Land Of The Flea

Assange on NSA leak: Snowden will be prosecuted for years

"The ex-CIA man who blew the lid off America's vast NSA public surveillance net - is promising more explosive revelations. Edward Snowden's supporters are mobilizing too - with tens of thousands signing a petition to pardon the whistleblower. With us now, a man who knows what it's like to blow the whistle in a big way, and incur the wrath of Washington - Julian Assange. He joins talks to RT via broadband from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAssange on NSA leak: Snowden will be prosecuted for years

Rep. Peter King: Punish journalists who report classified information

"Representative Peter King (R-NY) on Tuesday night said that journalists who revealed secret government programs should face criminal charges. In response to WikiLeaks, King proposed legislation in 2010 that would have made publishing classified information “concerning the identity of a classified source or informant of an element of the intelligence community” an act of espionage. 'These organizations are a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States,' King explained at the time. 'Julian Assange and his compatriots are enemies of the US and should be prosecuted under the Espionage Act.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRep. Peter King: Punish journalists who report classified information

Sen. Lindsey Graham: I would support censoring mail if it was ‘necessary’

"Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told reporters on Tuesday that he approved of censoring snail mail if it was necessary to protect innocent lives. 'If I thought censoring the mail was necessary, I would suggest it, but I don’t think it is,' he said, according to Yahoo News. The remarks came as Graham was answering questions about the National Security Agency’s surveillance program, which has indiscriminately amassed Americans’ phone records. The Republican senator explained that censoring the mail had a precedent in American history. Though the First Amendment was 'sacrosanct,' it also 'has limits,' Graham said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSen. Lindsey Graham: I would support censoring mail if it was ‘necessary’

The Absurdist, Tragicomic Narratives of Domestic Surveillance

"Is there a legitimate security need to monitor the entire world's communications? What's missing is the sense that the nation's citizenry should have a say in these policy decisions. We're supposed to be satisfied that a handful of thoroughly corrupted-by-the-corporatocracy congresspeople have been spoon-fed a thin dribble of intelligence gruel and told to rubberstamp it in the name of democracy. This calls to mind the notion that authorities inoculate the public with carefully measured doses of the operative master agenda and narrative. By carefully releasing bits and pieces of the program, authorities inoculate the public against outrage or political action." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Absurdist, Tragicomic Narratives of Domestic Surveillance

Civil liberties groups launch StopWatching.us to protest surveillance

"A coalition of Internet and civil liberties groups launched a campaign Tuesday protesting the huge US online surveillance program revealed in the past week. Joining the effort were the Mozilla Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union, Greenpeace USA, the World Wide Web Foundation and more than 80 other organizations or companies. The coalition launched a website, StopWatching.us, and called on Congress to launch a full probe and urging more disclosure from US officials about the National Security Agency’s vast program Internet surveillance program. An online petition was also launched on the website." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCivil liberties groups launch StopWatching.us to protest surveillance

Sales of George Orwell’s 1984 skyrocket in wake of spying scandal

"Big brother is watching — sales of George Orwell’s dystopian novel '1984' have skyrocketed in the wake of revelations of US government surveillance. The centennial edition of the novel surged 7,005 percent on Amazon, according to the online retailer’s 'Mover and Shakers in Books' page that monitors biggest gainers in sales rank compared to 24 hours ago. 'Only 8 left in stock (more on the way),' potential buyers are advised when clicking on the novel’s icon. A hardback encompassing both '1984' and Orwell’s 'Animal Farm' jumped 314 percent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSales of George Orwell’s 1984 skyrocket in wake of spying scandal

Guardian Reporter Glenn Greenwald: We Have List of NSA Targets

"Glenn Greenwald, the reporter at The Guardian who broke the story about NSA surveillance programs, discusses the information received from whistleblower Edward Snowden, saying the federal government is now trying to 'scare the American people' to justify its 'massive spying program.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGuardian Reporter Glenn Greenwald: We Have List of NSA Targets

ACLU challenges constitutionality of NSA phone surveillance program

"The American Civil Liberties Union sued senior U.S. government officials on Tuesday to challenge the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s telephone surveillance program, saying it violates rights to free speech and privacy. The suit asked the court to immediately halt the NSA’s vast tracking program of telephone calls, declare the program illegal, and order the U.S. government to purge all databases of the call records. The ACLU suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York named James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, and the leaders of the NSA, the Defense Department, the Justice Department and the FBI." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingACLU challenges constitutionality of NSA phone surveillance program

FBI’s Patriot Act records requests skyrocket 1,000% under Obama

"The FBI’s use of a controversial Patriot Act provision to demand business records has skyrocketed more than 1,000 percent under President Barack Obama versus his Republican predecessor George W. Bush. The so-called business records provision of the Patriot Act, titled Section 215, is the justification used for the NSA’s massive PRISM intercept program. A single Section 215 order was behind last week’s revelation that Verizon is cooperating with the NSA and handing over millions of phone call records daily. Companies that receive demands for business records under Section 215 of the Patriot Act are also subject to a secret gag order." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI’s Patriot Act records requests skyrocket 1,000% under Obama

Ai Weiwei: NSA surveillance makes the U.S. sound a lot like China

"Before the information age the Chinese government could decide you were a counter-revolutionary just because a neighbour reported something they had overheard. Thousands, even millions of lives were ruined through the misuse of such information. Today, through its technical abilities, the state can easily get into anybody’s bank account, private mail, conversations, and social media accounts. The internet and social media give us new possibilities of exploring ourselves. But we have never exposed ourselves in this way before, and it makes us vulnerable if anyone chooses to use it against us." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAi Weiwei: NSA surveillance makes the U.S. sound a lot like China