Orwellian

Privacy services companies stand up against Big Brother

"Encryption communication services companies are gaining momentum as public trust in US technology companies and social media networks are at an all-time low following explosive revelations by Edward Snowden. 'It’s going crazy. You know a lot of people suspected the US government was spying on Americans. But now we have this confirmation so everybody is contacting us now. We’ve had a huge surge in orders,' said Phil Zimmermann, CEO of Silent Circle, encrypted communications firm. Another company that is bearing the fruits of the NSA’s misfortune is Seecrypt, a mobile application that encrypts information sent over the mobile phone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivacy services companies stand up against Big Brother

Homeland Security Admits Backpack Explosive Drill Planned Before Boston Marathon

"The Department of Homeland Security has gone public with an admission that an exercise was planned months before the Boston Marathon bombings that involved backpacks being used to detonate explosives by rogue terrorists. According to the DHS documents acquired by the Boston Globe, the agents were planning on conducting training exercises centered around a fictitious terrorist group called ‘Free America Citizens’, a group that would plant backpacks full of explosives around Boston that the detectives would be forced to track down. Ultimately, of course, this ended up happening at the Boston Marathon itself with precise accuracy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeland Security Admits Backpack Explosive Drill Planned Before Boston Marathon

“Homelanders” To U.S. Expatriates: Don’t Come Back… Ever

"The 2008 amendments levy an 'exit tax' applies to both U.S. citizens and long-term U.S. residents—green card holders who have resided in the United States for at least eight of the 15 years prior to expatriation. The tax is predicated on the legal fiction that you sell all of your worldwide property at its fair market value on the day before you expatriate. But that’s only the beginning. In 1996, Congress enacted the 'Reed Amendment' to the Immigration and Nationality Act. The amendment gives the US Attorney General the discretion to deny entry into the United States to a former US citizen who renounced US citizenship in order to avoid US taxation." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Homelanders” To U.S. Expatriates: Don’t Come Back… Ever

U.S. Seemingly Unaware Of Irony In Accusing Snowden Of Spying

"At a press conference to discuss the accusations, an N.S.A. spokesman surprised observers by announcing the spying charges against Mr. Snowden with a totally straight face. 'These charges send a clear message,' the spokesman said. 'In the United States, you can’t spy on people.' Seemingly not kidding, the spokesman went on: 'The American people have the right to assume that their private documents will remain private and won’t be collected by someone in the government for his own purposes.' 'Only by bringing Mr. Snowden to justice can we safeguard the most precious of American rights: privacy,' added the spokesman, apparently serious." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Seemingly Unaware Of Irony In Accusing Snowden Of Spying

State Department revokes NSA leaker Snowden’s passport

"The former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed a highly classified surveillance program has had his U.S. passport revoked. A U.S. official on Sunday said Edward Snowden's passport was annulled before he left Hong Kong for Russia. Snowden's travel plans could be complicated — but not thwarted — by a lack of passport. The U.S. official said that if a senior official in a country or airline ordered it, a country could overlook the withdrawn passport. The former contractor is said to be in Moscow and his allies at anti-secrecy WikiLeaks say Snowden is bound for Ecuador. The foreign minister there says he has requested asylum." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Department revokes NSA leaker Snowden’s passport

Post on Facebook and be damned

"Given that no mosques were burnt down in Portsmouth following the above Facebook post, it appears that the friends of 24-year-old Michaela Turner assumed that she was drunk. And they’d have been right – the young mum was indeed a few sheets to the wind. Sadly, Portsmouth police did not approach Turner’s drunk Facebook musings in the sober manner of her friends. No, the police decided to charge Turner under Section 127 of the Communication Act 2003. And last week, Turner was handed an eight-week suspended jail sentence. The case of Turner is not unique. The police’s monitoring of ‘community tension’ on Facebook has led to arrests all over the country." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPost on Facebook and be damned

Snowden headed to Venezuela via Moscow and Cuba

"Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden will fly from Moscow to Cuba on Monday and then plans to go to Venezuela, a source at the Russian airline Aeroflot said on Sunday. The source said Snowden was already on his way to Moscow from Hong Kong and would leave for Havana within 24 hours. The South China Morning Post also reported that Snowden had left Hong Kong for Moscow and that his final destination might be Ecuador or Iceland. The WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website said Snowden was heading for an unnamed 'democratic nation'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnowden headed to Venezuela via Moscow and Cuba

Charles A. Burris: War Crimes, the Holocaust, and Today’s National Security State

"Vocal defenders of the National Security State loudly proclaim that such extra-constitutional intrusions into the privacy of Americans are justified on the grounds of 'national security' because we are at total war with Radical Islam and its alleged supporters. 9/11 changed everything. The rule of law and constitutional safeguards are to be suspended during this national emergency. The Constitution is not a 'suicide pact.' Survival of the state is the only thing that counts. These are precisely the very arguments used by Otto Olendorf, commander of Einsatzgruppe D, and his fellow defendants in their Nuremberg War Crime Trials following World War Two." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCharles A. Burris: War Crimes, the Holocaust, and Today’s National Security State

Pelosi booed at Netroots while defending espionage charges against Snowden

"A man identified by Politico as 57-year-old Marc Perkel can be heard shouting, 'It’s not a balance. It’s not constitutional! No more secret laws!' Perkel was ejected from the room by security, while other audience members shouted for him to be left alone. Shortly thereafter, loud boos can be heard coming from the audience after she said former NSA contractor Edward Snowden 'did violate the law' in releasing details about NSA programs like PRISM. Pelosi also defended President Barack Obama against charges that the surveillance of private residents’ phone and internet use constituted a 'fourth term' for his predecessor, George W. Bush." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPelosi booed at Netroots while defending espionage charges against Snowden