Republicans, GOP, Obstructionism, North Carolina, Texas, Racism; Voter Suppression, Vote Machinations; Journalism; NSA Spying, Russia, Surveillance and Privacy

Republicans

• Mitt Romney's Incredible 47-Percent Denial: "Actually, I Didn't Say That"
• Gov. Christie's shameless $2M self-promotion—"Gov. Chris Christie's habit of using his public office to promote his presidential ambitions has reached a new low."
• House GOPer Ted Yoho goes birther—"If it is true, it's illegal" and "we can get rid of everything [Obama]'s done" Salon
• Mark Sanford, Appalachian Trail Lover, Pushes To Defund Appalachian Regional Commission
• Scott Hounsell, Ex-GOP Official, Arrested For Sexting Minor After Mocking Anthony Weiner's Exploits
• Daily Show on southern states thinking they can nullify federal laws they don't like
• The Onion Predicts Real Life: Republicans Block NASA's Asteroid Plan

GOP

• The GOP flips the script on Obama
• Poll: Republican Voters Want GOP To Shift — To The Right
• Paul Krugman: "Madness of the GOP Is the Central Issue of Our Time" NYT
• Is the GOP self-destructing? The Republicans can't seem to agree on anything.
• Tea party plans to abandon GOP stars
• Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham and Mike Enzi unlikely to win primary, according to National Journal's Top 10 list
• The last moderate: Will 'passionate pragmatist' Dale Schultz be driven out of the Wisconsin Senate?
• GOP's Long-Predicted Comeuppance Has Arrived—"Republicans have dealt with some embarrassing moments on the House floor over the past year, but none so revealing or damning as today's snafu, when they yanked a bill to fund the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development…."
• Seniors Aren't Very Happy With the Republican Party These Days
• Goodbye to All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult

Obstructionism

• GOP obstruction as the new normal in Washington
• Congress Threatens To Default Again
• Obama's no-Congress strategy
• CNN analysis: Congress in D.C. far less than it used to be—Instead of getting jobs, the US got this.
• Fox Host Confronts House Republicans For Running A Do-Nothing Congress
• Grimes Blasts McConnell's Obstructionism: He'd Refuse To Pass A Kidney Stone
• Romney Warns 'Our Party Would Suffer' If Government Shuts Down—Tell that to the Tea Party.
• I quit! GOP Congressman fed up with partisan posturing

North Carolina

• NC House Dances With Joy Over Their Accomplishments
• The Most Backward Legislature in America
• Could North Carolina Lead A 'Red-State Resurgence'?

Texas

• Texas Lawmakers Are Too Busy Focusing On Abortion Restrictions To Get Anything Else Done
• Texas Republicans Want Wendy Davis To Pay For Special Session
• FEMA approves aid for Texas fertilizer plant blast
• Texas Officials Found No Evidence Linking Paramedic To Plant Explosion—Still unknown what caused the fire that set off the fertilizer the company was allegedly negligent in storing.
• Lewis Black to Rick Perry: 'Don't mess with Texas? No, don't f**ck with New York!'

Racism

• '47 Percent Negro': Anti-Obama Protest Turns Racist In Phoenix
• Republicans' whites-only gambit will spell doom—"Party may have claimed it'd be more inclusive, but now it's reversing course. The result: It will pay a huge price." Salon
• Mostly-White Ohio Suburb Fighting To Prevent Mostly-Black Bus-Riders From Entering Community
• Cathie Adams, Former Texas GOP Chair: Immigration Reform Will Lead To Mark Of The Beast, 'End Times'
• Video: Deion Sanders' opinions on use of the N-word

Voter Suppression

• As States Rush to Restrict Voting Rights, Justice Ginsburg Says I Told You So
• Some Texas Republicans Very Open About Disliking Non-White Voting
• Vote suppression alleged in close Fla. election—"A small Florida Panhandle town best known for its annual Worm Grunting Festival is at the center of an investigation into charges the white city clerk suppressed the black vote in an election where the black mayor lost by a single vote and a black city commissioner was also ousted."
• DOJ to challenge Supreme Court decision on Voting Rights Act
• The Republican Push to Make it Harder to Vote—"Laws like North Carolina's draconian new voter-ID laws are a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. But voter backlash could be fierce."
• Rick Scott Plans To Resume Voter Purge Effort In Florida
• 5 Terrible Acts of Voter Discrimination the Voting Rights Act Prevented—But Won't Anymore
• John Oliver rips into Republicans over their 'sharknado of voter suppression'

Vote Machinations

• Dead people gave nearly $600K to campaigns since 2009—"A super PAC aiding Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's re-election reported Wednesday that it had received a $100,000 contribution from Houston home builder and GOP mega-donor Bob Perry on June 3 — nearly two months after his April 13 death."
• Reince Priebus, RNC Launch Full-Scale Attack On 'Liberal Media' Over Hillary Clinton Programs
• House GOP Defunds ACORN Yet Again, Even Though ACORN Does Not Exist—Wasting more taxpayers' time and dollars.
• Officers used police station addresses for voting
• Mike Dugeon Takes On Mike Duggan In Detroit Mayoral Race

Journalism

• Amazon's Jeff Bezos buys The Washington Post for $250 million—He's not the only billionaire out shopping.
• The de-newspaperization of America—"The loss of newspapers is part of the long-term destruction of urban America."
• Al Jazeera America sets own course—'Weeks ahead of its debut, Al Jazeera America is doing things the old-fashioned way. AJAM, as it's referred to by staff, is investing heavily in investigative journalism.

