Bank of America accused of racketeering in lawsuitA lawsuit in federal court in Colorado accuses Charlotte-based Bank of America of racketeering, in what amounts to more fallout for the bank stemming from a federal mortgage-modification program. The suit, filed Wednesday, claims violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, also known as RICO.
Hagens Berman: New Lawsuit Filed for Bank of America Homeowners Seeking ModificationsHagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, a national consumer-protection law firm, has filed a class action lawsuit alleging that Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) created and headed an illegal enterprise designed to defraud homeowners seeking loan modifications as part of the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program, or “HAMP.”
Small Utah ISP firm stands up to ‘surveillance state’ as corporations cowerDespite having fewer resources and a fraction of the customers that broadband giants like Verizon and AT&T boast, one small internet service provider has resisted pressure from the NSA and refused to turn over customer data without a warrant.
Microsoft helped the NSA bypass encryption, new Snowden leak revealsMicrosoft worked hand-in-hand with the United States government in order to allow federal investigators to bypass encryption mechanisms meant to protect the privacy of millions of users, Edward Snowden told The Guardian.
Mozilla joins fight in support of AT&T hackerThe group responsible for the immensely popular Firefox Web browser has put their weight behind imprisoned security researcher Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer. The Mozilla Foundation has filed a legal brief asking for the hacker’s conviction to be overturned.
Majority of Americans think Snowden did the right thingFifty-five percent of registered American voters consider former NSA contractor Edward Snowden to be a whistleblower, and only 34 percent call him a traitor – despite US lawmakers labeling him as such. A poll conducted by Quinnipiac University found that the majority of Americans perceive Snowden as a man who exposed the inappropriate surveillance tactics of the US government – not as a man who betrayed his duty.
Yahoo wants Fisa objections revealedYahoo has called on Fisa, the secretive US surveillance court, to let it publish its legal argument against a case that gave the government “powerful leverage” in persuading tech companies to co-operate with a controversial data-gathering program.
Pro-gun activist Adam Kokesh arrested after posting YouTube videoSecond Amendment activist Adam Kokesh was arrested Tuesday evening following an armed raid on his home in the Washington, D.C. area.
How cryptography is a key weapon in the fight against empire statesThe original cypherpunks were mostly Californian libertarians. I was from a different tradition but we all sought to protect individual freedom from state tyranny. Cryptography was our secret weapon. It has been forgotten how subversive this was. Cryptography was then the exclusive property of states, for use in their various wars.
US must fix secret Fisa courts, says top judge who granted surveillance ordersA former federal judge who granted government surveillance requests has broken ranks to criticise the system of secret courts as unfit for purpose in the wake of recent revelations by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
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.
Surprising Lack of Evidence Against Manning Confirms Over-ProsecutionOn February 28, 2013, Pfc. Bradley Manning pled guilty to ten lesser offenses that could have put him in jail for up to 20 years, taking responsibility for releasing classified documents to WikiLeaks as an act of conscience.
State Department’s Watergate? Office of high-profile whistleblower lawyer burglarizedThe Dallas law office representing a State Department whistleblower was broken into and robbed during the first weekend of July. Three computers were stolen and the firm’s file cabinets had been searched, but valuables were left untouched. “It’s a crazy, strange and suspicious situation,” attorney Cary Schulman of the Schulman & Mathias law office told Foreign Policy Magazine’s The Cable.
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.
Daily Kos: NSA Rejecting Every FOIA Request Made by U.S. CitizensOriginally published at Tikkun Daily | Clayton Seymour, a 36-year-old IT specialist from Hilliard, Ohio, recently sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the NSA, curious as to whether …
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.