Truthdigger of the Week: Electronic Frontier Foundation
Dec 30, 2012 As the larger part of American culture seems ready to surrender its claim to privacy without question, organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation are riding like Paul Revere through the digital Massachusetts night.
Senate Preserves Sweeping Surveillance Powers
Dec 29, 2012 On Friday, Congress extended through 2017 a bill that grants the government power to monitor Americans without a warrant and accepted none of the proposals to ensure protections to privacy and civil liberties.
The Congressional Push for Secrecy
Aug 8, 2012 The U.S. Congress -- one of the branches intended by America’s founders to balance the president’s power -- is showing just as much and in some cases more interest in preserving a growing culture of secrecy as its executive counterpart, says Steven Aftergood, secrecy researcher at the Federation of American Scientists.
Senator Moves to Rein In Warrantless Spying
Aug 4, 2012 A bill put forward by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., proposes to slap some limits on the U.S. government's collecting of information on Americans under its warrantless electronic spying program.
Senate Aims to Advance Government Surveillance Rules
May 25, 2012 The Senate is moving to renew the soon-to-expire 2008 amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which authorized the U.S. government to monitor American citizens’ emails and telephone calls without a warrant. Former National Security Agency Director William Binney has warned that its vast data mining program, which operates under the amendments, could “create an Orwellian state.”
Judge Rules That Bush’s Illegal Wiretap Program Was Just That
Apr 1, 2010 Lagging a few years behind the liberal media, public opinion and common sense, the justice system has come to the conclusion that President George W. Bush's warrantless wiretapping program broke the rules. (continued)
Surveillance Case Gets Canned
Aug 21, 2009 A judge has rejected a challenge to FISA brought by activists abroad who fear that their communications may be tapped by the U.S. government. The judge said fear is not enough to warrant a change in the law, and that challenges need to make explicit claims of unlawful surveillance. The question remains: How does one know he is being surveilled?
Bush’s Wiretaps Now Even More Warrantless
Jul 13, 2009 It turns out George W. Bush's warrantless wiretap program wasn't just illegal, it was pretty useless. A new report by the inspectors general of the agencies charged with catching the evildoers determined that many agents were flummoxed by the vague information coming out of the overly secretive program, and those who weren't couldn't demonstrate how it was helpful.
Whistle-Blower: Bush’s NSA Spied on ‘All Americans’
Jan 23, 2009 Russell Tice helped blow the whistle on Bush's warrantless wiretapping program back in 2005, but the revelations don't end there. On Wednesday's "Countdown," the former NSA analyst said the agency had "monitored all communications" and specifically targeted journalists.
Keeping Track of Change
Dec 6, 2008 For anyone seeking real reform of America’s foreign and defense policies in the years ahead, the introduction of Barack Obama’s national security team last Monday was a mixed bag. Yet what these and other appointments really suggest about Obama’s broader prospects for reform requires vigilant public attention.
