World Cup, Sports Corruption; Europe, Asia; MH370; Religion; Media and Transparency, Political Partisanship, Obamanation; Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform; Grand Ol' Tea Party; Immigration, Race and Racism; Your Government Inaction

World Cup

• Iran arrests 2 over World Cup video—"Iran's official IRNA news agency says police have arrested two people who appeared in an online video of young people singing and dancing in support of the country's World Cup football team."
• Defying ban, Iranian women watch World Cup with men in public
• Neo-Nazi Banners, Blackface, and Homophobic Chants: World Cup Fans Behaving Badly
• Suarez World Cup bite sets off Twitter meme frenzy—"Harkening Mike Tyson's famous gnawing of Evander Holyfield's ear, the soccer star is pictured wearing a dog cone, with fangs, as Hannibal, and more."
• Miguel Herrera Is the Most GIF-Worthy Man at the World Cup, Perhaps on Earth
• Cristiano Ronaldo, James Milner, Mario Balotelli, Olivier Giroud: The hottest soccer players at the World Cup
• Bravery of young security officer prevents massacre in Beirut—"Hunch by security officer prevents potential massacre as scores of people were watching World Cup match, but it also costs his own life."

Sports Corruption

• Football match-fixing: Ghana deal casts cloud over World Cup finals in Brazil—Is this what the $3 million is for?
• Fifa Bosses 'Secretly Doubled Their Salaries'—"Football chiefs are accused of upping their pay to £118,000 to compensate for lucrative bonuses that have now been axed."
• U.S. Senator Calls On FIFA To Relocate 2022 World Cup Out Of Qatar
• Nobody Wants To Host The 2022 Olympics—"The next Olympics to be awarded, a little more than a year from now, will be the 2022 Winter Games. Rather than going to the strongest bid, the games may end up going to the last city standing--a long list of potential hosts have given up on their Olympic dreams because the whole thing is one huge, useless waste of money."
• Banks Wary of Construction Companies After Olympic Debacle

Europe

• Polish foreign minister says country's alliance with US worthless—"According to a transcript of recordings obtained by Wprost, Radislaw Sikorski said 'we gave the US a blow job.'"
• Polish MPs ridicule Cameron's 'stupid propaganda' aimed at Eurosceptics—"Secretly taped expletive-laden conversation reveals EU fallout from prime minister's plans to curb migrants' benefits access."
• Italy arrests 95 in mafia dragnet, solves century-old murder
• Roma boy left unconscious after being savagely beaten and tortured during vigilante attack in Paris suburb
• Tens of thousands march in London against coalition's austerity measures—"An estimated 50,000 people in London addressed by speakers, including Russell Brand, after People's Assembly march."

Asia

• China jails 'New Citizens' Movement' activists—"China has handed down lengthy jail terms to three anti-corruption activists who had called for officials to disclose their personal wealth."
• Chinese police shoot dead 13 attackers in restive Xinjiang
• In Hong Kong, an Unofficial Election Draws Beijing's Ire NYT
• Chinese warships to join US in drills off Hawaii for first time
• Japan failed to report 640 kg of nuclear fuel to IAEA
• North Korea blasts film featuring James Franco and Seth Rogen plotting assassination of Kim Jong Un—This means war.
• Google removes Singapore hate blog against Filipinos

MH370

• 'A bungled inquiry': 100 days after MH370 went missing it is clear Malaysia officials hiding information National Post
• Malaysian Jet Was in Controlled Flight After Contact Was Lost, Officials Suspect NYT
• Australia: Waiting for Malaysians before announcing new MH370 search area

Religion

• Festival of Dangerous Ideas: 'Honour killings are morally justified' talk cancelled
• Christian woman freed after death sentence ruled 'faulty' in Sudan—NISS says, not so fast.
• Malaysian court to Christians: You can't say 'Allah'

Media and Transparency

• The media's moral center: How John Oliver became the sheriff of cable news' wild west—"The 'Last Week Tonight' host digs deeper and pushes his audience harder than either Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert." Salon
• Jon Stewart Is A More Trusted News Source Than MSNBC, Study Says
• Lawmakers unveil major changes to FOIA—"Reform legislation emerges from Senate committee that would overhaul Freedom of Information Act, increase transparency."
• Wal-Mart 'edits' a New York Times op-ed—The fact check fudges facts.
• Hacking trial: Coulson guilty, Brooks cleared of charges

Political Partisanship

• Americans Have Less Confidence In Congress Than Just About Anything, Ever
• Let's Stop Kidding Ourselves: 90 Percent of Congressional Incumbents Will Win Re-election—"All signs tell us that incumbents should be grabbed by their lapels and shoved to the curb—but most won't be."
• Americans have not become more politically polarized—Maybe, maybe not. WaPo

Obamanation

• Jindal: People Ready For 'Hostile Takeover' Of DC
• South Dakota Republican Party Passes Resolution Calling For Obama's Impeachment
• New report destroys Gov. Sam Brownback's bid to blame President Obama for Kansas budget crisis

Vote Machinations

• Want to Suppress the Vote? Stress People Out—"The latest science-of-politics study suggests that GOP voter intimidation tactics may be more effective than liberals have feared—for biological reasons."
• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand plans to introduce legislation to allow voters to register online—"Under Gillibrand's proposal, states with existing online access would expand their system beyond those with state-issued IDs to let more young people, seniors, minorities and the poor to access and update their own voter records online."
• GOP's voter fraud humiliation: Turns out Wisconsin's worst case is a Republican—"Maybe the real reason Scott Walker and Reince Preibus think their state needs tougher laws is a guilty conscience." Hypocrites. Salon
• Racist tactic emerges in GOP primary fight—"Rachel Maddow reports on how Mississippi Republican candidate Thad Cochran's appeal for African-American votes is being met by conservative supporters of his tea party opponent, Chris McDaniel, with 'poll watchers,' to discourage black voters."
• Wilson precinct official removed—Woman who wasn't able to vote: "I am not rich — just a mom who wanted to vote. And I did ask for a provisional ballot. But I didn't get it."
• Fifty Years After Freedom Summer, the Voting Rights Act Is Needed More Than Ever

