De James C. Wilson. Fuente: Book Review: Things That Can & Cannot Be Said. Traducido por Diego Avila. Cusack, John Roy y Arundhati Roy. Things That Can & Cannot Be Said. (Penguin Books, 2016). Con toda la atención dada el mes pasado a la liberación de Chelsea Manning, sentencia la cual fue únicamente conmutada por…

With all the attention given to last month’s release of Chelsea Manning, whose sentence was only commuted by the Obama administration after it became politically convenient, we must not overlook the fact that the Obama administration also had the opportunity to pardon another famous whistle-blower.

It’s convention time again and that means a large influx of fanatics dressed their best gather with some of the biggest names in the nation for a weekend of ceremonies, announcements, and a large show of support for what people believe truly matters in this country. Yes, I’m talking about San Diego ComicCon where every…

In a speech March 28 at an award ceremony for the Toner Prize For Excellence in Investigative Reporting, the biggest enemy of investigative journalism since Nixon complained of the lack of… investigative journalism. That’s right. President Obama criticized the dominant journalistic culture for its stenographic approach of simply quoting the official statements of public figures…

Su Progressive Review (“Two Types of Terrorism,” 7 dicembre), Sam Smith distingue due tipi di terrorismo: “Quello che usa armi e bombe e quello che usa le parole per terrorizzare la gente e convincerla ad accettare la volontà di chi sta al potere.” Ma tra i due tipi c’è una relazione, come dimostrano le relative…

In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and around the U.S., sentiment among the governing class is turning powerfully against encryption. Reuters reports an impending “crackdown” on Bitcoin in the EU. Other reports suggest France could inhibit Tor and free wi-fi at will. U.S. officials have taken the opportunity to go on…

At Progressive Review (“Two Types of Terrorism,” Dec. 7), Sam Smith breaks terrorism down into two types: “That which uses guns and bombs and that which uses words to terrify the public into going along with whatever those in power want.” But the two aren’t unrelated, as the respective domestic reactions to the Paris bombings…

Secondo la Reuters, domenica scorsa la Nsa ha chiuso il suo programma invasivo di sorveglianza telefonica. Il programma permetteva alla Nsa di raccogliere i cosiddetti metadati dei chiamanti. Informazioni come chi e quando veniva chiamato venivano immagazzinate in un database governativo. La chiusura del programma è un passo positivo verso il recupero della privacy perduta…

According to Reuters, as of last Sunday, the NSA has shut down their invasive phone surveillance program. Under the program, the NSA collected callers’ so-called metadata.  Under the system, information such as what numbers people called and when they called were gathered and retained in a government database. This program’s closing is a positive step…

C4SS Feed 44 presents Jason Farrell‘s “The Natural Right of Encryption” read by Katrina Haffner and edited by Tony Dreher. The Snowden leaks proved that individuals must take responsibility for their own privacy by revealing an inherent problem at the heart of constitutional government. By revealing the inner workings of the surveillance state, the leaks…

As if they weren’t Machiavellian enough, spy agencies are evidently waiting for the next terrorist attack to change public opinion on the need for encryption backdoors, reports The Washington Post. The intelligence community’s top lawyer, Robert S. Litt, lamented in a leaked email that “the legislative environment is very hostile today … [but] it could…

Amid claims by U.S. officials that a “golden key” to all forms of encryption software is necessary to fight terrorism, a UN Report released in May asserts that securely encrypted communications among private citizens aren’t just permissible, but a human right. The report’s author, UC Irvine professor David Kaye, notes the problem of creating a…

C4SS Feed 44 presents Nick Ford‘s “The NSA is Phoning it in Again” read by Joey Clark and edited by Nick Ford. The fact that Alexander needed convincing that the program was a failure is proof enough that it was mostly talk. If you need to convince your boss of something that is widely known…

C4SS Feed 44 presents James C. Wilson‘s “End Government Spying Now” read by Joey Clark and edited by Nick Ford. Secretive state agencies are not to be trusted, nor are the politicians that have ties to them. It is highly unlikely the state is going to voluntarily end its unethical spying programs without massive pressure…

The Obama Administration finally responded this week to a two-year-old petition on Whitehouse.gov requesting the pardon of Edward Snowden. 170,000 signatures and a wave of anti-NSA public sentiment later, the White House formally refused the pardon alleging unspecified damage Snowden’s leaks inflicted on American national security. The White House response made no mention of any public…

Dan Sanchez discusses how U/S. intervention helps Islamic fundamentalist groups in the Middle East. Barbara Myers discusses the unknown whistleblower. Michael Horton discusses the Saudi state’s Yemen strategy of divide and destroy. Laurence M. Vance discusses free trade. Sheldon Richman discusses letting the clock run out on the NSA. Alex Kane discusses the booming business…

In a democracy citizens prevent the government from abusing them by staying informed and exercising their “rights” under the system. They monitor the politicians’ and bureaucrats’ conduct, and when citizens see what they consider misbehavior, they act to stop it either by communicating to their “representatives” or by voting for better people at the next…

Sen. Rand Paul accomplished something worthwhile when, almost single-handedly, he saw to it that Section 215 of the Patriot Act expired. For that he deserves our heartfelt thanks. But where does the expiration now leave us opponents of indiscriminate government spying on innocent people ? Not in such a great place. Shortly after 215 disappeared,…

The impending expiration of the USA Patriot Act is a matter of intense focus among civil libertarians; Rand Paul’s filibuster has been in the news, along with petition drives pressuring Congress not to vote for renewal. But it doesn’t really matter: Even if the legislation expires, the NSA will carry right on with domestic surveillance…

Regarding the feverish effort either to reauthorize, “reform,” or abolish the National Security Agency’s collection of our phone and email data, two things need to be said: First, thank you, Edward Snowden. Second, isn’t it great to see the ruling elite panicking? Of course, the discussion about NSA collection of our “metadata” wouldn’t be happening…