Rand Paul’s USA Rights Act Would Protect Us From NSA Spying

"It fixes the 'backdoor search loophole,' which now allows warrantless searches of the NSA-collected contents of Americans’ communications. It extends broad oversight powers to an independent agency. It guarantees the end of a controversial type of data search (called “about” searches) that the NSA suspended earlier this year. It improves judicial oversight of the government’s surveillance regime. It provides better transparency and requires stricter reporting."

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A U.S. Soldier Died in Niger. What on Earth Are We Doing There?

"If you were surprised to learn the U.S. has nearly a thousand troops in Niger, you’re not alone. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who serves on the Armed Forces Committee, told NBC he 'had no idea.' Neither did Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat. Well, the surprises may keep coming."

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50,000% return: Assange thanks US for forcing him to invest in Bitcoin

"In his tweet, Assange called out current and former senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman, respectively, for forcing him into seeking alternative sources of funding which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. At the time, Lieberman called for the Department of Justice to indict Assange under the 1917 Espionage Act and sought his extradition from the UK for leaking US Embassy cables."

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Russia Issuing ‘CryptoRuble’

"According to the official, the state issued cryptocurrency cannot be mined and will be issued and controlled and maintained only by the authorities. The CryptoRubles can be exchanged for regular Rubles at any time, though if the holder is unable to explain where the CryptoRubles came from, a 13 percent tax will be levied. The same tax will be applied to any earned difference between the price of the purchase of the token and the price of the sale."

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Saudi Prince says Bitcoin is ‘just going to implode one day’

"Alwaleed said bitcoin 'doesn’t make sense. This thing is not regulated, it’s not under control, [and] it’s not under the supervision' of any central bank. Of course, to bitcoin proponents, those same criticisms are features rather than bugs."

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U.S. widens surveillance to include individuals with no foreign connection

"The change last year to a Department of Defense manual on procedures governing its intelligence activities was made possible by a decades-old presidential executive order, bypassing congressional and court review. The new manual, released in August 2016, now permits the collection of information about Americans for counterintelligence purposes 'when no specific connection to foreign terrorist(s) has been established,' according to training slides created last year by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI)."

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Who’s ‘the Harvey Weinstein of’ Sex Work? The Police

"Every week brings a new story of police officers abusing their power to extort sex from women, especially women whom they've known to engage in prostitution. Since the start of October, at least five cops and a police dispatcher have made headlines for prostitution offenses, sometimes with underage women. And of course these are only the ones getting caught."

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Cops Claim Teen Consented to Sex — While Handcuffed In Custody

"After their DNA was found on 18-year-old 'Anna Chambers' in September, the two Brooklyn narcotics officers who she accused of raping her admitted to sex with the young woman. But they claimed the contact—which occured after police pulled over Chambers on a traffic stop, found loose prescription pills in her bag, and took her into their custody—was consensual. Now they're trying to discredit her by pointing prosecutors to her 'provocative' social-media selfies and to tweets where she lashes out at someone accusing her of lying."

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