"On August 1, 2007, candidate Barack Obama sharply criticized then-President George W. Bush's government surveillance programs. Recently, following the disclosures of Edward Snowden, President Barack Obama defended the NSA's top-secret PRISM program. If you don't agree with President Obama, exercise your 1st amendment rights so together we can save our 4th amendment rights before it's too late." Continue reading →
"Russia has offered to consider an asylum request from the US whistleblower Edward Snowden in the Kremlin’s latest move to woo critics of the west. Snowden fled the United States before leaking the details of a top-secret US surveillance programme to the Guardian earlier this month. He is currently believed to be in Hong Kong, but has reportedly changed hotels to keep his location secret. Snowden is not known to have made any asylum requests, including to Russia. Yet speaking to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said: 'If such an appeal is given, it will be considered.'" Continue reading →
"Under a directive approved by the 27-member European Union in 2006, telecommunications operators and internet service providers are obliged to retain records of users’ calls and online activity for at least six months. The directive enables security services, if necessary, to check who has been communicating with whom, from where, at what time and for how long but stops short of enabling them to check the content of any communications. The European legislation was approved in the aftermath of bombings in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005. Individual governments are free to require longer periods of data retention." Continue reading →
“The EU said Tuesday it will seek a strong commitment from the United States to respect the rights of European citizens, following revelations that Washington is running a worldwide Internet surveillance programme. Viviane Reding, the EU’s Justice Commissioner, ‘will raise … Continue reading →
"Draper University, a cutting edge boarding school for young entrepreneurs from all over the world, received its first tuition payment in Bitcoin for its summer session, which starts June 24. Draper University accepts various forms of tuition payments, including bartering for services, and now will also accept Bitcoin for tuition payments. The university, located in downtown San Mateo, offers an innovative program designed to inspire, cultivate, and educate students who dream to build companies that change the world around them. Draper University offers four sessions a year and is intended for young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 to 26." Continue reading →
"Just weeks after US prosecutors shut down digital currency operator Liberty Reserve for allegedly running one of the biggest money laundering schemes ever uncovered, prosecutors are scrutinising the use of virtual currencies - which can be traded anonymously - to evade tax. In future, taxpayers could be forced to disclose to the IRS whether they are using PayPal accounts for the virtual transfer of money. The latest move follows a landmark decision by Switzerland last month, which accepted a settlement over alleged bank complicity in evasion by Americans. Switzerland had long considered bank secrecy laws untouchable." Continue reading →
"The Swiss government on Tuesday revealed that it has asked the United States to explain an alleged CIA blackmail operation to spy on Switzerland's banks, exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The Swiss foreign ministry told AFP that it was aware of media reports about the issue and that it had sent the US embassy in the capital Berne a diplomatic note seeking 'clarification'. The ministry also confirmed that Snowden was accredited as a diplomatic attache at the US permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva from March 2007 to February 2009." Continue reading →
"Appearing on CNN with host Piers Morgan on Monday, former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) said that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has embarked on 'a heroic effort' in telling the world about the U.S. government’s spying capabilities, and warned that defending this type of unilateral, unchecked power means embracing 'dictatorship' moving forward. 'For somebody to tell the American people the truth is a heroic effort, and he knows that it’s very risky,' he continued. 'He knows he’s committing civil disobedience, and he knows that he could get punished.' Paul went on to say he believes there should be talk of penalties for officials who 'destroy the Constitution.'" Continue reading →
"A large majority of Americans say the federal government should focus on investigating possible terrorist threats even if personal privacy is compromised, and most support the blanket tracking of telephone records in an effort to uncover terrorist activity, according to a new Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll. Fully 45 percent of all Americans say the government should be able to go further than it is, saying that it should be able to monitor everyone’s online activity if doing so would prevent terrorist attacks. A slender majority, 52 percent, say no such broad-based monitoring should occur." Continue reading →
"In unbroadcast elements of a transcript issued by NBC, the director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, said he had responded in the 'least untruthful manner' possible when denying that the NSA collected data on millions of Americans during congressional hearings. Clapper also confirmed that senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the intelligence committee, had asked for a review to 'refine these NSA processes and limit the exposure to Americans' private communications' and report back 'in about a month'." Continue reading →