ACLU FOIAs WikiLeaks Cables
Back in April, the ACLU FOIAed a bunch of State Department cables that had been released via WikiLeaks. The State Department made no response. So now the ACLU is suing to get the cables.
The suit is interesting for several reasons. First,…
"Collections Sites" and the Thomas Drake Case
I wanted to look at the the three documents that the government is withdrawing in whole or in part in the Thomas Drake case. Ellen Nakashima implies that three of the documents are three of the five charged documents.
According to people following…
Thomas Drake to Government: "Bring It"
Apparently, the government is scrambling in the Thomas Drake case.
According to Ellen Nakashima, they offered him two plea bargains yesterday, both involving no jail time. He rejected both.
Drake has repeatedly told friends that he will…
E. Coli EFMs
Chris Savage (Eclectablog) continues to track what the Emergency Financial Managers have been doing around Michigan. In new developments, the EFM for Pontiac MI, Michael Stampfler, broke the Police Dispatcher's union contract, dissolved the…
Thomas Drake's Public Domain Motion
There's something else that has been going on as the case against Thomas Drake has gotten narrowed because the government withdrew some of its exhibits. Drake's lawyers have been arguing that some of this information--and, I believe, some of…
The Government's Thomas Drake Case Crumbles
As I noted the other day (and Josh Gerstein first reported), the government has chosen to withdraw two exhibits and redact discussion of a certain technology from another in the Thomas Drake case.
Ellen Nakashima appears to reveal that those…
The Oil Weapon and the Fight for Hegemony of the Middle East
Saudi Arabia's efforts to get OPEC to raise production has foundered on opposition, mostly from those on the other side of the fight for hegemony of the Middle East and the world, starting with Iran. The vote came down to Saudi Arabia, Qatar,…
Robert Mueller: Anna Chapman and Mohamed Mohamud Are Bigger Threats than Lloyd Blankfein
As part of Robert Mueller's reconfirmation hearing, he stated--and then was repeatedly asked--what threats face our country. Here's how he described these threats in his hearing statement:
The FBI has never faced a more complex threat environment…
Tom Coburn Suggests Problems with Use of PATRIOT Act Section 215 Will Be Big Court Battle
I'm watching the SJC's 51 minutes of almost entirely pathetic questioning of Robert Mueller to remain Director of FBI for two more years (the only real challenge came from Al Franken on civil liberties issues). And while by far the most telling…
SJC to Consider Re-Confirmation of Guy Who Let Major Domestic Terror Attack Go Unsolved
At 10, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the extension of Robert Mueller's term at FBI by two more years. You'll no doubt hear Ranking Member Chuck Grassley make all sorts of complaints about FBI in his wonderful grouchy Iowa voice.…
Have WSJ and Al Jazeera Already Ceded the Espionage Debate?
EFF has a report on the terms of service WSJ and AJ offer leakers using their WikiLeaks competitor sites. I had already heard that WSJ offered almost no technical security (which EFF describes), but it turns out neither offer much in the way…
Using Domestic Surveillance to Get Rapists to Spy for America
The reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act focused a lot of attention on the fact that the Administration is interpreting the phrase "relevant to an authorized [intelligence] investigation" in Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act very broadly. As Ron…
DHS Gutted Domestic Terrorism Analysis Unit after Report Leaked
The Southern Poverty Law Center has an interview with the guy who headed DHS' domestic terrorism analysis that produced the report on the rise in domestic right wing extremism, Daryl Johnson. (h/t Aravosis) He describes how, after the report…
The Crux of the Cisco-US Government Collaboration
As I said in this comment, we're going to have to wait until the Canadian court releases more details on the failed extradition of Peter Alfred Adekeye to get a better sense of what the government did to piss off the court so badly. But this…
Is Apparent US Conspiracy with Cisco about Wiretapping?
Canada has just discovered how much corporations own our legal system, how our legal system criminalizes whistleblowers, and our utter and total disdain for the rule of law.
At issue is the apparent conspiracy between Cisco and the US government…
FBI's Hacker-Informants
The Guardian uses an eye-popping stat from a hacker journalist--that a quarter of all hackers are FBI moles--to cement a a story about the FBI infiltrating hacker groups.
The underground world of computer hackers has been so thoroughly infiltrated…
Thomas Drake: The Government Hides Its Toys
As Josh Gerstein just reported, the government has decided to withdraw some evidence against Thomas Drake rather than come up with CIPA substitutions that would give Drake the ability to defend himself. At issue is "NSA’s targeting of a particular…
An American Fairy Tale: Prison Industry Edition
Only in America could the head of the public prison system who retired in shame for breaking the law himself move onto a sinecure in the private prison industry. But that appears to be what Harley Lappin has done.
Mind you, both Lappin and…
"As I plan to inform the White House"
DDay already noted Peter Diamond's op-ed withdrawing his nomination as a Fed Governor. But I wanted to emphasize one thing:
It is time for me to withdraw, as I plan to inform the White House.
It appears that this very public complaint was…
Trash Talk: Raffa v. Fed
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bmazThe event of the season is upon us! Yep, the men's final at the French Open. This is just a quick post for the heck of it because, well, I have been a life long tennis fan (and even played some competitively as a junior); and, out of the blue,…