Campaign Finance Deform

• Calif. lawmakers seek constitutional convention on Citizens United
• 4 Key Takeaways About Scott Walker's Alleged "Criminal Scheme"—"Here's what you need to know about the probe targeting the Wisconsin governor and two of his aides."
• Senate Democrats Re-up Their Dark-Money Disclosure Bill—and Dare GOPers to Block It
• Mayday PAC: The Super PAC Built to Destroy Super PACs

Grand Ol' Tea Party

• Thad Cochran Defeats the Tea Party -- And So Does Everyone Else
• Losing Tea Party Candidate Refuses to Concede in Mississippi Runoff
• The staggering price of crushing the tea party Politico
• Tea Party's embarrassing irony: How its ideal nation rejects basic American beliefs Salon
• In a Do-Nothing Congress, Blake Farenthold is Enjoying the View—"Blake Farenthold, the tea party congressman from Corpus Christi, has settled into a routine where distraction is just part of the job."
• Tea party, police clash in western Wisconsin town—Also: Wisconsin Police Chief and Tea Party Battle Over Bridge Signs and Gay Dating Websites
• Darrell Issa's flailing search for his white whale
• GOP Rep's Chief Of Staff Resigns After Porn Star Tweets Photo Of His Penis

Immigration

• Obama tells Mexico: Illegal-immigrant children won't get to stay
• Limbaugh Floats Theory That Obama Planned Influx Of Undocumented Minors At Border
• Honduras to ask U.S. not to deport Honduran kids
• Few immediate consequences for child immigrants
• Mass migrant graves unearthed in Texas—"Researchers discover mass graves near US-Mexico border containing bodies of unidentified migrants in body bags."

Race and Racism

• Prominent Republican Lawyer Says Ted Cruz Sounds Like A Racist
• Texas Commissioners Unintentionally Vote In Favor Of Slavery Reparations
• Arizona GOPer: 'We All Need To Stomp Out' Spanish TV Stations, Newspapers—¡Ay caramba!
• If Affirmative Action Is Doomed, What's Next? NYT
• Redditor's discovery leads to white supremacist investigation at Army base
• Joe Dorsey's Big Fight: How An Unknown Boxer Knocked Out Segregation In Louisiana
• Stunning Portraits of Mixed-Race Families

Your Government Inaction

• You paid a fee for 31 years that went nowhere
• Opponents Barred From Speaking As Cobb County Approves Braves Stadium
• Congress Is Weighing Some Bafflingly Bad Ideas for Fixing Our Crumbling Bridges and Roads
• How many people would be 'out of work' if USPS eliminates Saturday delivery? WaPo
• Why Can't We Simplify Our Tax System? It Turns Out, We Can.

War on Terror, Iraq'd, Middle East, Bergdahl; DTA: Vice City, Shootings, Guns; Police State, Warrantless Tracking, Militarization, M.I.C.; Your Rights Online, Journalism and Transparency; NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy

War on Terror

• "Extremely Troubling" Documents Show How Obama Administration Embraced Foreign Detention of Terror Suspects—"Changes made to a key FBI interrogation manual highlight the bureau's increasing focus on questioning suspects—including Americans—in overseas prisons."
• UK: Fully secret terror trial blocked by Court of Appeal
• Cover-Up in Guantanamo: Torturing to Death, Hiding and Fabricating Evidence, and Calling it Suicide
• American exceptionalism and American innocence: The misleading history and messages of the 9/11 Memorial Museum—"The 9/11 Memorial gets grief profoundly. But the museum cynically exploits tragedy, confuses history with ideology." Salon
• TSA 'Abusively and Arbitrarily' Using Security Designation to Hide Information
• 7 years later, Blackwater guards go on trial—For killing 14 Iraqi civilians.

Iraq'd

• Arms Windfall for Insurgents as Iraq City Falls—"Weapons provided by the United States to help Iraqi forces battle militants are now in the hands of the militants." NYT
• ISIS just stole $425 million, Iraqi governor says, and became the 'world's richest terrorist group' WaPo
• Extremists in Iraq now control the country's rivers
• Iraq, Sunnis, and Shiites: The U.S. should never have withdrawn its troops in 2011
• The Fall of Mosul and the False Promises of Modern History—"Ironically, by invading, occupying, weakening and looting Iraq, Bush and Cheney brought al-Qaeda into the country and so weakened it as to allow it actually to take and hold territory in our own time."
• Iran Deploys Quds Forces To Support Iraqi Troops, Helps Retake Most Of Tikrit
• Iraq conflict: Sistani issues Shia call to arms
• Russia on Iraq: 'We told you so' WaPo
• On Iraq, let's ignore those who got it all wrong WaPo
• Jihadist Gains in Iraq Blindside American Spies—"First Crimea, now Iraq. Why does America's $50 billion intelligence community keep getting taken by surprise?" FP

Middle East

• Nato forces kill five US troops in Afghanistan—"Five American soldiers have been killed accidentally by their own side in southern Afghanistan, US military sources have confirmed."
• U.S. arms could create Syria 'warlords', rebel commander says
• Taliban gunmen attack Karachi airport academy in second assault

Bergdahl

• FBI: Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's parents have received threats
• Bergdahl describes harsh treatment, solitary confinement: U.S. officials
• U.S. deaths in Afghanistan may have only tenuous link to Bergdahl
• Juan Williams Slams GOP Who 'Flip-Flopped' On Bergdahl In 'Most Craven Way'
• Maddow Calls Out Republicans Who Left Bergdahl Briefing Early
• The Right Didn't Mind When Bush Paid a Ransom to Terrorists
• Benghazi, Bowe Bergdahl, and manufactured brouhaha Boston Globe
• Stephen Colbert skewers 'Bergdghazi,' elbows Fox News WaPo

