The most egregious rights violations tend to happen against the voiceless; those who have neither the platform nor resources to articulate their grievances to the broader world. Last week, however, the US Department of Justice was caught in a very public transgression against the freedom of an influential and empowered …
When the news broke yesterday afternoon it was at first hard to believe, yet, when one thought about it for a bit, it seemed all too part of a pattern. The Associated Press itself broke the news that the US Department of Justice had notified AP last Friday that it …
Associated Press on Monday revealed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) “secretly obtained two months of telephone records of [its] reporters and editors”, denouncing it as a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into the news gathering process. In a letter sent yesterday to Attorney General Eric Holder, AP’s President, Gary Pruitt, detailed that the …
More than three decades before Superstorm Sandy, a state law and a series of legislative reports began warningNew York politicians to prepare for a storm of historic proportions, spelling out scenarios eerily similar to what actually happened: a towering storm surge; overwhelming flooding; swamped subway lines; widespread power outages. The Rockaway peninsula …
Secret information on counter-terrorism shared by foreign governments may have been compromised by a massive data theft by a senior IT technician for the NDB, Switzerland’s intelligence service, European national security sources said. Intelligence agencies in the United States and Britain are among those who were warned by Swiss authorities …
On July 30, the Washington Post headlined “A bill to stop security leaks puts a plug on democracy,” saying: Journalists and others talk to officials daily. Background briefings are commonplace. Vital information is discussed. Most of it is unclassified. On May 15, HR 5743: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year …
American freedom always was weak. It’s now on life support. Numerous police state laws followed 9/11. Rights most people take for granted are on the chopping block for elimination. Big Brother spying alone eroded them. It’s ongoing lawlessly in many forms. So-called National Security Letters (NSLs) is one …
“The greatest crime since World War II has been U.S. foreign policy.” (Former US Attorney General, Ramsey Clark.) On the 4th of May 2012, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Chaired a Security Council meeting: “Highlighting Changing Nature, Character of Scourge of Terrorism.” (i) This followed a ministerial-level meeting on: “threats …
Various cybersecurity acts threaten constitutional freedoms. On March 27, HR 4263: SECURE IT Act of 2012 was introduced. Now in committee, no further action was taken. On April 26, the House passed HR 3523: Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) of 2011. On June 27, …
We know the Montana challenge to Citizens United was struck down, but most don’t know how this broadened the ruling to unleash corporate cash into state and local races. NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman assembled a posse of AGs to prove the original ruling was baseless, but the Court refused …
In January 2012, Netanyahu appointed a three-member committee headed by former Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy. Included were former Foreign Ministry legal adviser Alan Baker and former Tel Aviv District Court president Tchia Shapira. They examined three issues: (1) Legal aspects of Israel’s occupation. (2) The 2005 Sasson Report’s conclusion …
A House panel voted Wednesday to place Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for his failure to comply with a subpoena, defying an assertion of executive privilege from President Obama. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, led by Republican Chairman Darrell Issa (Calif.), approved a resolution along …
Guest: Marcy Wheeler – Author, journalist Topic: Eric Holder Defends Killing Americans Without Due Process On March 5th Attorney General Eric Holder defended drone assassinations of US citizens spoke at northwestern university claiming that it is legal to target US citizens for execution without ever be charged of a crime …
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In an extraordinary article in Tuesday’s New York Times, “Secret ‘Kill List’ Proves a Test of Obama’s Principles and Will,” authors Jo Becker and Scott Shane throw macabre light on the consigliere-cum-priestly role that counterterrorist adviser John Brennan provides President Barack Obama At the outset, Becker and Shane note that, although …
The five-panel tribunal unanimously delivered a guilty verdict against former United States President George W. Bush and his associates at the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal hearing that had started on Monday. On the charge of Crime of Torture and War Crimes , the tribunal finds the accused persons former U.S. President …