Orwellian

‘Sorry is not enough’: Bolivia demands EU find culprits behind aerial hijack

"EU apologies for the aerial blockade that forced the Bolivian president’s plane to land are 'not enough,' said Bolivia’s foreign minister. The presidential plane was grounded amid suspicions that NSA leaker Edward Snowden had stowed away onboard. The Bolivian Foreign Minister, David Choquehuanca, confirmed on Tuesday that Bolivia had received official apologies from Italy and Portugal, adding to those of Spain and France. However, Choquehuanca stressed that the apologies were not enough and the four countries “must identify those responsible and punish them in an exemplary fashion so that such an incident does not happen again.” Continue reading →

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Gov’t Bureau ‘Creating a Google Earth on Every Financial Transaction,’ Senator Warns

"'This bill (creating the CFPB) was supposed to be about regulating Wall Street. Instead, it's creating a Google Earth on every financial transaction. That's right: the government will be able to see every detail of your finances. Your permission - not needed,' Sen. Enzi said. 'They can look right down to the tiny details of the time and place where you pulled cash out of an ATM,' Enzi warned. And, there's nothing you can do about, since Americans don't have the ability to 'opt out' or prohibit the government from collecting their personal financial data, Enzi said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGov’t Bureau ‘Creating a Google Earth on Every Financial Transaction,’ Senator Warns

FAA tells Colorado residents not to shoot at drones or risk fines, jail time

"The Federal Aviation Administration responded negatively on Friday to a proposal by the Colorado town of Deer Tail to license hunters to shoot down drones. In a statement, it warned that anyone shooting at either a manner or unmanned aircraft 'could result in criminal or civil liability,' according to the Associated Press. In the proposal, the town would issue licenses — for a fee — to shoot at drones with shotguns and anyone who turns in a shot-down drone belonging to the United States government would be eligible for a $100 bounty (parts could net successful hunters $25). The drones cost around $18 million a piece." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFAA tells Colorado residents not to shoot at drones or risk fines, jail time

Justin Raimondo: Is America a Free Country?

"Jimmy Carter is making waves: 'America does not have a functioning democracy at this point in time,' he told a meeting of the American Bridge, held in Atlanta, when asked about Edward Snowden’s exposure of Washington’s secret global surveillance system. Carter’s previous statements about the Snowden affair were mildly supportive. Yet this new statement goes way beyond that: it is a sweeping condemnation of the current regime. That a former US President would say such a thing has got to be the scariest public pronouncement I’ve heard since the Watergate era. What’s even scarier: Carter is right." Continue reading →

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Police Posing as Punks Bust Rockers: Don’t Cops Have Better Things to Do?

"Boston cops are so eager to bust DIY indie-rock shows that they won't simply wait to respond to noise complaints that might arise. Instead they're going online posing as punk rockers to bust bands before they perform. It's part of a citywide effort to crack down on basement and warehouse shows spurred by a recently passed nuisance control ordinance." Continue reading →

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7 Ways The Obama Administration Has Accelerated Police Militarization

"In many of these examples, Obama is merely continuing policies that began in previous administrations. And there are some areas where he has made progress, notably by apportioning a greater portion his anti-drug budget to treatment instead of enforcement. But in several of the examples above, he has actually stepped up the policies he inherited. Obama the candidate made some unusually frank and critical statements about the drug war, incarceration, and the criminal justice system. His drug czar then showed some rare insight into the dangers of war rhetoric when discussing domestic policing. Obama the president has been more of the same, and in some cases worse." Continue reading →

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Nasser Al-Awlaki: The Drone That Killed My Grandson

"The missile killed him, his teenage cousin and at least five other civilians on Oct. 14, 2011, while the boys were eating dinner at an open-air restaurant in southern Yemen. I visited the site later, once I was able to bear the pain of seeing where he sat in his final moments. Local residents told me his body was blown to pieces. They showed me the grave where they buried his remains. I stood over it, asking why my grandchild was dead. Nearly two years later, I still have no answers. The United States government has refused to explain why Abdulrahman was killed. A country that believes it does not even need to answer for killing its own is not the America I once knew." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNasser Al-Awlaki: The Drone That Killed My Grandson

For NSA chief, terrorist threat drives passion to ‘collect it all,’ observers say

"'Rather than look for a single needle in the haystack, his approach was, ‘Let’s collect the whole haystack,'' said one former senior U.S. intelligence official who tracked the plan’s implementation. 'Collect it all, tag it, store it. . . . And whatever it is you want, you go searching for it.' Alexander, 61, has quietly presided over a revolution in the government’s ability to scoop up information in the name of national security. And, as he did in Iraq, Alexander has pushed hard for everything he can get: tools, resources and the legal authority to collect and store vast quantities of raw information on American and foreign communications." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFor NSA chief, terrorist threat drives passion to ‘collect it all,’ observers say

Jimmy Carter Defends Edward Snowden, Says NSA Spying Has Compromised Nation’s Democracy

"Former President Jimmy Carter announced support for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden this week, saying that his uncovering of the agency's massive surveillance programs had proven 'beneficial.' Speaking at a closed-door event in Atlanta covered by German newspaper Der Spiegel, Carter also criticized the NSA's domestic spying as damaging to the core of the nation's principles. 'America does not have a functioning democracy at this point in time,' Carter said, according to a translation by Inquisitr. No American outlets covered Carter's speech." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJimmy Carter Defends Edward Snowden, Says NSA Spying Has Compromised Nation’s Democracy

Snowden’s surveillance leaks open way for challenges to programs’ constitutionality

"At least five cases have been filed in federal courts since the government’s widespread collection of telephone and Internet records was revealed last month. The lawsuits primarily target a program that scoops up the telephone records of millions of Americans from U.S. telecommunications companies. Such cases face formidable obstacles. The government tends to fiercely resist them on national security grounds, and the surveillance is so secret that it’s hard to prove who was targeted. Nearly all of the roughly 70 suits filed after the George W. Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping was disclosed in 2005 have been dismissed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnowden’s surveillance leaks open way for challenges to programs’ constitutionality