Land Of The Flea

Obama’s crackdown views leaks as aiding enemies of U.S.

"President Barack Obama’s unprecedented initiative, known as the Insider Threat Program, is sweeping in its reach. It has received scant public attention even though it extends beyond the U.S. national security bureaucracies to most federal departments and agencies nationwide, including the Peace Corps, the Social Security Administration and the Education and Agriculture departments. It emphasizes leaks of classified material, but catchall definitions of 'insider threat' give agencies latitude to pursue and penalize a range of other conduct." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama’s crackdown views leaks as aiding enemies of U.S.

State Department revokes NSA leaker Snowden’s passport

"The former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed a highly classified surveillance program has had his U.S. passport revoked. A U.S. official on Sunday said Edward Snowden's passport was annulled before he left Hong Kong for Russia. Snowden's travel plans could be complicated — but not thwarted — by a lack of passport. The U.S. official said that if a senior official in a country or airline ordered it, a country could overlook the withdrawn passport. The former contractor is said to be in Moscow and his allies at anti-secrecy WikiLeaks say Snowden is bound for Ecuador. The foreign minister there says he has requested asylum." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Department revokes NSA leaker Snowden’s passport

Glenn Greenwald: Snowden’s revelations ‘not espionage in any real sense of the word’

'I think it’s very surprising to accuse someone of espionage who hasn’t worked for a foreign government, who didn’t covertly pass information to an adversary [or] enemy of the United States, who didn’t sell any top secret information,' Greenwald told Hayes, arguing that Snowden 'asked newspapers to very carefully vet the information to make sure that the only thing being published are things that informed his fellow citizens but doesn’t harm national security.' 'This is a 1917 statute enacted under Woodrow Wilson to criminalize opposition to World War I. It has been used very, very sparingly throughout American history until the Obama administration.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Snowden’s revelations ‘not espionage in any real sense of the word’

Alabama man sentenced to prison for tweeting ‘let’s kill the president’

"U.S. District Judge C. Lynwood Smith Jr. sentenced 26-year-old Jarvis Britton of Birmingham to one year in prison for threatening the life of Obama. He must serve three years on probation after finishing the prison term. Britton pleaded guilty in March to threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict bodily harm on the president by tweeting the message, 'Let’s kill the president. F.E.A.R.,' in September. He received a warning from the Secret Service in June, but continued to make the threats. 'Serious question? If you knew about a terrorist group planning to kill the president, would you tell? I kinda wanna see if they can! F.E.A.R,' he tweeted on September 19, 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAlabama man sentenced to prison for tweeting ‘let’s kill the president’

IRS sent refunds to 23,994 undocumented immigrants at same Atlanta address

"The Internal Revenue Service sent 23,994 tax refunds to a single Atlanta address for a total of $46,378,040 in 2011 — and each of the refunds averaging over $1,900 went to undocumented immigrants, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Here in South Florida, the IRS sent 1,972 refunds to 'unauthorized' recipients totaling $2,256,302, all going to a single address in Palm Beach Gardens. Other cities hard hit with thousands of refunds going to a single address include Oxnard, Calif., Raleigh, N.C., Phoenix, Ariz., San Jose, Calif. and Alvin, Calif. In each case, millions in improper IRS refunds were sent to one residence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS sent refunds to 23,994 undocumented immigrants at same Atlanta address

Police Chief Mark Kessler: Academy trains officers to treat everyone like a criminal

"'When I go through the police academy, they treat everyone that you come in contact with is a criminal. Everyone with a firearm is out to kill you. That's what they teach us at the academy.' He continued, 'I have a real hard time swallowing that.' 'That's why you have all these young police officers that graduate from these academies and they come out and they want to kick butt and take names, and ruin lives, over nonsense. They terrorize people over a turn signal, or having a brake light out. They want to search your car right away, they want to demonize the American people, the average citizen, the law-abiding citizen.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Chief Mark Kessler: Academy trains officers to treat everyone like a criminal

Bitcoin Foundation Receives Cease And Desist Order From California

"Directly following last month’s Bitcoin 2013 conference event in San Jose, CA that brought good revenue into the state, California’s Department of Financial Institutions decided to issue a cease and desist warning to conference organizer Bitcoin Foundation for allegedly engaging in the business of money transmission without a license or proper authorization. If found to be in violation of California Financial Code, penalties can be severe ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 per violation per day plus criminal prosecution which could result in fines and/or imprisonment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Foundation Receives Cease And Desist Order From California

Police Barge Into Home To Make Arrest Over The Length Of Grass

"A Turtle Creek woman recorded police, when they came to her door, demanded she show identification then followed her inside. 'I didn’t want to tell them anything,' Robyn Ruckman said. Police from Turtle Creek, The Housing Authority and East Pittsburgh showed up at Ruckman’s door, looking for her landlord. They had a warrant for Roben Edwards for Failure to Maintain property. Ruckman recorded the officers as they told her to get her ID. She can be seen closing the door and asking the officers if they can wait outside. On the video, you hear one officer respond 'No, I can’t wait here because I think you’re trying to avoid us.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Barge Into Home To Make Arrest Over The Length Of Grass

Snowden headed to Venezuela via Moscow and Cuba

"Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden will fly from Moscow to Cuba on Monday and then plans to go to Venezuela, a source at the Russian airline Aeroflot said on Sunday. The source said Snowden was already on his way to Moscow from Hong Kong and would leave for Havana within 24 hours. The South China Morning Post also reported that Snowden had left Hong Kong for Moscow and that his final destination might be Ecuador or Iceland. The WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website said Snowden was heading for an unnamed 'democratic nation'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnowden headed to Venezuela via Moscow and Cuba

Charles A. Burris: War Crimes, the Holocaust, and Today’s National Security State

"Vocal defenders of the National Security State loudly proclaim that such extra-constitutional intrusions into the privacy of Americans are justified on the grounds of 'national security' because we are at total war with Radical Islam and its alleged supporters. 9/11 changed everything. The rule of law and constitutional safeguards are to be suspended during this national emergency. The Constitution is not a 'suicide pact.' Survival of the state is the only thing that counts. These are precisely the very arguments used by Otto Olendorf, commander of Einsatzgruppe D, and his fellow defendants in their Nuremberg War Crime Trials following World War Two." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCharles A. Burris: War Crimes, the Holocaust, and Today’s National Security State