Orwellian

Video Now Missing From Confiscated Phone In Beating And Murder Of David Silva By Police

"Responding to what he called a case that 'has consumed the media and our community,' Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said Tuesday he has asked the FBI to conduct a 'parallel' investigation into the death of Bakersfield father of four David Sal Silva, who died May 8 after he was beaten by deputies. Youngblood’s call to the FBI — he termed it 'unprecedented' — was made after it was discovered that video evidence expected to be found on one of two cell phones confiscated last week from witnesses was not present on the phone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVideo Now Missing From Confiscated Phone In Beating And Murder Of David Silva By Police

How to stop the FBI from reading your email

"One option is to encrypt messages before sending them, which can make them indecipherable as they are transmitted across servers. Such messages can only be read after the recipient unlocks the message with an encryption key. Given that authorities can only access emails that have been stored on a server for more than six months, privacy experts say another option is to delete older emails or store them directly on a hard drive (which is protected by the Fourth Amendment). One final option is an 'offshore email account.' Servers operated in other countries would not be subjected to the same rules as those based in the U.S." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow to stop the FBI from reading your email

Is this Sandpoint, Idaho — or Soviet Russia?

"Rita Hutchens is a 57-year-old quilt artist from Sandpoint, Idaho. Until two years ago, she had never experienced trouble with the police. After checking on a rental property, Rita was followed home by an officer who assaulted her and arrested her without cause. The resisting and obstructing charge against Rita was thrown out of court by a judge who recognized that there was no legal cause for the police officer to be on Rita’s property or lay hands on her. She is now enduring a campaign of undisguised harassment and persecution from city and county officials that has included a midnight police raid on her home and an order that she undergo a psychiatric evaluation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs this Sandpoint, Idaho — or Soviet Russia?

California cops defend seizing video depicting fatal beating case

"Authorities in Kern County, California are defending themselves against criticism for confiscating cell phone video of seven sheriff’s deputies’ fatal encounter with a 33-year-old man. But witnesses to the May 8 incident involving the deputies and 33-year-old David Silva said deputies overstepped their bounds in gathering that evidence. A witness told the Bakersfield Californian that two detectives entered her apartment to seize video taken by her boyfriend and blocked the entrance, then demanded her mother’s phone. Another witness gave the family surveillance footage taken near the site of the encounter that shows deputies hitting Silva with their nightsticks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia cops defend seizing video depicting fatal beating case

Eric Holder defends seizure of AP phone logs to track down ‘the most serious’ CIA leak

"The US administration pushed back Tuesday after being accused of undermining press freedom by seizing reporters’ phone records, claiming officials took the drastic steps to protect American lives. Amid a barrage of criticism, Attorney General Eric Holder said telephone logs were secretly taken from US news agency the Associated Press as part of a probe into a security breach which had put the American people at risk. The comments came as President Barack Obama’s administration faced heavy criticism over the Justice Department’s decision to seize two months of phone records from the news operations of the Associated Press." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEric Holder defends seizure of AP phone logs to track down ‘the most serious’ CIA leak

Phone Records of AP Journalists Seized by U.S. Government

"Federal investigators secretly seized two months of phone records for reporters and editors of The Associated Press in what the news organization said Monday was a 'serious interference with A.P.’s constitutional rights to gather and report the news.' The A.P. said that the Justice Department informed it on Friday that law enforcement officials had obtained the records for more than 20 telephone lines of its offices and journalists, including their home phones and cellphones. It said the records were seized without notice sometime this year. The organization was not told the reason for the seizure." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPhone Records of AP Journalists Seized by U.S. Government

Obamacare: Taxpayers Must Report Personal Health ID Info to IRS

"When Obamacare’s individual mandate takes effect in 2014, all Americans who file income tax returns must complete an additional IRS tax form. The new form will require disclosure of a taxpayer’s personal identifying health information in order to determine compliance with the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. As confirmed by IRS testimony to the tax-writing House Committee on Ways and Means, 'taxpayers will file their tax returns reporting their health insurance coverage, and/or making a payment'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObamacare: Taxpayers Must Report Personal Health ID Info to IRS

IRS official knew in 2011 of ‘Tea Party’ targeting: watchdog report

"A senior Internal Revenue Service official knew in 2011 that IRS agents were giving extra scrutiny to conservative Tea Party groups, according to documents from a watchdog office obtained by Reuters on Saturday. A report from the Treasury Department's Inspector General For Tax Administration (TIGTA) was expected to be issued publicly next week on the IRS practice, who knew about it and when. The TIGTA report finds that Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS's tax-exempt groups unit, knew of the extra scrutiny as early as June 2011. The number of groups seeking 501(c)(4) status more than doubled from 2010 to 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS official knew in 2011 of ‘Tea Party’ targeting: watchdog report

FBI’s Latest Proposal for a Wiretap-Ready Internet Should Be Trashed

"The FBI has some strange ideas about how to 'update' federal surveillance laws: They’re calling for legislation to penalize online services that provide users with too much security. The FBI’s misguided proposal would impose costly burdens on thousands of companies (and threaten to entirely kill those whose business model centers on providing highly secure encrypted communications), while making cloud solutions less attractive to businesses and users. It would aid totalitarian governments eager to spy on their citizens while distorting business decisions about software design. Perhaps worst of all, it would treat millions of law-abiding users as presumed criminals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI’s Latest Proposal for a Wiretap-Ready Internet Should Be Trashed

FBI’s Latest Proposal for a Wiretap-Ready Internet Should Be Trashed

"The FBI has some strange ideas about how to 'update' federal surveillance laws: They’re calling for legislation to penalize online services that provide users with too much security. The FBI’s misguided proposal would impose costly burdens on thousands of companies (and threaten to entirely kill those whose business model centers on providing highly secure encrypted communications), while making cloud solutions less attractive to businesses and users. It would aid totalitarian governments eager to spy on their citizens while distorting business decisions about software design. Perhaps worst of all, it would treat millions of law-abiding users as presumed criminals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI’s Latest Proposal for a Wiretap-Ready Internet Should Be Trashed