World News, Far Right, Ukraine and Russia, Turkey, Israel and Palestine, Middle East, Brazil 2014; US Politics, NJ Pensions, Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform; Racism, Religion; Surveillance and Privacy, Your Rights Online

World News

• South Korea offers $500,000 reward for tips about missing billionaire Sewol ferry owner Yoo Byung-eun
• Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: Satellite data released after long wait
• France's UMP 'ordered €10m fake invoices' to hide Sarkozy campaign spending

Far Right

• Far-right National Front stuns French elite with EU 'earthquake'
• Greece's Golden Dawn to enter EU Parliament for first time—"Exit polls give the party, which denies it subscribes to neo-Nazi ideology, around a 10 per cent of the Greek vote."
• Farage: UKIP has 'momentum' and is targeting more victories

Ukraine and Russian

• Putin Demands Apology After Prince Charles Compares Him To Hitler—Here's that apology (satire).
• Vladimir Putin Has Been Outplayed by Barack Obama
• Petro Poroshenko claims Ukraine presidency—And he'll push for EU integration.
• More than 50 rebels killed as new Ukraine leader unleashes assault
• ISS crew hug, take selfie to say 'No' to politics and Ukraine tension in space

Turkey

• In Turkey's Mine Disaster, Erdogan Turns Tragedy Into Farce
• Image of PM's aide kicking protester stokes anger over Turkey mine fire
• Soma mine inspected, approved by executive's brother-in-law
• 'Someday There Will Be a Massacre'
• Thousands protest at Erdogan German rally

Israel and Palestine

• Pope Francis calls Israeli-Palestinian stalemate unacceptable—"Pope also chose to arrive in West Bank from Jordan rather than via Israel in a symbolic nod towards Palestinian statehood."
• Gaza's Hamas government says ready to step aside
• Israeli authorities 'try to evict dead people' from Arab village
• Israel troops raid Palestinian newspaper offices
• Video footage indicates killed Palestinian youths posed no threat—"Evidence from CCTV above office shows alleged fatal shootings of Nadeem Nawara and Mohammad Salameh by Israeli forces."
• Turkey orders arrests over Gaza flotilla raid—"Court asks Interpol to issue arrest warrants for Israeli military chiefs over deadly 2010 raid on Gaza-bound aid ship."

Middle East

• Iran releases Pharrell Williams fans detained for singing hit song Happy
• Visiting Qatar this summer? Don't wear shorts. WaPo
• Egyptian presidential election extended to third day
• U.S. doctor killed in Pakistan in front of family

Brazil 2014

• A Brazilian Street Artist Has Created the World Cup's First Viral Image
• Soccer Great Pelé Expresses Concern, Disappointment At Brazil's World Cup Preparations
• Brazil anti-World Cup protesters clash with police
• Rio official: Water pollution targets won't be met—"Brazil will not make good on its commitment to clean up Rio de Janeiro's sewage-filled Guanabara Bay by the 2016 Olympic Games, state environmental officials acknowledged in a letter obtained Saturday by The Associated Press."
• Flipside: Here's Our Favorite World Cup Spot: Nike's "Winner Stays."

US Politics

• How Republicans became the "stupid" party: Turning right, refusing to recognize facts and change—"We once had two centrist liberal parties. Here's the story of how the GOP fringes took over the mainstream." Salon
• Jeb Bush's humiliating plea: I swear I'm smart Salon
• Republicans Bet That Latinos Are Idiots—"House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) recently published an orotund statement predicated on a lie, betting that Hispanic Americans are incapable of distinguishing between fact and fiction."
• Cliven Bundy Abandons The Republican Party
• GOP hopes renewed probes into Benghazi, IRS will fire up conservatives and not annoy centrists
• Young Republicans Split With The GOP On Gay Marriage, Marijuana

NJ Pensions

• We name the political donors whose firms got $14bn of pension cash from New Jersey
• Chris Christie can't afford to pay public teacher pensions… but still hands education megacorp $82m in subsidies
• Christie's pension payment reduction plan sparks lawsuit from CWA

Vote Machinations

• GOPer Suggested Voting Should Be Limited To Property Owners
• Arkansas Voters Complain About Quizzing By Poll Workers Checking IDs
• Voting problems across south could spell trouble for November
• PA: Corbett says he will not appeal voter ID law decision
• FBI agent who focused on political corruption in NC to join state elections agency
• Can Georgia Democrats Make the State Turn Blue Ahead of Schedule?
• Flipside: Massachusetts governor signs early voting bill

Campaign Finance Deform

• RNC files lawsuit to raise unlimited cash
• Someone Just Spent $1.5 Million on a GOP Senate Candidate. We'll Probably Never Know Who.
• David Koch, Donald Trump Lead Wealthy Donors Past Now-Dead Campaign Finance Limit
• Judge Who Halted Walker Dark Money Criminal Probe Attended Koch-Backed Junkets

Racism

• Man accused of slur sues Red Lobster, Franklin waitress
• Miss. Judge Allegedly Struck, Yelled Slur At Mentally Disabled Black Man
• Houston man accused of beating daughter who picked black teen for dance
• Racism on the rise in Britain

Religion

• How American Evangelicals Infected Uganda
• Malaysian Muslim groups call for jihad on Cadbury after pork traces found in chocolate
• Sudanese woman sentenced to death for her Christianity gives birth in prison

