Month: June 2013

Britain’s Surveillance State

For many people, personal privacy vs widespread surveillance has been a major issue for decades. However, some thought it might have been happening but chose to downplay it. Others didn’t want to know and just didn’t care. Edward Snowden’s recent revelations indicate it is happening and that we should all care.

Hundreds Gather for Public Banking and Economic Justice

By any standards, the 2013 Public Banking Conference, held at beautiful Dominican University in San Rafael, California, was a success. In a political world where like-minded groups seldom converge on practical policy blueprints, it was an astounding success. Hundreds of committed attendees–Occupy activists, religious groups, labor, environmentalists, legal activists, journalists and progressive economists–came together for three days of heady conversations […]

On the Espionage Act Charges Against Edward Snowden

Who is actually bringing ‘injury to America’: those who are secretly building a massive surveillance system or those who inform citizens that it’s being done? by Glenn Greenwald  The US government has charged Edward Snowden with three felonies, including two under the Espionage Act, the 1917 statute enacted to criminalize dissent against World War I. My priority at the moment […]

Snowden Becomes Eighth Person to Be Charged with Violating the Espionage Act Under Obama

A criminal complaint indicates former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden has been charged with three felonies. Two of the felonies are charges under the Espionage Act by Kevin Gosztola The complaint, filed on June 14, shows he was charged with “unauthorized communication of national defense information”—an Espionage Act violation—and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person,” […]

Let’s Be Very Careful About Who We Call “Traitor”

By Julian Assange It has now been a year since I entered this embassy and sought refuge from persecution. As a result of that decision, I have been able to work in relative safety from a US espionage investigation. But today, Edward Snowden’s ordeal is just beginning. Two dangerous runaway processes have taken root in the last decade, with fatal […]

‘You F–ked Up, You Trusted Us’: Talking Ratings Agencies With Chris Hayes

That was among the responses of a spokesperson for the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s when I contacted him a few weeks ago in advance of a new Rolling Stone feature, “The Last Mystery of the Financial Crisis,” which describes the role the ratings agencies played in causing the 2008 crash. The company was genuinely miffed that anyone would impugn its honesty. In one relatively brief e-mail, the spokesperson used variables of terms like “independent,” “integrity” and “transparent,” upwards of nine times

Fast-Tracking Toward War on Syria

America’s run by sociopaths. They’re out-of-control criminals. They’re traitors. They menace humanity. They violate their sacred oaths of office. Presidents “do solemnly swear (or affirm to) faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of (their) Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”