Mainstream News

Snowden spy squabble deepens as U.S. is accused of hacking China

"Within hours of news breaking that the US had filed charges against Snowden, the South China Morning Post reported that the whistleblower had handed over a series of documents to the paper detailing how the US had targeted Chinese phone companies as part of a widespread attempt to get its hands on a mass of data. Text messaging is the most popular form of communication in mainland China where more than 900bn SMS messages were exchanged in 2012. As Snowden made his latest disclosures, he appeared to be gaining support from politicians in Hong Kong who said China should support him against any extradition application from the US." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnowden spy squabble deepens as U.S. is accused of hacking China

Nashville restaurant raided by swarms of armed officers to randomly check alcohol permits

"An 'army' of armed officers raided a family-owned restaurant late one night to check alcohol permits. Although 'The Family Wash' had done nothing wrong and broken no laws, the agents still raided their establishment, shut down the band that was playing, scared away all the customers, and harassed the owner. They chose to do this raid on a busy Friday night, when people were eating, drinking, and listening to music. The joint task-force of permit-checkers from multiple different jurisdictions and agencies collectively was out performing random raids on restaurants." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNashville restaurant raided by swarms of armed officers to randomly check alcohol permits

GCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world’s communications, shares with NSA

"Britain's spy agency GCHQ has secretly gained access to the network of cables which carry the world's phone calls and internet traffic and has started to process vast streams of sensitive personal information which it is sharing with its American partner, the National Security Agency (NSA). The sheer scale of the agency's ambition is reflected in the titles of its two principal components: Mastering the Internet and Global Telecoms Exploitation, aimed at scooping up as much online and telephone traffic as possible. This is all being carried out without any form of public acknowledgement or debate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world’s communications, shares with NSA

Email from Michael Hastings before crash mentions FBI probe

"In an email sent hours before his death in a single-car L.A. crash, journalist Michael Hastings wrote that his 'close friends and associates' were being interviewed by the FBI and he was going to 'go off the radar for a bit.' According to the email, Hastings wrote he was working on a 'big story' and was going to disappear. He told his colleagues that if the FBI came to interview them, they should have legal counsel present. Hastings was researching a story about a privacy lawsuit brought by Florida socialite Jill Kelley against the Department of Defense and the FBI. The FBI said Hastings was never under investigation by the agency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEmail from Michael Hastings before crash mentions FBI probe

The top secret rules that allow NSA to use US data without a warrant

"Top secret documents submitted to the court that oversees surveillance by US intelligence agencies show the judges have signed off on broad orders which allow the NSA to make use of information 'inadvertently' collected from domestic US communications without a warrant. The previously revealed bulk collection of domestic call records takes place under rolling court orders issued on the basis of a legal interpretation of a different authority, section 215 of the Patriot Act. On Thursday, two US congressmen introduced a bill compelling the Obama administration to declassify the secret legal justifications for NSA surveillance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe top secret rules that allow NSA to use US data without a warrant

US steps up efforts to break Guantánamo hunger strike

"Shaker Aamer claims that the US authorities are systematically making the regime more hardline to try to defuse the strike, which now involves almost two-thirds of the detainees. Techniques include making cells 'freezing cold' to accentuate the discomfort of those on hunger strike and the introduction of 'metal-tipped' feeding tubes, which Aamer said were forced into inmates' stomachs twice a day and caused detainees to vomit over themselves. The momentum behind efforts to release Aamer – who has spent more than 11 years without trial inside the camp – mounted sharply last week with David Cameron raising the issue directly with Barack Obama." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS steps up efforts to break Guantánamo hunger strike

Official: Water quality complaints could be ‘act of terrorism’

"A Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation deputy director warned residents that unfounded complaints about water quality could be considered an 'act of terrorism.' 'We take water quality very seriously. Very, very seriously,' said Sherwin Smith, deputy director of TDEC's Division of Water Resources, according to audio recorded by attendees. 'But you need to make sure that when you make water quality complaints you have a basis, because federally, if there's no water quality issues, that can be considered under Homeland Security an act of terrorism.' Smith went on in the recording to repeat the claim almost verbatim." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOfficial: Water quality complaints could be ‘act of terrorism’

Welcome, baseball fan. Go directly to jail.

"You see, they take law and order Very Seriously in Washington. Oh, sure, there is murder, drugs and prostitution (and solicitation, but more on that later), but those crimes are a byproduct of any large metropolitan area, and, well, folks will be folks. No, I am talking about the unspeakable crime of trying to resell tickets to a Washington Nationals makeup baseball game. I went to jail. I sat in a cell for 2½ hours, stood for a mug shot, got fingerprinted, paid 50 bucks and was released. In the grand scheme of things, my travails were minor to all but me. But when that cell door slams shut, the world becomes a different place." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWelcome, baseball fan. Go directly to jail.

Lawyers to challenge U.S. ‘No Fly’ list in federal court in Oregon

"Lawyers for a group of Muslim Americans barred from U.S. air travel will challenge procedures surrounding the secretive 'no fly' list in court on Friday, arguing they are unconstitutional because those on the list have no real way to clear their names. The 13 plaintiffs in the case, who deny any links to terrorism, said they learned of their no-fly status when they were blocked from boarding commercial flights and complain they were denied any effective means of petitioning the government to be removed from the list. As of last year, the list included some 20,000 people." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawyers to challenge U.S. ‘No Fly’ list in federal court in Oregon