NSA Spying

• IRS manual detailed DEA's use of hidden intel evidence—"Details of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration program that feeds tips to federal agents and then instructs them to alter the investigative trail were published in a manual used by agents of the Internal Revenue Service for two years."
• Why a former NSA chief just made a big mistake by dissing hackers—That's "Former NSA Director and air quotes user General Michael Hayden" to you.
• Former NSA Chief Hayden on X-Keyscore: It's real, and it's spectacular
• Every Time The NSA Is Asked About Its Ability To Spy On Everyone... It Answers About Its Authority
• Broader Sifting of Data Abroad Is Seen By NSA NYT
• NSA snooping could cost U.S. tech companies $35 billion over three years
• US lawmaker compares Edward Snowden with Mahatma Gandhi—"A senior lawmaker from President Barack Obama's Democratic party has compared US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden with Mahatma Gandhi, saying the controversial whistleblower was engaged in a 'non-violent' act of 'civil disobedience.'"

Russia

• Russia "disappointed" bilateral talks with US cancelled
• Russia says Obama hurting himself by canceling summit over Snowden
• Greenwald: On Obama's cancellation of summit with Putin and extradition
• China applauds Russia for making the US "eat dirt" in the Snowden showdown
• Snowden's Asylum: 'It's the law, stupid'—"It should be made clear that Russia has no legal, political or moral duty to turn Snowden over to American authorities.."

Surveillance and Privacy

• US Official Admits Spying On US Phone Calls & Internet Had Nothing To Do With Latest Terror Alert
• Feds secretly obtained evidence in African lobbying case under Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
• This Is What It Looks Like When Your Phone Tracks Your Every Move

Wag the Dog? NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy; Africa; Americas; Asia; Europe; Middle East

Wag the Dog?

• US embassy closures extended over militant threat fears
• Drone strikes kill militants in Yemen; Americans urged to leave
• Greenwald: Is US Exaggerating Threat to Embassies to Silence Critics of NSA Domestic Surveillance?
• The NSA Leaks Put Our 'Methods' At Risk, But Bragging About Monitoring Al Qaeda Emails Doesn't?
• Colbert: Global Terror Warning—"The Obama administration alerts Americans about an imminent Al Qaeda attack that could happen any moment, anywhere and anytime."

NSA Spying

• Obama: 'We Don't Have A Domestic Spying Program'—It's a global spying program.
• Obama Cancels Meeting With Putin In Moscow
• Greenwald: New U.S. spying revelations coming from Snowden leaks
• Russian senator fundraises for Edward Snowden's work on personal data—"United Russia politician Ruslan Gattarov says he has set up a website to gather money for the NSA whistleblower's work."
• Former NSA Boss Calls Snowden's Supporters Internet Shut-ins; Equates Transparency Activists With Al-Qaeda

Surveillance and Privacy

• US drug agency surveillance unit to be investigated by Department of Justice—"Civil rights groups express concern after revelations that secret unit uses wiretaps and telephone records to arrest Americans."
• Government Reverses Course on Warrantless Wiretapping in Criminal Case, Admits Duty to Notify Defendants
• Mass Data: Transfers from Germany Aid US Surveillance—"German intelligence sends massive amounts of intercepted data to the NSA, according to documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden, which SPIEGEL has seen. The trans-Atlantic cooperation on technical matters is also much closer than first thought."
• Germans' fear of American spying surges FT
• Schneier: Defeating the modern Leviathan of corporate-government data collection—"Individuals face an unholy alliance of data-hungry private firms and public agencies. Only citizen action can win back our privacy."

Africa

• Tunisia crisis: Tens of thousands join protest—"Tens of thousands of protesters have marched in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, to demand the resignation of the Islamist-led government."
• Uganda Passes Tough New Law Against Public Protest—'The law gives the police powers to control public meetings, including the use of force to break up gatherings held without prior authorization. Even meetings of a political nature held between three people must be authorized by the police...."
• Egypt: Diplomacy Hasn’t Resolved Political Standoff

Americas

• Canada: You will be shocked(!) to see who is on Stephen Harper's full 'enemy' list
• Falklands, global espionage and multilateral organizations in CFK dialogue with Ban Ki-moon
• Gunman kills head of Venezuela opposition party

Asia

• Japan launches largest warship since World War II
• Secret trove of files on N Korean rights abuses—"US and South Korean intelligence agencies are sitting on a huge archive recording torture, starvation and gross human rights abuses in North Korea. The files would be of great value to a United Nations investigation into crimes against humanity by the Pyongyang regime." Disclosure c/o Wikileaks.
• US criticises Vietnam internet control law—"The US has criticised a new internet decree in Vietnam that would restrict online users from discussing current affairs."
• Chinese firm paid insider 'to kill my company,' American CEO says
• Indonesia: Nazi-themed Asia café sparks global outrage

Europe

• Why Is A Top Obama Strategist Helping Sell UK Immigration Crackdown?
• UK: Doreen Lawrence pledges to condemn 'racial profiling' spot checks in the House of Lords—"Equalities watchdog says it will investigate the operations, with one member of the public saying it was akin to 'Nazi Germany.'"
• French Mayor threatens suicide over traveller camp
• Immigrants under fire in Italy despite pope's call for tolerance
• Swedish police cleared over shooting that sparked riots—"Prosecutors in Sweden have closed the inquiry into a police shooting which sparked Stockholm's worst riots in decades this May."
• Outrage as Swiss move to segregate asylum-seekers
• Malta refuses European demand to accept Africa migrants

Middle East

• Saudi prince defects from royal family
• Saudi offers Russia deal to scale back Assad support
• Syria fired ballistic missiles on its largest city in February. This is what it looks like now
• Bahrain bans protests in capital ahead of major anti-govt demonstration
• Turkish ex-army boss Basbug sentenced to life for Ergenekon overthrow plot
• 'This is our land': Protests at plan to remove Bedouins from ancestral villages—"The so-called 'Prawer plan' is being fought in and outside Israel."
• Israel blocks EU projects in West Bank

NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy, TOR, Journalism; War on Terror, Benghazi, US-Foreign Relations, Military Money; Law and Disorder, Police State

NSA Spying

• U.S. directs agents to cover up program used to investigate Americans—"A secretive U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unit is funneling information from intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, informants and a massive database of telephone records to authorities across the nation to help them launch criminal investigations of Americans." War on Terror meets War on Drugs.
• Rep. Mike Rogers Blocking Other Congressional Reps From Access To Info On NSA Surveillance
• 'They Lied To Us': Judge Napolitano & Shep Smith Rail Against Gov't Agencies Clamoring For NSA Data
• NSA files show privacy does not exist—"Total surveillance is the enemy of innovation, of anything that threatens public or private incumbents."
• Someone Using A US Senate IP Address Edits Wiki Entry To Change Ed Snowden From 'Dissident' To 'Traitor'

Surveillance and Privacy

• Unknown Republican blocks bill requiring email search warrants
• German Minister Floats US Company Ban—"German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger on Monday called for new EU rules on data protection and a ban on American companies that violate them."
• It's time Google came to grips with how it enables the surveillance state
• You May Need A New Sexting Device: Video Proof That Snapchat Doesn't Delete Your Photos
• Anonymouth Hides Identity

TOR

• Founder of Tor Freedom Hosting arrested in Ireland, awaiting extradition to USA
• Feds Are Suspects in New Malware That Attacks Tor Anonymity
• TOR Project: Stop using Windows, disable JavaScript

Journalism

• Senator's Attempt to Define 'Real Journalism' Blasted By Journalists—"Feinstein seeks to exclude Wikileaks, unpaid reporters from 'shield law' protecting journalists and their sources."
• Nate Silver: 'Most Political Pundits Are Completely Useless'
• NSA-loving, Internet-hating Rep Mike Rogers' staffers say criticism is "defamation"
• Chattanooga Free Press Editor Terminated Over 'Shove It, Mr. President' Headline—"It was not the original headline approved for publication, and Johnson violated the normal editing process when he changed the headline."
• Latest Right-Wing Watergate Scandal Implodes Mid-Segment On Fox

War on Terror

• The more nefarious US foreign policy, the more it relies on media complicity—"Americans are shielded from the ugly consequences of US military power by our journalists' self-censorship."
• Florida Officials Will NOT Investigate FBI Execution Of Unarmed Man Being Questioned About Boston
• Guards are sexually assaulting me, says the last Briton in Guantanamo Bay—"Shaker Aamer, who is on hunger strike after being detained by US for 11 years, tells of brutal daily cell searches."
• Liberty's lost decade—"The war on terror haunts America still; it should recover some of its most cherished values."
• "[T]he over-arching reason for the clamp-down on dissent, migration, and freedom of expression, and the concurrent emphasis on security in the developed world, constitutes the visible expression of a pre-emptive counter-revolution."
• TSA expands duties beyond airport security NYT
• Opinion: We're living '1984' today

Benghazi

• Groundswell: A Secret Tape Reveals How It Lobbied Boehner and Issa on Benghazi
• Fox Fabricates Quote To Accuse Carney Of Calling Benghazi A "Phony Attack"
• Want Evidence Benghazi Is A Phony Scandal?
• Whopper of the Year: 'The Mainstream Media' Ignored Benghazi—"Love or hate their coverage, the notion that a scandal went uncovered is a conservative delusion."
• Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack—"Sources now tell CNN dozens of people working for the CIA were on the ground that night, and that the agency is going to great lengths to make sure whatever it was doing, remains a secret."

US-Foreign Relations

• US Diplomat Kills Man in Car Crash, Leaves Kenya—"U.S. Embassy officials in Nairobi rushed the American and his family out of Kenya the next day, leaving the crash victims with no financial assistance to pay for a funeral and for hospital bills for the eight or so others who were seriously injured.:
• Power remarks cause Venezuela to end efforts to improve US ties—"Foreign ministry releases statement in response to UN envoy nominee's promise to stand up to 'repressive regimes.'"
• Surprise. Stephen Harper's U.S. border deal does imperil Canadian sovereignty: Walkom—"The U.S. wants its border police operating in Canada exempt from Canadian law. Don't assume Ottawa will refuse, writes Toronto Star columnist Thomas Walkom."

Military Money

• Budget Cuts Set To Hit Pentagon With Deeper Punch
• 80 Years Ago A Marine Major General Explained The Ugliest Truth About War
• The Privatisation of War: "Private Security Companies" on Contract with UN "Humanitarian" and "Peace Keeping" Operations"
• Will a Botched Coast Guard Contract Come Back to Bite James Comey?—"As general counsel of Lockheed Martin, Comey rejected a whistleblower's claim that a $24 billion Coast Guard project was riddled with problems. The whistleblower was right—and Comey was wrong."
• Military Industry Employee 'Throws Down Rifle' for 'Good of the World'—"Taking inspiration from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, Brandon Toy publicly resigns from private 'defense' contractor and says 'you can do it too.'"

