Orwellian

Kremlin turns back to typewriters to avoid security leaks

"The throwback to the paper-strewn days of Soviet bureaucracy has reportedly been prompted by the publication of secret documents by anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks and the revelations leaked by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. The Federal Guard Service, which is also in charge of protecting President Vladimir Putin, is looking to spend just over 486,000 rubles ($14,800) to buy a number of electric typewriters. Pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia said the state service was looking to purchase 20 typerwriters because using computers to prepare top-secret documents may no longer be safe." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKremlin turns back to typewriters to avoid security leaks

Latin America demands answers from U.S. on spying

"Governments voiced a mix of outrage and concern after the Brazilian daily O Globo, citing documents leaked by fugitive former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, said several nations were targets of US electronic surveillance. The snooping included lifting data on leftist Venezuela’s oil and military purchases and Mexico’s drug war and energy sector as well as mapping the movements of a Marxist guerrilla group in Colombia, the newspaper said. The Mexican daily Excelsior reported Wednesday that Pena Nieto’s predecessor had allowed the United States to install a system to intercept phone calls and Internet chatter." Continue reading →

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Yahoo wants to make its NSA PRISM fight against U.S. FISA court public

"Yahoo has called on Fisa, the secretive US surveillance court, to let it publish its legal argument against a case that gave the government 'powerful leverage' in persuading tech companies to co-operate with a controversial data-gathering program. In a court filing first reported by San Jose Mercury News the company argues the release would demonstrate that Yahoo 'objected strenuously' in a key 2008 case after the National Security Agency (NSA) demanded Yahoo customers’ information. Yahoo’s move comes as its rivals have also pushed for the government to provide more public clarity on their surveillance of people’s online lives." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYahoo wants to make its NSA PRISM fight against U.S. FISA court public

Venezuelan minister: Facebook users unwittingly work as CIA informants

"A government minister in Venezuela, which has offered fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden asylum, is urging her countrymen to cancel their Facebook accounts lest they be targeted by US snooping. 'Fellow Venezuelans: cancel your Facebook accounts, since you unwittingly have worked as CIA informants! Look at the Snowden case!' prisons minister Maria Iris Varela said in a Twitter posting. Varela also said victims of 'gringo espionage' should file lawsuits to demand 'fair compensation' and bankrupt the US government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVenezuelan minister: Facebook users unwittingly work as CIA informants

Navy’s experimental X-47B drone successfully lands on aircraft carrier

"A US Navy drone successfully landed on the deck of an aircraft carrier on Wednesday, in an historic first for robotic flight, officials said. The X-47B experimental plane had taken off earlier from the Patuxent River naval air station in Maryland before heading to the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier off the Virginia coast, the Navy said in a statement. The X-47B is controlled remotely but has more autonomy than older drones such as the Reaper and Predator. Wednesday’s unprecedented landing by an unmanned plane showed that sophisticated computer software could guide a robotic aircraft onto the deck of a ship in the Atlantic Ocean." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNavy’s experimental X-47B drone successfully lands on aircraft carrier

Glenn Greenwald: Edward Snowden likely to accept Venezuela asylum

"Greenwald told Reuters after speaking with Snowden on Tuesday that of the three countries that have offered Snowden asylum, Venezuela is better positioned 'to get him safely from Moscow to Latin America and to protect him once he’s there,' Greenwald said. 'They’re a bigger country, a stronger country and a richer country with more leverage in international affairs.' In addition to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia have indicated they would offer Snowden asylum. Cuba’s president said he supported Snowden and countries’ offers of asylum, but did not put forth an offer from Cuba." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Edward Snowden likely to accept Venezuela asylum

Gun-rights activist Adam Kokesh charged with possessing a mushroom near a firearm

"Police searched the Northern Virginia home of activist Adam Kokesh Tuesday evening and took him into custody on for allegedly being in possession of hallucinogenic mushroom while also having a gun, authorities said. 'Numerous police vehicles, including a light armored vehicle and two low-flying helicopters barricaded Adam’s street,' the news release says. 'More than 20 armored SWAT team members surrounded the house, as well as a number of detectives, and plainclothes officers.' The release says police used a battering ram to knock in the front door and detonated a flash grenade in the foyer, then ransacked the house in a five-hour search." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun-rights activist Adam Kokesh charged with possessing a mushroom near a firearm

Blood, spit and cops: Nationwide drug roadblocks raise eyebrows

"The roadblocks are part of a national study led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is trying to determine how many drivers are on the road with drugs or alcohol in their systems. Similar roadblocks will be erected in dozens of communities across the nation this year, according to the agency. It's been going on for decades. Previous surveys date to the 1970s. The last one was run in 2007, and it included the collection of blood and saliva samples without apparent controversy, sheriff's spokesmen in both Alabama counties said. Gov. Robert Bentley complained that his office had not been notified that the surveys were going to be conducted." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBlood, spit and cops: Nationwide drug roadblocks raise eyebrows

A Constitution-Free Zone Where Officials Can Grab Your Computer And Copy Your Hard Drive

"Did you know that the U.S. government considers the U.S. border to be a 'constitution-free zone'? Did you know that customs officials can take your computer away from you, keep it for 30 days or more, and make a copy of everything that is on your hard drive? Sadly, this is actually true. According to the government, when you choose to cross the U.S. border you temporarily give up your constitutional rights. They can look at anything on your computer that they want to, and if they find anything that violates any law, they can use it against you in court. You may think twice about taking your computer out of the country after you read the rest of this article." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Constitution-Free Zone Where Officials Can Grab Your Computer And Copy Your Hard Drive