Surveillance and Privacy

• John Kerry's Latest Snowden Comments Are Moronic, Offensive, and Dangerous—"No one, fugitive whistleblower or otherwise, should heed Kerry's call to 'trust in the American justice system.'"
• Germany drops NSA prosecution due to lack of evidence—"Data protection officials are bewildered by the German federal prosecutor's decision not to start a criminal investigation into the alleged mass surveillance of German citizens by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA)."
• How the US institutionalized surveillance—"Washington's global intelligence network began with the humble file card."
• Brokers use 'billions' of data points to profile Americans—"Are you a financially strapped working mother who smokes? A Jewish retiree with a fondness for Caribbean cruises? Or a Spanish-speaking professional with allergies, a dog and a collection of Elvis memorabilia?" WaPo
• Attempts to stay anonymous on the web will only put the NSA on your trail—"The sobering story of Janet Vertesi's attempts to conceal her pregnancy from the forces of online marketers shows just how Kafkaesque the internet has become."
• Do Personal Computers Come With NSA Surveillance Devices Built-In As Standard?
• China demands halt to 'unscrupulous' US cyber-spying—"Chinese report says US has breached international laws, infringed human rights and put global cyber-security at risk."

Your Rights Online

• Snowden, Greenwald, Appelbaum, WikiLeaks 'blacklisted' from Stockholm Internet Forum
• Calls for Turkey to remove Internet restrictions
• Thailand: Facebook 'blocked'

Marriage Equality, Religion, Intolerance, LGBT; Culture Clash, Abortion and Birth Control, Sexism, Rape; Fog of War, World Protests

Marriage Equality

• Obamacare Insurance Must Now Cover Gay Spouses, Too
• Court: Tenn. must recognize 3 same-sex marriages
• Judge: Married Women Can't Divorce In Alabama
• Gay military widow not getting death benefits
• Homosexuality and racism: Why gay marriage and interracial marriage are different.—A differing point of view.

Religion

• Right-Wing Pastor Worried That Satan Is Using 'Frozen' To Turn Kids Gay
• KY churches withhold $7 million from children's home to force anti-gay policies
• Methodists drop church charges against minister who conducted gay wedding

Intolerance

• The Miserable End Of The Miserable Fred Phelps
• S.C. legislature keeps colleges' budget penalty for gay-themed books
• Florida man charged with hate crime in attack on teen he thought was gay

LGBT

• Heineken and Sam Adams boycott St. Patrick's Day parades—"Two of the country's biggest beer companies are withdrawing their sponsorships of upcoming St. Patrick's Day parades because gay and lesbian groups aren't allowed to march openly."
• Gays in Lebanon Just Snagged a Major Victory
• Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia top list of gay-porn watching states

Culture Clash

• Lebanon protesters march over domestic violence bill
• Women protest against proposed Iraq law that would allow marriage of nine-year-old girls
• Sudan court convicts gang-raped teenager of 'indecent acts'—She was originally faced death by stoning.

Abortion and Birth Control

• Federal judge strikes down Arkansas early abortion ban
• As Abortion Clinics Close, Student Creates Travel Fund
• Spain: Thousands protest against tougher abortion laws

Sexism

• Professor dies of lung cancer after doctors dismiss illness as 'purely psychological'—"I can't prove it, and this is just my opinion, but I have no doubt in my own mind that my misdiagnosis was in large part due to the fact that I was a middle aged female and that my male doctors were preconceived towards a psychological rather than a physiological diagnosis."
• Watch Lena Dunham in "SNL's" hilarious "Girls" parody—"Before there were "Girls," there was "Girl" -- the story of Adam and Eve." Salon
• Beyonce, Victoria Beckham front campaign to ban the word 'Bossy' for female empowerment

Rape

• Chinese woman chops off alleged rapist's penis and beats him to death with a hammer
• Mom has two babies by age 13, sues state for millions—"According to legal documents, she was repeatedly raped by her mother's boyfriend starting at the age of 9."
• 100 serial rapists identified after rape kits from Detroit Crime Lab are finally processed

Fog of War

• Foes of America in Russia Crave Rupture in Ties—"I am afraid that I am interested in a cold war with the West," said Mr. Prokhanov, 76, in a lull between interviews on state-controlled television and radio. "I was very patient. I waited for 20 years. I did everything I could so that this war would begin. I worked day and night." NYT
• Ukraine crisis: Crimea votes in referendum that divides Russia, U.S.
• Vladimir Putin's phony war in Crimea: The Russian president's invasion of Ukraine is based on his paranoia
• Crimea has Russian oligarchs panicked—"Russian bankers and industrialists close to Vladimir Putin fear Western sanctions." Salon
• Russian companies withdraw billions from west, say Moscow bankers FT

World Protests

• Moscow rally opposes Crimea intervention
• Australia: Tens of thousands gather for March in March protest
• Canada: March against police brutality declared illegal, broken up
• Venezuela's Maduro gives ultimatum to Caracas protesters
• Algeria Activists Stage Rare Anti-Gov't Protest

Ukraine, Venezuela, Thailand; War on Drugs, Money Problems, Legalization and Decriminalization, 420, Medical Marijuana; Law and Disorder, Bad Cops, Dogs, Don't Tase Me Bro; Traffic, License to Track, Road Kill

Ukraine

• Ukraine Burning
• Hotels in Kiev Are Being Turned into Morgues as the Death Toll Mounts—Like the doctor who got shot by a sniper.
• Ukrainian Olympian Drops Out of Sochi Games to Protest Kiev Crackdown—"Alpine skier Bohdana Matsotska pins bloodshed on President Viktor Yanukovych." And she's not the only one leaving. Try and stop them this time, IOC officials.
• How Ukraine Wooed Conservative Websites—"Passion or payola? A source describes being offered $500 for an article, and a consultant doesn't deny payments."
• Ukraine sanctions imposed amid Kiev clashes
• Ukraine Facing Civil War: Lviv Declares Independence from Yanukovich Rule
• Ukraine's parliament just threw President Yanukovych under the bus. That’s great news. WaPo
• Ukraine crisis: Yanukovych announces 'peace deal'

Venezuela

• Venezuela: What's the crisis about?
• Venezuela: The Game Changed Last Night
• 29 Heartbreaking Images From The Protests In Venezuela
• Venezuela's Internet Crackdown Escalates into Regional Blackout
• Venezuela's poor join protests as turmoil grips Chávez's revolution—"Government claims protests bear the hallmarks of US-backed coup plot led by jailed opposition leader Leopoldo López."