Law and Disorder

• The Use and Abuse of Civil Forfeiture—"[S]tate laws designed to go after high-flying crime lords are routinely targeting the workaday homes, cars, cash savings, and other belongings of innocent people who are never charged with a crime."
• The Untouchables: America's Misbehaving Prosecutors, And The System That Protects Them
• Bill Montgomery Opposes Ethics Rule Requiring Prosecutors to Reveal Evidence of Wrongful Convictions

Police State

• Why is a SWAT team assaulting me? I'm just dancing at a rave—"Local cops use anti-terrorism grants for heavy artillery, descend on dances, homeowners, marijuana dispensaries." Salon
• 7 Ways The Obama Administration Has Accelerated Police Militarization
• Former Cops Speak Out About Police Militarization

Aaron Swartz; Stifling Reviews, Astroturfing, Social Engineering, Rotten Apples; Net Neutrality, Trouble with Telcos, Cable Wars, Mobile Phones; NSA Spying

Aaron Swartz

• Aaron Swartz's Father Blasts MIT Report, Says School Wasn't Neutral
• Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman: MIT report is a whitewash. My statement in response.
• The four lamest excuses in MIT's report on Aaron Swartz
• Prominent Security Researchers, Academics, and Lawyers Demand Congress Reform the CFAA and Support Aaron's Law
• Bradley Manning case stretches credibility of US computer fraud law—"The sentence facing the soldier who passed material to WikiLeaks shows that the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is in dire need of reform."

Stifling Reviews

• Popehat Signal: Vengeful AIDS Denialist Sues Critic In Texas
• Dentist who used copyright to silence her patients is on the run
• DMCA Abuse Will Cause Censored Product Review to Go Viral—"According to Den, Rotolight didn't appreciate the fact that the review wasn't as glowing as they might have liked."

Astroturfing

• How Online Reviews Are Being Manipulated By Manufacturers
• Mpact Magic Issues Warning About Solicited and Fake Reviews
• Online reviews full of fakes—"As online reviews flood Internet, it’s tough for consumers to sort out which ones are phony."
• Edmunds.com sues company for fake reviews of car dealerships
• Fake Nautical Restaurant On Tripadvisor Gets Glowing Reviews

Social Engineering

• 'Click farms': how some businesses manipulate social media - Channel 4 Dispatches video trailer
• Fake Twitter accounts generate big bucks for underground economy
• Fake Social Media Accounts Deployed in Fight Over Dallas Building Blinding Piano's Nasher
• Hackers create fake Facebook likes for cash
• Hackers hijacking Twitter, Facebook and Google+ accounts with Chrome and Firefox add-ons

Rotten Apples

• Chinese scalpers booking up all Genius Bar appointments & selling online
• Woman buys two iPhones for $1,300, gets only apples (really)
• Apple fixing bug that allows fake charging stations to hack iPhones

Net Neutrality

• Now That It's in the Broadband Game, Google Flip-Flops on Network Neutrality
• Why YouTube buffers: The secret deals that make—and break—online video—"When ISPs and video providers fight over money, Internet users suffer."
• EU to abandon net neutrality on Internet speed

Trouble with Telcos

• Telco Astroturfing Tries To Bring Down Reviews Of Susan Crawford's Book
• Don't Blame Big Cable. It's Local Governments That Choke Broadband Competition.
• Comcast Starts Tinkering With 5 GB Usage Caps

Cable Wars

• Time Warner Can Blame ESPN for Much of That Cord Cutting
• Time Warner Cable Jacking Up Modem Fees
• Time Warner Cable drops CBS in New York, Los Angeles

Mobile Phones

• AT&T's Next phone upgrade plans are a huge ripoff
• Why are US cell carriers suddenly pushing you to upgrade faster? For the money
• Good Luck Leaving Your Wireless Phone Plan—"Only about 1% of contract customers switch from top wireless carriers; 'It kind of feels like a trap.'" WSJ
• Finland Tops Mobile Phone Throwing Charts
• xkcd: Annoying Ringtone Champion

NSA Spying

• The sneaky switch that set the stage for the NSA's call records program—"The wording of Section 215 of the Patriot Act was modified at the last minute in 2005."
• Members of Congress denied access to basic information about NSA—"Documents provided by two House members demonstrate how they are blocked from exercising any oversight over domestic surveillance."
• Other Agencies Clamor for Data N.S.A. Compiles—"The National Security Agency's dominant role as the nation's spy warehouse has prompted turf fights with other federal agencies that want to use its surveillance tools for their own investigations." NYT
• Activists stage second national day of protest against NSA's domestic spying—"Campaigners say mood has shifted in their favour since 4 July demonstrations against government surveillance."
• Snowden slip: Grand jury probe firm that vetted NSA leaker
• Terror threat opens new front in NSA debate—Claimed to be "directly responsible for uncovering a potential terrorist attack."
• Stop Bashing the NSA

Jesus the Zealot, Church and State, Sex Abuse Scandals, Creationists, Christianists, Ultra-Orthodox, Islamists, Haram, Blasphemy, Religion, Atheism; NSA Spying

Jesus the Zealot

• "Zealot": The real Jesus—"Reza Aslan argues that the historical Jesus was not an unworldly pacifist preaching a creed of universal love." Salon
• Fox News Anchor Dumbfounded That A Scholar, Who Is Muslim, Had The Audacity To Write A Book About Jesus
• Jesus book hits No. 1 in wake of viral Fox News interview—Aslan says it's their 'jump the shark' moment.

