Orwellian

Metal detector knows how much cash is in your wallet

"It has long been an urban legend that the security strips found in US banknotes let shadowy government agencies use metal detectors to track how much cash you are carrying. Now it seems the conspiracy theory may have been half right: it is possible to both detect and count concealed banknotes printed with magnetic inks. Physicists Christopher Fuller and Antao Chen at the University of Washington in Seattle realised that large bundles of notes would contain enough magnetic material to be detected at a distance, potentially allowing police to catch people attempting to smuggle cash over the border." Continue reading →

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Small Utah ISP firm stands up to ‘surveillance state’ as corporations cower

"Xmission, an independent company based out of one office in Salt Lake City, Utah, has spent nearly two decades protecting its customers’ privacy as the National Security Agency, Department of Justice, and prosecutors have ramped up pressure on internet service providers (ISPs). Owner Pete Ashdown told RT that every data collection request stops at his desk, since he is the sole proprietor of Xmission. At a larger company, a panel of stockholders would bow to government pressure, he added. 'It’s pretty basic for me. Most of their requests are not constitutional. They’re not proper warrants so I turn them back,' he said." Continue reading →

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DEF CON hacker conference tells Feds not to attend

"One of the world’s largest hacker conferences, Def Con, requested that government employees do not attend this year’s annual conference, citing discomfort with federal officials in the wake of National Security Administration revelations. Traditionally, there has been a general acknowledgement that not all federal government employees who attend the Def Con conference do so openly, and a jovial 'Spot the Fed' competition has become commonplace at the Def Con conference. General Keith Alexander, the head of the NSA, spoke at last year’s Def Con conference and denied that the government had vast files of information, calling it 'absolute nonsense.'" Continue reading →

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Clapper On Clapper Off

"James Clapper from the National Security Agency (NSA) lied to Congress and the American people when he testified before Congress that the NSA doesn't spy on millions of American citizens. As a result of the actions of whistleblower Ed Snowden, we know now that the NSA does indeed illegally and unconstitutionally spy on millions of American citizens." Continue reading →

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Rights groups challenge widespread Internet spying in France

"Lawyers said the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and the Human Rights League would file the ‘complaint against X’ in Paris. Under French law, such complaints allow investigators to pursue a wide-ranging probe that does not target any particular individual or company. Daoud told France Info radio the complaint was aimed at determining whether 'the companies made their servers available to the FBI and NSA' for collection of personal data. If so, he said, the companies could face criminal charges in France of violating data protection and privacy rules." Continue reading →

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Phone companies earn big profits as Uncle Sam’s wiretapping merchants

"AT&T and Verizon are the two carriers making the most off this scheme, CBS notes, but others are getting in on the action as well. Verizon is particularly pricey, charging the government $775 to connect a wiretap, and another $500 every month it stays connected. AT&T comes in second with a $325 activation fee, along with a $10-a-day running tab. Smaller carriers like Cricket are said to charge around $250 per connection. Smaller fees were associated with text messages, but emails were largely given away for free." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPhone companies earn big profits as Uncle Sam’s wiretapping merchants

US Relaxes Health Law Income, Insurance Status Rule for Exchanges

"Until now, the administration had proposed that exchanges verify whether new applicants receive employer-sponsored insurance benefits through random checks. It also sought to require marketplaces to verify each enrollee's income status. But final regulations released quietly on Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) give 16 states and the District of Columbia, which are setting up their own exchanges, until 2015 to begin random sampling of enrollees' employer-insurance status. The rules also allow only random— rather than comprehensive—checks on income eligibility in 2014." Continue reading →

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The Shoes Keep on Dropping… What Next?

"All branches of the Federal Government have been complicit in the warrantless surveillance of U.S. residents since before World War II when FDR authorized wiretaps of individuals suspected of Nazi sympathies. With the passage of the National Security Act in 1952 and the establishment of the National Security Council, it became standard government practice. Only the rudimentary technology of the time limited its scope. Fear – now of terrorism and whatever other apprehension the government, particularly the executive, can stir up — continues as the principal determinant of 21st century government surveillance of its citizens." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Shoes Keep on Dropping… What Next?

Revealed: How Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages

"Microsoft helped the NSA to circumvent its encryption to address concerns that the agency would be unable to intercept web chats on the new Outlook.com portal; [...]; The company worked with the FBI this year to allow the NSA easier access via Prism to its cloud storage service SkyDrive, which now has more than 250 million users worldwide; [...] Skype, which was bought by Microsoft in October 2011, worked with intelligence agencies last year to allow Prism to collect video of conversations as well as audio; Material collected through Prism is routinely shared with the FBI and CIA, with one NSA document describing the program as a 'team sport'." Continue reading →

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Oliver Stone on NSA Spying

"Some have claimed that Americans don't care about the revelations that the NSA is conducting massive surveillance on our private communications. But Oliver Stone isn't buying it. In a video produced with the ACLU, Director Oliver Stone shares some of his reflections on the NSA spying program and the disastrous legacy of unchecked government abuse of power. All Americans should stand up for our civil liberties at this critical moment in history, he says-- by asking our representatives in Congress to roll back the surveillance state." Continue reading →

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