FBI Director: ‘Be suspicious’ of govt power
The head of the FBI says he understands why people worry about the scope of the government's powers, and in fact, he agrees with them.
“I believe people should be suspicious of government power. I am,” Director James Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning.
“I think this country was founded by people who were worried about government power so they divided it among three branches,” he added.
American distrust of government is at all time highs, A Pew survey found that not only do people not have a high regard for the federal government; they a majority think the federal government actually threatens their personal rights.
Click here to read more.
Here's three recent examples sure to make anyone suspicious of our govt:
1.) The Defense Dept refuses to tell senate which groups we’re at war with. Click here to read more.
2.) A DHS run Fusion Center in California ignores FOI request. Click here to read more.
3.) Lavabit founder: Our Govts "bold-faced lies" & mass surveillance effort forced me to close my company. Click here to read more.
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/206786-fbi-chief-people-should-be-suspicious-of-government-power
Congresswoman Katherine Clark: USA Freedom Act weakened doesn't stop bulk collection
Massachusetts congresswoman Katherine Clark, who had originally signed on as a co-sponsor of the USA Freedom Act, back when it meant meaningful NSA reform.
Today, Congresswoman Katherine Clark opposed the USA Freedom Act, the NSA “reform” bill that was changed at the last minute to gut key data collection prohibitions.
Clark co-sponsored the original bill because it clearly ended the bulk collection of private data. The final version was amended to severely compromise key elements of the bill and allows the NSA to continue mass collection of private data. The last minute changes in the legislation have drawn criticism from civil liberties and privacy groups because the amended bill does not achieve its original intent. Clark released the following statement:
“American citizens should not have to worry about their own government spying on them. We had an opportunity – and a responsibility – to protect Americans’ privacy from the aggressive overreach of government agencies. While the bill moves in the right direction, the last minute amendments failed to end the bulk collection of private data."
http://privacysos.org/node/1414
A new Facebook app allows them to listen to your private conversations:
Facebook's new optional feature that uses the the mobile device's microphone to listen (spy) and identify any music and video content being played when posting a status update. The new feature can be used without typing or saying a word.
The new feature is connected to the "feelings and activities" function. Upon turning on the feature, an icon will appear on the screen which the user will tap to write a status update. Users will have the option to use or ignore the feature when it pops on the screen. Users can also choose to turn off the feature by simply tapping onto the top right of the screen
Though Facebook assured that "no sound is stored,” the company acknowledged to International Business Times that it does intend to archive the data gleaned.
The company did not discuss whether it plans to use the same feature to gather data from other sounds heard by the microphone, such as users' discussions about their medications or their children.
Though Facebook noted that it intends to make such data anonymous, the sheer scale of its network -- 1.2 billion users worldwide -- renders such information a veritable treasure trove for, say, advertisers keen to study the tastes and inclinations of the public at large. Facebook did not respond to IBTimes’ question on whether it intends to sell the data to third parties.
Facebook's new feature is an opt-in audio recognition system that will be updated into mobile Facebook Apps in the few weeks to come. "The new feature will make it easier for users to say that they are watching a particular show or listening to a certain song, then share that information with their friends. Upon updating the Facebook app, users are presented with an explanation as to how the feature works, and are given the option to turn it on," posted appleinsider.
The disclosure that Facebook has designs on gaining access to smartphone microphones should worry everyone. Tech companies are finding new ways to track user behavior and profit at the expense of our privacy.
We know Facebook, Google & Apple allow the National Security Agency to harvest its customer user data, so why would ANYONE use this app?
“We are sure this will not be abused or hacked by the NSA… and we are sure there will be plenty of small digital print that users will understand… One wonders though, is there any way for non-Facebook users to know that they are being eavesdropped upon?” asks Zero Hedge.
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/553445/20140523/facebook-audio-recognition-identifies-music-video-updates.htm#.U389QHkU-Ulhttp://appleinsider.com/articles/14/05/21/facebooks-ios-app-now-listens-for-identifiable-tv-music-when-posting-status-updates
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/23/heres-how-facebook-can-now-listen-to-your-private-conversations/
http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/21/facebook-audio-id/?ncid=rss
The NYPD is the biggest police force in the country, with over 34,000 uniformed officers patrolling New York’s streets, and 51,000 employees overall — more than the FBI. It has a proposed budget of $4.6 billion for 2013, a figure that represents almost 15 percent of the entire city’s budget.
NYC’s population is a little over 8 million. That means that there are 4.18 police officers per 1,000 people. By comparison, Los Angeles, the second largest city in the U.S. with 3.8 million people, has only 9,895 officers–a ratio of 2.6 police per 1,000 people.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/terrifying-facts-americas-biggest-police-force/#4GpmXk3CaHAbct7r.99The NYPD is the biggest police force in the country, with over 34,000 uniformed officers patrolling New York’s streets, and 51,000 employees overall — more than the FBI. It has a proposed budget of $4.6 billion for 2013, a figure that represents almost 15 percent of the entire city’s budget.
NYC’s population is a little over 8 million. That means that there are 4.18 police officers per 1,000 people. By comparison, Los Angeles, the second largest city in the U.S. with 3.8 million people, has only 9,895 officers–a ratio of 2.6 police per 1,000 people.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/terrifying-facts-americas-biggest-police-force/#4GpmXk3CaHAbct7r.99