Thailand

• Thailand's prime minister denies corruption charge
• Thai anti-government protesters gather outside defense compound
• No Sign Thailand Protests Will Abate as Economic Toll Rises

War on Drugs

• California Narcotics Officers to President: Stop Telling the Truth
• Criminalizing Drug Users Is Killing People—"21-year-old Alysa Ivy was surrounded by people when she died of a heroin overdose. Not one of them called 911 for help. Instead, they left her alone in a motel room, afraid they’d be arrested if they called the authorities."
• Why Mexico's 'drug war' is not about drugs—"'We aren't against drug traffickers,' says a self-defense leader. 'We are against organized crime.'"
• US DEA needs warrant to access Oregon drug database, judge rules—"Federal judge said attempts to gather information from prescription drug database 'violates constitutional protections.'"
• Police shoot, kill 80-year-old man in his own bed, don't find the drugs they were looking for
• 4 of the best movies about America's ludicrous war on drugs—"These brilliant films offer new insight into the marijuana debate currently taking center stage." Salon

Legalization and Decriminalization

• Rhode Island Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Legalize Marijuana
• Opponents of marijuana decriminalization in N.H. face tough questions
• US drug policy fuels push for legal pot worldwide

Money Problems

• Colorado's marijuana firms beg banks to take their cash
• Obama issues guidelines for banks on funds from legal marijuana sales
• Banks warned they risk prosecution if they follow Obama admin. guidance on marijuana
• Sacramento marijuana dispensary battles with the IRS over business expenses

420

• Governor: Colorado pot market exceeds tax hopes
• Legal Pot To Generate $190 Million For Washington: Report
• 18 Members Of Congress Call On Obama To Drop Marijuana From 'Most Dangerous' Category
• Why Surging Support for Marijuana Is Hurting the GOP and Will For Years to Come
• Career switch: From pot busters to pot protectors
• Italy court overturns law equating cannabis with heroin
• Mexican officials introduce bills seeking to relax marijuana laws
• Ireland: Blind man asks to be charged with cannabis possession to challenge law

Medical Marijuana

• Sponsors of medical marijuana bill say science is on their side, despite claims of Pa. Secretary for Drugs and Alcohol
• Military veteran joins the fight for medical marijuana in Virginia
• Georgia: Visit to hospital prompts lawmaker to back medical marijuana— "I want to be very clear. We don't want to go down the slippery slope of legalizing marijuana in our state." It's a positive step, nonetheless.
• West Des Moines mayor, wife unlikely crusaders for medical pot—"They are advocates for legalizing medicinal marijuana in Iowa to aid their daughter's fight against epilepsy. But it won't happen this year."
• Leftist Mexican lawmakers present medical marijuana bill
• Anti-drug advocate argues for 'reefer sanity' in Utah—"An outspoken opponent of legalizing marijuana visited Utah on Friday to urge lawmakers to put the brakes on a bill that would give epileptic children access to nonintoxicating cannabis oils." Big Pharma plant?
• Study Confirms Marijuana Can Help In Arthritis
• If Medical Marijuana Laws Cause A 'Surge in Drugged Driving Deaths,' Why Are Fatalities Falling?

Law and Disorder

• Man dies after firefighters won't cross street to help, daughter says—"Washington DC officials are investigating after firefighters apparently refused to help a man who later died."
• Congresswoman: Justice Department to investigate mysterious Texas death—"Wright was missing an ear, two front teeth, and his tongue. His throat appeared to be cut. [...] his death was ruled accidental due to a 'combined drug intoxication.'"
• Police Nab Suspects in Merciless Nerf Gun Drive-By Shooting
• Deputies: Pickens woman charged 9 years after failing to return J.Lo movie
• A woman's plea in her native language goes untranslated, three lives are lost

Bad Cops

• 'You all need to leave': SWAT uses Fla. woman's home without permission
• Police officer hacks off woman's hair, gets fired
• Dunbar Teacher Handcuffed, Questioned by Metro Transit Police in Front of Her Students—"'At no point did the gentleman who put me in handcuffs tell me why I was in handcuffs,' she said. He only said she was being detained because of an active investigation, Byrd said."
• Woman arrested on 24th Street after crossing intersection—She was jogging with her headphones on and didn't hear the cops.
• Shooting during Dorner stakeout violated policy, panel rules—"Eight officers who mistakenly fired more than 100 shots at a pickup carrying two women delivering newspapers violated the LAPD's policy on deadly force, commission finds. Chief Beck must now decide on discipline." Surprise: There's none.

