Privacy

‘We need a vision of transformational change’ – ex-US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
One need do nothing more than take a look around to see that the situation in the world is dire. A dire situation, however, does not mean there is no possibility of change; a dire situation means that the timing is ripe for change. Exactly the transformational change that is the subject for contemplation today. [...]
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“Snowden Treaty” drafted to end mass surveillance, protect whistleblowers worldwide
Two years after Edward Snowden leaked information about the US government's mass surveillance to reporter Glenn Greenwald, the two were joined by other journalists and leaders to draft an international pact for privacy rights called the Snowden Treaty. Officially called The International Treaty on the Right to Privacy, Protection Against Improper Surveillance and Protection of Whistleblowers, t [...]
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NSA’s XKEYSCORE spy program is “as easy as typing a few words in Google”
The National Security Agency's infamous XKEYSCORE program, revealed by leaker Edward Snowden, makes searching the world's private communications as easy to use as Google, according to training documents published by the Intercept. XKEYSCORE was one of the first programs that the Guardian wrote about when Snowden began leaking NSA documents in 2013. [...]
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“US 4th-class allies France, Germany should cipher everything they have”
France and Germany seem to have a servile attitude towards the US and its foreign policy which has to do with their "anti-terrorism" collection capabilities. They felt they had not to upset the collection arrangements says former CIA officer Ray McGovern. The latest documents published by WikiLeaks suggest that America's snooping activities in France are far more extensive than previously thoug [...]
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Snowden still on the lam 2 years after blowing whistle on illegal NSA activities
A lot has changed in the two years since Edward Snowden decided to let the world know about the NSA's illegal activities, ranging from the mass collection of surveillance data, to tapping German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phones. Despite having his world turned upside down, Snowden says he has no regrets about the life changing decision he made on June 5, 2013. [...]
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Snowden says Australia watching its citizens “all the time,” slams new metadata laws
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden accused Australia of undertaking mass surveillance of its citizens and passing laws on the collection of metadata that he says do not protect society from acts of terrorism. Snowden, addressing the Progress 2015 conference in Melbourne via satellite link, criticized Australia's new metadata laws, which allow the government and intelligence agencies to keep a con [...]
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Government ‘backdoors’ to bypass encryption will make them vulnerable to attacks – industry experts
At a congressional hearing on Wednesday, witnesses said creating a way to grant authorities access to encrypted communications to aid in criminal probes will inevitably by exploited by adversaries. Amid a growing reliance within the tech industry to enable [...]
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80% whistleblower retaliation claims ignored in biased, “Trojan horse” system
The number of whistleblowers being retaliated against is increasing every year as former federal workers warn its almost impossible to raise grievances through official avenues within the government, a new report reveals. Among the employees and contractors working for the United States military and the American intelligence community, more than 8,700 have filed claims since 2001 in which they [...]
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CIA wants to delete thousands of emails as Obama administration stalls release of torture report
The CIA wants to erase tens of thousands of internal emails sent by most covert and counterterror officers after they leave the agency, leading US senators and transparency advocates to fear the plan would mean the loss of vital government records. The spy agency’s proposal, first submitted to the National Archives in January but only now revealed to the public, would mean only the emails of [...]
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US government warns iOS users their devices may be in danger
Apple customers are being warned by computer security experts, including the United States government's own cyber squad, to watch out for a new bug affecting iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad. The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team, or US-CERT, said Thursday that users of mobile phones and tablets running Apple’s latest iOS software should be careful of what they click. [...]
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Well-‘red’: MI5 spied on prominent academics ‘for decades’, secret docs show
British intelligence services, including MI5, secretly spied on a number of prominent academics with socialist leanings "for decades," including Oxbridge dons Christopher Hill and Eric Hobsbawm, secret files disclosed on Friday show. The historians were among a number academics at the UK’s top universities who were placed under rigorous surveillance by the security services after officers b [...]
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Snowden Vindicated—’Citizenfour’ Documentary Untangles the NSA Leak Saga
Citizenfour must have been a maddening documentary to film. Its subject is pervasive global surveillance, an enveloping digital act that spreads without visibility, so its scenes unfold in courtrooms, hearing chambers and hotels. Yet the virtuosity of Laura Poitras, its director and architect, makes its 114 minutes crackle with the nervous energy of revelation. [...]
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Cops caught using millions in seized assets on surveillance gear, weapons and clowns
An investigation concerning the use of federal civil forfeiture law by local law enforcement agencies across the United States has exposed problems with a routine but rarely discussed police tactic. After obtaining 43,000 reports from agencies across the United States, journalists at the Washington Post wrote over the weekend that the budgets of police departments and drug task forces are being [...]
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Twitter Sues U.S. Government Over First Amendment Rights To Release National Security Request Numbers
Twitter has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, so it can release more information about national security requests. The company wants to publish its full transparency report. It alleges that its First Amendment rights to free speech are being violated by rules that prevent it from disclosing the quantity of national security requests it receives. Twitter can publish the number of nati [...]
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The Why of Obama’s Failed Hope | Consortiumnews
The election of Barack Obama in 2008 brought hope and optimism to Americans and non-Americans alike. But after one and a half terms, the reality is sinking in that for all the promised change, it’s the “same old, same old.” The big question is why, writes Australian Greg Maybury. For folks who were fans of the late, great comedian Bill Hicks, they likely will be familiar with one of his m [...]
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Assange sneaks into US conference… as full-body 3D hologram! (VIDEO)
ulian Assange has transcended the confinement of his Ecuadorian embassy asylum to attend the 2014 Nantucket Project – as a hologram. In his ghostly entirety Assange was speaking about censorship, control and manipulation of history. Speaking with filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, Assange closed the 2014 event, sharing his thoughts on importance of research and free access to information, and risks of [...]
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Gone from CNN, Piers Morgan says he wants his show to be remembered for Alex Jones gun debate
News anchor Piers Morgan's tenure with CNN officially ended on Tuesday this week, and according to a tweet sent by the British journalist, an exchange with radio host Alex Jones was among the highlights of his career there. "If I'm to be remembered for anything [at] CNN, I'd like it to be this" Morgan told his 4.23 million Twitter followers on Tuesday along with a link to a YouTube clip of his [...]
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Cars in the US might soon be mandated to broadcast speed and location data
The United States Department of Transportation is taking the next step towards creating a "vehicle-to-vehicle" communications system that will allow light autos on the road to receive and broadcast critical information to one another. Last week, the DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, published an “advance notice of proposed rulemaking” in the Federal Register [...]
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100,000-petition urges US to drop legal action vs Pulitzer-winning journalist
A petition with over 100,000 signatures backing Pulitzer-winning journalist James Risen was handed to the Department of Justice in Washington, urging an end to legal action against him for refusing to reveal a source about a CIA operation in Iran. The petition demands that the US government not pursue an “illegal case” against Risen, an author and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Ti [...]
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