Church and State

• How Justice Antonin Scalia Is Imposing Catholic Morality in the Supreme Court… and Getting Away With It
• RNC chairman says the Republican Party is a religion
• The "anti-God" party—"You can't be a Christian and a Democrat at the same time, Virginia's GOP candidate for lieutenant governor says." Salon
• Pastor: 'In God We Trust' Signs on Tennessee Courthouse Are Part of 'Majority Rule'
• Pray The Gay Away? Alabama Government Agency Begins Meeting With Anti-Gay Marriage Prayer
• Cullman County School District in Alabama Is the Site of Even More Violations of Church/State Separation
• Federal court halts Christian prayers at North Carolina county meetings

Sex Abuse Scandals

• Catholic Church, private schools lobby against California childhood sex abuse bill—"The Los Angeles archdiocese and other private groups say they have been unfairly targeted because the bill does not apply to public schools."
• New sex abuse crisis in Scottish Catholic church—"Priest claims he was abused by older cleric, and church is punishing him for speaking out."
• Brooklyn D.A. releases names of sex offenders in Orthodox community

Creationists

• Creationist Demands That Houston Museum Ban Atheists and Science Supporters
• Alarm Bells Are Ringing: Creationists Get Influential Positions in Texas Science Textbook Review
• Botanical Society Panel Derides Creationism, Louisiana Science Education Act

Christianists

• Refusal of religious orders to compensate Magdalenes 'beggars belief'
• Christian healer who groped patients at Brighouse home is jailed
• Players' shocking allegations against former NCAA women's basketball coach—"As many as 15 former players and others close to the Oakland University women's basketball program allege Beckie Francis fixated on their weight, pushed her religious views and used intimidation."
• Alabama state champion coach and AD fired for being a member of the wrong church
• 10 worst examples of Christian or far-right terrorism—"Conservatives claim that all terrorists are Muslim, but most violent attacks in the US are carried out by white men." Salon

Ultra-Orthodox

• NY orthodox rally against military service sounds anti-Zionist themes
• Israel Passes Military Draft Bill—"Israel's Cabinet has approved a plan that would gradually end a contentious system that has granted automatic draft exemptions to Jewish ultra-Orthodox seminary students." NYT
• Ultra-Orthodox protesters shatter bus windows after female passenger refuses to sit in back

Islamists

• A teenager thrown from a roof in Alexandria—His father asks, "[W]ho are these people who use Islam to pull us back into the dark ages?"
• European Union Adds Hezbollah Wing to Terror List NYT
• Inside the Nanga Parbat Murders—"One of the worst massacres in mountaineering history happened this summer in Pakistan. Will it happen again?"

Haram

• Kindergarten drop pork: It must be the same for all
• Dinner lady sacked for serving pork to Muslim girl at Cambridge primary school
• Alvin And Vivian Jailed: Malaysian Sex Bloggers Charged With Sedition For Inciting Religious Enmity With Ramadan Image

Blasphemy

• Column: Why it's time to get rid of Ireland's blasphemy laws
• Saudi activist receives 7-year sentence, 600 lashes for insulting Islam
• Jailed Russian female punk rock member loses parole appeal

Religion

• Some Mormons Search the Web and Find Doubt—"The church is grappling with a wave of disillusionment among members who encountered information that sabotages what they were taught about their faith." NYT
• 11 Things The Bible Bans, But People Do Anyway
• Satanists Turned the Founder of the Westboro Baptist Church's Dead Mom Gay—Taking a cue from the Mormon's despicable baptisms?

Atheism

• Former Congressman Barney Frank Finally Comes Out as an Atheist
• The United States Marine Corps Officially Declares 'Lack of Spiritual Faith' as a Sign of Instability
• Republican-Led House Approves Amendment Banning Non-Religious Military Chaplains—But will this stick?
• The six types of atheist—"A new study in the US seeks to break down atheists into distinct categories. Which one do you fall into?"
• Atheism: Why the UK is losing its religion

NSA Spying

• PBS: Spying on the Home Front
• NSA chief: Snooping is crucial to fighting terrorism
• Concerns over NSA prompt Wikimedia to speed up using HTTPS by default—"You'll have to log in, but HTTPS will hide what you read or write from snooping."

Workers and Wage Slaves, Wal-Mart, Unemployment; Banks and Wall Street; Corporations, Thugs for Hire; Customer Disservice, Unfriendly Skies; NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy

Workers and Wage Slaves

• "We Have Become a Nation of Hamburger Flippers": Dan Alpert Breaks Down the Jobs Report
• This One Tweet Reveals What's Wrong With American Business—"The real problem is that American corporations, which are richer and more profitable than they have ever been in history, have become so obsessed with "maximizing short-term profits" that they are no longer investing in their future, their people, and the country."
• Where Are Workers Most Underpaid: Apple, Walmart or McDonald's?
• Rep. Keith Ellison: Taxpayers 'are subsidizing' fast food corporations' minimum wage business model
• A Fast-Food Joint Thrives, Even by Paying $12 an Hour
• Henry Ford's 150th birthday: His fight for higher wages—"What good is industry if it be so unskillfully managed as not to return a living to everyone concerned?"
• Observations From A Tipless Restaurant

Wal-Mart

• Sen. Bernie Sanders: Wal-Mart Welfare
• John Fugelsang: What to say to people who still defend Wal-Mart
• Walmart Fight is About the Degradation of Work in America
• Walmart’s firings lead lawmaker to author worker protection bill—He better work fast.
• Walmart Allegedly Overtaxing On 2-For-1 Coupon Purchases

Unemployment

• U.S. economy adds 162,000 jobs in July—"The nation's unemployment rate dips to 7.4%, its lowest point since December 2008. But Americans worked fewer hours and their pay dipped."
• Companies won't even look at resumes of the long-term unemployed
• 4 Reasons Why Millions Of Americans Are Leaving The Workforce

Banks and Wall Street

• The next Federal Reserve chair shouldn't be Wall Street's servant—"Larry Summers brings too much Wall Street baggage to be the top economic policymaker in the United States."
• How the Execs Who Brought Down Bear Stearns Bounced Back—"Five years after their firm crashed and kicked off the financial crisis, these subprime mortgage managers hold top jobs at the most powerful banks on Wall Street."
• Over a Million Are Denied Bank Accounts for Past Errors—"Being rejected for a bank account can lead to a succession of fees for cashing checks, paying bills and wiring money." NYT
• Richmond's pioneering eminent-domain threat—"Taking a controversial plunge into uncharted waters, Richmond is poised to become the first city in the country to invoke eminent domain to address its foreclosure crisis."
• Michael Lewis: Did Goldman Sachs Overstep in Criminally Charging Its Ex-Programmer?
• Ex-Goldman Sachs trader Fabrice Tourre liable in $1bn fraud
• Filing: Bank of America may face civil charges

Corporations

• Corporate sell-outs exploit a secret new gimmick—"Craven senators Max Baucus and Orrin Hatch want to shield authors of toxic tax giveaways from the public view." Salon
• Call for constitutional amendment to end 'corporate personhood' on way to Maine Senate
• Welcome to ALICE—"The American Legislative and Issue Campaign Exchange... may be understood as a very partial antidote to ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), the corporate-backed group that has for nearly 40 years provided model state law and connection to corporate lobbyists to its nearly 2,000 state legislator members."