Dogs

• Killing of dogs by police becoming an issue
• Filer Opens Investigation of Dog Shooting by Officer
• Bombay HC sets free man who spent 10 years in jail as police dog barked at him

Don't Tase Me, Bro

• Family seeks answers in death of a Caldwell man who died after he was hit by a Taser—"Police haven’t released reports about Anthony Firkins Jr."
• Police Beat, Stun Deaf Man After Confusing Sign Language With Threatening Gestures
• Blue Island Cop Uses Stun Gun On Accident Victim—"When the sergeant threatened to use a stun gun on him, Flores said he implored him not to because he has an electronic spinal device to treat a previous injury to his hand. When the stun gun was used, Flores says it caused a seizure. 'When I was seizing they told me, 'Stop it. Quit resisting,'' he says."
• Video Surfaces Of BART Officer Repeatedly Using Stun Gun On Passenger—"A woman who witnessed the incident, who did not want to go on camera, told KPIX 5 the man was harmless and that the officer used the stun gun for no reason."
• Civil Rights Lawsuit Alleges Deputies Burned Man's Genitals With Taser

Traffic

• Traffic Cameras Are a Municipal Moneymaking Scam
• Missouri Judge Says, 'Yes, You Have A Right To Warn Other Drivers About Speed Traps'
• Fired red-light camera executive: Company bribed officials in 13 states, including NJ
• NYC Mayor's SUV caught breaking traffic laws
• Jaywalking: How the car industry outlawed crossing the road—"The idea of being fined for crossing the road at the wrong place can bemuse foreign visitors to the US, where the origins of so-called jaywalking lie in a propaganda campaign by the motor industry in the 1920s."

License to Track

• US drops plan to collect vehicle data—"The Department of Homeland Security abruptly abandons proposal to collect license plate data from tracking company."
• Judge Napolitano Calls License Plate Tracking Unconstitutional
• Maryland's License Plate Surveillance Program Triggers Privacy Concerns
• Bills to regulate Virginia police use of license plate reader data are shelved for a year WaPo
• Los Angeles Cops Should Release Automatic License Plate Reader Records, EFF & ACLU Argue in Opening Brief
• Private firms argue First Amendment right to collect license plate data—"Companies sue Utah to halt law that blocks private gathering, use of such data."

Road Kill

• Wrong-way driver was going more than 100 mph, witnesses say—She's been charged with murder.
• NC woman charged with murder, texting in wreck
• Woman, 79, kills 3 while backing out of church parking space

World News; Obstructionism, Budget, US Politics, Corruption, Public-Private Partnerships, Obamacare, Vote Machinations, Racism, NSA Spying

World News

• Kim Jong Un: Uncle's execution offers rare look into Hermit Kingdom
• Two men hanged by government in Japan in latest 'secret executions'
• Saudi activist 'sentenced to lashes and jail'—"Omar al-Saeed had called for a constitutional monarchy and attacked the ruling family over its human rights record."
• Canada: MP staffers forced to sign lifelong gag orders to get raises
• Ukraine Protesters Want Answers on $15 Billion Russia Aid
• South Sudan clashes 'kill 400-500' after coup claim
• Elian Gonzalez lashes out at U.S.
• Arrest, detention of Indian diplomat in New York triggers uproar—Naturally, they're angry [NYT].
• S Africa investigates 'fake signer' security checks
• Simunic banned for 10 games for pro-Nazi chant

Obstructionism

• Obama: Republicans Must Be Embarrassed For Having Done So Little
• House Republican Strategy for 2014 Victory: Think Small, Do Little—"With the generic ballot surprisingly turning their way, no one wants to jinx it."
• GOP blocks more Obama nominees in Senate
• GOP Plan to "Punish" Democrats Is Probably the Stupidest Thing You've Ever Heard Of
• A more functional Senate—"Since the 'nuclear option' was executed a few weeks ago, something strange has happened in the Senate: the chamber has become more efficient and productive."

Budget

• Budget deal aims to avert another shutdown
• The War Over Austerity Is Over. Republicans Won.
• Paul Ryan Indicates GOP Willing To Hold Debt Limit Hostage Again
• Mitch McConnell Predicts Debt Ceiling Won't Be Raised Without A Hostage
• Krugman: The Biggest Losers—"Democrats and Republicans can argue over who won and who lost in the budget battle, but what is crystal clear is that American workers lost the most." NYT

US Politics

• The GOP civil war just got worse—"Seven of the 12 Republican senators running for reelection next year now face capable or potentially tough primary challengers." WaPo
• John Boehner Fed Up With 'Ridiculous' Tea Party Intransigence on Budget—All for show [Salon]?
• Peter King Takes on Rand Paul, Ted Cruz With New Anti-Tea Party PAC
• Texas Judge Leaves GOP, Will Run For State Supreme Court As A Democrat
• Texas woman admits to sending ricin to Obama
• Chris Kapenga, Mark Levin, and Article V: The secret campaign to pass conservative amendments in 34 states
• Haters gonna hate. But they plan to vote Republican. WaPo
• Obenshain concedes Virginia attorney general's race WaPo

Corruption

• Congress Bottoms Out in New Honesty and Ethics Ratings—"Americans view members of Congress as some of the least honest and ethical professionals, according to a Gallup poll released today." And lobbyists rank lower.
• Maine CDC shredded documents justifying grant awards—"Investigators find evidence that the award to at least one program was manipulated and that records justifying allocations were destroyed."
• Chris Christie's traffic jam?—"Did a close ally of the New Jersey governor cause a massive traffic jam on purpose to punish a Democratic foe?" He just resigned.
• Inside A Disgraced Congressman's Floating 'Party Palace'
• How John Beale Swindled the EPA Out of $1 Million

Public-Private Partnerships

• Treasury closes the book on GM bailout with final stock sale—"The Treasury Department has sold its final stake in General Motors, closing the book on its 2009 bailout of the auto industry. GM has been revived and is now profitable, but taxpayers are out more than $10 billion dollars." Outgoing CEO says this was "net gain for taxpayers."
• We Just Dumped a Bag of Money on a Congressman -- Here's Why—"Congressman Jim Himes has drawn the ire of a budding American anti-corruption movement. Not because he broke any laws, but for something astonishingly legal: he let lobbyists for his top donor, CitiGroup, write their own Wall Street-friendly bill, and led it to passage in the U.S. House over the last month."
• US Government Pays Contractors Twice as Much as Civil Servants for the Same Work
• Accidental Tax Break Saves Wealthiest Americans $100 Billion
• US drops royalty hike plan for drilling; taxpayers hit—study
• Seven Ripoffs Capitalists Would Like to Keep out of the Media
• The plot to kill the U.S. Postal Service—"The fire sale of postal properties is a textbook case of a favored few squeezing profits from a manufactured crisis."

