Land Of The Flea

EU warns Obama of ‘grave consequences’ facing Europeans from NSA intel scandal

"Viviane Reding, the EU’s Justice Commissioner, wrote a letter on Monday to US Attorney General Eric Holder demanding 'swift and concrete' answers about the spy scheme when they meet in Dublin on Friday. 'Programmes such as PRISM and the laws on the basis of which such programmes are authorised could have grave adverse consequences for the fundamental rights of EU citizens,' she wrote. Her questions to Holder include whether EU citizens were targeted by the US programmes, whether Europeans would be able find out whether their data has been accessed, and whether they would be treated similarly to US nationals in such cases." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEU warns Obama of ‘grave consequences’ facing Europeans from NSA intel scandal

Ron Paul ‘Worried’ U.S. Might Kill Snowden With Drone

"'I'm worried about somebody in our government who might kill him, with a cruise missile or a drone missile.' 'We live in a bad time where American citizens don't even have rights and that they can be killed,' Paul continued. 'But the gentleman is trying to tell the truth about what's going on, he is not defecting, there's no signs of that happening. It's a shame we're in an age where people who tell the truth about what the government is doing gets into trouble.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul ‘Worried’ U.S. Might Kill Snowden With Drone

Home Depot Co-Founder: We Should Throw Edward Snowden a Party – We Ought to Be Grateful

"Home Deport Co-Founder Ken Langone told Neil Cavuto the NSA leaker Edward Snowden should be celebrated. 'I'd throw a party for him. I'd congratulate him. I'd say thank you for helping protect America's privacy rights. That's what I'd do for him... I think we ought to be grateful that we have kids like that in America.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHome Depot Co-Founder: We Should Throw Edward Snowden a Party – We Ought to Be Grateful

Does the Fourth Amendment Exist Any More?

"When Boulder, Colorado resident Chrissy Smiley returned to her condo after walking her dog, she was stunned to find a card from a police officer on her dining room table. When she called the department she was informed that the fact she had left a sliding door unlocked and partially open constituted 'probable cause' to conduct a welfare check. The Boulder Police Department insists that entering what they call 'unsecured residences' is 'standard operating procedure' and that it will continue. In Stillwater, Minnesota Sonya Sylos was startled to find a sheriff’s deputy and two police officers who had entered her home at 2:00 a.m. without a warrant or permission." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoes the Fourth Amendment Exist Any More?

The Torture State’s Latest Victory

"The Supreme Court has quietly dismissed a lawsuit filed by a U.S. Navy veteran named Donald Vance who was illegally imprisoned and tortured by the government he served. In 2004, during the U.S. occupation of Iraq, Donald Vance went to that country to work as a security contractor. He soon discovered that the company employing him was deeply corrupt and selling weapons to radical Islamist militias. Vance contacted the FBI and began feeding it information about what he found. This prompted military officials to arrest Vance and confine him in an Iraqi dungeon, where he was tortured." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Torture State’s Latest Victory

Glenn Greenwald slams Rep. Peter King: He supported terrorism for decades

"Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald on Wednesday night ripped into Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and pointed out the congressman’s support of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Greenwald told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that it was 'staggering' to see King call for him to face criminal charges for reporting on secret information about the National Security Agency’s surveillance program. 'It’s bad enough to call for that, it is extraordinarily menacing that he did so based on a complete falsehood, the idea that I ever threatened to [disclose CIA agents],' he said. Greenwald said he had no idea why King was making the false accusation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald slams Rep. Peter King: He supported terrorism for decades

James Bamford: Connecting the Dots on PRISM, Phone Surveillance, and the NSA’s Massive Spy Center

"Physically, the NSA has always been well protected by miles of high fences and electrified wire, thousands of cameras, and gun-toting guards. But that was to protect the agency from those on the outside trying to get in to steal secrets. Now it is confronting a new challenge: those on the inside going out and giving the secrets away. While the agency has had its share of spies, employees who have sold top-secret documents to foreign governments for cash, until the last few years it has never had to deal with whistleblowers passing top-secret information and documents to the press because their conscience demanded it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJames Bamford: Connecting the Dots on PRISM, Phone Surveillance, and the NSA’s Massive Spy Center

Thomas Drake: Snowden saw what I saw – surveillance criminally subverting the constitution

"I differed as a whistleblower to Snowden only in this respect: in accordance with the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, I took my concerns up within the chain of command, to the very highest levels at the NSA, and then to Congress and the Department of Defense. I understand why Snowden has taken his course of action, because he's been following this for years: he's seen what's happened to other whistleblowers like me. By following protocol, you get flagged – just for raising issues. You're identified as someone they don't like, someone not to be trusted. In November 2007, I was raided by a dozen armed FBI agents." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThomas Drake: Snowden saw what I saw – surveillance criminally subverting the constitution

California Homeowner Arrested For Shooting Burglary Suspects

"According to a local Fox News affiliate, the homeowner, James Monroe, 57, had witnessed the trio burglarize a neighbor’s home, only to return less than an hour later looking for additional loot. According to the San Diego Police Department, one had a felony warrant for auto theft and the other had a misdemeanor warrant. In addition, the vehicle they were in was also reported stolen. Monroe was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Neighbors are applauding the actions of Monroe, saying that he stopped the thieves from stealing from their homes, but the police say he should have never taken matters into his own hands." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia Homeowner Arrested For Shooting Burglary Suspects

Native American Student Denied High School Diploma For Wearing Tribal Feather

"A high school graduate in Alabama is being denied her diploma after being fined $1,000 for wearing a feather reflecting her Native American heritage. 'I don’t think it’s fair at all,' 17-year-old Chelsey Ramer told WPMI-TV. 'I feel like its discrimination.' Ramer, a member of the Poarch Creek Band of Indians, wore the feather while taking part in the graduation ceremony at Escambia Academy High School in defiance of school policy forbidding 'extraneous items' from being worn without school permission." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNative American Student Denied High School Diploma For Wearing Tribal Feather