Monthly Archives: May 2015

Jacob Hornberger: Judicial Immunity for the Assassins

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“In the wake of President Obama’s apology for the killing of two Western hostages in a drone assassination in Pakistan, people might be wondering if it will be possible for surviving family members to recover in a legal action against the assassins for the wrongful death of their loved ones.  The answer is unequivocally no. The reason is that long ago, the judicial branch of the federal government, acquiescing to the overwhelming power of the national-security branch of the government, decided to erect a wall of immunity around CIA assassinations.  Moreover, the federal courts made it clear that the national-security branch was the final determiner of what constitutes ‘national security.'”

http://fff.org/2015/04/27/judicial-immunity-assassins/

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Rand Paul threatens Patriot Act filibuster

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“Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said in an interview published Monday that he will filibuster a reauthorization of provisions within the Patriot Act.  ‘I’m going to lead the charge in the next couple of weeks as the Patriot Act comes forward,’ the GOP presidential candidate told the New Hampshire Union Leader. ‘We will be filibustering. We will be trying to stop it. We are not going to let them run over us. And we are going to demand amendments and we are going to make sure the American people know that some of us at least are opposed to unlawful searches.’  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) has said that he favors a full reauthorization of the measures.”

http://thehill.com/policy/technology/241635-rand-paul-threatens-patriot-act-filibuster

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How the NSA Converts Spoken Words Into Searchable Text

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“Top-secret documents from the archive of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show the National Security Agency can now automatically recognize the content within phone calls by creating rough transcripts and phonetic representations that can be easily searched and stored.  Though perfect transcription of natural conversation apparently remains the Intelligence Community’s ‘holy grail,’ the Snowden documents describe extensive use of keyword searching as well as computer programs designed to analyze and ‘extract’ the content of voice conversations, and even use sophisticated algorithms to flag conversations of interest.”

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/05/05/nsa-speech-recognition-snowden-searchable-text/

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Smartphone & Laptop Searches: Know Your Rights

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“There are a lot of reasons why you might not want an airport security agent to rifle through your computer.  When flying, we consent to put our laptops in separate x-ray bins for inspection. Likewise, depending on the routes we fly, we also consent to turn our phones and laptops on to prove they are genuine. But what about when the scrutiny our devices undergo reaches another level?  We’re going to explore what rights customs and TSA agents have to inspect your mobile devices and computers.”

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/smartphone-laptop-searches-know-rights/

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Man arrested for refusing to give phone passcode to border agents

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“Alain Philippon arrived at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Canada and was stopped by border agents.  He had flown in from the Dominican Republic.  As the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports, the agents wanted access to his cell phone. Philippon refused to give them the passcode and was arrested.  A spokeswoman for the Canadian Border Services Agency confirmed me to that he has been ‘arrested under section 153.1 of the Customs Act for hindering.’  Was he hindering? Or was he, as he told CBC, merely protecting something he deemed personal?”

http://www.cnet.com/news/man-charged-for-refusing-to-give-up-phone-passcode-to-canadian-border-agents/

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Government Corruption Has Become Rampant

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“Senior SEC employees spent up to 8 hours a day surfing porn sites instead of cracking down on financial crimes.  Nuclear Regulatory Commission workers watch porn instead of cracking down on unsafe conditions at nuclear plants.  NSA spies pass around homemade sexual videos and pictures they’ve collected from spying on the American people.  NSA employees have also been caught using their mass surveillance powers to spy on love interests, such as girlfriends, obsessions or former wives … and to eavesdrop on American soldiers’ intimate conversations with their wives back home.  A TSA employee admitted that agents share – and laugh at – nude scans of passengers.”

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/03/rampant-government-corruption.html

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The real story behind the demise of America’s once-mighty streetcars

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“After World War I, the value of 5 cents plummeted, but streetcars had to get approval from municipal commissions for any fare hikes — and the idea of the 5-cent fare had become ingrained as something of a birthright among many members of the public. The public had little sympathy for the traction magnates who’d entered into these contracts. Today, many progressives and urbanists are boosters of streetcars, but back then they were often seen as a bastion of corruption — especially because of their owners’ history of violent strike-breaking.  Because of these factors, some streetcar companies began going into bankruptcy as early as the 1920s.”

http://www.vox.com/2015/5/7/8562007/streetcar-history-demise

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Jacob Hornberger: Operation Jade Helm

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“The possibility that an Operation Jade Helm could have been held in the United States during most of the first century of America’s history was non-existent because our American ancestors never permitted a large permanent military establishment to be part of America’s governmental system. It was only after World War II that a vast permanent military establishment, along with the CIA and the NSA, became grafted onto our federal governmental structure, thereby effectively becoming the fourth branch of the federal government and the most powerful branch at that.  The adoption of the national-security establishment fundamentally altered the federal structure of the nation.”

http://fff.org/2015/05/08/operation-jade-helm/

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Paul Rosenberg: ‘Production Versus Plunder’, Part 6

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“Whether (early) to get farmers to capitulate, or (late) to keep sub-rulers in obedience when you were away, the newness of the rulership enterprise plus the extremely low population density made extending power difficult. Ruling one settlement could be done fairly well if the settlement was not large and if you remained there. But if you wished to rule another three or four nearby settlements as well, you needed to extend your power. And, since soldiers were expensive, other methods were required. This difficulty was solved with ferocity and fear. The rulers of this era were especially willing to boast of the horrible pain and punishments they inflicted upon anyone who rose against them.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/editorials/36283/Paul-Rosenberg-Production-Versus-Plunder–Part-6/

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Michigan tax hike suffers worst ballot smackdown in decades

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“Proposal 1 suffered the worst defeat Tuesday of any Michigan constitutional amendment ballot measure since the current constitution was adopted more than a half-century ago, as 80.1 percent of voters rejected the sales tax increase and road funding plan.  This year’s thumping occurred even though the measure was backed by Gov. Rick Snyder as well as the Republican and Democratic legislative leaders from last year’s Michigan House and Senate. The Safe Roads Yes campaign ended up amassing about $9.5 million, 27 times as much money as the roughly $350,000 the three opposition campaigns had combined.”

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2015/05/06/prop-suffers-worst-ballot-measure-defeat-years/70877352/

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