Obamacare

• Who are the new uninsureds?—"It was always the case that the nation's medically uninsured were disproportionately non-white, poor and southern. These people were the prime targets of the Affordable Care Act , which aimed to bring them coverage in part by the federally-funded expansion of Medicaid."
• Indiana and Oklahoma Are Suing To Make It Harder For Their Residents To Get Health Insurance — Here's Why
• Map: How Is Obamacare Enrollment Going?
• Obamacare Is Over (If You Want It)—"Why 2014 will see many more threats, legal and otherwise, to the Affordable Care Act."
• Navigator-gate!—"The right-wing’s latest Obamacare scare tactic is to go after health care - the same way they went after ACORN. Chris Hayes explains."

Vote Machinations

• States with higher black turnout are more likely to restrict voting WaPo
• Fewer debates, dumber reporters—"According to Peter Hamby of CNN, a special party subcommittee is considering dramatically reducing the number of Republican debates and taking control over which journalists get to moderate them." Politico
• Iowa Republican Spent $150,000 To Expose Voter Fraud, Instead Found Nothing Significant
• Florida Supreme Court rules lawmakers must testify in redistricting case—"The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that legislators and their staffs must testify in a case that accuses Republicans of redrawing political boundaries for partisan advantage in violation of the state Constitution." Update: Redistricting documents? What redistricting documents?
• The Daily Show: American Horrible Story - Gerrymandering

Racism

• Teacher Disciplined for 'Santa Is White' Remark
• Libertarian Radio Host: Santa Is White Just Like MLK Was Black
• Passing for white and straight: How my looks hide my identity—"I'm neither straight nor white, but I'm frequently mistaken for both -- and it's taught me a lot about privilege." Salon
• Alabama Man Pleads Guilty To Burning Cross With Former KKK Leader
• Mixed-race Miss France sparks racist backlash online

NSA Spying

• Who broke the law, Snowden or the NSA?
• NSA ruling fallout hits White House—"The ruling also underscores the awkwardness of a president who won office in part by railing against the national security state established by President George W. Bush trying to defend much of that establishment while maintaining his vow to restore civil liberties and bring an end to what seemed like a permanent war on terror." Politico
• Judge Has Record of Wrestling With Thorny Issues, and the U.S. Government—"Judge Richard J. Leon is a conservative and a vivid writer who has criticized the federal government on pornography, death penalty drugs and terrorism suspects at Guantánamo Bay." NYT
• Editorial: Congress should take judge's lead on NSA spying
• Why this week's anti-NSA court ruling could backfire Salon
• Snowden: 'I Would Rather Be without a State than without a Voice'—"Open letter to Brazilian people is a testimony of continued purpose, not a quid pro quo."
• Would James Madison Have Agreed With Edward Snowden?—"What the Fourth Amendment originally meant."
• '60 Minutes' Trashed For NSA Piece—Pure obsfucating propaganda.
• Silicon Valley to White House, NSA: "What the hell are you doing?"—"Twitter, Google, Microsoft, and others press their case to Obama Administration."
• Merkel compared NSA to Stasi in heated encounter with Obama—"German chancellor furious after revelations US intelligence agency listened in on her personal mobile phone."
• Brazil will not grant Snowden asylum: report
• Dictionary.com's 2013 Word of the Year: Privacy

World News, Sochi 2014, Typhoon Haiyan, Corruption, Vote Machinations; China; Israel; NSA Spying and Surveillance

World News

• €600K fines for Spain's illegal protests: draft bill—"Unauthorized protesters outside the Spanish Parliament could soon be hit with fines of up to €600,000 ($810,000) while those selling drugs or offering sexual services in front of minors could face a penalty of up to €30,000."
• Qatar 2022 World Cup workers 'treated like cattle', Amnesty report finds
• Over 2K trucks block French highways in protest—"Between 2,000 and 4,000 freight trucks closed off major French highways and slowed traffic to a crawl on nine roadways to protest a proposed environmental tax on heavy loads."

Sochi 2014

• Will Sochi's Extreme Security Protocol Impinge On Rights?
• Journalists banned from tweeting at 2014 Sochi Olympics: report
• Russian lab's unreliability puts Olympic testing at risk—"The anti-doping lab that was to conduct drug testing at the Sochi Olympics could lose its accreditation, leaving the upcoming Games without a competent facility in the same country."

