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.
Appeal Filed to Free Andrew ‘Weev’ AuernheimerSan Francisco – A team of computer-crime legal experts on Monday filed an appeal of the federal felony conviction and lengthy prison sentence handed down to Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer, a computer researcher who revealed a massive security flaw in AT&T’s website and was subsequently prosecuted under the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act (CFAA).
Using the Now as the Key to a New Future | SuperConsciousness MagazineInterview with Amy Lansky author of Active Consciousness Achieving stillness of the mind has been at the core of most mystical traditions. Different methods of meditation have been created to help in this process and some of these practices have gained a wide acceptance and numerous adepts within western culture over the past decades.
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.
How Barrett Brown shone light on the murky world of security contractorsAny attempt to rein in the vast US surveillance apparatus exposed by Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing will be for naught unless government and corporations alike are subject to greater oversight. The case of journalist and activist Barrett Brown is a case in point.
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.
What It’s Like to Get a National-Security LetterIn the summer of 2011, while he was fighting an indictment for alleged computer crimes, Aaron Swartz, an information activist, read Kafka’s “The Trial” and commented on it at his Web site. Swartz committed suicide a year and a half later.
Bank of America suit under scrutiny of settlement watchdogClaims by former Bank of America employees that they were offered incentives to deny mortgage modifications have caught the attention of the national mortgage settlement’s monitor. Joseph Smith, who oversees the $25 billion settlement reached last year with 49 states and five major banks, including Bank of America, said he’s examining a lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts for any evidence that the bank violated the agreement.
IRS Puts Open Source Projects Under Microscope, Spawns Nonprofit Black HoleFor the past few years, trying to get tax-exempt status for your open source project has been a non-starter for many. And now we know why. Since at least 2010, the Internal Revenue Service has flagged applications by open source organizations seeking tax except status, according to internal IRS documents released by Congress this week.
[Article] Authoritarianism: The Complete Socionomic StudySocionomics posits that waves of social mood motivate the rise of authoritarian governments, and that the current wave could put a new group of dictators into office. Part 1 of this study shows that over the past 300 years, the world’s most notorious authoritarians rose to power or committed their worst atrocities during or soon after bear markets.
Anti-Hacking Bill Aiding Verizon Delayed by Snowden LeaksLegislation to give Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Google Inc. (GOOG) legal protection for sharing cyber-attack information with the U.S. government has stalled after leaks about spy programs showed the companies are already turning over data.
Secrets and LiesEvery credit has its debit, every positive its negative. So for every secret there must be a lie, and every lie must be kept secret. This is the currency of power today. Fiat truth. We are not allowed to have any secrets any more.
License-plate readers let police collect millions of records on driversLicense-plate readers let police collect millions of records on drivers
DEA Agent in Ohio tries to Snatch Camera from Man’s Hand, Claiming it was for Man’s SafetyA Drug Enforcement Administration agent tried to snatch a man’s camera from his hand after warning him that he was “liable to get shot” if he continued hanging around with his camera. The DEA agent then tried to play it off as if he was only watching out for Virgil VÄduva’s safety early this afternoon in Jefforsonville.
Greenwald on ‘coming’ leak: NSA can obtain one billion cell phone calls a day, store them and listenThe NSA has a “brand new” technology that enables one billion cell phone calls to be redirected into its data hoards, according to the Guardian’s Glen Greenwald, who told a Chicago conference that a new leak of Snowden’s documents was ‘coming soon.’
New Bank of America whistle-blower emerges: More customer abuse secretsLast week, I detailed bombshell revelations from Bank of America whistle-blowers, in which former employees of the bank detailed systematic fraud and deceptive practices inside their loan modification department – including bonuses and Target gift cards for staff who racked up foreclosures.