May 10, 2012 | Government Agenda, News
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security actively monitors social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, scanning for specific keywords that trigger what the agency calls “Items of Interest” (IOI). This surveillance program came to light through...
May 10, 2012 | Abuses of Power
In 2012, the United States Supreme Court handed down a five-to-four decision authorizing strip searches for any arrest, regardless of how minor the alleged offense. The ruling arrived on the heels of two other sweeping legal changes: the National Defense Authorization...
May 9, 2012 | Abuses of Power
ACLU Investigation Reveals Widespread Warrantless Phone Tracking ACLU affiliates across the United States submitted public records requests to local law enforcement agencies seeking information about cell phone tracking practices. The resulting data painted a...
May 9, 2012 | News, WAR: By Design
Leaked Emails Linked Private Military Contractor to Libyan and Syrian Operations Emails obtained from the private intelligence firm Stratfor and published by WikiLeaks revealed that a former Blackwater director who led a private security company played an active role...
May 9, 2012 | Abuses of Power, Anonymous
What Is Coltan and Why Does It Matter? Columbite-tantalite — commonly known as coltan — is a dark, tar-like mineral found in enormous concentrations within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Congo holds approximately 80 percent of global coltan reserves....
May 8, 2012 | WAR: By Design
The rapid expansion of America’s unmanned aerial warfare program represents one of the most consequential shifts in modern military strategy. What began as an experimental capability in the early 2000s has grown into the centerpiece of U.S. counterterrorism...
May 8, 2012 | Activism, Government Agenda, Video
In his first television interview since he resigned from the National Security Agency over its domestic surveillance program, William Binney discusses the NSA’s massive power to spy on Americans and why the FBI raided his home after he became a whistleblower. Binney...
May 4, 2012 | Abuses of Power, News
First American Arrested Using Predator Drone Surveillance The small town of Lakota, North Dakota, became an unexpected battleground over domestic drone use in 2012 when one of its residents became the first known American citizen to be arrested with the assistance of...
May 4, 2012 | Events & Assassinations
A Weapons Expert Found Dead Near Porton Down In April 2012, the body of Dr. Richard Holmes, a 48-year-old weapons expert, was discovered in a field approximately four miles from the Porton Down defense research facility in Wiltshire, England. Holmes had gone missing...
May 4, 2012 | Government Agenda
The scope of government surveillance in the United States extends far beyond what most citizens realize. With nearly 4,000 federal, state, and local organizations working on domestic counterterrorism — as documented by the Washington Post’s investigation into...
Apr 30, 2012 | Abuses of Power
Police Subpoenas Reveal the Full Scope of Facebook Data Collection In April 2012, documents uncovered during an investigation revealed exactly what law enforcement receives when it subpoenas a Facebook user’s data. The answer was far more comprehensive than most...
Apr 29, 2012 | Events & Assassinations, Satire
The Official Narrative of the September 11 Attacks According to the accepted account, on the morning of September 11, 2001, nineteen individuals armed with box cutters — allegedly coordinated by a man reportedly dependent on kidney dialysis, operating from a remote...
Apr 28, 2012 | Abuses of Power
The FBI’s ambitions to monitor social media in real time raise fundamental questions about the balance between national security and individual privacy. In early 2012, the bureau began soliciting the technology industry for help building an open-source...
Apr 27, 2012 | WAR: By Design
Two independent investigations published in early 2012 presented substantial new evidence that CIA drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas were killing civilians at higher rates than official accounts acknowledged. Associated Press Field Investigation The...
Apr 27, 2012 | WAR: By Design
In early 2012, the Kony 2012 viral campaign generated unprecedented public attention toward Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda. While the campaign presented itself as a humanitarian effort to bring a war criminal to justice, a number of...
Apr 27, 2012 | Abuses of Power, News
What Was CISPA and Why Did It Matter? The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (H.R. 3523) emerged in late 2011 as a proposed amendment to the National Security Act of 1947. Introduced by Representatives Mike Rogers (D-MI) and C.A. “Dutch”...
Apr 26, 2012 | Abuses of Power, News
Journalists Targeted After Investigating Pentagon Contractors In 2012, two USA Today employees became the targets of a coordinated online disinformation and harassment campaign shortly after making inquiries to intelligence contractors with ties to the U.S. military....
Apr 26, 2012 | Abuses of Power
Obama Administration Sought to Shield NSA Surveillance Law From Court Review In 2012, the Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to dismiss a legal challenge to one of the most expansive surveillance statutes in American history — the FISA Amendments Act of...
Apr 26, 2012 | Abuses of Power, News
CISPA: The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act Explained In April 2012, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), formally designated H.R. 3523, advanced through the U.S. Congress amid fierce debate over digital privacy and national...
Apr 26, 2012 | WAR: By Design
Pentagon Pushes for Military Operatives Under Commercial Cover The Pentagon submitted a formal proposal to Congress seeking expanded legal authority that would allow U.S. military personnel to operate overseas under the guise of civilian business activities. The...
Apr 26, 2012 | Abuses of Power, News, Video
Senate Bill 1813 and Its Hidden Implications for Gun Owners In 2012, the U.S. Senate passed Bill 1813, officially titled the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.” While ostensibly a transportation bill, analysts who examined its 1,676 pages...
Apr 25, 2012 | Events & Assassinations
Throughout history, individuals who possessed critical firsthand knowledge of significant events have met untimely and suspicious ends. Whether they were eyewitnesses to assassinations, insiders within government intelligence programs, or journalists exposing...
Apr 25, 2012 | Abuses of Power, News
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A bill authored by a Southland lawmaker that could potentially allow the federal government to prevent any Americans who owe back taxes from traveling outside the U.S. is one step closer to becoming law. Senate Bill 1813 was introduced back in...
Apr 25, 2012 | Government Agenda, Leaks
The FBI and Department of Justice produced a series of 25 flyers under the “Communities Against Terrorism” initiative, designed to be distributed to businesses across a wide range of industries. These documents instructed employees and business owners on...
Apr 24, 2012 | Abuses of Power
The Private Prison Industry in the United States The American prison system has long functioned as a profit-driven enterprise. Private corporations operate over 200 correctional facilities across the country, and many of these companies are publicly traded on the New...