Typhoon Haiyan

• Why It Took a Superstorm to Expose the Seedy Underbelly of Philippine Politics—"[W]hat dry goods have been dispersed by the national government are being frequently diverted by local politicians who waste valuable hours or even days repackaging relief items to bear their names, campaign slogans, or party colors."
• Government corruption concerns acute as Philippines recovers from typhoon
• US Army told to keep aid away from Philippines govt because of corruption

Corruption

• Romania's anti-corruption agency keeps taking down politicians – but the people keep bringing them back
• Canada: Where the heck's that $3.1-billion? Where's the fury?—"If the Harper government's fiscal oversight is so inept it can't account for figures with nine zeroes in them, that's scandalous. And so is the lack of public outcry."
• Philippines: PDAF, Malampaya fund use unconstitutional—Pork barrell

Vote Machinations

• You will suffer electric shock if you press non-Congress buttons on EVMs, Ajit Jogi warns voters
• 60-30-10 manipulation proven; Pinoys' votes not counted, pre-programmed fraud voted
• Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe election victory was a 'masterclass in electoral fraud'

China

• China to ease one-child policy, abolish labor camps, report says
• Bloomberg boots 'China leak' scribe—"Bloomberg L.P. has put a reporter suspected of leaking news [NYT] about a controversial China story on unpaid leave, The Post has learned."
• White House To Address 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' Segment After Protest Petition Logs 100,000 Signatures

Israel

• Netanyahu: Bad Iran Deal Could Leave Military Action As Only Option—Warmonger.
• Frenemies: the US-Israel relationship gets rocky over Iran and peace talks—"Israeli PM Netanyahu is actively calling on American Jews to challenge the US government. It's a bold – and bad – move."
• The Israeli settler movement is not welcome in New York City

NSA Spying and Surveillance

• Declassified Documents: NSA Wanted To Collect Geolocation Data—"The White House had to declassify NSA documents once again this week. The papers show that the NSA also wanted to collect and save mobile phone location information domestically and may already be doing so."
• US senators say there's "no evidence" bulk metadata surveillance is useful—"Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) and others join as amici to lawsuit filed against NSA."
• Fisa court documents reveal extent of NSA disregard for privacy restrictions—"Incensed Fisa court judges questioned NSA's truthfulness after repeated breaches of rules meant to protect Americans' privacy."
• The NSA overreach poses a serious threat to our economy—"Genuine NSA reform is a Constitutional and economic necessity. Transparency and privacy are critical for citizens and tech firms."
• PVP Online: Fly on the Wall

Government Shutdown Day 9, Pulling a Boehner, GOP, Tea Party, Obamacare, Repercussions; World News, Totalitarianism, Iran; Surveillance and Privacy

Government Shutdown Day 9

• Obama says he'd talk on GOP's terms -- if they raise debt ceiling, fund government—"President Barack Obama is ready to talk even on Republicans' terms, he insisted Tuesday, so long as Congress acts first to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling -- even for a short period." He will not respond to threats [NYT].
• Obama: Republicans using 'extortion' on debt limit
• House Approves New 'Supercommittee' To Negotiate Debt-Limit Deal
• Lawmakers trying to reopen government piece by piece WaPo
• Let's Call The Shutdown What It Is: Secession By Another Means
• Democrats should tell Republicans what they really want
• If Dems Give In, Social Security and Medicare Will Be Future Hostages
• IMF warns of 'major' consequences of US debt default
• Poll: Voters prefer hemorrhoids over Congress
• Government Shutdown 2013 illustrated

Pulling a Boehner

• End Game: John Boehner Doesn't Even Have to Cave—"The Speaker can avert disaster with some procedural jiu-jitsu at the eleventh hour."
• John Boehner's endgame Politico
• John Boehner Too Embarrassed to Defend His Own Extortion Demands
• Boehner: 'Didn't come here to default on our debt'—Suuuuure you didn't.
• Boehner: Clean Debt Limit Would Be 'Unconditional Surrender' For GOP

GOP

• Polls: Yes, The GOP Is Losing The Shutdown Fight—Coming across as irrational, irresponsible and unreasonable.
• GOP unity frays, frustration builds Politico
• Suicide of the Right
• Here's A Tally Of Which House Republicans Are Ready To Fund The Government, No Strings Attached—Maybe add one more to the list?
• What Moderate Republicans?
• Olympia Snowe: This is no way to run a country—"What is needed, the former Maine congresswoman says, is a counterweight to the extremism."
• Daily Show Enlists Actual Hostage Negotiator to Get Through to GOP Strategist on Shutdown
• Jon Stewart Tells GOP to Own the Shutdown: 'Don't Fart And Point at the Dog!'

Tea Party

• How the GOP's Kamikaze Club Hijacked John Boehner—"Right-wing groups, tea party back-benchers, and the Koch network plotted and pushed the House speaker to this breaking point—and he hasn't fought back."
• Friedman: U.S. Fringe Festival—"The reason so many mainstream Republican lawmakers want Obama to give something to Cruz & Co. is that they want to get out of this mess, but they're all afraid to stand up to the far-right fringe themselves — with its bullying network of barking talk-show hosts and moneymen." NYT
• 'Safe Seats' And The Media Spin About Radical Republicans
• Ted Cruz Is Convinced His Strategy Will Lead Republicans to 2014 Victory
• Why House Republicans aren't sweating the 2014 election

Obamacare

• Juan Cole: Dear Tea Party: The Gov't Shutdown is Hurting White People, Too—"The reason that the Tea Party doesn't want Obamacare is because they are convinced that it is ultimately a transfer of wealth from the white rich and middle classes to the minorities."
• Medicaid system broken? Report finds McCrory admin downplayed explanations for problems
• GOPers Upset Shutdown Is Eclipsing Coverage Of Glitchy Obamacare Launch
• Obamacare site hits reset button on passwords as contractors scramble—Not surprised.
• The Problem With Jon Stewart's Obamacare Interview

Repercussions

• Government shutdown worst-case scenario realized: Salmonella outbreak Politico
• Senate elders denounce suspension of death benefit for families of fallen
• Billionaire couple donates $10 million to Head Start programs closed by U.S. government shutdown
• Exclusive Gyms For Members Of Congress Deemed 'Essential,' Remain Open During Shutdown
• Right-Wing Truckers Plan To Jam DC's Major Commuter Highway, Arrest Members Of Congress—More crazies are coming out.
• Bill Moyers Essay: On the Sabotage of Democracy

World News

• Weapons inspectors begin destroying Syrian chemical stockpile and machinery
• India: Give voters right to cast negative vote
• David Cameron suggests cutting benefits for under-25s
• Qatar under growing pressure over workers' deaths as Fifa is urged to act—"Victims' groups and UN urge football governing body to halt death toll before 2022 World Cup."
• Venezuela expels top U.S. diplomat, two other embassy officials
• Brazil govt backs natives on land demarcation
• 'Worse Than Gangs': Rio Police Criticized for Favela Crackdowns—"A new security campaign is helping authorities win back control of Rio de Janeiro's favelas ahead of next year's World Cup. Special police units are driving drug gangs out of the slums -- but often only to replace them with their own thuggish rule."