Thugs for Hire

• Rent-a-Paramilitaries Freak Out Wisconsin—"... when the company [Gogebic Taconite] brought in what the Wisconsin State Journal calls 'masked security guards who are toting semi-automatic rifles and wearing camouflaged uniforms.'"
• Corporate Murder in Brazil: Landless Rural Worker Shot by Security Company Hired by Multinational Syngenta
• Groundbreaking Investigation Reveals Monsanto Teaming Up With US Military to Target GMO Activists

Customer Disservice

• Skechers pays up for Shape-ups—"Skechers is finally paying back the customers it's accused of deceiving with the false promise that its athletic shoes would magically tone their booties like reality TV star Kim Kardashian."
• Ayn Rand killed Sears—"How the me-first corporate structure installed by hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert helped ruin the retail giant." Salon
• Steep bar tab: Owner of 8 TGI Fridays to pay $500K for selling cheap liquor as premium brands

Unfriendly Skies

• United Airlines Employee, Girlfriend Reportedly Stole $6,000 Worth of Clothing From Luggage, Cops Said
• Delta accused of forcing paralyzed man to crawl off of plane
• Unfinished Berlin Airport BER Costs 20 Million Euros per Month

NSA Spying

• Here’s what real reform of the NSA looks like—"[Rep. Rush] Holt introduced the Surveillance State Repeal Act. [...] It would repeal the 2001 Patriot Act, which the NSA has cited as the legal basis for its phone records surveillance program. It would also repeal the 2008 FISA Amendments Act, the legal foundation for the government’s PRISM program. And it would extend whistleblower protections to cover employees of intelligence agencies."
• NSA Collects 'Word for Word' Every Domestic Communication, Says Former Analyst—Not just "metadata."
• Newly revealed NSA spy program monitors HTTP activity
• Want NSA Attention? Use Encrypted Communications—"Bad news has emerged for fans of PGP and other encryption services. The NSA is taking a gloves-off approach when you go this route."
• Why have so many liberals been silent about NSA spying?
• Germany Ends Cold War Spying Pact With US, Britain
• How the Snowden Saga will End

Surveillance and Privacy

• "Senator Obama warned about Patriot Act abuses. President Obama proved him right."
• FBI pressures Internet providers to install surveillance software—"CNET has learned the FBI has developed custom 'port reader' software to intercept Internet metadata in real time. And, in some cases, it wants to force Internet providers to use the software."
• Seven telcos named as providing fiber optic cable access to UK spies—"New Snowden leaks show Verizon, Vodafone, and BT share direct data."
• FBI can remotely activate Android and laptop microphones, reports WSJ
• Your TV might be watching you—"The flaws in Samsung Smart TVs, which have now been patched, enabled hackers to remotely turn on the TVs' built-in cameras without leaving any trace of it on the screen."
• You May Have 'Nothing to Hide' But You Still Have Something to Fear
• The Surveillance Society—"Secrets are so 20th century now that we have the ability to collect and store billions of pieces of data forever."

NSA Spying; Prison Privatization, Solitary; Recording; Retaliation; Bad Cops, NYPD; Aw, Shoot; Killed by Death; Law and Disorder

NSA Spying

• NSA spy leaks: US fury at Snowden's Russian asylum—Schumer (D-NY) says 'Russia has stabbed us in the back.'
• They Know Much More Than You Think—"We know little about what uses the NSA makes of most information available to it—it claims to have exposed a number of terrorist plots—and it has yet to be shown what effects its activities may have on the lives of most American citizens. Congressional committees and a special federal court are charged with overseeing its work, although they are committed to secrecy, and the court can hear appeals only from the government. Still, the US intelligence agencies also seem to have adopted Orwell's idea of doublethink—'to be conscious of complete truthfulness,' he wrote, 'while telling carefully constructed lies.'"
• The High Likelihood That Future NSA Abuses Will Occur—"The latest defenses of the agency put an irrational amount of faith in its analysts and supervisors."
• NSA paid $152M over 3 years to British spy agency, new Snowden docs show—""'[Government Communications Headquarters] must pull its weight,' UK spies wrote."
• NSA's Internet taps can find systems to hack, track VPNs and Word docs—"X-Keyscore gives NSA the ability to find and exploit vulnerable systems."
• Is XKEYSCORE still active? Defense contractor posted a job listing for it 2 weeks ago
• Intel chips could let US spies inside: expert—"One of Silicon Valley's most respected technology experts, Steve Blank, says he would be 'surprised' if the US National Security Agency was not embedding 'back doors' inside chips produced by Intel and AMD, two of the world's largest semiconductor firms, giving them the possibility to access and control machines."

