U.S. competes with China and Russia for title of “Endemic Surveillance Societies”

In 2007, Privacy International conducted a survey to determine the extent to which countries conducted surveillance on their citizens. The U.S. was in the same category as China and Russia. Glenn Greenwald supplements this image with some stunning data:

The US operates a sprawling, unaccountable Surveillance State that - in violent breach of the core guarantees of the Fourth Amendment - monitors and records virtually everything even the most law-abiding citizens do. Just to get a flavor for how pervasive it is, recall that the Washington Post, in its 2010 three-part "Top Secret America" series, reported: "Every day, collection systems at the National Security Agency intercept and store 1.7 billion e-mails, phone calls and other types of communications."

For more on the ever-increasing U.S. surveillance state, view this excellent video by Glenn Greenwald:

Continue ReadingU.S. competes with China and Russia for title of “Endemic Surveillance Societies”

Support for legalization of marijuana is at an all time high

According to Think Progress: "New polling released by Gallup today finds that 50 percent of Americans now support marijuana legalization, while 46 percent of Americans oppose it." And at LEAP, "Pro-Legalization Cops Cheer Marijuana Reform Election Results."

Norm Stamper, former Seattle police chief, had this to say: “I cannot tell you how happy I am that after forty years of the racist, destructive exercise in futility that is the war on drugs, my home state of Washington has now put us on a different path. There are people who have lost today: drug cartels, street gangs, those who profit from keeping American incarceration rates the highest in the world. For the rest of us, however, this is a win. It’s a win for taxpayers. It’s a win for police. It’s a win for all those who care about social justice. This is indeed a wonderful day.”

Continue ReadingSupport for legalization of marijuana is at an all time high

Onion: Nation is shocked to learn that a bloody war is occurring in Afghanistan

The headline from The Onion: "Nation Horrified To Learn About War In Afghanistan While Reading Up On Petraeus Sex Scandal."

WASHINGTON—As they scoured the Internet for more juicy details about former CIA director David Petraeus’ affair with biographer Paula Broadwell, Americans were reportedly horrified today upon learning that a protracted, bloody war involving U.S. forces is currently raging in the nation of Afghanistan.

Continue ReadingOnion: Nation is shocked to learn that a bloody war is occurring in Afghanistan