Secret Service ordered to release files on Aaron SwartzThe federal dossier on Aaron Swartz will be made public due to a United States District judge’s decision last week which compels the Secret Service to disclose the contents of its investigation into the late computer prodigy.

Opinion: New use for U.S. spy laws: Muzzle free press – CNN.comEditor’s note: Frank Snepp is a Peabody award-winning investigative journalist, most recently for NBC in Los Angeles, and the author of two CIA memoirs. One, “Decent Interval,” is an account of the fall of Saigon, based on his perspective as the CIA’s chief strategy analyst there.

Government by JuryGovernment by Jury Stephen H. Unger July 8, 2013 There aren’t very many things that people all over the political spectrum agree about, but there is almost universal dissatisfaction with the performance of almost every branch of American government, at every level, state, local, and federal [Litvan].

Former Commander of Headquarters Company at Quantico Objects to Treatment of Bradley ManningFrom DAVID C. MACMICHAEL General James F. Amos Commandant of the Marine Corps 3000 Marine Corps Pentagon Washington DC 20350-3000 Dear General Amos: As a former regular Marine Corps captain, a Korean War combat veteran, now retired on Veterans Administration disability due to wounds suffered during that conflict, I write you to protest and express concern about the confinement in the Quantico Marine Corps Base brig of US Army Pfc.

Snowden made the right call when he fled the U.S.Many people compare Edward Snowden to me unfavorably for leaving the country and seeking asylum, rather than facing trial as I did. I don’t agree. The country I stayed in was a different America, a long time ago.

Whilstleblowers Blast NSA Programs, Award SnowdenEdward Snowden has been named recipient of this year’s “award for truth telling” given by Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence. The following are members of the group or past recipients of the award. The group’s statement is below. DANIEL ELLSBERG, ellsbergd1 at gmail.com Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971.

Secret move keeps bin Laden records in the shadowsWASHINGTON (AP) – The top U.S. special operations commander, Adm. William McRaven, ordered military files about the Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden’s hideout to be purged from Defense Department computers and sent to the CIA, where they could be more easily shielded from ever being made public.

Obama gives himself control of all communication systems in AmericaUS President Barack Obama quietly signed his name to an Executive Order on Friday, allowing the White House to control all private communications in the country in the name of national security. President Obama released his latest Executive Order on Friday, July 6, a 2,205-word statement offered as the “Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions.”

IMF’s Lagarde says U.S. budget cuts ‘inappropriate’AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (Reuters) – The U.S. federal budget cuts are an inappropriate measure that will weigh on potential growth, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said on Sunday, urging Washington to present “credible” fiscal plans. Washington enacted across-the-board federal government spending cuts, known as sequestration, in March because Congress could not agree on an alternative.

Dandelion Saladby Fred Branfman Writer, Dandelion Salad originally published on Alternet, June 26, 2013 July 1, 2013 Executive Branch leaders have killed, wounded and made homeless well over 20 million human beings in the last 50 years, mostly civilians. America has a secret.

How Unreasonable Searches of Private Documents Caused the American RevolutionJust FYI, the Restore the Fourth movement in defense of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution is holding protests all over the US today. On the Fourth of July, Americans should be celebrating the freedoms enshrined in the US constitution, especially the Bill of Rights.

Thanks to Snowden, a chance to reset Sino-US relationsLanxin Xiang says the fallout from Edward Snowden’s revelations may not be as damaging to Sino-US ties as feared, but could instead provide an opportunity for recalibration

A Long History of Untruthiness by U.S. IntelligenceAmerica’s chief intelligence officers have a longstanding history of untruthiness — testifying falsely and fearlessly. They are caught in a dilemma — sworn to secrecy yet sworn to tell the truth. Sometimes they get their facts wrong; that’s human error. But sometimes their untruths are conscious. Soldiers can die as a consequence.

‘Imperial Skyjacking’: Bolivian presidential plane grounded in Austria over Snowden stowaway suspicionsSpain has authorized Bolivia’s presidential jet to pass through its airspace and continue its journey to Bolivia, the Austrian President has said. The plane was grounded in Austria Wednesday morning over suspicions that Edward Snowden was on board. The Bolivian presidential jet has left Vienna and is on its way to La Paz, AFP reports.

Statement from Edward Snowden in MoscowMonday July 1, 21:40 UTC One week ago I left Hong Kong after it became clear that my freedom and safety were under threat for revealing the truth. My continued liberty has been owed to the efforts of friends new and old, family, and others who I have never met and probably never will.

Snowden summoned Americans ‘to confront the growing danger of tyranny,’ father saysNational Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden’s father has published an open letter praising his son’s contributions in exposing the United States’ vast surveillance operations. According to the Associated Press, Lonnie Snowden celebrated his son’s work ” summoning the American people to confront the growing danger of tyranny.”

America’s founders would be horrified at this United States of SurveillanceI’m a longtime subscriber to an Internet mail list that features items from smart, thoughtful people. The list editor forwards items he personally finds interesting, often related to technology and/or civil liberties. Not long after the Guardian and Washington Post first started publishing the leaks describing the National Security Agency’s vast surveillance dragnet, an item appeared about a White House petition urging President Obama to pardon Edward Snowden.

The cyber-intelligence complex and its useful idiotsIt’s a fine thing to see mainstream American media outlets finally sparing some of their attention toward the cyber-industrial complex – that unprecedented conglomeration of state, military and corporate interests that together exercise growing power over the flow of information.

Will “Persistent Surveillance” Turn U.S. into a Panopticon?Share Email Print Every week, hockey-playing science writer John Horgan takes a puckish, provocative look at breaking science. A teacher at Stevens Institute of Technology, Horgan is the author of four books, including The End of Science (Addison Wesley, 1996) and The End of War (McSweeney’s, 2012). Follow on Twitter @Horganism.

Out there: Former Sen. Mike Gravel says White House suppressing evidence of ETsTop Line Even as most Americans wonder what planet politicians are from, is it possible that the government is squelching evidence of extraterrestrials visiting Earth? One former presidential hopeful says yes – and that the conspiracy goes all the way to the top. Former Sen.