Prison Privatization

• The Business of Mass Incarceration
• Allen Daniel Hicks Dead: Stroke Death Of Inmate Sparks State Investigation—Which "will largely focus on the actions of Armor Correctional Health Services Inc., a private company that has been contracted to take care of Hillsborough prisoners."
• Anonymous Exposes U.S.'s Biggest Private Prison Company As a Bad Financial Investment
• Gangs Ruled Prison as For-Profit Model Put Blood on Floor
• ACLU: Inhumane for Ohio to shut off prison power in exchange for payments
• Unlocking stories behind bars—"Florida is privatizing much of the state's prison healthcare, and the companies getting these big contracts have a history well worth exploring."
• Flipside: Prison populations decline reflecting new approach to crime NYT

Solitary

• Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons.—"We throw thousands of men in the hole for the books they read, the company they keep, the beliefs they hold. Here's why."
• 30,000 Prisoner Hunger Strike in CA Protesting Solitary Confinement Usage—One prisoner has died.
• Gloria Steinem, Jay Leno among celebrities joining prisoners' calls for end to solitary confinement

Recording

• Scotia drug suspect cleared by video may sue—"Surveillance footage shows informant planting cocaine."
• Police Threatened to Arrest Me for Taking Their Photo Last Night
• Deputies shoot man in his front yard—"He was getting cigarette out of his mother's car."
• Police Union Suing St. Paul For Releasing Video of Police Brutality Without Hiding Cop's Face
• Florida State Trooper says he took Spinnakers—Says he stole the copies of the university paper to prevent an unfavorable story from coming out.
• Police launch investigations after arrest of photographer—"Detroit police and the department's internal affairs officers are investigating the arrest of a Free Press photographer who was filming a police action on a public street last week."
• Man says he was wrongfully arrested after filming on public street
• Wearable Video Cameras, for Police Officers—"Some police departments are recording their officers' interactions with civilians using cameras small enough to attach to sunglasses." NYT
• Video of Quebec police beating Innu man sparks anger
• Streetcar shooting: Will body-worn cameras help police and the public?

Retaliation

• Cop Fired for Speaking Out Against Ticket and Arrest Quotas
• Auburn Cop Fired for Resisting Quotas Gets Online Support; City Officials Deny Deny Deny
• Agent Who Reported Iowa Gov's Speeding Vehicle Has Been Fired

Bad Cops

• Pennsylvania police chief: F*ck all you libtards out there, you take it in the a**—He's gotten himself a 30-day suspension.
• If you don't want to be tased...
• ACLU Alleges County Hired Private Firm That Impersonated Police For Profit
• "Fake Cops" Robbing Detroit Citizens At Gunpoint Turn Out To Be Real Cops Robbing Citizens At Gunpoint
• Judge Orders $1 Million Returned to Exotic Dancer, After Being Confiscated by Cops
• Texas Cop Who Assaulted and Arrested Innocent Woman Has Been Charged With Assault and Arrested
• Reality TV Show Catches Detective Lying Under Oath And On Police Reports
• Victim sues city, police officer imprisoned for sex abuse—"Former Philadelphia Police Officer Tyrone Wiggins, imprisoned for sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in his karate class, has been sued by his victim, now 32 and a police officer herself."
• Police raid felt like home invasion—Police demanded entry to a home without a warrant, and aren't happy about being outed.
• Boy whose lemonade stand was busted by cops invited to sell inside restaurant

NYPD

• Blond beauty set to sue NYPD over sexy photos swiped from iPhone—"Pamela Held, 27, of Deer Park, Long Island, claims an NYPD officer from the 104th Precinct in Ridgewood, Queens stole the raunchy images she shared only with her boyfriend."
• NYPD cop loses badge after texting, dating DWI bust who ended up with black eye
• Court's 'Temporary' Rule Changes Protect Bad NYPD Cops And Stack Deck Against Plaintiffs
• Alex White, Professional Snitch—"What do you do when the cops you work for are dirtier than you are?" NYT
• Blast from the Past: Plainclothes officers in trouble - didn't recognize off-duty chief

Aw, Shoot

• SC Supreme Court stops murder trial, orders hearing on 'Stand Your Ground' defense—"An armed intruder is making a 'Stand Your Ground' argument in a murder trial, saying he shouldn't be prosecuted for shooting and killing the man whose home he broke into because it looked as though the man was about to shoot him first."
• Texas jury acquits man who shot and killed Craigslist escort after she refused sex
• Marissa Alexander Gets 20 Years For Firing Warning Shot
• Claim Denied for Man Mistaken for Christopher Dorner in Manhunt
• Report: Florida Shooter Fired For Downloading Hypnotism, Sex, Explosives Guides

Killed by Death

• Mom Reacts To Sentencing In DUI Crash That Left Son & Fiancee Dead—"Kim Neidenthal can’t believe that the man who crossed over into oncoming traffic on K-18 and killed her son and his fiancee last year will spend only 60 days in jail."
• Inmate present at time of soldier's death in jail speaks to KFOX14—"Fort Bliss soldier Sgt. James Brown turned himself in July 13, 2012, to serve what was to be a 48-hour sentence for a drunken driving conviction, but he never checked out."
• How Three People Died Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning In The Same Motel Room, Six Weeks Apart
• American tourist Bobby Ray Carter dies after being stabbed for refusing to stop singing at Thai resort
• The Confessions of Convicted Swedish Serial Killer Sture Bergwall, AKA Thomas Quick

Law and Disorder

• Massachusetts Judge Settles Dispute by Ruling Burrito is Not a Sandwich
• 'Neighbor from hell' pleads guilty to violating restraining order
• You commit three felonies a day

Edward Snowden, Bradley Manning, Michael Hastings, Journalism, War on Terror, Iraq'd, Gitmo, Drones, Military Money, TSA

