Surveillance

SunsetThePatriotAct.Com Demands End To Mass Surveillance

May 13, 2015 Demand Progress, www.demand-progress.tumblr.com Resist! Congress, Law, Surveillance

As the House prepares for a vote on the USA Freedom Act this week, 13 netroots groups—representing approximately 10 million Americans—have launched a campaign and activism website calling on Congress to reject reauthorization of key provisions of the PATRIOT Act. Instead, the site calls for Congress to allow PATRIOT Act provisions—including Section 215, which has been exploited to justify the collection of data on millions of innocent Americans’ phone calls—to sunset on June 1st. Netroots groups plan to use the site to generate hundreds of thousands of emails and tens of thousands of phone calls to Congress over the next two weeks. Internet users may visit SunsetThePatriotAct.com to make their voices heard.

A Nation Of Snitches

May 12, 2015 Chris Hedges, www.truthdig.com Resist! Civil Liberties, Privacy, State, Surveillance, Terrorism

A totalitarian state is only as strong as its informants. And the United States has a lot of them. They read our emails. They listen to, download and store our phone calls. They photograph us on street corners, on subway platforms, in stores, on highways and in public and private buildings. They track us through our electronic devices. They infiltrate our organizations. They entice and facilitate “acts of terrorism” by Muslims, radical environmentalists, activists and Black Bloc anarchists, framing these hapless dissidents and sending them off to prison for years. They have amassed detailed profiles of our habits, our tastes, our peculiar proclivities, our medical and financial records, our sexual orientations, our employment histories, our shopping habits and our criminal records. They store this information in government computers. It sits there, waiting like a time bomb, for the moment when the state decides to criminalize us.

Right-Left Unite Over Extension Of Patriot Act

May 10, 2015 Julian Hattem, www.thehill.com Resist! Mass Surveillance, NSA, Patriot Act, Privacy, Surveillance

A coalition of advocacy groups from all sides of the political spectrum has joined forces to warn against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) plan to renew expiring portions of the Patriot Act without changes. Traditionally conservative organizations such as FreedomWorks and Gun Owners of America joined the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP and dozens of other groups to warn the Senate majority leader against his “clean” reauthorization of the national security law. “In the absence of meaningful reform, it is unacceptable to rubber stamp reauthorization of an authority that the government has used to spy on millions of innocent Americans,” the groups told McConnell and other leaders of Congress on Wednesday. “These bulk surveillance programs raise serious constitutional concerns, erode global confidence in the security of digital products, and are unnecessary for national security,” they added.

Snowden, Manning & Assange Statues Unveiled In Germany

May 9, 2015 Jay Syrmopoulos, www.thefreethoughtproject.com Resist! Art, Germany, NSA, Surveillance

This past Friday life-size bronze statues of Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning were unveiled in Berlin’s Alexanderplatz Square in front of German politicians and activists. In Germany and much of the world, the three are considered heroes in the fight for freedom of information and speech, for their respective leaking of classified U.S. documents. “They have lost their freedom for the truth, so they remind us how important it is to know the truth,” said the artworks creator, Italian sculptor Davide Dormino, during the unveiling. The artwork is not only an ode to the courage of these three whistleblowers, but also serves as a call to citizens to take a stand, as the three are standing on chairs with a fourth empty chair next to them.

NSA Mass Phone Surveillance Revealed By Snowden Ruled Illegal

May 9, 2015 Dan Roberts and Spencer Ackerman, www.theguardian.com Resist! Law, NSA, Privacy, Surveillance

The US court of appeals has ruled that the bulk collection of telephone metadata is unlawful, in a landmark decision that clears the way for a full legal challenge against the National Security Agency. A panel of three federal judges for the second circuit overturned an earlier rulingthat the controversial surveillance practice first revealed to the US public by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013 could not be subject to judicial review. But the judges also waded into the charged and ongoing debate over the reauthorization of a key Patriot Act provision currently before US legislators. That provision, which the appeals court ruled the NSA program surpassed, will expire on 1 June amid gridlock in Washington on what to do about it.