DTA: Vice City

• Police Ambushed in Las Vegas; 5 Dead
• Report: Vegas Shooters Planned To Take Over Courthouse, Execute Officials
• How much does right-wing rhetoric contribute to right-wing terrorism? WaPo
• Why not call the Las Vegas attack an act of domestic terrorism?—"'Terrorism' is an overused word that tends to obscure more than it reveals. But the reluctance to use it to describe the Las Vegas attackers is troubling."
• Home-Grown, Right-Wing Terrorism: The Hate the GOP Refuses to See—"As the Las Vegas shootings show, right-wing extremism is real and on the rise. But for Republicans, better to focus on the Muslims."
• If the Las Vegas Killers Were Muslims, We'd Call Them Terrorists—"But should we?"
• Facebook Posts Reveal Vegas Shooter Thought Bundy Ranch Was 'Start Of Revolution'
• Hatriot Politics Created the Las Vegas Killers—"Jerad and Amanda Miller, the Wingnuts whose killing spree left two policemen, a civilian, and themselves dead, were inspired by fright-wing radio hosts and militia movement groups."
• Inside the Unraveling of Las Vegas Shooting Spree Suspect Jerad Miller—"In comments on the conspiracy-peddling website Infowars, he revealed the deeply personal roots of his hatred of government."
• Did the Las Vegas Shooting Suspects Obtain Their Guns on Facebook?

Shootings

• Guns after Elliot Rodger: Businesses like Chipotle and Sonic are our best hope for gun control
• Sun News Network will not use New Brunswick killer's name—"We will not help give this killer his blaze of glory."
• Jim Rubens says armed civilians drastically reduce casualties during mass shootings—Politifact says: False.
• Obama: 'We Should Be Ashamed' Of Failure To Address Gun Violence
• When did mass shootings become so frighteningly mundane in America?
• Jon Stewart Rips The Public's Apathy Over Gun Violence

Guns

• Fearing Rising Backlash, NRA Urges Gun Activists to Stand Down—"Carrying assault rifles into restaurants backfired—and now the gun lobby is firing at its own for acting 'downright weird.'" Update: That didn't last long, but the group stopped bringing guns to Target.
• More Guns Equal More Deaths, Study Finds
• Neighbor, 61, pulls gun on father teaching girl to ride bike
• Alabama Gun Rights Supporter Brings Loaded Pistol To Polls
• Suicide Is Leading Cause Of Gun Deaths, But Largely Absent In Debate On Gun Violence

Police State

• Pentagon preparing for mass civil breakdown—"Social science is being militarised to develop 'operational tools' to target peaceful activists and protest movements."
• How the FBI Tried to Block Martin Luther King's Commencement Speech—"The untold story of a government plot, a maverick college president, and the most important figure of the civil rights era."
• "Guantánamo North" – NDAA Indefinite Detention Coming Soon to a Town Near You?

Warrantless Tracking

• In major privacy ruling, court says police need warrant to track phone users' location
• Is Chicago using cell tracking devices? One man tries to find out—"Lawyer: Chicago police 'has a history of doing some questionable surveillance.'"
• Local cops in 15 US states confirmed to use cell tracking devices—"Stingray use is widespread: Baltimore, Chicago, and even Anchorage have them."
• U.S. pushing local cops to stay mum on cellular surveillance

Militarization

• Police officer safety or surplus zeal: Military equipment spurs debate
• War Gear Flows to Police Departments—"Former tools of combat — M-16 rifles, grenade launchers, silencers and more — are ending up in the armories of local police departments, often with little public notice." NYT
• Indiana Sheriff Justifies Military Surplus Purchases By Saying America 'Has Become A War Zone'
• 500 American Communities Are Now Armed With Military Tanks and Military Vehicles, and Have Reportedly Lied on Their Applications to Get Them for Free
• The Battlefield War Games Series Embraces Police Militarization
• London mayor offers to be blasted by water cannon—"London Mayor Boris Johnson offered on Wednesday to be sprayed by water cannon to demonstrate that they are safe, after buying the riot control equipment for the capital despite having no permission to use it."

M.I.C.

• 25 Year Old Fraudulent Pentagon Contracting Program Exposed—"Some of the biggest names in the defense and aerospace industry were allowed to circumvent federal law that required small business contracting goals be achieved."
• Buying single-engine F-35s for Canada a 'serious mistake': report—"Michael Byers's One Dead Pilot report urges government to look at 2-engine options to replace CF-18s."
• Why are countries still using the fake bomb detectors sold by a convicted British conman?—"Pakistani security personnel still guard Karachi's Jinnah airport using versions of Jim McCormick's phoney bomb detector. They are not alone in having a seemingly unshakeable belief in the ADE 651."

Your Rights Online

• Canada: Cyberbullying law would let police 'remotely hack into computers, mobile devices, or cars'
• Facebook Under Fire for Temporarily Blocking Pages in Pakistan—"Citing pressure from the Pakistani government, Facebook said it blocked left-wing political pages and a popular rock band, Laal, whose members spoke out against Taliban." NYT
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• Man arrested for parodying mayor on Twitter files civil rights lawsuit—"Police raid follows mayor being upset over the portrayal of him as drug abuser."
• Canada: Top court rules search warrant needed to access Internet information
• Google will flag search results erased due to "right to be forgotten"—"Wikipedia founder: 'Suppression of knowledge' is a 'terrible danger.'"

