tagged w/ obama and civil liberties
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For at least a year, the Homeland Security Department detoured hundreds of requests for federal records to senior political advisers for highly unusual scrutiny, probing for information about the requesters and delaying disclosures deemed too politically sensitive, according to nearly 1,000 pages of internal e-mails obtained by The Associated Press.
The Freedom of Information Act (commonly known by its acronym FOIA), the main tool forcing the government to be more open, is designed to be insulated from political considerations. Anyone who seeks information through the law is supposed to get it unless disclosure would hurt national security, violate personal privacy or expose confidential decision-making in certain areas.
But in July 2009, Homeland Security introduced a directive requiring a wide range of information to be vetted by political appointees for "awareness purposes," no matter who requested it.For at least a year, the Homeland Security Department detoured hundreds of requests... more
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The investment arms of the CIA and Google are both backing a company that monitors the web in real time — and says it uses that information to predict the future. The company is called Recorded Future, and it scours tens of thousands of websites, blogs and Twitter accounts to find the relationships between people, organizations, actions and incidents — both present and still-to-come.The investment arms of the CIA and Google are both backing a company that monitors the... more
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The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual's Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to an intelligence or terrorism investigation.The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies... more
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Ten U.S. citizens or lawful residents are suing the government for placing them on the "no-fly" list without notice or due process and then giving them no way to get their names off the list.Ten U.S. citizens or lawful residents are suing the government for placing them on the... more
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The Obama administration is considering using Afghanistan's U.S.-run Bagram Air Base prison to indefinitely detain terrorism suspects captured far from a battlefield and who have not been charged with a crime - without any judicial oversight.The Obama administration is considering using Afghanistan's U.S.-run Bagram Air... more
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News outlet The Examiner reports that despite assurances by a key member of the Obama administration, Pakistani passengers flying in or out of the U.S. will be subjected to enhanced screening, including full-body pat-downs, a physical inspection of personal property, or screening by one of the 40 advanced-imaging machines located in 19 U.S. airports.News outlet The Examiner reports that despite assurances by a key member of the Obama... more
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President Barack Obama has signed a one-year extension of several provisions of the controversial counterterrorism statute, the USA PATRIOT Act. Provisions in the measure would have expired this past week without Obama’s signature.
The act, which was adopted in the weeks after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, expands the government's ability to spy on Americans in the name of national security.President Barack Obama has signed a one-year extension of several provisions of the... more
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