for life and liberty

NYPD collaborated with CIA on surveillance after 9/11

"Campaigners for greater accountability at New York’s powerful police force have seized on a report that details for the first time the extent of the collaboration between the CIA and the NYPD in the years after 9/11. The formerly-classified inspector general’s report also raises new questions over whether the spy agency’s partnership with the nation’s largest police department amounted to unofficial cover for CIA officers to operate in the US in ways that could otherwise be deemed unlawful. The 12-page document contains the December 2011 findings of an investigation into the CIA’s training and support of the NYPD that included embedding four officers in the department." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYPD collaborated with CIA on surveillance after 9/11

Former East German secret police captain says NSA spying ‘a dream come true’

"A former agent of the Stasi, the much-feared East German communist secret police, has said that the recently revealed NSA spying program would have been his agency’s 'dream come true' because it has collected 'so much information, on so many people.' Wolfgang Schmidt, 78, said in an interview that it is 'the height of naivete' to think that the information will never be used against U.S. citizens. As a lieutenant colonel in the Stasi, he said that technology limited the secret police’s ability to satisfy its voracious appetite for information. Their listening devices, he said, could only spy on 40 telephone lines at once. Targets had to be prioritized." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer East German secret police captain says NSA spying ‘a dream come true’

Twitter CEO defends ‘principled’ data gathering policy

"Twitter is holding to a 'principled' policy on national security data requests and will 'push back' in some cases to protect the privacy of its users, its chief executive said Wednesday. Dick Costolo, appearing at a forum at the Brookings Institution in Washington, declined to comment on whether Twitter had specific requests under the vast data-gathering program called PRISM made public this month. But he noted that Twitter has gone to court in certain cases to fight 'gag' orders and to allow users to be in informed of how their own data is used." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwitter CEO defends ‘principled’ data gathering policy

One Dead After Charlotte Police Stage Drug Sting on Elementary School Grounds

"An undercover drug sting in the parking lot of a Charlotte, North Carolina, elementary school ended up with one person killed and one person wounded, and a community wondering why police chose that particular location for their operation. Police set up a marijuana buy between an undercover police officer, an informant, and two teenagers last Tuesday afternoon. Police said that during the drug deal, Walker pulled a gun and shot the informant in the shoulder in an attempt to rob him. The undercover police officer then shot Walker in the head, killing him. The teen who accompanied Walker fled, but was arrested later." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOne Dead After Charlotte Police Stage Drug Sting on Elementary School Grounds

Texas teen charged with making terroristic threat after online joke

"'LOL' stands for 'laughing out loud,' and 'jk' means 'just kidding,' but police didn’t think it was funny. Neither did a woman from Canada who saw the posting. Justin’s dad says the woman did a Google search and found his son’s old address was near an elementary school and she called police. Justin Carter was arrested the next month and has been jailed since March 27. He’s charged with making a terroristic threat and is facing eight years in prison, according to his dad. 'These people are serious. They really want my son to go away to jail for a sarcastic comment that he made,' added Carter." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTexas teen charged with making terroristic threat after online joke

More Details Emerge on the Death of Michael Hastings

"Our friend and colleague Michael Hastings died early Tuesday morning in a one-car crash in Los Angeles. Wikileaks' Twitter account is now reporting that hours before his death, Hastings contacted Wikileaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson saying he was being investigated by the FBI. Some establishment media outlets have taken care to try and assault Hasting's character and achievements as a journalist. Cenk Uygur breaks it down." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore Details Emerge on the Death of Michael Hastings

Envoy says U.S. loses trust in Hong Kong after Snowden

"The top U.S. diplomat in Hong Kong warned on Thursday of a 'big struggle' ahead to repair Washington’s trust in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Speaking publicly for the first time since Snowden flew from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday despite a U.S. request to hold him to face charges of espionage, Consul General Stephen Young told Reuters that Washington’s confidence was 'shaken'. Young did not specify how any deterioration in ties would play out but added: 'I’ll say specifically in law enforcement co-operation – where we have a whole series of agreements, and protocols and practices – our confidence has been shaken.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEnvoy says U.S. loses trust in Hong Kong after Snowden

Ecuador’s Correa rips into Snowden coverage; U.S. threatens trade sanctions

"US officials are mounting pressure on Ecuador over its stance in the leaker debacle. Senator Robert Menendez, who heads the Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate, said such a move would hurt Ecuador’s international trade, which is highly dependent on export to the US. Menendez said he would lead the effort to prevent the renewal of Ecuador's duty-free access to US markets under the Generalized System of Preferences program. He also said he would block renewal of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA). Both programs expire at the end of next month." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEcuador’s Correa rips into Snowden coverage; U.S. threatens trade sanctions