Journalism and Transparency

• Why It Shouldn't Be Criminal to Report Government Secrets—"Prosecuting journalists imposes huge costs, yields scant benefits, and is mostly pointless in an era when anyone can reach a mass audience."
• Sheriff calls Homeland Security on man requesting public records
• ACLU: Secrecy is a Cancer on Our Democracy
• Why we're suing the CIA—"After 10,000 requests, MuckRock launches its first lawsuit."
• Clever piece of code exposes hidden changes to Supreme Court opinions

NSA Spying

• Al Gore: Snowden Revealed Crimes 'Way More Serious' Than Any He Committed—"Former vice president says NSA overreach poses 'a threat to democracy.'"
• Former NSA chief calls Snowden 'he who will not be named'
• Inside Edward Snowden's Life as a Robot
• Darrell Issa: James Clapper lied to Congress about NSA and should be fired WaPo
• Former NSA director backs House bill to rein in spy agency
• NSA: Our systems are so complex we can't stop them from deleting data wanted for lawsuit WaPo
• ACLU: Too Big To Comply? NSA Says It's Too Large, Complex to Comply With Court Order
• If The NSA's System Is Too Big To Comply With Court Orders, Court Should Require It To Change Its System
• Eric Cantor's loss is bad news for the NSA—"The Tea Party candidate who just toppled the House Majority Leader is a skeptic of NSA spying."

Surveillance and Privacy

• FBI embracing facial recognition to "find bad guys"—"Director wavered when asked if database would store drivers' license photos."
• Microsoft fights U.S. search warrant for customer e-mails held in overseas server
• Web giants encrypt their services—but leaks remain—"Ars surveys SSL use at major cloud providers and finds some holes."
• To defeat encryption, feds deploy the subpoena—"Drop boxes, secured or not, are all the post-Snowden rage and ripe for subpoenas."
• Post-Snowden China looks to 'hack-proof' quantum communications—"The holy grail of data encryption should, in theory, be safe from prying eyes." SCMP

War on Terror, Benghazi, Drones; Police State, No Place to Hide, NSA and GCHQ Spying, Tech Sector, Encryption, Privacy; Your Rights Online; Net Neutrality; Free Speech and Transparency

War on Terror

• ICC to examine claims that British troops carried out war crimes in Iraq—"Court to conduct preliminary examination of around 60 alleged cases of unlawful killing and claims of mistreatment."
• Judge Orders U.S. to Stop Force-Feeding Syrian Held at Guantánamo NYT
• Released Pakistani Prisoner Named Taliban Military Commander

Benghazi

• Cohen: The GOP's Benghazi hangup is baffling—"What do Republicans think another congressional hearing will prove?" WaPo
• How Much Money Can Republicans Raise Off Benghazi? Ask Darrell Issa
• Republicans Are Already Ignoring The Benghazi Special Committee They've Been Begging For

Drones

• Show Us the Drone Memos—"We must see the legal case for executing a United States citizen without a trial." NYT
• The ultra-lethal drones of the future
• Pakistan Wants Drones, and It Doesn't Need America's Permission to Get Them
• "The Stuff I Saw Really Began to Disturb Me": How the U.S. Drone War Pushed Snowden to Leak NSA Docs

Police State

• License plate readers spark privacy, public safety debate
• Erie County Sheriff to legislature: My surveillance powers are none of your business
• Six Reasons to Be Afraid of the Private Sector/Government Security State

No Place to Hide

• The Man Who Knows Too Much—"Glenn Greenwald is the gatekeeper of Edward Snowden's NSA secrets. And he's about to drop the biggest bomb yet."
• NSA may be putting Israeli security interests above U.S., new document reveals—"Journalist Glenn Greenwald's new book, 'No Place to Hide,' includes materials on intelligence relations with Israel."
• NSA Gave Canada Money For Surveillance Program
• Glenn Greenwald reveals 7 new NSA crimes against graphic design

NSA and GCHQ Spying

• Data Pirates of the Caribbean: The NSA Is Recording Every Cell Phone Call in the Bahamas
• New York Times under fire for spiking NSA leaks story in 2004—"White House told paper's editors it would be 'dangerous' to run the story."
• Greenwald: NYT's new editor 'subservient to national security state'
• U.S. revealed secret legal basis for NSA program to Sprint, documents show—"New documents, interviews indicate intelligence community shared details to ward off court challenge." WaPo
• DOJ Still Trying To Hide The Fact It Flat Out Lied To The Supreme Court About Domestic Surveillance
• Everyone should know just how much the government lied to defend the NSA—"A web of deception has finally been untangled: the Justice Department got the US supreme court to dismiss a case that could have curtailed the NSA's dragnet. Why?"
• Nosey Smurf, Gumfish and Foggybottom: The snooping tools that may have got GCHQ in hot water
• British Spies Face Legal Action Over Secret Hacking Programs
• Washington spends £200m creating intelligence hub in Britain
• The official US position on the NSA is still unlimited eavesdropping power—"One year after Snowden, the government is defending – in not-so-plain sight – the 'paramount' power to spy on every call and email between you and your friends abroad."

Tech Sector

• Obama's NSA spying reforms fail to satisfy cyber experts
• Photos of an NSA "upgrade" factory show Cisco router getting implant—"Servers, routers get 'beacons' implanted at secret locations by NSA's TAO team." That's gonna sting.
• 80 Tech Companies Cooperating with NSA, Claims Wikileaks
• Top tech titans get thumbs-up in EFF transparency report—"The advocacy group says Apple, Facebook, Google, and others have done a lot to protect users' privacy."
• Snowden Forced Silicon Valley to Value Privacy and Transparency
• Internet Engineering Task Force Considers Making Surveillance Mitigation A Standard Part Of Its Specifications

Encryption

• Edward Snowden's Other Motive for Leaking—"He wasn't just trying to spark democratic debate on surveillance. He also hoped his revelations would prompt programmers to build better encryption."
• Encrypted or not, Skype communications prove "vital" to NSA surveillance—"Newly published memo leaked by Edward Snowden details the value of Skype data."
• Microsoft: NSA and GCHQ are capable of monitoring 'secure' browsing using Tor
• Startup pitches snoop-proof (even NSA-proof) email
• More People Are Encrypting Their Web Traffic In The Wake Of NSA Spying Revelations

