Orwellian

Juan Cole: Top Ten Ways US TV News are Screwing us Again on NSA Surveillance Story (Iraq Redux)

"US television news is a danger to the security of the United States. First, it is so oriented to ratings that it cannot afford to do unpopular reports. Second, it is so oriented toward the halls of power inside the Beltway that it is unable to examine government allegations critically. US television news was an unrelieved cheering section for the launching of the illegal and disastrous Iraq War. Now, corporate television news is repeating this shameful performance with regard to the revelations by Edward Snowden of massive, unconstitutional government surveillance of Americans’ electronic communications. The full failure to do proper journalism was on display on Sunday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJuan Cole: Top Ten Ways US TV News are Screwing us Again on NSA Surveillance Story (Iraq Redux)

Glenn Greenwald: Snowden’s Files Are Out There if ‘Anything Happens’ to Him

"As the U.S. government presses Moscow to extradite former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, America’s most wanted leaker has a plan B. The former NSA systems administrator has already given encoded files containing an archive of the secrets he lifted from his old employer to several people. If anything happens to Snowden, the files will be unlocked. The fact that Snowden has made digital copies of the documents he accessed while working at the NSA poses a new challenge to the U.S. intelligence community that has scrambled in recent days to recover them and assess the full damage of the breach." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Snowden’s Files Are Out There if ‘Anything Happens’ to Him

Two Thirds of Americans Support Drones for ‘Homeland Security’ Missions

"The survey also canvassed law enforcement officers, 72% of whom supported the use of unmanned drones for surveillance purposes and 66% supported their use for 'emergency response'. Initial testing of robotic spy drones for 'public safety' applications was conducted by the DHS’ Science and Technology directorate at Fort Sill, Oklahoma last year. The DHS has also been giving grants worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to police departments across the country enabling them to purchase unmanned surveillance drones such as the Shadowhawk drone, a 50lb mini helicopter that can be fitted with an XREP taser with the ability to fire four barbed electrodes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwo Thirds of Americans Support Drones for ‘Homeland Security’ Missions

Edward Snowden – A Real American Hero

"When you make a mistake, usually there is a negative feedback loop, which lets you know you're headed in the wrong direction. You borrow too much money, for example, and your creditors begin trailing you with court orders or baseball bats. But in a major public policy disaster, the feedback loop is twisted. The feds spend too much money, for example... and give the bill to the next generation. The poor youngsters can't vote. Many are not even born yet. A police state is a disaster. It has its own ways of bending the feedback loop. Every public policy disaster produces zombies. And armed zombies protect themselves... with arms, naturally." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden – A Real American Hero

Bitcoiners donate to WikiLeaks to support Edward Snowden

"Bitcoin donations to WikiLeaks increased 1,894% yesterday after Julian Assange pledged his support to whistle-blower Edward Snowden. 'I have personal sympathy with Snowden having gone through similar personal experiences,' Time Magazine reports Assange as saying during the 75-minute call. Assange said yesterday that Snowden was 'healthy and safe', but would not offer any further insight into where the 29-year-old was or when and how they had spoken. 'If we lived in a better world we would be able to go into those details. Unfortunately, we live in a world, as illuminated by Mr Snowden, where most communications are intercepted unlawfully.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoiners donate to WikiLeaks to support Edward Snowden

The Land of the Blind: The Illusion of Freedom in America

"Consider how quickly the government’s attack dogs went from defending the NSA’s warrantless mass surveillance of Americans’ phone calls to targeting and punishing any and all parties involved in the 'leak' of sensitive information, including labeling Snowden a traitor, charging him with espionage and warning foreign governments against giving him refuge. President Obama has begun preaching about the need for Americans to 'trust' their government, insisting that the NSA’s surveillance is perfectly legal with no acknowledgment of the fact that the leak shed much-needed light on government corruption, illicit programs and treachery." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Land of the Blind: The Illusion of Freedom in America

The daily smart pill that can remember all your passwords

"The tiny swallowable capsules contain a minute chip that transmits an individual’s personal details. Electronic devices will be able to read the unique signal, ending the need for passwords and paper forms of ID, such as passports - and freeing users from such mundane tasks as recalling countless codes and security answers. Already approved by the both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European regulators, the ingestible sensor is powered by a battery using the acid in the wearer’s stomach. It then sends a tiny signal that can be read by mobile devices and allows them to verify the identity of an individual." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe daily smart pill that can remember all your passwords

Paul Craig Roberts: Stasi In The White House

"On June 19, 2013, US President Obama, hoping to raise himself above the developing National Security Agency (NSA) spy scandals, sought to associate himself with two iconic speeches made at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Fifty years ago, President John F. Kennedy pledged: 'Ich bin ein Berliner'. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan challenged: 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.' Obama’s speech was delivered to a relatively small, specially selected audience of invitees. Even so, Obama spoke from behind bullet proof glass. Obama’s speech will go down in history as the most hypocritical of all time. Little wonder that the audience was there by invitation only." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Stasi In The White House

IRS Targeted Progressive Groups, Too, Documents Reveal

"The Internal Revenue Service targeted progressive groups applying for tax-exempt status in addition to conservative ones, according to IRS documents released by congressional Democrats on Monday. The documents and an internal IRS report being sent to congressional committees reveal that the tax agency used terms that included 'progressive' and 'occupy' to flag progressive organizations for extra scrutiny before the 2012 elections. The revelations greatly complicate the political scandal that has engulfed the IRS over the past few weeks. A request for comment from the IRS was not immediately returned." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS Targeted Progressive Groups, Too, Documents Reveal

Spying fears highlight worth of Swiss data centres

"‘Trust’ is the watchword of the expanding Swiss data storage industry as it quietly carves out a highly lucrative global niche. Recent revelations of U.S. intelligence agency spying, coupled with ongoing reports of espionage emanating from China, may have raised public consciousness of the dangers to data but the industry has known about it for years. Some data storage providers have taken security to extremes, housing their servers in ex-military alpine bunkers, such as the aptly-named ‘Fort Knox’ in canton Bern. One company using the bunker, Siag – which labels itself the 'Swiss private bank for digital assets' - refuses to deal with US clients on security grounds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpying fears highlight worth of Swiss data centres