thenatureofmind

Facebook Search Warrant Disclosure Reveals Scope of Government Requests

Facebook announced Thursday it’s been pushing back against a bulk set of search warrants requesting private data from its user accounts since last summer.

In a blog post, the social media network announced a court in New York requested personal data for 381 users, including photos and private messages. The company argued the request was unconstitutional, but the courts prevailed and the information was turned over.

This information is just coming to light now as Facebook filed an appellate brief Friday in an attempt to force the government to return the data it had seized and retained. Facebook says the government responded by moving to unseal the warrants and all court proceedings, allowing the company to notify the users their information had been taken.

Facebook Search Warrant Disclosure Reveals Scope of Government Requests | TechCrunch.

Five torture myths debunked

Torture is mainly used against terror suspects and during war 

Amnesty International research shows that torture and other ill-treatment continue to be an issue in many countries facing real or perceived national security threats, including terrorism.  

However, the focus on torture and other ill-treatment in what the US authorities then called the “war on terror” at the beginning of the century may have skewed the global picture. What our research also clearly shows is that most victims of torture and other ill-treatment worldwide are not dangerous terrorists but rather poor, marginalized and disempowered criminal suspects who unfortunately seldom draw the attention of the media and public opinion, either nationally or globally. 

Five torture myths debunked | Amnesty International.

Torture in US Prisons: What 'OITNB' Hasn't Told You

International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is observed each year on June 26, the day in 1984 when the United Nations Convention Against Torture was signed. This treaty, which the United States has signed and ratified, bans torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment. The phrase "victims of torture" and the word "international" raise images of brutal regimes around the world, or of survivors of torture who have fled these regimes to come to our country for sanctuary and asylum. We Americans like to think of our nation as the "shining city on a hill," as a protector of human rights, a beacon for the rest of the world. The reality, however, is that widespread torture is happening today in our own country, especially in state and federal prisons and detention facilities.

Torture in US Prisons: What 'OITNB' Hasn't Told You | Rev. Ron Stief.

Naming NSA Victims? Greenwald Says Game-Changer “Imminent”

Investigative reporter Glenn Greenwald (shown) has promised to name victims of NSA warrantless surveillance, calling such an expose “imminent” in an interview with Fox News. Such an exposé may prove to be a game-changer in congressional and public debate on granting the NSA unconstitutional warrantless surveillance powers. 

Greenwald has been the primary recipient of information about the once-secret NSA programs revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Greenwald toldShepard Smith of Fox News that his next revelations will involve naming names about how NSA surveillance has strayed from merely going after terrorists to engaging in politics:

Naming NSA Victims? Greenwald Says Game-Changer “Imminent”.

White House Ignores Snowden Petition for Full Year

Edward Snowden is still waiting to hear if he’ll get a presidential pardon.

He probably won’t get one after embarrassing President Barack Obama with revelations of massive U.S. government surveillance programs, but 100,000 of the exiled whistle-blower’s fans nonetheless earned the proposal an official White House response on June 24, 2013.

They did so by signing a whitehouse.gov petition that quickly cleared the six-figure threshold for feedback.

“Edward Snowden is a national hero and should be immediately issued … a full, free, and absolute pardon,” the petition said.

White House Ignores Snowden Petition for Full Year - US News.

John Handy - Spanish Lady

Rolling Stones - Paint It Black

Saturn's C and B Rings From the Inside Out

On July 1, 2004, NASA's Cassini spacecraft arrived at Saturn, marking the end of the spacecraft's nearly seven-year journey through the solar system as well as the beginning of its tour of Saturn, its rings, moons and magnetosphere.

This image, taken on June 30, 2004 during Cassini's orbital insertion at Saturn, shows, from left to right, the outer portion of the C ring and inner portion of the B ring. The B ring begins a little more than halfway across the image. The general pattern is from "dirty" particles indicated by red to cleaner ice particles shown in turquoise in the outer parts of the rings.

The ring system begins from the inside out with the D, C, B and A rings followed by the F, G and E rings. This image was taken with the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph instrument, which is capable of resolving the rings to show features up to 97 kilometers (60 miles) across, roughly 100 times the resolution of ultraviolet data obtained by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Colorado

Plot to kill Maduro: Venezuela demands US explain role in assassination plan

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has alleged US involvement in a plot to oust his government and assassinate him. The South American leader said there are hundreds of emails that prove members of the State Department were part of the conspiracy.

Venezuela has opened an investigation into a supposed plot to overthrow the government and assassinate President Maduro, reports Venezuelan state news broadcaster TeleSur. Authorities have alleged the plot was hatched by members of the Venezuelan far right with the support of the US State Department.

Plot to kill Maduro: Venezuela demands US explain role in assassination plan — RT News.

Beyond Snowden: New Group to Clear a Path for More Whistleblowers

A new organization for whistleblowing will launch on Wednesday morning when the ExposeFacts.org website goes live and the group begins its first day with a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington.

NSA whistleblowers William Binney and J. Kirk Wiebe will speak at the news conference along with EPA whistleblower Marsha Coleman-Adebayo and journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, a member of the ExposeFacts editorial board.

Beyond Snowden: New Group to Clear a Path for More Whistleblowers.