Thomas Drake Running For UN Privacy Rapporteur

May 9, 2015 Courage, www.couragefound.org Organize! Human Rights, Surveillance, United Nations

Courage Advisory Board member Thomas Drake is a candidate to be the next Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy for the United Nations. In 2006, Drake blew the whistle on the NSA’s fraudulent and abusive warrantless wiretapping. Courage wishes to congratulate Drake on his candidacy and fully supports his run. Drake has already taken a stand for privacy in the global sphere. In September 2013, he testified to the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee on the threat that mass surveillance poses to privacy and human rights. In July 2014, he participated in the German Parliament’s formal surveillance inquiry, using his extensive knowledge as a former senior executive with the NSA.

NSA Tech Generates Transcripts Of Private Calls

May 9, 2015 Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, www.readersupportednews.org Educate! NSA, Privacy, Surveillance

A new article by The Intercept details how the National Security Agency is converting people’s private phone conversations into searchable text. According to documents released by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the agency can now automatically recognize spoken words by generating rough transcripts and phonetic representations that are easily stored and combed for information. The top-secret documents show NSA analysts congratulated themselves on developing what they called "Google for Voice" nearly a decade ago. It remains unclear how widely the spy agency uses its speech-to-text capabilities to transcribe and index U.S. citizens’ verbal conversations. The documents suggest the NSA has frequently used the technology to intercept phone calls — particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Mexico — and to monitor international news.

Government Surveillance Planes Spotted Over Baltimore Protests

May 7, 2015 Yael Grauer, www.slate.com Educate! Baltimore, Drones, police brutality, Surveillance, Wars and Militarism

In the aftermath of the Baltimore protests and riots in response to the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, FBI surveillance planes were flown over the city on the evenings of April 30, May 1, and May 2, according to the Washington Post. An unnamed government official who spoke to the paper stated that these planes—a Cessna 182T Skylane propeller plane and a Cessna 560 Citation V jet—used infrared technology to monitor people’s movements, and that Baltimore police officials requested aerial support from the FBI. “It would be disturbing if police were overreacting to reactions to their own misconduct by calling in indiscriminate aerial surveillance,” Nathan Freed Wessler, a staff attorney with ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, told me.

We’re Citizens, Not Subjects. The Right To Criticize Gov’t W/O Fear

May 7, 2015 Chelsea E Manning, www.theguardian.com Resist! CIA, NSA, Surveillance

When freedom of information and transparency are stifled, then bad decisions are often made and heartbreaking tragedies occur – too often on a breathtaking scale that can leave societies wondering: how did this happen? Think about the recent debates on torture, assassination by unmanned aircraft, secret warrants and detentions, intelligence and surveillance courts, military commissions, immigration detention centers and the conduct of modern warfare. These policies affect millions of people around the world every day and can affect anyone – wives, children, fathers, aunts, boyfriends, cousins, friends, employees, bosses, clergy and even career politicians – at any time. It is time that we bring a health dose of sunlight to them. I believe that when the public lacks even the most fundamental access to what its governments and militaries are doing in their names, then they cease to be involved in the act of citizenship.

Canada Set To Pass It’s Patriot Act Despite Opposition

May 6, 2015 David Christopher, www.rabble.ca Resist! Canada, Law, Privacy, Surveillance

It's rare in Canadian politics to see intense public interest in government legislative proposals -- let alone to see Canadians take to the streets in the tens of thousands to protest a piece of legislation by name. Yet that's exactly what has happened in the case of Bill C-51, which critics, including The Globe and Mail's editorial team,say will undermine basic democratic values and lead to the creation of a "secret police force" in Canada. In the space of a few short months since Bill C-51 was announced, hundreds of thousands of people have taken action to stop it: signing petitions, writing letters to local newspapers, phoning and writing to their member of Parliament, and hitting the streets in nationwide demonstrations in over 70 communities across Canada.