Privacy

• EU court backs 'right to be forgotten': Google must amend results on request—Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales is astonished by the decision that has far-reaching implications.
• Anti-cyberbullying bill could harm privacy rights, Amanda Todd's mother warns—"Parents shouldn't have to 'sacrifice'their children's privacy rights to make them safe from 'cyberbullying, 'sextortion' and revenge pornography.'"
• Shutterfly congratulates people without babies on their new arrivals in email.—"Shutterfly's error is just the latest reminder of how closely companies and advertisers are tracking everything about our personal lives."
• Lawsuit alleges unauthorized publication of personal genetics data—"Proposed class-action suit says Family Tree violated Alaska Genetic Privacy Act."
• Never Forgetting a Face—"Joseph Atick, a pioneer of facial-recognition systems, is now cautioning against their unfettered use. Never, he says, should they undermine anyone’s choice to remain anonymous." NYT

Your Rights Online

• Government gags Twitter and Yahoo over grand jury subpoena, court blocks companies from fighting back
• US Government Begins Rollout Of Its 'Driver's License For The Internet'
• Police ask blogger to remove tweet about Ukip—"Concerns raised about stifling of political debate after police visit man following complaint from Ukip councillor over policy tweet."
• How a Power-Mad Illinois Mayor Launched a Police Crusade Against a Parody Twitter Account—Jim Adirs' petty and likely illegal retaliation backfires as the ACLU steps in to represent Jon Daniel.
• UK Government Willing To Block EU Net Neutrality Deal—"The British government wants to keep its ability to block internet content."
• President Rouhani Stresses Iranian Citizens' Right to Freely Access Internet

Net Neutrality

• 5 Freedoms You'll Lose Without Net Neutrality
• Did Regulators Break the Internet or Did They Save It? Yes. NYT
• The FCC Thinks We're All Idiots
• Can AOL save the internet?—"Despite Google having the biggest tech lobby in Washington aside from the big internet service providers, AOL — the company best known for giving the world dial-up internet in the '90s and being one of the country's largest ISPs — has outspent Google on net neutrality issues."

Free Speech and Transparency

• Man facing charges for hanging American flag upside down, spray painting it
• IU survey: U.S. journalists say they are less satisfied and have less autonomy
• Will the UK Government Ever Release These Secret Files to the Public?

Police State, Brutality, Bad Cops, False Arrests; Trial and Error, Law and Disorder; Death Penalty, Prison; Recording, Phone, Body Cams; Animal Cruelty, Kids; Road Rage, Traffic

Police State

• Federal Court: The Police Can Stop and Search You for Behaving Innocently—Even stiff driving posture is suspicious behavior.
• Supreme Court: Pennsylvania cops no longer need a warrant to search citizens' vehicles
• Can cops legally fire "GPS bullets" at fleeing cars to track suspects?—"ACLU says technique is OK, but the scope of search must be limited."
• Cops Must Swear Silence to Access Vehicle Tracking System
• Lawsuit filed over freeway cash seizures—"'I just smelled weed. I know I did. I know I smelled weed.' The Humboldt County deputy never finds weed in the car he's searching after a traffic stop on I-80, but he does find $50,000 in cash and $10,000 in cashiers checks."
• Flipside: Minnesota Now Requires A Criminal Conviction Before People Can Lose Their Property To Forfeiture—"In a big win for property rights and due process, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill yesterday to curb an abusive—and little known—police practice called civil forfeiture."

Brutality

• Austin police chief is angry that people are angry about police misbehavior
• City of Huntsville denies wrongdoing after lawsuit alleges teen died from arrest injuries
• Border Patrol Threatens Mother, Slashes Her Tire, as Kids Watch
• Border Patrol agents rarely disciplined in abuse cases, records show
• How a Special Needs Kid Gets Handcuffed and Thrown in Jail "For Her Own Good"
• Man Nearly Blinded After Fayette County Deputy Shoots Taser In His Eye
• Dagsboro man settles Taser suit for $270,000

Bad Cops

• Outcry over latest fatal shooting by Albuquerque police—"Residents angered by deadly response of cops chanted for resignation of police chief at city council meeting."
• Police say off-duty NYPD cop shot man 6 times
• Three NYPD Officers Have Drunkenly Shot at People in the Last Week
• Officer suspended after pulling gun on group of children
• Lawsuit Claims That the NYPD Keeps Raiding an Apartment in Search of a Dead Man

False Arrests

• Police accused of false arrest, illegal search, excessive force
• Man Claims Police Planted Phone To Justify Shooting
• NYPD detective grilled about allegedly lying under oath

Trial and Error

• Attorney: Tech advances make courtroom cellphone ban unconstitutional
• Supreme Court Unanimously Slaps Conservative Appeals Court For Botching Police Shooting Case
• Man back in prison for 90 years after court error
• Flipside: Clerical error allows man sentenced to prison to walk free

Law and Disorder

• Denver Woman's 13-Minute-Long 911 Call Ends With Fatal Gunshot
• Philip Welsh's simple life hampers search for his killer—"Philip Welsh did not use a cellphone, or e-mail — making it hard to trace the days before he was slain." WaPo
• German student Diren Dede killed in 'castle doctrine' case—"On the night of the shooting, Mr Kaarma and his partner Janelle Pflager left their garage door open, and Ms Pflager left her purse in the garage in order to bait intruders, she told police."
• Texas 93-year-old woman shot dead by officer had fired twice, says nephew—""Pearlie Golden 'brandished handgun' after refusal to hand over car keys following denial of driver's licence renewal."
• Man trying to rob donut shop shot by police
• Canadian Teen Charged in "Swatting" Calls Throughout U.S.
• Mother claims funeral director essentially held baby's body for ransom
• Florida woman has neighbors' mobile home demolished, authorities say

Death Penalty

• Oklahoma Inmate Dies After Botched Execution, Second Execution Delayed
• Report urges one-drug lethal injection to avoid botched US executions
• Why are US states using untested drugs to execute prisoners? - video
• US states may go back to electric chair and firing squads—"Shortage of drugs for lethal injections leads states to consider alternative methods of executing prisoners."
• Oklahoma Lawmaker: I Don't Care If Death Row Inmates Are 'Fed To Lions'
• US President Obama calls for death penalty review

