Winning Hearts & Minds

US court renews permission to NSA to collect phone metadata

"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has renewed permission to the U.S. government for a controversial program to collect telephone metadata in bulk. The office of the Director of National Intelligence said the government filed an application with the FISC seeking renewal of the authority to collect telephony metadata in bulk, and the court renewed that authority, which expired on Friday. The information was being disclosed 'in light of the significant and continuing public interest in the telephony metadata collection program,' and an earlier decision by DNI James R. Clapper to declassify certain information relating to the program, it said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS court renews permission to NSA to collect phone metadata

Indian forces shoot six Kashmir protesters dead

"Indian paramilitary forces Thursday shot dead six people protesting at an incident involving the troops at an Islamic school in Kashmir, police said. The angry protesters clashed outside the BSF base on Thursday with troops who started firing, witnesses said. About a dozen rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces in Kashmir since 1989, either for independence or for a merger with Pakistan. The fighting has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians, dead. Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have each administered part of Kashmir since the partition of the subcontinent after the end of British rule in 1947. Each country claims the territory in full." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndian forces shoot six Kashmir protesters dead

Family of Egypt’s Morsi threaten legal action over ‘abduction’

"The family of Egypt’s ousted Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi, said on Monday it would take legal action against the army for abducting him. Mursi has been held at an undisclosed military facility since the army deposed him on July 3 and suspended the constitution in the wake of huge street protests against his one-year rule. The army says Mursi is being held for his own safety. Mursi’s supporters are maintaining a round-the-clock vigil in a Cairo suburb, now in its third week. They say they will stay put until Mursi is returned to office." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFamily of Egypt’s Morsi threaten legal action over ‘abduction’

Former jail keeps memory of Communist repression raw in Romania

"The extent of the suffering had largely been hidden. Stalinist purges in the former Soviet Union and Communist repression in Eastern Europe claimed millions of lives in the 20th century, according to historians. In Romania alone, more than 600,000 people were sentenced and jailed between 1945 and 1989 for political reasons. Stanca was one of them. 'In the jail, we suffered from hunger, we did not get any medical assistance, we were continuously humiliated,' he said. He was then sent to a labour camp to erect dikes along the Danube river. 'I think only the pyramids were built with such inhumane physical work,' he added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer jail keeps memory of Communist repression raw in Romania

Taxpatriate? Tax dodgers welcome to leave, not welcome to return

"An amendment to the Homeland Security Bill has been proposed banning US expatriates who have renounced their US citizenship or long-term residence in order to escape US tax obligations from entering the country. The amendment would mean that former citizens of the United States who officially renounced United States citizenship and who have been determined by Homeland Security to have done this for the purpose of avoiding US tax obligations are inadmissible. Furthermore, covered expatriates unable to present evidence that they renounced US citizenship with the purpose of avoiding US tax obligations would also become inadmissible." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTaxpatriate? Tax dodgers welcome to leave, not welcome to return

Police Posing as Punks Bust Rockers: Don’t Cops Have Better Things to Do?

"Boston cops are so eager to bust DIY indie-rock shows that they won't simply wait to respond to noise complaints that might arise. Instead they're going online posing as punk rockers to bust bands before they perform. It's part of a citywide effort to crack down on basement and warehouse shows spurred by a recently passed nuisance control ordinance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Posing as Punks Bust Rockers: Don’t Cops Have Better Things to Do?

Nasser Al-Awlaki: The Drone That Killed My Grandson

"The missile killed him, his teenage cousin and at least five other civilians on Oct. 14, 2011, while the boys were eating dinner at an open-air restaurant in southern Yemen. I visited the site later, once I was able to bear the pain of seeing where he sat in his final moments. Local residents told me his body was blown to pieces. They showed me the grave where they buried his remains. I stood over it, asking why my grandchild was dead. Nearly two years later, I still have no answers. The United States government has refused to explain why Abdulrahman was killed. A country that believes it does not even need to answer for killing its own is not the America I once knew." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNasser Al-Awlaki: The Drone That Killed My Grandson

Jimmy Carter Defends Edward Snowden, Says NSA Spying Has Compromised Nation’s Democracy

"Former President Jimmy Carter announced support for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden this week, saying that his uncovering of the agency's massive surveillance programs had proven 'beneficial.' Speaking at a closed-door event in Atlanta covered by German newspaper Der Spiegel, Carter also criticized the NSA's domestic spying as damaging to the core of the nation's principles. 'America does not have a functioning democracy at this point in time,' Carter said, according to a translation by Inquisitr. No American outlets covered Carter's speech." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJimmy Carter Defends Edward Snowden, Says NSA Spying Has Compromised Nation’s Democracy

Ex-Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta fined $13.9 million for insider trading

"A federal judge Wednesday ordered former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta to pay a $13.9 million penalty related to insider trading. The SEC’s case against Gupta concerns alleged civil violations stemming from his communications with former Galleon hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam. In a parallel criminal case, a New York jury in June 2012 convicted Gupta of spilling boardroom secrets to Rajaratnam. In addition to his spot on the Goldman Sachs board, Gupta had been head of the renowned consultancy McKinsey & Co and a director of Procter & Gamble, making him one of the most successful Indian immigrants in the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta fined $13.9 million for insider trading