French Patriot Act For Invasive Surveillance

May 6, 2015 Angelique Chrisafis, www.theguardian.com Educate! Europe, France, Privacy, Surveillance

The French parliament has overwhelmingly approved sweeping new surveillance powers in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris in January that killed 17 people at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery in Paris. The new bill, which allows intelligence agencies to tap phones and emails without seeking permission from a judge, sparked protests from rights groups who claimed it would legalise highly intrusive surveillance methods without guarantees for individual freedom and privacy. Protesters for civil liberties groups launched a last-ditch campaign against the bill under the banner “24 hours before 1984” in reference to George Orwell’s dystopian novel about life under an all-knowing dictatorship. Groups including Amnesty International warned of “extremely large and intrusive powers” without judicial controls.

Word: Edward Snowden

May 6, 2015 Undernews, www.prorevnews.blogspot.com Educate! Media, NSA, Privacy, Snowden, Surveillance

National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden was interviewed on the German television network ARD. What many Americans may be unaware of is that the Edward Snowden interview was intentionally blocked from the US public with none of the major new outlets covering the interview or its contents. YouTube has even taken steps to remove the post as soon as it is reposted. The video got a wide viewing in Europe and it is not only an important interview when it comes to the vast surveillance state that is currently constructed, but is also still future. Snowden explained to German television (oh the irony here is rich) how tyrannical surveillance programs erode human rights and individual liberty and freedom.

EFF Joins With Diverse Coalition To Get Copyright Right

May 5, 2015 Corynne McSherry, www.eff.org Educate! NSA, Privacy, Surveillance, Technology

After decades of increasingly draconian statutes and judicial decisions, our copyright system has veered far away from its original purpose. To help get copyright back on track, EFF is joining forces with a variety of groups—including libraries, industry associations, and public interest advocates—to launch a new coalition focused on promoting smart, balanced copyright policy: Re:create. Restoring a sense of balance, fairness, and rationality to the copyright system has never been more urgent. Copyright is supposed to promote creativity, but too often we’ve seen it used to shut down innovation, new creative expression, and even everyday activities like tinkering with your car. When a farmer needs to ask the Librarian of Congress for permission to fix her tractor, it’s not just the tractor that’s broken.

Inside The Military-Police Center That Spies On Baltimore’s Rioters

May 3, 2015 Adam Weinstein, phasezero.gawker.com Educate! Militarization, Police abuse, Privacy, spying, Surveillance

Above: Image by Jim Cooke; photo via AP On Ambassador Road, just off I-695 around the corner from the FBI, nearly 100 employees sit in a high-tech suite and wait for terrorists to attack Baltimore. They’ve waited 11 years. But they still have plenty of work to do, like using the intel community’s toys to target this week’s street protests. They are the keepers of the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center, a government “fusion center” set up to share information and coordinate counterterrorist activities between 29 law enforcement agencies—federal, state, and local, including Baltimore city and county cops—in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Seeded by a state anti-terror advisory council whose meetings are closed to the public, nourished by Republican and Democratic governors alike, MCAC has expanded its access to spying tools over the past decade and a half. It can pinpoint cellphone users. It can monitor movements of state motorists through their license plates, as it has done with an estimated 85 million drivers.

Government Treating #BlackLivesMatter Like A Terrorist Group

April 29, 2015 Adam Johnson, www.alternet.org Educate! police brutality, Racial Justice, Surveillance, Terrorism

We learned in the wake of the Occupy Wall Street movement that the government’s use of its anti-terror apparatus at a local and federal level was both routine and pervasive. Thus far, the means with which similar practices have been used on #BlackLivesMatter have been subtly emerging -- thanks in large part to some truly intrepid journalism -- from across the country. Here is a recap of the five of the worst examples: The police wearing the counterterrorism jackets at protests are perhaps the most palpable sign of the agency's transformation since 2001. Before 9/11 the NYPD had no counterterrorism bureau and the Intelligence Division focused its resources on gang activity. After the September 11 attacks, however, billions of dollars were poured into the department to counter the threat of terrorism, as a 2011 60 Minutes report showed.

«1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 »

assetto corsa mods

Daily movement news and resources