Prison

• Corporations Divest Nearly $60 Million From Private Prison Industry
• Interactive Map Shows How Much Prisons Cost in America
• More Than 4% of Death Row Inmates May Be Innocent

Recording

• One deputy fired, two on leave after UT party bust—Kudos the Knox County Sheriff's Office for their swift actions.
• But for video: Wisconsin deputy badly injures woman in crash, attempts to blame victim—It looked like he was going to get away with it. WaPo
• NJ Assembly releases bill requiring new police cars to have cameras installed
• Youtube Video of Police Shooting Man in Back Contradicts Initial Report
• Pembroke Pines officer charged after stealing watch from burglary scene

Phone

• Florida man uses iPhone to film arrest -- and gets arrested—"A Miami DJ says he followed police instructions to back away, but ends up in custody and facing charges. 'I was threatened,' the police officer says, 'by his presence.'"
• Cops Snatch Phone from Wheelchair-bound Man for Recording Them, Cite him with "Unauthorized Photography"
• NYPD Officers Expect Public To Be Stupider Than They Are; Justify Shutting Down Recording With 'iPhones Are Guns' Claim
• Man who recorded alleged police brutality says he was told to delete evidence

Body Cams

• Dallas police chief calls for body cameras after cops shoot unarmed teen, mentally ill man
• Seattle police will launch body camera pilot program
• Metropolitan Police officers start wearing body cameras—"Met Police officers are to start wearing tiny cameras on their uniforms as part of plans to boost transparency and accelerate convictions."

Animal Cruelty

• Dash camera video released from deputy shooting dog
• Video Shows Hammond Police Officer Allegedly Abusing Dog
• Fort Worth Vet Accused of Keeping Dog Alive for Transfusions

Kids

• Teen killed for cell phone, $10 and a sandwich; suspect speaks out
• Man smothered crying son over video game WaPo
• Aunt: My nephew beaten to death defending 12-year-old sister during assault

Road Rage

• Brain-injured teen receives $2 million in 'affluenza' case settlement
• Deputy to avoid jail, criminal record in road rage case, attorney says
• Speeding Alameda deputy won't be charged in fatal crash
• Palmdale Girl, 16, Dies After Suspected DUI Driver Slams Into Her Home
• Teenage girl accused of running down 10-year-old boy in road-rage incident
• Driver caught using cell phone jamming device

Traffic

• Colorado Weighs Ban On Traffic Enforcement Cameras
• Sign Installer Cited for Violating the Sign He Was Putting Up—"Overtime parking ticket issued in Santa Barbara while man was about to screw in sign."
• Firefighters Smash BMW's Windows to Stretch Hose Toward 8-Alarm Blaze—"Next time you think about parking in front of a fire hydrant, keep this BMW in mind."

War on Terror, Boston Bombing; Military Industrial Complex; Ukraine; MH370; NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy; Media and Transparency; Obamacare, Hobby Lobby

War on Terror

• Obama Defends Iraq Invasion: At Least America 'Sought' To Get UN Backing—Using Powell's cooked-up WMD presentation? Weak sauce, Barry.
• The CIA Doesn't Want You to Know How Badly It Botched Torture
• Pentagon Says GOP's Benghazi Probes Have Cost Millions
• New York Times report: Pakistani officials knew about bin Laden's whereabouts
• New York Times Story on Pakistan Censored by Local Printer—"A New York Times story saying Pakistan’s government protected Taliban forces [NYT] was censored by the publisher’s printing partner in that country, resulting in a blank hole on the front page of its international edition."
• Sardar Ahmad, charming and versatile AFP journalist
• CNN journalists arrested trying to sneak into World Trade Center
• Jimmy Carter: Drones Create More Terrorists

Boston Bombing

• Florida declines to charge FBI agent over Ibragim Todashev shooting death—"Unnamed agent also cleared by bureau in death of Boston Marathon suspect's friend, killed during interrogation in Florida."
• FBI Missed Boston Marathon Bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev Because of Spelling Error—More security theater from no-fly lists.
• Boston Marathon bombing: Tsarnaev's defence team want charges thrown out

Military Industrial Complex

• More Allies Are Cutting Orders for the Pentagon's Costly New Fighter Jet
• The Pentagon Spent $2.7 Billion on an Intelligence System That Doesn't Work
• Boeing U.S. tanker program seen $1 billion over budget

Ukraine

• The GOP Just Screwed Ukraine Out of Billions to Hurt Obama
• Poland FM says Ukraine has paid 'very high price' to join EU
• IMF agrees $14-18 billion bailout for Ukraine

MH370

• Malaysia says there's sealed evidence on MH370 that cannot be made public
• Family Member Files Lawsuit Over Missing Jet as Frustrating Search Continues
• Thai satellite 'shows 300 floating objects'

NSA Spying

• NSA reform proposals fail to fully protect privacy—It leaves out email, text and social media.
• Mr. Obama's Limits on Phone Records—"If President Obama really wants to end the bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records, he doesn’t need to ask the permission of Congress, as he said on Tuesday he would do. He can just end it himself, immediately." NYT
• Turning Off the Vacuum Cleaner—"Why Congress supports Obama's proposal to end the NSA's bulk metadata collection program."
• We may have witnessed a NSA "Shotgiant" TAO-like action
• Snowden intel in Russian hands: US lawmakers—Desparately pathetic hatchet job.
• Jimmy Carter says he would consider pardoning Edward Snowden WaPo
• 'Guardian' threatened with closure over Snowden leaks, conference told—"Deputy editor details extent to which intelligence agencies tried to stop newspaper's disclosures."