Totalitarianism

• Putin critic sentenced to detention in psychiatric ward
• Internet Troll Operation Uncovered in St. Petersburg
• This is what happens when Tibetan villages refuse to fly the Chinese flag
• China pays 2 million to monitor Internet
• New law to permit Turkish police to detain 'possible' protesters

Iran

• Iran nuclear: Rivals rally as Rouhani returns from UN
• Iran's Khamenei backs Rouhani's New York talks
• Iran's Rouhani calls Holocaust crime against Jewss
• Iranian media splits over diplomatic outreach—"I could not have dreamt that the Iranian news would broadcast the voice of real people who would say, on camera, that our president has conversed with America."
• Israel's Netanyahu heads for the US with a warning to the White House: Don't be fooled by Iran

Surveillance and Privacy

• GCHQ leaks have 'gifted' terrorists ability to attack 'at will', warns spy chief
• Virginia State Police Used License Plate Readers At Political Rallies, Built Huge Database
• Canada spying in Brazil: more to come, Greenwald promises—Oh, Canada.
• Meltdowns at NSA spy data center destroy equipment, delay opening
• How Lavabit Melted Down—"The inside story of how the secure e-mail service used by the N.S.A. whistleblower Edward Snowden went dark, as told by court documents and its owner and operator."

Edward Snowden, NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy, Your Rights Online; World Politics; Israel and Palestine; China; Montreal; Racism

Edward Snowden

• How Laura Poitras Helped Snowden Spill His Secrets NYT
• Q. & A.: Edward Snowden Speaks to Peter Maass NYT
• Flipside: What did Edward Snowden get wrong? Everything—"Let me break this to you gently. The government is not interested in your conversations with your aunt, unless, of course, she is a key terrorist leader." But they aren't supposed to be trawling through all these conversations in the first place.

NSA Spying

• White House insists James Clapper will not lead NSA surveillance review—"Officials stress director of national intelligence will have limited role after Obama seemed to imply Clapper would head panel."
• Video: Senator Obama Slams National Security Letters in 2005
• NSA leaks make plan for cyberdefense unlikely—"Whatever trust was there is now gone...I mean, who would believe the N.S.A. when it insists it is blocking Chinese attacks but not using the same technology to read your e-mail?" NYT
• Anti-NSA Surveillance Voters Fighting Uphill Battle
• EFF: Multiple New Polls Show Americans Reject Wholesale NSA Domestic Spying

Surveillance and Privacy

• Irony Alert: Pentagon Now Sees Big Data as 'National Security Threat'—And now the DOD's looking into deanonymization.
• After Multiple Denials, CIA Admits to Snooping on Noam Chomsky—"For years, the Central Intelligence Agency denied it had a secret file on MIT professor and famed dissident Noam Chomsky. But a new government disclosure obtained by The Cable reveals for the first time that the agency did in fact gather records on the anti-war iconoclast during his heyday in the 1970s."
• NZ PM Key: NZers care more about snapper than GCSB—Do Kiwis know they're being spied on?

Your Rights Online

• Lavabit founder, under gag order, speaks out about shut-down decision—"Levison built e-mail 'by geeks, for geeks'—and then turned off 410,000 accounts." He says, "There's information that I can't even share with my lawyer, let alone with the American public."
• Google: Gmail Users Can't Legitimately Expect Privacy—They already scan emails for ad purposes.
• Larry Ellison: Google is ABSOLUTELY EVIL, but NSA is ESSENTIAL
• Microsoft Bing-bang-bungles local search—"Windows 8.1 is still in preview, but when you do a local search in it, your results will include both local and Bing-provided hits. Microsoft will then use your search terms for targeted ads."
• No, your data isn't secure in the cloud—"In 2012, Google alone received 21,389 government requests for information affecting 33,634 user accounts."

World Politics

• The democratic people's monarchy of North Korea—"North Korea changes ruling principles to legitimise succession of power."
• Italy ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi jail term confirmed
• Bahrain braces for anti-government protests
• Egypt troops clear Morsi protests—"Egyptian security forces move in to clear two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo, leaving several dead."
• Bangladesh: The Battling Begums—"The pendulum swings away from Sheikh Hasina and her government."

