Orwellian

CIA stops denials and admits it had file on Noam Chomsky

"After issuing years of denials, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has revealed that it kept a file on MIT professor Noam Chomsky dating back to his days as an anti-war activist in the 1970s. According to John Hudson of Foreign Policy magazine’s The Cable blog, a public records request by FOIA attorney Ken McClanahan turned up a memo referring to the file, leading to the realization that a file must have existed although it had since been purged from the record. By whom, when and at whose orders the file was destroyed is still a mystery. Chomsky told the Cable that he isn’t surprised by the revelations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCIA stops denials and admits it had file on Noam Chomsky

CIA Director John Brennan Confirmed as Reporter Michael Hastings Next Target

"A University professor told San Diego 6 News that calculating the speed of Hastings car follows a simple mathematic equation. By using the video and the distance traveled (195 feet) as well as the seconds that lapsed prior to the explosion – the car was traveling roughly 35 mph. That revelation is important because Jose, an employee of ALSCO a nearby business, and a witness to the accident told KTLA/Loud Labs (Scott Lane) the car was traveling at a high rate of speed and he saw sparks coming from the car and saw it explode BEFORE hitting the tree." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCIA Director John Brennan Confirmed as Reporter Michael Hastings Next Target

Stormy Weather in U.S. Cloud Computing

"A report from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) estimated that if U.S. cloud providers were to lose 10-20% of foreign business, it would cost them anywhere from $21.5-35 billion over the next three years. But their losses present a big opportunity for European and Asian companies to pick up the slack from the growing global cloud market. A market that’s forecast to be worth $148.8 billion in 2014… $160 billion in 2015… and $207 billion in 2016. Artmotion, Switzerland’s largest offshore hosting company, has already scooped up a big portion of the leftovers. Since the Snowden leaks, its revenue has bounced 45% higher." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStormy Weather in U.S. Cloud Computing

Judge Upholds Suit Against Feds Who Arrested Former Marine For Facebook Posts

"On August 16, 2012, Raub was visited by local police, FBI agents and Secret Service personnel who questioned him about his Facebook posts. Raub was cooperative and discussed his activity with the officers, despite their not having a warrant. At some point, one of the agents made a call to Michael Campbell, a psychotherapist retained by the county who decided, despite having never met or observed Raub, that the former Marine was 'potentially dangerous' and should be detained. At that point, the collected officers cuffed Raub and took him to the local jail before having him committed to the mental hospital." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Upholds Suit Against Feds Who Arrested Former Marine For Facebook Posts

Intelligence director introduces group to review NSA privacy issues

"US intelligence director James Clapper introduced a review group Monday that will assess whether the right balance is being struck between national security and personal privacy. The group will assess whether the US 'optimally protects our national security and advances our foreign policy while appropriately accounting for other policy considerations,' the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a statement. The body is required to brief the president on its findings within 60 days and provide a final report with recommendations no later than December 15, according to ODNI." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIntelligence director introduces group to review NSA privacy issues

There is no terrorist threat: The feds want you to think there is

"Nothing can be said for certain as to what prompted the State Department to close more than 20 embassies and consulates in the Middle East and North Africa last Sunday, and this is by design. But it is no excuse not to raise the possibility that Americans are eating a summer salad of nonsense served to justify objectionable surveillance practices now coming in for scrutiny. This prospect seems so self-evident that one feels almost silly raising it, except that so few have. Let us insert it into the conversation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThere is no terrorist threat: The feds want you to think there is

Man Released After Spending 9 Years In Jail For Possessing “Al Qaeda Literature”

"Omar Altimimi has been released from prison after 9 long years. His crime? Simply possessing digital literature relating to Al Qaeda and unfortunately being Muslim at the same time. Altimimi a Dutch national – who resided in Bolton – was alleged to have had a 'vast' terror library, but actually possessed just 'six computer files connected with the preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.' The infamous 'Al Qaeda training manual' that has resulted in other men being locked up for its possession, was actually written by an informant for the CIA. So is that Al Qaeda material, or American Government material?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan Released After Spending 9 Years In Jail For Possessing “Al Qaeda Literature”

Bitcoin Goes to Washington

"The Committee understands that Bitcoins and other forms of peer-to-peer digital currency are a potential means for criminal, terrorist or other illegal organizations and individuals to illegally launder and transfer money. News reports indicate that Bitcoins may have been used to help finance the flight and activity of fugitives. The Committee directs the FBI to provide a briefing on the nature and scale of the risk posed by such ersatz currency, both in financing illegal enterprises and in undermining financial institutions. The briefing should describe the FBI efforts in the context of a coordinated Federal response to this challenge." Continue reading →

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The Police State Mindset in Our Public Schools

"Instead of making the schools safer, we simply managed to make them more authoritarian. It used to be that if you talked back to a teacher, or played a prank on a classmate, or just failed to do your homework, you might find yourself in detention or doing an extra writing assignment after school. Nowadays, students are not only punished for transgressions more minor than those—such as playing cops and robbers on the playground, bringing LEGOs to school, or having a food fight—but they are punished with suspension, expulsion, and even arrest. As a result, America is now on a fast track to raising up an Orwellian generation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Police State Mindset in Our Public Schools