NSA's PRISM and the Oddity of PalTalk
Remember this presentation slide on PRISM from last month’s blockbuster report by the Guardian-UK?
Remember the one outlier right smack in the middle of the slide — the company name most folks don’t recognize?
PalTalk.
Very few…
Superheroes and Monsters: The Truth in Today's Blockbusters
For a change of pace, let’s talk about superheroes.
Like Superman. Batman. Iron Man. The Avengers. Spider-man.
We've been inundated with superheroes at the box office for the last several years. We eat them up, based on box office ticket…
Eblouissante Goes Up To Saratoga
Well, it is not exactly a hot sports weekend, F1 is off until next weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix and the NFL preseason will have to wait for two more weeks when the Cowboys and Dolphins open up with the NFL Hall of Fame Game. But fear not lugnuts,…
Fourth Circuit Guts National Security Investigative Journalism Everywhere It Matters
The Fourth Circuit -- which covers CIA, JSOC, and NSA's territory -- just ruled that journalists who are witnesses to alleged crimes (or participants, the opinion ominously notes) must testify in the trial.
There is no First Amendment testimonial…
The Shell Game: What is Microsoft Doing?
What is this so-called tech company doing?
Microsoft sees itself as going head-to-head with Apple and Google. The 10-year chart above comparing Microsoft, Apple, and Google stock tells us this has been a delusional perception.
It also…
DOJ's News Media Policies Reserved the Authority to Force James Risen to Testify
James Risen's lawyer, Joel Kurtzberg, argues that the News Media Policies released by DOJ last week mean his client should not have to testify in the Jeffrey Sterling case. (As I understand it, Michael Isikoff made a similar argument while moderating…
Did the FISA Court Approve the "Relevant To" Dragnet Collection before Congress Passed the PATRIOT Reauthorization?
I want to point to a passage of the 2008 DOJ IG Report on use of Section 215. I think it adds new details about how the government came to use Section 215 to spy on all of us.
On page 20, the report describes what it calls "combination Section…
Negative Manning Decision and the Future of Investigative Journalism
Little more than few hours ago, a critical ruling was handed down by Judge Denise Lind in the Bradley Manning UCMJ prosecution ongoing at Fort Meade. The decision was on based on this motion by the defense seeking dismissal of the "Aiding the…
Nasser al-Awlaki: "My Grandson Was Killed by His Own Government"
While the nation grieves over the senseless death of Trayvon Martin and the missed opportunity to hold his killer responsible for that death, there is another senseless death of an American teenager of color where an attempt is continuing,…
NSA: The "Half-Bacon Agency"
My mom's in town, so I'll be doing light posting over the next several days.
But I did want to emphasize the rather startling news that came out of yesterday's House Judiciary Committee on the NSA spying programs.
NSA Director John Inglis…
The 3 Hop Scotch of Civil Liberties and Privacy
I was in court, so I didn't see it, but apparently there was a little hearing over at House Judiciary Committee this morning on "Oversight of the Administration's Use of FISA Authorities". There was an august roll of Administration authorities…
What Does the Government Consider "Protected" First Amendment Activities?
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The other day, AP's Matt Lee called out State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki's suggestion that Edward Snowden is not entitled to free speech.
QUESTION: Okay. Then I just don’t understand. I think this…
Failing Our Hoodies
Some of you may have been at Netroots Nation this summer, along with Team Emptywheel. I couldn’t go this year.
I stayed home because my teen son needs more parental guidance right now.
My once-sunny 15-and-a-half year-old who carried…
Univision's Follow-Up Question
Univision's Adriana Vargas just interviewed President Obama. After three questions about the immigration bill, she asked whether Obama would consider Ray Kelly to run Department of Homeland Security.
Obama, of course, was effusive about the…
The 8-FISA Judge 11-Docket Spying Authorization to Identify Less than $10,000 to Al-Shabaab
In a hearing last month, FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce described a case in which the phone metadata database helped catch terrorists. (after 1:07)
Lastly, the FBI had opened an investigation shortly after 9/11. We did not have enough information,…
Carl Levin's Double Standard for Banksters and Spooks
Carl Levin is one of the few people in DC who has tried to hold banks accountable -- in his case, via investigations conducted at the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Never mind that DOJ has serially taken his investigations and, seemingly,…
Whatever Should We Do About These New Biotechnology Capabilities?
My high school days were filled with intrigue and controversy at the national level. On the political front, the Watergate scandal was playing out, with Nixon resigning in the summer between my junior and senior years. Another drama was…
"People in the Gulf" Talking on Skype
The NatSec twittersphere is abuzz about the fact that the CIA indirectly warned Hezbollah that some al Qaeda operatives were preparing an attack on a location in southern Lebanon.
I'm actually less interested that we felt the need to warn…
Hiding the 215 Index from Defendants, Too
Adam Liptak reviews one of the issues I laid out in this post and the ACLU first laid out here. The government is reneging on multiple promises made over the course of the Amnesty v. Clapper case -- including to SCOTUS itself -- to make sure…
On "Bullshit by Omission"
Apparently, Walter Katz -- who tweets as "lawscribe / Wieland" -- believes he succeeded in "calling me out" on "bullshit by omission" with this post on Saturday.
After he pointed me to it in apparent good faith on Saturday, I pointed out…