Surveillance and Privacy

• Don't Listen to Google and Facebook: The Public-Private Surveillance Partnership Is Still Going Strong
• Judge denies gov't request to search suspect's iPhone in ricin case—"Georgetown U student told FBI he learned to make the poison via his iPhone."
• Brazil passes groundbreaking Internet governance Bill—"Key provisions around net neutrality, right to privacy and freedom of expression online are part of the country's first 'Internet Constitution.'"

Media and Transparency

• Risen: Obama administration is this generation’s 'greatest enemy of press freedom'
• Former Obama official: Free speech ruling threatens 'public civility' and 'democratic self-government'—Fascist statements.
• Feinstein's Bill to Kill Free Speech of Independent Journalists 'Has Votes' to Pass Senate
• NSA Invokes 'National Defense' and the Espionage Act to Stonewall MIT Student’s FOIA Request on Nelson Mandela
• Spy chief wins anti-transparency award—Congratulations to James Clapper for lying to Congress.

Obamacare

• Obama Should Have Personally Announced the Latest Obamacare Deadline Extension
• Ongoing health exchange tech problems force enrollment deadline extension—"HHS loosens rules to accommodate those still stuck in enrollment-site hell."
• The Conventional Wisdom Is Wrong. Obamacare Isn't Dooming Democrats in November
• Republican Louisiana Senate Candidate: The Uninsured Are 'Less Sophisticated… Less Educated'
• The battle over Obamacare is really a battle over Obama WaPo

Hobby Lobby

• John Roberts Offers Conservatives A Way Out Of Birth Control Dilemma
• The Stakes On Hobby Lobby Cases Are Much Bigger Than Birth Control
• Slippery slopes before the court WaPo

War on Terror; NSA Spying; Transparency and Media; Trial and Error; Uncivil Forfeiture; Flaw in Border; Bad Cops; Police State; Civil Liberties; Brutality; Shooting; Prison; Innocence; Traffic; Recording

War on Terror

• Eleven Years Later, We Learned In Iraq That 'Tough' Isn't Enough
• Iraq invasion was about oil—"Maximising Persian Gulf oil flows to avert a potential global energy crisis motivated Iraq War planners - not WMD or democracy."
• This Just In From Our Sociopath Bureau—"Blow me, you monstrous, bloodthirsty fraud, you silly, stupid chickenhawk motherfker who plays army man with the children of people who are so much better than you are, and who would feed innocent civilians in lands you will never visit into your own personal meatgrinder to service your semi-annual martial erection."
• The CIA impunity challenge—"The intelligence agency — and the White House — are holding hostage the truth about torture."
• What Pakistan Knew About Bin Laden—"Our supposed ally had a special desk devoted to managing Osama bin Laden. How can the U.S. fight extremism when we're unable to confront it where it really lives?" NYT
• At Trial, Son-in-Law Recalls a Cave Meeting With Bin Laden on 9/11 NYT
• U.S. Boycotts U.N. Drone Talks ForeignPolicy
• How a Comedy Article Got Me Placed On the No-Fly List

NSA Spying

• US tech giants knew of NSA data collection, agency's top lawyer insists—"NSA general counsel Rajesh De contradicts months of angry denials from big companies like Yahoo and Google."
• The NSA, invited to TED, takes a swipe at Snowden—"Snowden's actions 'show amazing arrogance,' and hurt 'legitimate whistleblowers.'" Just like there's "legitmate rape."
• Why Does the NSA Want to Keep Its Water Usage a Secret?
• Brazil to drop local data storage rule in Internet bill—"Brazil will drop a controversial provision that would have forced global Internet companies to store data on Brazilian users inside the country to shield them from U.S. spying...."

Transparency and Media

• US cites security more to censor, deny records—"More often than ever, the administration censored government files or outright denied access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, cited more legal exceptions it said justified withholding materials and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy, according to a new analysis of federal data by The Associated Press."
• 'Most transparent' White House ever rewrote the FOIA to suppress politically sensitive docs
• Nearly half of federal agencies not complying with FOIA law, audit finds
• Journalist: McConnell Campaign Banned Me From Event For Asking Questions—Big mistake.
• Maine looks at officials' use of secret messaging—"If the practice exists for officials to get around public access-to-records laws – and testimony suggests it does – a LePage official says a ban may be needed."
• State offices ignore freedom of information laws—"Cuomo's office among 79 agencies that failed compliance check."
• NYPD counsel doubles down, rules freedom of information manual is confidential—"... citing attorney-client privilege."

Trial and Error

• Judge says prosecutors should follow the law. Prosecutors revolt.—"The profession seems allergic to accountability." WaPo
• Arkansas judge apologises for 'racist, sexist and homophobic' online comments
• Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers director held in contempt of court—"Masten appeared before Judge Victoria Brennan and said he was not willing to risk allowing a judge to determine whether any tip information should be disclosed." He put his money—in this case, his tip—where his mouth is to protect his sources.

Uncivil Forfeiture

• Deputy accused of illegal stops—"A rural Nevada sheriff's deputy is accused of stopping travelers on a lonely stretch of U.S. Interstate 80 and confiscating tens of thousands of dollars for the county without bringing charges, according to two federal lawsuits." Unsurprisingly, the sheriff is supportive of his thugs, but the county has surprisingly settled and the money is being returned.
• Police Allegedly Stole From Immigrants During New York Traffic Stops—"Officer caught by surveillance camera, according to authorities."
• Cops Use Traffic Stops To Seize Millions From Drivers Never Charged With A Crime

Flaw and Border

• Woman's Lawsuit Alleges Horrifying Abuse By Border Officers, Including Cavity Searches And Forced Bowel Movements
• Autopsy: American died of overdose in border cell—"An American citizen died of a methamphetamine overdose at a U.S. Border Patrol station near San Diego shortly after a paramedic thought he might be faking a seizure, an autopsy concluded."
• US Border Agents Intentionally Stepped in Front of Moving Vehicles to Justify Shooting at Them
• U.S. Border Agents Told to Be Less Aggressive Against Stone-Throwers—"The U.S. Border Patrol told its agents on Friday that when they confront suspected illegal immigrants crossing the frontier who throw rocks at them, they should try to take cover or move away rather than immediately open fire." How many Mexicans have been killed already? NYT
• DHS accused of holding U.S. citizen at airport, using emails to pry into her sex life—"The Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection is accused of detaining an Indiana woman at the airport without cause and then quizzing her about her sex life on knowledge the agents may have gained through the interception of private emails."

