization Bills

Bank of America blocks $25,000 transfer to Julian Assange’s political party

"Bank of America, one of a number of major financial institutions including Visa, American Express, Mastercard and Western Union that since December 2010 have refused to transfer funds to WikiLeaks, blocked the transfer to the new WikiLeaks Party of a $25,000 prize awarded to Assange by the Japanese musician, artist and philanthropist Yoko Ono. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade acknowledged to the Senate estimates hearing that WikiLeaks, and by implication Assange, continued to be under investigation by the US Justice Department." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBank of America blocks $25,000 transfer to Julian Assange’s political party