Israel and Palestine

• Israel Faces Deepening Isolation, Kerry Warns
• Palestinians celebrate prisoner release—"Jubilant reception in West Bank and Gaza for 26 men set free by Israel hours before beginning of peace talks."
• Israel approves another 900 settler homes
• Israel risks loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in EU research grants over settlement row
• 'The Onion' Encourages Israel And Palestine Not To Give A Single, Goddamn Inch

China

• The Price of 'Made in China' NYT
• Chinese tourists appall North Koreans by throwing candy at their kids
• China to ditch its one-child policy as ageing crisis looms

Montreal

• Meet the Montreal protester with $6,500 in fines after she outed cops for misconduct—"During Quebec student protests, Katie Nelson was hit with tickets for jaywalking, spitting and numerous other charges."
• Woman fined $219 for not paying bus fare with exact change—"Montreal mother and child returning from hospital kicked off bus, fined."
• Police fine man $147 for sitting under tree

Racism

• Racist, or good marketing? DVD cover for Australian film 'The Sapphires' causes controversy
• Oprah Winfrey 'victim of racism' in Switzerland: Billionaire told she can't afford expensive handbag at exclusive Zurich store—She has apologized for the media storm that ensued.
• Zimbabwe to get 'black' stock exchange

Video Game Day; CFAA; Copyfight, Digital Media; The Business of Show, Online Content, Ads; Tech Tracking, It's a Spy, Spy, Spy World; Surveillance and Privacy

Video Game Day

• Conan O'Brien plays Injustice: Gods Among Us
• Drawing arbitrary 8-bit images by playing Tetris
• I, Battlestation
• "We get it": EA will re-think Origin, try to make it more about gamers
• The failure of BioShock Infinite: Writing games like movies—"Op-Ed: It's high time game developers respected the medium they work with."
• Ryse: Son of Rome Quick Time Events Complete Themselves If Players Miss Them—"...as developer Crytek doesn't want players to feel frustrated with the brutal experience." Is this video game or a movie?
• The Truth About Video Games and Gun Violence—"Do brutal games lead to mass shootings? What do three decades of research really tell us?"
• Opinion: Video games don't create violence in society, they reflect it

CFAA

• You May Not Like Weev, But Your Online Freedom Depends on His Appeal
• Introducing Aaron's Law, a Desperately Needed Reform of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
• Terms of Service; Didn't Read

Copyfight

• Reject DRM and you risk walling off parts of the web, says W3C chief—But as one Slashdot user notes, with accepting DRM, "you GUARANTEE that parts of the Web will become walled off."
• US Chamber Of Commerce: Bollywood Is So Successful Without Strong Copyrights That It Will Fail Unless India Strengthens Its Copyrights
• New ebook DRM will change the text of a story to prevent piracy
• Filmmakers' group tries to reshape treaty that would benefit the blind—"Group says accord could undermine protections important for filmmakers, publishers and other major industries." They failed.
• Sony: New Video Players Should Be Internet Connected to Beat Pirates

Digital Media

• Copies, Rights & Copyrights: Really Owning Your Digital Stuff
• You don't own your Kindle books, Amazon reminds customer
• For the First Time, You Can Actually Own the Digital Comics You Buy

The Business of Show

• Pandora and Royalties—Certain parties have been spreading misinformation on Pandora's business practices.
• Lynda Obst: Hollywood's completely broken—"When you stopped buying DVDs and started streaming on Netflix, Hollywood's economics changed. So did the movies." Salon
• Time Warner Cable Sued Over Lakers and Dodgers Channels—"A class-action lawsuit charges that subscribers are being required to pay higher fees without the ability to opt out of the channels."

Online Content

• Can BuzzFeed Be Stopped?
• SunTimes/DarkTimes: Front pages, June 26, 2013
• The Onion: Please Click On Our Website's Banner Ads

Ads

• Sky Deutschland campaign will pipe ads straight into train passengers' skulls
• Turn off banner ads on your 2013 Panasonic TV—Rather annoying having to do this in the first place on your own TV.
• FTC to search engines: Make it clear which results are ads—"The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is repeating its warning from 2002 that it's not easy to distinguish paid search results from other results."
• AdBlock Plus lets some advertisers pay to play Salon
• It's official: SEO spam is out of control

Tech Tracking

• U.S. taps undersea cables' data with help from telecom companies—Powered by Team Telecom™!
• AT&T prepping sale of customers' anonymous location information and Web, app usage data
• Twitter to allow advertisers to target your browsing history, email addresses; here's how to opt out
• This Student Project Could Kill Digital Ad Targeting
• Never Give Stores Your ZIP Code. Here's Why

It's a Spy, Spy, Spy World

• Brazil Voices 'Deep Concern' Over Gathering of Data by U.S.—'Brazil's foreign minister said his government would press the United Nations to take action that 'preserves the sovereignty of all countries.'" NYT
• Snowden Reveals How GCHQ in Britain Soaks Up Mass Internet Data
• Documents: Sweden wiretapping Russia for the NSA—Connected to Sweden and UK's veto of the EU parliament spy investigation?
• Snowden Interview: NSA 'In Bed Together with the Germans'
• Snowden reveals Australia's links to US spy web
• Why "we only spy on foreigners" doesn't work any more for the NSA
• Dempsey: Snowden has hurt US ties with others

Surveillance and Privacy

• Daniel Ellsberg: Snowden made the right call when he fled the U.S.—As a reminder, Mr. Ellsberg is the man behind the publication of the Pentagon Papers.
• EFF to ask Supreme Court to stop NSA's phone spying program NYT
• Bolivia joins the party, also grants asylum for Edward Snowden
• Top Democrat Calls For Sanctions Against Countries Aiding NSA Leaker
• In Secret, Court Vastly Broadens Powers of N.S.A. NYT
• U.S. defends secrecy of unique surveillance court—"The Obama administration on Friday urged a secret U.S. court that oversees surveillance programs to reject a request by a civil liberties group to see court opinions used to underpin a massive phone records database."
• NSA Rejecting Every FOIA Request Made by U.S. Citizens
• NSA recruitment drive goes horribly wrong
• Blowback from the White House's vindictive war on whistleblowers—"Edward Snowden is explicit: seeing whistleblowers like me punitively treated only motivates citizens of conscience more."
• Privacy Is Lost, and We Are All To Blame—"Where will the next generation of Americans draw the line on surveillance?"