Bad Cops

• Windsor Locks fights order to reinstate fired cop—"Windsor Locks officials have decided to fight a state order to reinstate a police sergeant fired in 2012 for allegedly hindering an investigation into a fatal accident involving his son."
• Bastrop Sheriff: Supervisors Changed Records Of Deputy In Question
• Local cop's son and friend claimed to be police officers during violent home invasion
• Philly cop arrested, suspended for false imprisonment
• Cop Who Killed Kelly Thomas Gets Calmly Booted From Denny's by Other Patrons

Police State

• Justice Department Bad Boys: More Than 650 Cases of Misconduct Documented in 12-Year Period
• Federal judge blasts ATF stings—"A federal judge in Los Angeles blasted ATF for sting operations that he said unfairly enlist people in a 'made-up crime' by offering them a huge payday for robbing a non-existent drug stash house."
• FBI Ordered to Justify Shielding of Records Sought About Alleged 'Occupy' Sniper Plot WSJ
• Attorney General to State Police: Stop photographing protesters at Chris Christie town halls
• Kansas 'retaliation' bill would allow police to arrest people who complain about officers—"A Kansas bill being considered by the House Standing Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice would give police the power to arrest people who file complaints against officers if those allegations were proven false."

Civil Liberties

• Police halt Montgomery County commuters on I-270 to hunt for bank robbery suspects—Did the overblown tactical responde include warrantless car searches? WaPo
• Feds raid gun parts stores despite court order—"With a search warrant in hand, federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confiscated computers, customer lists and the questionable polymer 80 percent lower receivers from four Ares Armor store locations throughout San Diego County over the weekend."
• Missouri Moves To Ban Use Of Cellphone Tracking Without Warrants
• Reports of the Death of a National License-Plate Tracking Database Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
• Los Angeles Cops Argue All Cars in LA Are Under Investigation—"The agencies took a novel approach in the briefs they filed in EFF and the ACLU of Southern California's California Public Records Act lawsuit seeking a week's worth of Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) data. They have argued that 'All [license plate] data is investigatory.' The fact that it may never be associated with a specific crime doesn't matter."

Brutality

• Chicago Police Cannot Keep Complaints Of Brutality Secret Anymore, Court Rules
• Delco man: Tasered by police after suffering seizure—"Chester authorities are investigating an incident in which a man alleges that a Chester police officer used a Taser on him when he had just suffered a seizure - puncturing his lung - and later arrested him for allegedly assaulting an officer and medic."
• NJ 'computer geek' latest to file beating claim against Harrah's A.C. security

Shooting

• Shoot first, ask questions later method puts former Beckville resident in Alabama hospital
• No charges in shooting of Ga. Alzheimer's patient
• Former cop accused of shooting and killing moviegoer over texting was texting himself
• Man shot and killed by deputies identified, was not subject of warrant that led to chase—"It's our understanding that the man exited the vehicle with a knife."
• Dog on leash shot and killed by York deputy

Prison

• FBI Investigates Prison Company—"The FBI has launched an investigation of the Corrections Corporation of America over the company's running of an Idaho prison with a reputation so violent that inmates dubbed it 'Gladiator School.'"
• We Must Stop Throwing People Away
• Horrific conditions described in homeless man's death at Burlington County Jail
• NYC inmate 'baked to death' in cell WaPo

Innocence

• Freedom After 30 Years on Death Row—"A case involving a black man convicted by an all-white jury in Louisiana decades ago may be reopened."
• Bloodsworth: I was on death row, and I was innocent
• Essex County authorities' mistake puts innocent man in jail for 27 days—"'We know it was some sort of human error, but we don't know where it occurred,' said Kathy Carter, spokesperson for Essex County Prosecutor's Office." Non-apology.
• Man jailed based on mistaken identity can't sue, court rules—"A man jailed in Los Angeles County for a month because he was mistaken for someone with the same name and birth date lost a legal effort Wednesday to hold law enforcement agencies responsible for the mix-up." Justice denied.

Traffic

• Caught on camera: SAPD officer arrests woman waiting for bus, but why?
• Speed trap city accused of corruption, threatened with extinction
• Keller PD using social media to post speed trap alerts
• 500 trees along I-5 will be removed for cameras
• Five DWI Cases Thrown Out After Judges Rule NYPD Set Up Illegal Checkpoints

Recording

• Jurors acquit Little Canada man who videotaped deputies, paramedics
• Temple student sues Philly cops over photo incident—"A Temple University photojournalism student and his girlfriend are suing two Philadelphia police officers who they say wrongly arrested them in 2012 while he was photographing a neighbor's arrest in Point Breeze."
• Mass. Man Charged With Wiretapping For Filming Police In Public—"A man in Fall River, Mass. has been charged with unlawful wiretapping for recording a police officer shouting profanities in public."
• Florida man sues cop who arrested him for videotaping officers arresting another man
• Denver Officers Won't Be Able To Delete Body Camera Video
• Cameras on cops: Coming to a town near you
• New city police policy says public has right to film officers
• St. Louis Man Records Cops Black Mailing Him Into Framing Someone For A Weapons Charge!
• Roadside adventures with small-town cops in Electra, Texas—"I verbally objected to an unconstitutional search of my vehicle in Electra, Texas. Police officers Matt Wood and Gary Ellis maliciously responded by issuing me two false citations. I got a copy of the dashboard-camera video at the pretrial hearing. It showed all. City attorney Todd Greenwood demanded I give my copy of the evidence back, and tried to have me arrested when I refused."