Intelligence committee withheld key file before critical NSA vote, Amash claimsA leader of the US congressional insurrection against the National Security Agency’s bulk surveillance programs has accused his colleagues of withholding a key document from the House of Representatives before a critical surveillance vote.
The NSA-DEA police state tangoThis week’s DEA bombshell shows us how the drug war and the terror war have poisoned our justice system
U.S. sues Bank of America over sale of $850 million in mortgage-backed securitiesThe U.S. government filed two civil lawsuits against Bank of America for… (Brendan McDermid/Reuters ) Traders at Bank of America willfully misled investors about the quality of the residential mortgages tucked into the securities the bank sold at the start of the financial crisis, according to separate lawsuits filed Tuesday by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Justice Department Fights Release of Secret Court Opinion Finding Unconstitutional SurveillanceIn the midst of revelations that the government has conducted extensive top-secret surveillance operations to collect domestic phone records and internet communications, the Justice Department was due to file a court motion Friday in its effort to keep secret an 86-page court opinion that determined that the government had violated the spirit of federal surveillance laws and engaged in unconstitutional spying.
Snowden’s Asylum: ‘It’s the law, stupid’The most influential media in the United States has lived up to its pro-government bias in the Snowden Affair in three major ways: firstly, by consistently referring to Snowden by the demeaning designation of ‘leaker’ rather than as ‘whistleblower’ or ‘surveillance dissident,’ both more respectful and accurate.
Obama’s former adviser ridicules statement that NSA doesn’t spy on AmericansUnited States President Barack Obama insists his government isn’t in the business of domestic surveillance, but one of his former advisers says that’s contrary to the truth.
Veteran civil rights leader: Snowden acted in tradition of civil disobedienceJohn Lewis, one of America’s most revered civil rights leaders, says the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was continuing the tradition of civil disobedience by revealing details of classified US surveillance programs. Lewis, a 73-year-old congressman and one of the last surviving lieutenants of Martin Luther King, said Snowden could claim he was appealing to “a higher law” when he disclosed top secret documents showing the extent of NSA surveillance of both Americans and foreigners.
Encrypted email Lavabit used by Snowden shuts to avoid ‘complicity in crimes against Americans’AFP Photo / John Macdougall The highly encrypted email service reportedly used by NSA leaker Edward Snowden has gone offline – and its administrator claims the company is legally barred from explaining why.
Civil forfeiture scam lets police collect billions from innocent AmericansAFP Photo Police agencies across the United States are seizing billions of dollars annually in assets and money from people never convicted of crimes, and they’ve been getting away with it for decades.
Bitcoin Clampdown Continues As Federal Judge Says It’s A CurrencyWikipedia calls Bitcoin a cryptocurrency (a currency that relies on cryptography), but now it’s official. A federal judge in Texas has declared that Bitcoin is a currency and should therefore be regulated just like U.S. dollars or gold. The ruling represents yet another attempt to regulate Bitcoin transactions, threatening the original purpose of the currency.
Occupy protester sues Portland police for notorious pepper-spray incidentThe Occupy Portland protester who was photographed as police doused her with pepper spray is now in court seeking $155,000 for damages caused by alleged police brutality. The photograph became one of the most galvanizing images of the movement. Elizabeth Evon Nichols was just one of thousands demonstrators who gathered in Portland, Oregon to protest widespread housing foreclosures by major banks.
DC, Maryland: Speed Camera Firms Move To Hide EvidenceRelated News Cop Sues Over DC Speed Camera Program Southern California Cities Further Reject Red Light Cameras View Main Topics: Maryland: Motorist Rights Group Sues Over Camera Data Third Maryland Jurisdiction Forced To Refund Illegal Tickets Back To Front Page Australia: Safety Official Seeks Refund Of 987 Speed Camera Tickets Subscribe via RSS or E-Mail DC, Maryland: Speed Camera Firms Move To Hide Evidence Afraid of refunds, Washington, DC and Salisbury, Maryland conceal evidence that could reveal camera inaccuracy.
City Moving Forward on Eminent Domain for Troubled MortgagesDespite national controversy surrounding the issue of using eminent domain to stop foreclosures, the city of Richmond, Calif., will become the first to implement the practice. The city plans to use eminent domain to buy underwater mortgages and reduce home owner debt by refinancing the loans.
Justice Department Sues Bank of America Over MortgagesBank of America Corp. was sued by the U.S. for allegedly hiding risks from investors in a 2008 deal for $850 million of bonds backed by residential mortgages. Government lawsuits filed today in federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina, lay out a pattern of intentional acts by bank officials to disguise the mortgages’ risks in disclosures to the U.S.
Anti-social tendencies of entrepreneurs demonstratedMedia reports about alleged anti-social and delinquent behavior of entrepreneurs are no rarity. Such reports direct the attention towards possibly ‘hidden’ anti-social tendencies in entrepreneurial types. Is it true then, that entrepreneurs are a particularly self-serving species with their own moral ideas and ethical principles?