Edward Snowden

• Fugitive Snowden slips out of Moscow airport for 'secure' base—He's been granted a one-year asylum.
• Edward Snowden's father says FBI asked him to fly to Moscow—"Lon Snowden says his son will be 'treated horribly' if he returns to US and in his place he would stay in Russia." Guantánamo's lovely this time of year.
• Senators lash out at NSA for excessive secrecy
• NSA Director Defends Surveillance Activities During Tense Black Hat Keynote—Claims that there has been 'zero abuses' of data, but is that another lie?
• The NSA's Massive Call Record Surveillance Program Barely Accomplishes Anything
• The Government Lied About Being Able To Read Your Email Without A Warrant

Bradley Manning

• Bradley Manning acquitted of aiding the enemy—"But he was convicted on lesser charges." Salon
• ACLU: Manning Verdict Intended To Intimidate Those Who Would Reveal 'Valuable Information'
• Bradley Manning Faced Harsher Prosecution Merely Because His Leaks Involved a Computer
• Bradley Manning: my view from inside the Fort Meade courtroom—"The media loves to argue whether Manning is a hero or a traitor, but that is beside the point. This is about truth."
• Loner Sought a Refuge, and Ended Up in War—'Feeling outcast in Iraq, Bradley Manning, then a 22-year-old Army private, turned to the Internet for solace. Prosecutors called what came next one of the greatest betrayals in United States history." NYT
• Manning sentencing: Wikileaks 'strained' US-Afghan ties
• Bradley Manning leak did not result in deaths by enemy forces, court hears—"Counter-intelligence officer who investigated WikiLeaks impact undermines argument that Manning leak put lives at risk."
• US judge rules that Espionage Act does not require proof of any harm done

Michael Hastings

• FBI sued for keeping secret their file on journalist Michael Hastings
• Michael Hastings death: New video of crash emerges
• Michael Hastings: my friend and his enemies—"Hastings was fearless and shook things up – especially with his McChrystal expose. The haters in the media couldn't forgive him."

Journalism

• Glenn Greenwald to Jeffrey Toobin: You're "calling for the end of investigative journalism"
• Protecting journalist sources: Lessons in communicating securely
• Blast from the Past: Lap Dogs of the Press—"During the run-up to the Iraq War, the nation's leading print and broadcast media could have saved lives if they questioned the Administration's pronouncements. Instead, they were an echo chamber for the White House."

War on Terror

• Pentagon: Who We're At War With Is Classified
• Kissinger: 'Terrorists are really people that reject the international system'
• Italy: Bid to hold CIA chief rejected by Panama
• US disappointed in Yemen journalist's release—"The United States expressed disappointment Wednesday in the release of a Yemeni journalist who rights groups say was detained because of his reporting on al-Qaida and alleged U.S. complicity in attacks in Yemen." How disappointed are they now that he's been gotten a presidential pardon.
• Dutch court blocks extradition to US of Dutch-Pakistani terror suspect—"Dutch judges blocked the extradition Tuesday of a terror suspect to the United States, saying he was tortured in Pakistan after his 2010 arrest and it is unclear whether American authorities had any involvement."
• Canada: Controversial anti-terror bill passes, allowing preventative arrests, secret hearings
• U.N. raps Chile for using anti-terrorism laws in indigenous protests—"Chilean President Sebastian Pinera is under fire for allowing the country's counterterrorism legislation to be used against indigenous protesters fighting for ancestral land rights."

Iraq'd

• Britain's Former Top Spy Threatens To Expose The 'Dodgy Dossier' Used To Push Iraq War
• Al Qaeda militants flee Iraq jail in violent mass break-out
• 'I risked my life, for what?': Iraq War veterans chilled by country's slide into civil war
• Depleted uranium used by US forces blamed for birth defects and cancer in Iraq
• Bush Presidential Library Misleads Visitors On WMDs In Iraq

Gitmo

• It Don't Gitmo Better Than This: Inside the Dark Heart of Guantánamo Bay
• 5 senators at Guantanamo hearing easily outnumbered by protesters
• Pentagon: Guantanamo tab $5.2 billion and counting

Drones

• Judge Challenges White House Claims on Authority in Drone Killings NYT
• Leaked report shows high civilian death toll from CIA drone strikes—"The report describes 147 civilian deaths, much higher than the U.S. administration has admitted to." Salon
• FBI admits to flying drones over US without warrants
• US approves drones for civilian use
• Fake Signs On Bay Area Highways Say Drones Looking For Speeders—"The metal signs say, 'Speed enforced by drones.' They also show a drone firing a weapon."

Military Money

• US auditor finds taxpayer money flowing to Taliban, Al Qaeda - but Army refuses to act—"Warnings from the US government's internal auditor that an ongoing $20 billion Afghanistan reconstruction program is lining the pockets of the Taliban and Al Qaeda have been ignored."
• KBR must face lawsuit over alleged kickbacks from military contracts: court
• Iowa soldier-mayor blows whistle on war fraud—"George Toubekis helped prevent $20 million in fuel theft in Afghanistan."
• In Iraq, the Bomb-Detecting Device That Didn't Work, Except to Make Money
• Blast from the Past: How Bank of England 'helped Nazis sell gold stolen from Czechs'—"Official account of what many believe was British central bank's most shameful episode revealed more than 70 years after event."

TSA

• Lawsuit settled over man's strip at Richmond airport—"Whether it is construed as different, unusual or bizarre, non-disruptive expressive protest — which is what Aaron Tobey engaged in — is at the core of protected First Amendment speech. Frankly, the nation would be better served if all government officials were required to undertake a training course on what it means to respect the constitutional rights of the citizenry."
• TSA Is Making Airport Valets Search Your Trunk—"And legal experts say the searches may violate your Fourth Amendment rights."
• Misconduct accusations against TSA officers rise 27 percent in two years—All part of getting citizens to capitulate theirs rights and dignity under the guise of figthing terror.