Land Of The Flea

FBI surrounds house of Saudi student after carrying pressure cooker full of rice

"A Saudi student living in Michigan was questioned in his home by FBI agents after neighbours saw him carrying a pressure cooker and called the police. Talal al Rouki had been cooking a traditional Saudi Arabian rice dish called kabsah and was carrying it to a friend's house. While armed agents surrounded his apartment block, other agents, asked a 'nervous' Mr al Rouki if they could come in to question him. 'They asked me about my major, when I arrived in the US and what I do in my spare time' he said. Officers said that a woman had seen him walking out of his apartment carrying the pressure cooker pot, which was described as ‘bullet coloured’." Continue reading →

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Arizona Man Winds Up Jailed, Unemployed and Homeless After Photographing Courthouse

"He snapped photos of the Arizona State Capitol and the Sandra Day O’Connor United States Courthouse, two of the city’s most picturesque buildings. He continued walking when he noticed he was being followed by a Phoenix police patrol car. Before he knew it, he was being followed by an additional two marked cars as well as an unmarked car, not to mention a cop on foot. Before he knew it, he was handcuffed and sitting in an interrogation room at the Phoenix Police Department, fielding questions from an FBI agent and a police detective named Darren Emfinger from the Joint Terrorism Task Force as to what organizations he belonged to and what types of books he reads." Continue reading →

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The top five myths about Guantánamo Bay

"Renewing his push to close the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, President Obama said what many of his critics have been saying for years – that it is inefficient, inspires new terrorists, alienates the US’s allies and, above all, 'is contrary to who we are'. Coming in response to the detainee hunger strikers, whose numbers increase every day, Obama’s comments suggest that the inmates are close to accomplishing what others opposed to the prison have not: they’re making it necessary that their cases get resolved. Let’s revisit some myths about the prison." Continue reading →

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Reality Check Special: Tea Party Groups vs. IRS

"We are following a story that is just breaking on Friday. Ben Swann first told you on March 1, 2012 that Tea Party and Liberty Groups in seven states claimed they were being targeted by the IRS. On Friday, the IRS apologized. In a Reality Check special, Ben Swann goes in-depth on the IRS vs. Tea Party and Liberty groups." Continue reading →

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The Persecution of Rita Hutchens

"Sandpoint, Idaho resident Rita Hutchens is an opinionated 57-year-old quilt artist whose work has earned her international notoriety. Given that Hutchens is also an outspoken proponent of constitutionalist views, it’s possible that some people have taken issue with her political opinions. Hutchens has never harmed or threatened another human being. Yet local officials, led by Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank -- an inventively dishonest official -- are trying to make a criminal out of her. Failing that, they might simply seek to have her imprisoned indefinitely in a psych ward." Continue reading →

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Reuters: U.S. cyberwar strategy stokes fear of blowback

"Even as the U.S. government confronts rival powers over widespread Internet espionage, it has become the biggest buyer in a burgeoning gray market where hackers and security firms sell tools for breaking into computers. The strategy is spurring concern in the technology industry and intelligence community that Washington is in effect encouraging hacking and failing to disclose to software companies and customers the vulnerabilities exploited by the purchased hacks. That's because U.S. intelligence and military agencies are using the tools to infiltrate computer networks overseas, leaving behind spy programs and cyber-weapons." Continue reading →

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IRS Scandal: What Does the US Congress Expect?

"Obama himself is evidently thin-skinned and his administration, like others before it, obviously sees its mandate not only as implementing chosen policies but battling those in the general populace who would oppose those policies via extra-political means. Within this context, employing the IRS as a weapon against perceived enemies seems eminently logical. After all, the Obama administration would not be the first to use the awesome power to tax as a strategic advantage. Nonetheless, the fallout has been intense." Continue reading →

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Use of secretive ‘Stingray’ FBI cell phone tracking tool ruled lawful by judge

"Despite the fact that the FBI was accused of hiding information from judges when obtaining authorization for use of the secretive 'Stingray' cell phone tracking device, a judge has ruled that the use of the device by federal agents was lawful. On Wednesday, Judge David Campbell dismissed the motion to suppress the information gathered through the Stingray device in the case of Daniel Rigmaiden. Campbell ruled that the use of the Stingray did not in fact constitute a 'severe intrusion' and ruled that 'no Fourth Amendment violation occurred.'" Continue reading →

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Biometric Database of All Adult Americans Hidden in Immigration Reform

"The immigration reform measure the Senate began debating yesterday would create a national biometric database of virtually every adult in the U.S., in what privacy groups fear could be the first step to a ubiquitous national identification system. Buried in the more than 800 pages of the bipartisan legislation is language mandating the creation of the innocuously-named 'photo tool,' a massive federal database administered by Homeland Security and containing names, ages, Social Security numbers and photographs of everyone in the country with a driver’s license or other state-issued photo ID." Continue reading →

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California: Privacy Groups Sue LAPD Over License Plate Readers

"Police agencies and politicians claim the high-speed tracking cameras are only used to find stolen cars, but the machines in Los Angeles have already collected 160 million pieces of information on the public, including individuals not suspected of having committed any crime. The ACLU and EFF sought last August to obtain a sample week's worth of the actual data LAPD collected so that the public could judge for itself. In September, LAPD refused to hand over the sample data, claiming it 'contains official information' and was part of an investigative file exempt from the public records law." Continue reading →

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