Orwellian

Lawmakers Who Upheld NSA Phone Spying Received Double the Defense Industry Cash

"On Wednesday, the house voted 217 to 205 not to rein in the NSA’s phone-spying dragnet. It turns out that those 217 'no' voters received twice as much campaign financing from the defense and intelligence industry as the 205 'yes' voters. The investigation shows that defense cash was a better predictor of a member’s vote on the Amash amendment than party affiliation. House members who voted to continue the massive phone-call-metadata spy program, on average, raked in 122 percent more money from defense contractors than those who voted Wednesday to dismantle it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawmakers Who Upheld NSA Phone Spying Received Double the Defense Industry Cash

How The Establishment Will Attempt To Bring Down The Liberty Movement

"It is the most dedicated and the most uplifting of activists that the system tends to target in order to demean the core strength of the overall movement and tarnish its reputation. A recent and malicious example is the subversive electronic planting of false evidence in an attempt to connect organizations like Oath Keepers, We Are Change, and PANDA to illicit and illegal pornographic materials. This is only one method of attack in the arsenal of slander and destabilization, and while the culprits behind the action are not yet known, the strategy is very similar to government run demonization campaigns of the past (just read up on the history of Cointelpro)." Continue reading →

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Researcher’s paper banned for containing luxury car security codes

"A British-based computer scientist has been banned from publishing an academic paper revealing the secret codes used to start luxury cars including Porsches, Audis, Bentleys and Lamborghinis as it could lead to the theft of millions of vehicles. The high court imposed an injunction on the University of Birmingham’s Flavio Garcia, who has cracked the security system by discovering the unique algorithm that allows the car to verify the identity of the ignition key. They argued that 'the public have a right to see weaknesses in security on which they rely exposed'. Otherwise, the 'industry and criminals know security is weak but the public do not'. Continue reading →

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Glenn Greenwald and other NSA critics to testify before Congress

"Congress will hear testimony from critics of the National Security Agency’s surveillance practices for the first time since the whistleblower Edward Snowden’s explosive leaks were made public. Democrat congressman Alan Grayson, who is leading a bipartisan group of congressman organising the hearing, told the Guardian it would serve to counter the 'constant misleading information' from the intelligence community. The hearing, which will take place on Wednesday, comes amid evidence of a growing congressional rebellion [on] NSA data collection methods." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald and other NSA critics to testify before Congress

Chris Christie’s Attack on the Civil-Liberties Wing of the GOP

"Now it seems clear that Christie will adopt the neoconservative line on national security, embracing the most radical actions of both George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Speaking at the Aspen Institute on Thursday, Christie belittled the libertarian wing of his party for its take on NSA spying. 'As a former prosecutor who was appointed by President George W. Bush on Sept. 10, 2001, I just want us to be really cautious, because this strain of libertarianism that's going through both parties right now and making big headlines, I think, is a very dangerous thought,' he said." Continue reading →

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The Dark Side of Technology

"Typically we paint a rosy picture of the future. We think technology will bring great prosperity to the world. The benefits of technology will far outweigh the perils and dangers that are so often the focus of people's mindset. However, it would be remiss of us not to delve into some of the potential dangers of technology. And thus in understanding the good that comes from tech, it's important to understand the darkness that also comes with breakthroughs and innovation. To paraphrase Churchill, don't run from it, confront these issues and you might have a part in making sure the future of our world sides with the good technology can bring, not the dark side." Continue reading →

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Internet Society Statement on the Importance of Open Global Dialogue Regarding Online Privacy

"The Internet Society has noted recent revelations regarding the apparent scope of U.S. government efforts to gather large amounts of end user information from U.S. Internet and telecom service providers for intelligence purposes. We are deeply concerned that the unwarranted collection, storage and potential correlation of user data will undermine many of the key principles and relationships of trust upon which the global Internet has been built. The Internet Society strongly believes that real security can only be realized within a broader context of trust and the respect of fundamental rights, such as privacy.." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInternet Society Statement on the Importance of Open Global Dialogue Regarding Online Privacy

Blind Man’s Bluff: Why the Surveillance State Is Doomed

"The bureaucrats' quest for omniscience and omnipotence will come to a well-deserved end, just as it did in the Soviet Union, and for the same reason. The state is inherently myopic: short-sighted. Computers make it blind. The state focuses on the short run. Computers overwhelm bureaucrats with short-run information. Let us not forget that the Internet was invented by DARPA: the military's research branch. It invented the Internet to protect the military's communications network from a nuclear attack by the USSR. Today, there is no USSR. There is the World Wide Web: the greatest technological enemy of the state since Gutenberg's printing press." Continue reading →

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NSA Official: Privacy Of NSA Employees Should Remain Despite Hampering Leak Detection

"Privacy mandates that prevent the government from monitoring the personal data of National Security Agency employees should not be altered to stop insider threats, despite leaks of Top Secret information, a senior NSA official said on Thursday. 'This is a case where I wouldn't advocate a change of laws,' NSA Technical Director Boyd Livingston said. 'It's very difficult to do insider threat monitoring -- there are a whole other set of federal laws having to do with personal identification information, PII, and your Social Security [number], that prohibit various monitoring.'" Continue reading →

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Paul Craig Roberts: How the US Became the USSR

"The communists had a Julian Assange and an Edward Snowden of their own. His name was Cardinal Jozef Mindszenty, the leader of the Hungarian Catholic Church. Mindszenty opposed tyranny. For his efforts he was imprisoned by the Nazis. Communists also regarded him as an undesirable, and he was tortured and given a life sentence in 1949. Freed by the short-lived Hungarian Revolution in 1956, Mindszenty reached the American Embassy in Budapest and was granted political asylum by Washington. However, the communists would not give him the free passage that asylum presumes, and Mindszenty lived in the US Embassy for 15 years, 79% of his remaining life." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: How the US Became the USSR